Nicola Sturgeon has delivered a New Year resolution to make Scotland an country at the “centre of international attention”.
The First Minister put the constitution at the heart of her plans for next year, also promising to improve public services and soften the impact of quitting the EU.
She said: “Against the wishes of most people in Scotland, we will leave the European Union at the end of January. That will, I know, be a source of deep regret for many of us.
“In the year ahead, the Scottish Government will do everything we can to mitigate the worst impacts of Brexit.
“We will provide support and reassurance for the EU citizens who have done us the honour of choosing to make Scotland their home.
"And we will work to ensure that people in Scotland have the chance to determine our own future – by deciding whether we wish to become an independent country.”
The SNP leader wants IndyRef2 next year but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled it out. It puts the two governments at loggerheads, with opinion polls still on a knife edge.
Sturgeon also has high hopes for the upcoming UN climate change summit in Glasgow, which could attract more than 30,000 from around the world.
Her New Year message rounded off 12 months of political chaos and upheaval, including an empowered Tory Government focused on Brexit.
Scots Tory leader Jackson Carlaw accepted the decision to leave the EU has caused “huge tensions”. But he claimed the country will “come back together” after the official Brexit deadline at the end of next month.
Carlaw said: “It is time to move on.”
