Yes, many Scots will feel resentful of Indyref 2 ... but we’re going to hold it anyway
Sturgeon brushes aside concerns and plots collision course with May
NICOLA Sturgeon yesterday admitted thousands of Scots will ‘resent’ another divisive independence referendum – but insisted the SNP will force one on them anyway.
In a bullish keynote speech to the SNP conference, the First Minister also threw down the gauntlet to the Prime Minister.
Where earlier in the week Theresa May had argued ‘Now is not the time’ for a second poll on separation, Miss Sturgeon told the party faithful in Aberdeen: ‘There will be an independence referendum.’
This week Holyrood is expected to vote in favour of holding another ballot – even though such a vote can be authorised only by Westminster.
Miss Sturgeon again sowed the seeds for a stand-off when she declared Indyref 2 should go ahead, saying: ‘To stand in defiance of that would be for the Prime Minister to shatter beyond repair any notion of the UK as a respectful partnership of equals.’
In direct opposition to the Tory policies being implemented in England, Miss Sturgeon actively encouraged migrants from across Europe to come to Scotland.
She even offered an open invitation to anyone in England disgruntled by Brexit and the Tories to head north and set up home here.
The First Minister ordered Nationalists to launch a charm offensive on No voters and threatened a raid on UK jobs, claiming Scotland would become a ‘magnet for talent and investment’.
The First Minister said she would be willing to negotiate on the date of her second referendum – having insisted previously that it should be between autumn 2018 and spring the following year.
The announcement will be met with dismay by people around the country who do not want to see families and neighbours divided by another bitter constitutional row.
Polls show there is no appetite for a second referendum, especially until after the impact of Brexit is known. Miss Sturgeon said she understood many would not ‘relish’ another divisive vote – but insisted she would do it again anyway.
And yesterday’s speech, bringing the curtain down on the SNP Spring conference in Aberdeen, effectively fired the starting gun of a campaign that could last for years.
Addressing delegates, she said: ‘Our job is not to talk to each other. It is to reach out to those not persuaded – to put ourselves in their shoes, to understand the hopes, fears and ambitions of all our fellow citizens. And to do what we can to establish common ground.’
She warned Nationalists to respect opponents – an early shot across the bows of SNP fanatics on social media – and promised to lead by example.
‘As Scotland’s Government, we bear a special responsibility to offer a hand across these differences, to build consensus where we can,’ she said. ‘So let us resolve to argue our case with passion and commitment, yes, but – at all times – with courtesy, understanding and respect.’
Miss Sturgeon acknowledged that Scots are weary of elections and referendums, after enduring five in little over three years, with council elections only weeks away – and admitted her campaign would divide families. Speaking directly to voters she said: ‘I also know that for every one of us who is full of excitement and anticipation, there will be someone else feeling nervous and anxious, perhaps even resentful.
‘In the last few years it has been one big decision after another. You have been bombarded with statistics, claims and counterclaims. You might have had heated discussion with friends and family.
‘Even though you may feel – like we do – that 2014 was a positive and vibrant exercise of democracy, you might not relish going through it all over again. I understand that.’
While Miss Sturgeon is willing to negotiate on dates – and is expected to hold talks with Mrs May within weeks, before the triggering of Article 50 which will start Brexit – she
‘You might not relish going through it again’
also said she wants a referendum ‘before it is too late to take a different path’.
She remains determined to secure a Yes vote before the UK has fully left the EU, in the hope of keeping Scotland inside it. She also raised the prospect of an open door immigration policy, insisting ‘Scotland is not full’, while admitting that would raise concerns, including in her own backyard.
Miss Sturgeon said an independent Scotland would be ‘an open country that doesn’t pull up the drawbridge and look inwards, but one that encourages the best and brightest from around Europe to make Scotland their home, and not just from the goodness of our hearts, but for reasons of hard-headed self-interest as well.
‘Scotland needs people to want to work here – in our businesses, our universities and public services.’
But she conceded: ‘Of course people have concerns about immigration that need to be addressed.’
Families and businesses across the UK, angered by the Brexit vote, have written to the First Minister saying they want to move to Scotland.
That is despite European experts warning Scotland would have to join the ‘back of the queue’ to join the EU and could face years of waiting. A million Scots, including an estimated 400,000 SNP supporters, backed Brexit last year and will feel betrayed by the First Minister’s determination to overturn the result of that vote.
Critics said it was a speech by a government whose obsession with independence had robbed it of ideas to improve people’s lives in Scotland.
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon seems to be more interested in complaining about the UK Government than talking up her own.’
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said: ‘This was a speech from a First Minister who is out of ideas and obsessed by independence.’
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon repeatedly promised education would be “front and central”, yet it hardly merited a mention in her address.’
‘Scotland needs people to want to work here’