Scotland’s First Minister Ms Sturgeon has been at the front of the independence movement for years. She renewed calls to break away from the rest of the UK after the EU referendum, and then took the majority of pro-independence MSPs elected to Holyrood in May as a mandate for a second public vote on the matter. However, Downing Street has repeatedly refused to hand her the constitutional powers to hold a legitimate referendum after she — and the rest of the Scottish National Party (SNP) — promised that the 2014 vote was a “once in a generation” opportunity.

       Ms Sturgeon has promised that she will resume the fight for independence once the COVID-19 crisis has subsided.

       But this approach has come under scrutiny recently, as some Nationalists become impatient with her attitude — especially as the SNP have been in power since 2007.

       Top academic Dr Elliot Bulmer hit out at Ms Sturgeon in a recent comment piece for Scottish newspaper The National.

       He alleged that the independence movement feels like it has been “wandering in the wilderness for a long time” — even though the SNP seem to have a “credible constitutional plan” for a new Scottish state.

       He claimed: “The Scottish Parliament opened its doors 22 years ago.

       “In election after election, Pharaoh’s army of blue-rosetted Tories have been drowned in a Yellow Sea of SNP votes.

       “Yet we seem no closer to the Promised Land.

       “Where is the milk and honey? Are we just drifting in the desert, waiting for the section 30 order to magically appear?”

       The section 30 order is a temporary transfer of power from Downing Street to Holyrood, passed through Westminster Parliament, and is part of the Scotland Act.

       Such an order has been used 16 times since the Scottish Parliament was set up in 1999, and will allow MSPs to legislate on a range of topics relevant to Scotland.

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       Former Prime Minister David Cameron signed a section 30 order ahead of the 2014 independence referendum alongside then First Minister Alex Salmond, known as the Edinburgh Agreement.

       Ms Sturgeon even drew up a draft to make such a transfer power permanent in 2019, arguing: “It is a fundamental democractic principle that the decision on whether or not Scotland becomes independent should rest with the people who live in Scotland.”

       She also claimed that the Westminster Government “has been rejected by the people of Scotland” after the Conservatives performed poorly in the Scottish seats for the 2019 general election.

       The First Minister said she was calling on Downing Street to “ensure a transfer of power is made from Westminster to Holyrood so that a fresh independence referendum is put beyond legal challenge”.

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       That same challenge promised “a referendum should be held before the end of 2020 but the precise timing will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament to decide”.

       Ms Sturgeon stood this claim up after the SNP won 48 seats out of 59 in Scotland in the general election — while the Conservatives won just six.

       However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has continued to put his foot down and ignore Indyref2 calls.

       The SNP then fell one seat short of a majority in Holyrood during the May election with 64 seats, meaning it will now have to rely on the pro-independence Scottish Greens party to support its motions through Parliament.

       It’s a sharp drop from the number of seats the Nationalists had in 2011, when Mr Salmond secured 69 seats — and even with this amount of public support, the SNP lost the 2014 referendum on independence.

       Mr Johnson has shown no indication of shifting on his anti-Indyref2 stance, having declared it “irresponsible and reckless”.

       Dr Bulmer also claimed Scots were “further away than ever” from independence as Nationalists are “wandering around in circles”.

       He alleged that the constitutional plan for an independent Scotland “seems to have been abandoned”, adding: “There is no sign that the current SNP leadership knows what a constitution is, what a constitution does or why a constitution is essential and integral to the case for independence.”

       He demanded: “If the SNP leadership still believe in independence they need to show it — now — by doing the preparatory work necessary to bring it about.”