Yes chief: A new indyref vote – as early as May ’18

NICOLA Sturgeon could call a second Scottish independence referendum next autumn.

Blair Jenkins, the former chief executive of the Yes Scotland campaign, predicted there could be a second vote on the future of the UK as early as May or June 2018.

However, the strategist said he did not believe the First Minister would call for a second vote until after Prime Minister Theresa May has formally begun the Brexit process.

He said: “Nicola Sturgeon couldn’t call a referendum until after Article 50 has been triggered.

“You couldn’t call a referendum without having some idea of what Scotland’s position will be in relation to the European Union.

“I would have thought that if Article 50 was triggered by the UK in the first quarter of next year, the broad outline of the Brexit deal is likely to be apparent by the autumn.

“That would look like the earliest time at which the First Minister is likely to announce a second referendum. I imagine you’d then be looking at May or June 2018 as the earliest possible date.”

Former SNP leader and First Minister Alex Salmond has already said he expects another ballot to be held in “roughly two years’ time” following June’s European referendum, which saw the UK vote to leave the EU, even though nearly two-thirds of Scots chose to remain.

But former justice secretary Kenny MacAskill has warned against a “headlong rush” to a second independence count, urging Ms Sturgeon to instead “await the optimum time” for a fresh vote.

He said a second defeat would “put the dream back catastrophically” for independence supporters.

An SNP spokesman said: “The First Minister has repeatedly made clear that the Scottish Government is exploring all possible avenues to protect Scotland’s place in Europe, in line with the overwhelming vote to remain – and those options must include independence if it becomes clear it is the best or only way of doing so.”

Meanwhile, the PM has called on the SNP to take its “share of responsibility” for the millions of voters who feel ignored by politics.

She said the SNP’s near decade in charge of Scotland meant they were now part of a political establishment which too many people felt detached from.

Writing in Holyrood Magazine, she said: “The SNP needs to accept its share of responsibility.”

She said Scotland’s status would not be diminished by Brexit, but “enhanced”.