Second time lucky?
Sturgeon’s independence gamble Page 6
Nicola Sturgeon threw a spanner in the Brexit works this week by demanding a second referendum on Scottish independence. Scotland’s First Minister said the ballot – which would need to be approved by Westminster – should be held between autumn 2018 and spring 2019, before the conclusion of the UK’S divorce negotiations with the EU. Sturgeon’s surprise intervention came 24 hours before Theresa May, fresh from quashing a Brexit rebellion in Parliament, had been expected to invoke Article 50, triggering the start of the two-year exit talks. No. 10 is now expected to wait until the end of the month to serve the EU with formal notice of its intention to quit the union ( see page 25).
Sturgeon said she had been forced to act because of the “intransigence” of Downing Street, which had refused to consider a special Brexit deal for Scotland that would allow the country to remain part of the single market. But May accused the SNP leader of “tunnel vision”, and of “playing politics with the future of our country”. Sources close to the Prime Minister indicated that No. 10 would allow another Scottish referendum, but not before Britain’s EU exit.
What the editorials said
“A generation is a very short time in Scottish politics,” said the Daily Record. When Scotland held its last referendum, two-and-a-half years ago, the SNP called it a “once in a lifetime” chance, yet a new vote is already on the cards. Sturgeon is quite within her rights to call for one, though. The SNP made a manifesto promise to do so in the event of a material change in circumstances – and Brexit certainly qualifies. “Brexit changes everything,” agreed the FT. The Scots voted to remain in the EU by 62% to 38%. The overall Leave vote put them in an invidious position, forcing them to choose between going along with “the extreme version of Brexit that the Tory Government appears intent upon” or “upending relations with the rest of the UK, their biggest bilateral trading partner”.
Theresa May can hardly deny the Scots a vote, said The Daily Telegraph, but she must insist that it wait until after the Brexit deal is concluded. An earlier ballot would disrupt EU negotiations at a critical stage. Besides, Sturgeon says she wants Scots to be able to make an informed choice, and due to the nature of EU negotiations, which tend to go down to the wire, the Scots won’t have a clear idea of the UK’S exit terms until “very late in the day”.