According to SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, the “sheer intransigence” of Theresa May’s government could be leaning Scotland towards a second independence referendum.
Sturgeon has clearly stated that if Scotland is forced into a “hard Brexit” that would end their access to free movement and the single market, she would do her best to seek a second referendum at the same time the British Government triggers Article 50 next month.
“As well as justification for a referendum, there is also a cast-iron mandate,” she wrote in The Times newspaper. “Which brings me to the issue of good faith.”
“The day after the EU referendum, I chose not to immediately exercise that mandate. Instead, I published a compromise position, Scotland’s place in Europe, which proposed a way for Scotland to remain in the single market.
“Instead of meeting us halfway, however, the UK government’s approach has been ‘its way or no way’. If an independence referendum does arise, it will not be down to bad faith on the part of the Scottish government, but to sheer intransigence on the part of the UK government.
“It’s not too late for the UK government to change course, but time is running out.”
In response to Sturgeon, Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly said she hopes to seek a deal which is beneficial for all parts of the United Kingdom.
Despite constant assertions that she would regularly consult with nations within the UK, Scottish lawmakers have complained that their opinions are not taken seriously in London.
If May is to block a new referendum, she could risk a constitutional crisis. If she accepted it, she could risk the splitting of the United Kingdom.
An SNP spokesman said: “There is already a cast-iron democratic mandate for an independence referendum – that was delivered in last year’s Holyrood election, however much the Tories might try to deny it.
“That mandate also stems from the EU referendum, which saw Scotland vote by a 24-point margin to stay in Europe – and Theresa May’s reckless pursuit of an economically ruinous hard Brexit will only strengthen opinion in Scotland against leaving Europe.”