IN MY VIEW

ON Friday morning the Prime Minister resigned, but by late morning the news only ranked third in the national bulletins.

It was a quite extraordinary day.

The first question business leaders have been asking me is, “can another referendum actually happen?” This depends on a complex mix of politics and law.

When I negotiated the framework of the last referendum with Nicola Sturgeon it was based on a recognition that while the Scottish Government had a political mandate, the Westminster parliament had the constitutional power. So Westminster passed one-off, time-limited

powers to Holyrood, which meant the referendum was ‘Made in Scotland’.

The SNP’s view is they have a renewed mandate now that there has been “a significant and material change” in Scotland’s political situation.

Others challenge this, but the First Minister has said she is drafting legislation, most likely based on the previous Act, and she does not expect Westminster to stand in her way.

Time will tell if that is right, but a second independence referendum is now definitely in play.

That means businesses are raising many other questions: how would the currency issue play out? What difference would the big change in the oil price make? How would we retain membership of the EU? And what opportunities might there be for Scotland if it were continuing in the EU, while the rest of the UK left?

All of these challenges will need careful consideration over the months ahead.