The UK Government will reject a request from the Scottish Government for a second referendum on independence.
Scottish Secretary David Mundell said it would not enter into “discussions or negotiations” on a request for the legal power to hold a vote.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson meanwhile said a second independence referendum would be “unfair” on voters.
She insisted she was not scared of another campaign, adding she thought the pro-Union side would win by a greater margin than in 2014.
But Ms Davidson claimed that Nicola Sturgeon’s timetable for another referendum would lead to people “voting blind”.
She said: “We reject conclusively the timetable for a referendum set out by the Scottish Government for a key reason – because it is unfair to Scottish voters.”
Last July, Ms Davidson said in a TV interview: “Constitutionally the UK Government shouldn’t block it (a second referendum).”
Asked why she had changed her position, she said: “The UK Government is rejecting the request based on the criteria that were met at the last election not being met now.”
Alex Neil, the Brexit-backing former SNP health secretary, said: “There is a fundamental point of principle that the Scottish Parliament should have the power to decide on its own when and if it wants a referendum.
“It has never been the case that you need every party to sign up to major constitutional change. That is absurd.”
