(Hot news Today Wednesday 15 March 2017)
British PM rules out Scottish independence referendum
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (in red) and Deputy First Minister John Swinney (extreme right)
attending a Government Cabinet meeting in Bute House, Edinburgh, yesterday. Ms Sturgeon on Monday
called for a referendum on Scottish independence as early as next year, before Britain leaves the EU.
PHOTO: AP
LONDON — In a stern rebuke, British Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday ruled out Scotland’s plans for a new independence referendum before Brexit, telling Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that “politics is not a game”.
The British government must agree before Scotland can hold a legally binding referendum, and Mrs May condemned Ms Sturgeon’s push for another independence vote.
“The tunnel vision the SNP (Scottish National Party) has shown is deeply regrettable. It sets Scotland on a course for more uncertainty and division, creating huge uncertainty,” said Mrs May.
“This is not a moment to play politics or create uncertainty,” Mrs May told lawmakers in the House of Commons. “It is a moment to bring our country together, to honour the will of the British people and to shape for them a better, brighter future and a better Britain.”
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday said she intends to ask voters in late 2018 or early 2019 whether they want to leave the United Kingdom.
Britain decided in a 2016 referendum to quit the European Union after four decades of membership, but Scots voted strongly to remain. Ms Sturgeon said Scotland must not be “taken down a path that we do not want to go down without a choice’’.
Ms Sturgeon yesterday warned Mrs May against trying to block a referendum. The First Minister said “the referendum must be for Scotland’s national legislature to shape”.
“It should be up to the Scottish Parliament to determine the referendum’s timing, franchise and the question,” said Ms Sturgeon.
In a dig at Mrs May, Ms Sturgeon tweeted that she had been elected “on a clear manifesto commitment” by SNP to hold a referendum. She added: “The PM is not yet elected by anyone.”
Mrs May took office through an internal Conservative Party process when predecessor David Cameron resigned after failing to convince voters to back remaining in the EU. Critics accuse Mrs May of lacking a strong popular mandate because she has not won an election as prime minister.
In a 2014 referendum, Scottish voters rejected independence by a margin of 55 per cent to 45 per cent. But Ms Sturgeon said the UK’s decision to leave the EU had brought about a “material change of circumstances”.
Ms Sturgeon wants to put the independence question to Scottish voters before Britain completes its withdrawal from the EU, which will likely be in the first half of 2019.
She said it should be held “when the terms of Brexit are clear but before the UK leaves the European Union or shortly afterwards” so that Scottish voters have “a clear choice”.
Striking a more conciliatory tone, a spokesman from the Prime Minister’s office later said the government is committed to engaging with the Scottish government on Brexit plans.
“We have made clear our commitment to engage the Scottish government throughout that process and that commitment remains,” the spokesman told reporters. AGENCIES