The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
May ‘fears’ Indyref2 as Brexit begins
Politics: Preparing for Scottish move
Theresa May reportedly fears that the Scottish Government will call another independence referendum around the same time as she triggers the formal Brexit process under Article 50 next month.
According to a newspaper, the UK Government is preparing for Nicola Sturgeon to use the start of the country’s exit from the European Union to call another vote on Scottish independence.
Mrs May could reject it and risk a constitutional crisis or accept it and potentially imperil the future of the United Kingdom. She has promised to trigger Article 50 by April and expects to be able to stick to the timetable, despite ongoing parliamentary wrangling over the process.
The report came as the prime minister urged voters in Scotland to use May’s council elections to make clear to First Minister Ms Sturgeon that they do not want to have another independence referendum.
Meanwhile Scottish Labour has launched a dedicated website, TogetherStronger.scot, where people can register their objection to a possible second independence referendum.
An SNP spokesman said: “There is already a castiron 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.”