Crashing out of Europe without trade agreement ‘risks the Union’
A NO-DEAL Brexit could put the future of the Union on the line, according to a series of surveys.
A Panelbase poll found there has been no rise in support for independence, with 56 per cent of Scots saying they would vote No if asked now.
But the Sunday Times survey of 1,024 Scots also showed that support for separation would rise to 48 per cent if the UK leaves the EU without a Brexit deal.
A separate Survation poll suggested a majority of voters – 52 per cent – would back independence in the event of no deal.
SNP members were told yesterday not to expect a new demand for a second independence referendum imminently.
Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC she may not announce her next steps until as late as the end of December – despite previously suggesting she would update MSPs during the autumn.
The party leader said: ‘I will set out what I think the next steps are when we are at the end of this phase of negotiations.
‘Whether I like it or not – or whether anybody likes it or not – the future of the EU/ UK relationship is the context in which Scotland will decide that question of independence.’
Miss Sturgeon added: ‘I will set out my views on the next steps at that stage, if that’s when Theresa May comes back with the deal. It could be later this month, it could be November, it could be December.’
Asked if she felt separation was now inevitable, the First Minister said: ‘I think Scottish independence will happen, so if you’re asking me to use the term inevitable, I guess, yes, I would use that.
‘I think we’re on a journey that will end with independence. I think Brexit brings the issues around this very sharply into focus.’
But Scottish Labour business manager Neil Findlay said: ‘The First Minister isn’t standing up for Scotland by continuing to threaten to divide Scotland with another referendum.’
Yesterday’s Panelbase poll also showed the SNP’s constituency vote stands at 41 per cent, while its regional list vote is at 35 per cent.
This suggests that, if there was an election now, the SNP would win 56 seats and the Greens six – leaving the two pro-independence parties short of a majority.
In the Sunday Times, former SNP spin doctor Kevin Pringle said that, while the issue of independence had not ‘gone away’, it ‘isn’t going anywhere either, at present’.
He added: ‘The right approach at this stage is to take it to the people.
‘Seeking a mandate at the next Scottish parliament election in May 2021 would give certainty and direction to the SNP and the wider Yes movement.’
Former Nationalist MP John Nicolson also urged Miss Sturgeon to be wary about another vote on independence.
He said: ‘She is a cautious politician and she is right to be cautious.’
Asked on the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland programme whether there would be another referendum on breaking up Britain by 2021, the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: ‘I am not going to put a timescale on that today.
‘We will come back to it once we know the Brexit process.
‘When it is right to call a referendum we will, of course, do that.’
Meanwhile, Mr Blackford also said yesterday that SNP politicians should not appear on former party leader Alex Salmond’s chat show on RT, a Kremlin-backed television channel.
Nationalist MP Angus MacNeil and MSP Alex Neil were both guests on the programme last week.
Asked about their appearance on the show yesterday, Mr Blackford said that he did not think it was ‘appropriate’ – but he refused to ban his party colleagues from participating.
He added: ‘It is up to each individual to make their decisions. We are talking about people who are adults and they can make their own mind up but I do not think it is appropriate.
‘We face a situation where we know there has been a terrorist attack on the streets of the United Kingdom, we know the involvement of the Russian state with the attack that took place at Salisbury, we know that RT is effectively a tool of the Russian state.
‘I think people should reflect very carefully before they appear on that programme.’
But Mr Blackford added: ‘I have made it clear that I don’t think it is appropriate for our parliamentarians to appear on RT.’