The Scotsman

‘Scots result may not have been

● First Minister hits out at ‘over simplistic’ analysis of election ● SNP leader demands halt to Brexit talks after Tory losses

- By SCOTT MACNAB and PARIS GOURTSOYAN­NIS

Nicola Sturgeon has cast doubt over whether Scots rejected a second referendum in last week’s general election by branding the claims “an overly-simplistic analysis”.

The First Minister is currently “reflecting” on her plans for another ballot on leaving the UK after the result in Scotland last Thursday saw pro-union partiestak­ealmosttwo-thirds of the popular vote, while the SNP lost 21 seats.

But Ms Sturgeon stopped short of opponents’ demands to take a second referendum “off the table” as she welcomed her cohort of 35 MPS at Westminste­r yesterday.

Asked about whether or not the election result showed that her call for a second independen­ce poll was wrong, Ms Sturgeon said: “I have said I will reflect on the outcome of the election and I will do that carefully and in discussion with colleagues across the SNP.

“I won’t do it to a timetable dictated by headline-hungry journalist­s or based on any overly simplistic analysis of the election.”

The First Minister has previously said that she believed many Scots who backed independen­ce may have voted for Jeremy Corbyn last week. She has also pledged to set out her position on a second referendum in the coming days.

Speaking on Friday, she said: “Undoubtedl­y the issue of an independen­ce referendum was a factor in this election result, but I think there were other factors in this election result as well.”

It followed remarks by deputy leader John Swinney, who said the prospect of another vote on independen­ce was a “significan­t motivator” in the election result and that the party had be “attentive to that point”.

But speaking at Westminste­r, the SNP leader added: “I have heard lots of analysis of the election results; some of them I agree with, some of them I don’t agree with. Many of them are overly simplistic. I’m going to take time, I’m going to reflect, I’m going to discuss with colleagues not just here with the Westminste­r Group but in Holyrood and across the SNP.”

She pledged to set out her views “when I’m ready” and this would be based on “what is right for the country”.

“We are in a radically different situation, particular­ly around Brexit now, and all of us have to reflect on that as wider considerat­ions; that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

The SNP leader demanded a second referendum after Scotland voted to Remain in the EU but the weight of votes south of the Border swung the result in favour of Leave. The Scottish Parliament backed a second referendum in March after the SNP and Greens combined to push it through.

Ms Sturgeon also called for the Brexit talks process to be halted in the aftermath of last week’s vote which saw the Tories lose their Commons majority.

Auk-wideconsen­susshould be adopted, the SNP leader argued, including a “four nation” approach to the Brexit talks, to allow the devolved government­s a greater say.

But this has been ruled out by the UK government

Ms Sturgeon added: “No 10 has been behaving to the bemusement of everybody across the country as if nothing has changed in the election; everything has changed.

“It’s no longer acceptable for the Prime Minister and the government to try to operate the way they were doing before the election. They asked for a mandate for a hard Brexit and they failed to get that mandate. So hard Brexit is now off the table and has to be off the table.

“But also the idea that Brexit can continue to be cooked up by a Tory cabal is not acceptable. There have to be more voices involved and there has to be a fundamenta­lly different approach.

Membership of the European single market and the customs union must be at the heart of a new approach, with an immediate guarantee for the rights of EU nationals living in the UK, according to Ms Sturgeon, who insisted that a hard Brexit was “no longer viable” and urged ministers to change their approach.

There is growing speculatio­n that the State Opening of Parliament could be delayed after the Prime Minister’s official spokesman declined to confirm it would go ahead as scheduled on 19 June.

Ms Sturgeon said: “Now that the Queen’s Speech has been postponed, questions have been raised about what has been cooked up behind closed doors and is it possible for this Prime Minister – notwithsta­nding what she said on Friday – to put together a government that is sustainabl­e.”

0 Welcome back: Nicola Sturgeon with SNP MPS – their number

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