First Minister slams Brexiteers as ‘idiots’

Nicola Sturgeon raged at “idiot” Brexiteers as she told Scots they could “stay in the real world” with independence.

The first minister’s outburst came after a Panelbase poll showed more than half of Scotland believes independence would be better for the country than remaining in the UK after Brexit.

Reacting to Boris Johnson’s friends likening him to Aslan from the CS Lewis series, Ms Sturgeon said: “It’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry.

“These idiots are actually revelling in the idea that they’re characters in a fantasy world.

“Scotland, we don’t have to stay in Narnia with them – we can opt to stay in the real world with #independence.”

The Panelbase survey, carried out for The Sunday Times Scotland and LBC, found 53% believed independence would benefit the country more than staying in a UK that had left the European Union via a negotiated withdrawal agreement.

Almost three in five (59%) said leaving the UK would benefit Scotland more than staying in if there was a no-deal Brexit.

But this did not translate into a majority for independence, with support for this at 47% in the poll, compared to the 53% who want to remain in the UK.

Maurice Golden, a Tory MSP, said the poll shows that most Scots do not want to separate from the UK.

“Just as she did the morning after the Brexit vote came in, Nicola Sturgeon is still trying to use Brexit to push for her obsession with independence,” he said.

Drawing on the Panelbase results, polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice forecast the SNP would win 39 of the Scottish seats at Westminster, up by four on its current tally, while the Tories could take 12 seats, compared to the 13 they won in 2017.

Meanwhile, Labour could lose three seats and be left with four MPs in Scotland, with the Lib Dems remaining on four.