Westminsteristoblame forBrexit,saysSturgeon
THE rest of the UK voted to leave the European Union because of distrust and dissatisfaction with the UK government institutions, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
She laid the blame of the Brexit vote firmly at the door of Westminster and said as Scots voted to remain, the UK Government has a responsibility to allow Scotland an opportunity to put it right.
The First Minister repeated her pledge to explore all avenues for Scotland’s interests to be protected within the UK, but again warned that if that fails then independence must be an option.
In fact, she added that with the UK facing “uncertainty, upheaval and unpredictability”, independence could be the option that offers “maximum control of our destiny”.
Speaking at the Institute for Public Policy Research in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said people in the rest of the UK were fed up with Westminster.
She said: “Trust in institutions is a factor in the result of the referendum.
“People voted out of a feeling they were being left behind.”
She said it was the result of people living with the “ideological obsession with austerity” that led to that feeling and that distrust.
She said there was higher trust for the Scottish Government and Parliament than with Westminster ever since devolution and it was at its highest now.
Ms Sturgeon then said the onus was on the UK Government to allow a solution that allowed Scotland to still have a relationship with the EU when the UK pulls out.
She said: “Protecting our place in, and relationship with, the EU is about our vital interests. It matters to the lives of people across our country.
“We didn’t vote to leave, we voted to remain, and to be told we have to leave regardless is to be told our voice doesn’t matter.”
Ms Sturgeon said that if that happens then breaking away from the UK must be considered. She said that “at this stage we must keep all options open”.
She added: “We can seek to find a solution that enables Scotland’s voice to be heard or we can look again at independence.”
Different parts of the UK must be allowed to seek different outcomes, according to the First Minister.
However, she said this would be challenging and could well meet resistance from within the EU and from within the UK Government.
She admitted the “barriers are substantial”.
Ms Sturgeon then urged the UK Government to prove it is serious about Scotland’s place in the UK.
She said: “Now is the time to do more than just assert the union works for Scotland. It is surely time to demonstrate our voice can be heard and interests protected.”
The Conservatives, however, said the First Minister’s real mission was to set up a second independence referendum.
Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said: “She is setting these up to fail, to provide another flimsy excuse for a referendum re-run.
“Scotland does not want to go through the division and upheaval of another independence vote.
“Instead, the Scottish Government should be working hard to make the best of this, not shoehorning its narrow agenda into almost anything it can.”