Sturgeon under attack over second independence vote
First Minister accused of creating a ‘damaging distraction’ to Brexit
NICOLA Sturgeon has been accused of creating a “damaging distraction” to Brexit after insisting she will decide whether to hold a second independence referendum by the end of the year.
The First Minister said she would make the call at some point after October when clarity emerged about the new relationship between the UK and European Union.
But critics called on her to “take independence off the table”, insisting the extra “turmoil” was the last thing voters needed.
Scottish Conservative MP John Lamont said: “Nicola Sturgeon has no interest in securing a successful Brexit deal – all she cares about is a second independence referendum.
“She has created a damaging distraction when her priority should be working with the UK Government to get the right deal for Scotland and the whole of the UK.
“She should take the threat of a second independence referendum off the table. Instead, she has put it front and centre – which is the last thing Scots want or need.”
It comes as the SNP and Scottish Conservatives both agreed that a controversial “power-grab” written into the Brexit bill needed to be amended before it could proceed.
Clause 11 of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which will return to the Commons tomorrow, would see 111 powers currently held in Brussels passed to Westminster, despite falling under devolved areas.
Scottish Brexit Minister Michael Russell said this needed to change in order to restore the spirit of the Scotland Act, and his opinion was backed by Scottish Tory constitution spokesman Adam Tomkins.
Mr Tomkins said a fundamental principle of Scottish devolution was that “everything is devolved unless it is expressly reserved”.
He told the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland that changing Clause 11 was “relatively easily done”, warning the political price of ignoring the issue “might be quite significant indeed”.
Mr Russell said the UK Government had conceded the point about amending the clause, but it had yet to happen.
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Ms Sturgeon said she expected more clarity on the UK’s position on leaving the EU “by around the autumn”.
She added: “At that point, what I’ve said is that we will look at that and determine at that stage if Scotland should then have the right to choose between whatever that new relationship with the UK is going to be, or choosing to be an independent country.”
Challenged over whether that would leave enough time for a second independence referendum before the Brexit date of March 2019, she said: “We will make decisions on timing when we get to that point and look at that.”
Ms Sturgeon also said she believed there was a majority in the House of Commons for staying in the single market “if Labour gets its act together”.
Labour is being urged to join a cross-party bid to keep the UK in the single market and customs union, with the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and Greens all joining forces to back an amendment to the Brexit bill when it returns to the Commons this week.
Ms Sturgeon added: “Jeremy Corbyn has to decide where he stands on all of this. I think most of his supporters will be deeply disappointed that he appears to be only
slightly less in favour of a hard Brexit than the Tories are and many will find that completely inexplicable.”
Mr Corbyn said “the single market is dependent on membership of the
EU”, but stopped short of ruling out a second EU referendum when the Brexit terms are known.
Ms Sturgeon will today announce the publication of a detailed study by the Scottish Government on the implications of leaving the EU. The analysis – Scotland’s Place in
Europe: People, Jobs and Investment – will set out the impact on Scotland’s economic growth of three options for the future UK relationship with Europe.
Meanwhile, the Lord Mayor of London will travel to Scotland this week with hopes of forging a united front between the nations’ financial services sectors on Brexit.
Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie said there would be a “collective, depressed sigh across Scotland today that our First Minister is plotting on independence once again”.
He added: “With the turmoil of Brexit the last thing we need is the turmoil of independence too. The SNP should take independence off the table.”
A UK Government spokeswoman said: “We are seeking a deal that works for the whole of the UK, that delivers on the result of the EU referendum. Rather than trying to undermine the result of a democratic referendum, we urge the Scottish Government to work with us to ensure, as we leave the EU, we protect the UK’s vital internal market.
“Scotland trades four times as much with the rest of the UK as it does with the EU, so it is vital that we ensure that market continues unimpeded.”