The Scottish legislature in Edinburgh voted by a majority of 69 to 59 to give First Minister Nicola Sturgeon a mandate to formally seek permission from the British parliament in London to prepare for a referendum in late 2018 or early 2019.

“The people of Scotland should have the right to choose between Brexit, possibly a very hard Brexit, or becoming an independent country able to chart our own course,” Sturgeon said earlier in the chamber.

But the British government swiftly responded that it would refuse to enter into negotiations on Sturgeon’s proposal.

“It would be unfair to the people of Scotland to ask them to make a crucial decision without the necessary information about our future relationship with Europe, or what an independent Scotland would look like,” it said in a statement.