Scotland’s Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Friday a second independence referendum from the United Kingdom should be held as soon as the next Scottish parliament term begins in office next year.

Sturgeon insisted that her focus is currently to guide Scotland through the coronavirus crisis.

SNP believes that winning the next Holyrood election in May will provide it with a mandate to conduct a second referendum, according to the BBC.

In a referendum held in 2014, the Scots rejected independence by 55 percent to 45 percent, which currently still stands.

Former First Minister Alex Salmond described the 2014 referendum as a “once in a generation event.”

The current opposition the UK government holds towards a referendum is unsustainable, said Sturgeon.

The UK government has repeatedly made it known that consent for a referendum has not been granted. Consent would be required to make the referendum legal.

According to the BBC, some members within the SNP and wider independence movements have urged Sturgeon to develop a so-called ‘Plan-B strategy’ for securing a referendum if the UK government does not change its stance.

“I think the referendum should, for a whole variety of reasons, be in the earlier part of the next parliament.” said Sturgeon. However, SNP leader at Westminster Ian Blackford stressed that the referendum must be held in 2021.

In light of the coronavirus crisis, Sturgeon said, “there’s still a lot of uncertainty ahead. I’m a life-long believer and campaigner and advocate for independence, but right now I'm also the first minister of Scotland.”

Her focus on the pandemic was concrete, she stressed while holding herself responsible for the health and wellbeing of Scotland.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said the government's focus must be solely on eliminating COVID-19.

“Scotland has been through huge turmoil over the last nine months. We haven't even embarked on the economic recovery from the pandemic and the first minister wants to spend months or even years dividing the country over Scotland going its own way with independence." said Rennie according to the BBC.