Push to be Scot free of Britain

Scottish lawmakers voted Tuesday to seek a new referendum on independence, to be held within the next two years — an unwanted headache for the British government as it prepares to push the European Union exit button.

The Edinburgh-based leg- islature voted 69-59 to back First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s call to ask the British government for an independence vote. Outside, several dozen independence supporters bearing Scottish and EU flags broke into cheers and tears of joy as the news broke.

Sturgeon says Scots must be given the chance to vote on their future before Britain leaves the EU. British Prime Minister Theresa May plans to launch the UK’s two-year process of exiting the EU on Wednesday by triggering Article 50 of the bloc’s key treaty.