MADRID — The Latest on the independence bid for Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region (all times local):

A Spanish government spokesman says that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy can’t discuss with Catalan authorities what could make him agree to a referendum on the region’s secession because the law simply doesn’t allow it. That the referendum is of secondary interest to the Catalan government is evidenced by the fact that the PdeCAT, the party of its premier, did not vote in favor of Pablo Iglesias, the first candidate for prime minister of Spain who defends a referendum to decide the future of Catalonia, abstaining on [Podemos’s] motion of no-confidence in Mariano Rajoy. You can vote, vote “Yes” on October 1 and go on to vote for Catalunya en Comú n the general election.
The government of Scotland releases a statement in support of the Catalan independence referendum but would prefer that both Catalonia and Spain agree on the terms.