Scotland Keeps Fight for Independence Vote Alive on Brexit Day
(Bloomberg) – As jubilant Brexit supporters gather to celebrate the U.K.’s departure from the European Union, Scotland is digging in to its position as the last bastion of political resistance.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her government in Edinburgh is looking at all options for an independence referendum, which the U.K. government is refusing to sanction. They include asking the courts to ascertain whether the Scottish Parliament already has the power to hold a consultative vote.
However, the Scottish National Party leader said the turmoil in Catalonia, which held an illegal vote on leaving Spain in 2017, showed why Scotland needed an independence vote that was legally watertight. Until then, she will focus on building support for independence.
“For me to pretend that there are shortcuts or clever wheezes that can magically overcome the obstacles we face would be to do the independence cause a disservice,” Sturgeon said in a speech on Friday. Routes toward a referendum are “constantly under review,” she said.
The EU’s royal blue flag with yellow stars, meanwhile, will continue flying at the entrance of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. The legislature, dominated by Sturgeon’s pro-independence Scottish National Party, voted again this week to try and force another vote on breaking away from the rest of the U.K. and ultimately rejoining the continent’s single market.
Sturgeon calls Brexit an “affront to democracy” because Scotland voted overwhelmingly to stay in the EU in 2016. As the country officially leaves at 11 p.m. U.K. time on Friday, Sturgeon is repeating her vow to give Scots the chance to choose their own future. Her problem is that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is refusing to grant the power she requires to hold a legal vote on independence.
“Brexit has put Scotland on the wrong road,” she said. “And the further down it we go, the longer it will take and the harder it will be to get back on the right one. We need back on the right road as soon as possible.”
One of the underlying themes of Brexit has been the rumbling standoff between the two largest constituent parts of the three-centuries-old United Kingdom. After Scots voted to remain in the U.K. in 2014, less than two years later the U.K. as a whole decided to leave the EU. Since then, the political division has become even more entrenched.
Sturgeon is pushing for the U.K. to allow an independence vote this year and she reiterated today that the timetable was practical. In reality, she’s more likely to head into Scottish Parliamentary elections in 2021 with the aim of redoubling her mandate.
Saucy – https://www.yahoo.com/news/scotland-keeps-eu-flag-flying-050000949.html