Friday, 29 Mar 2024

Nicola Sturgeon keeps Indy vote option even if no Brexit

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has refused to rule out pursuing an independence referendum, even if Brexit does not happen.

Ms Sturgeon had already announced she wants a so-called ‘Indyref 2’, citing Britain’s exit from the European Union as the reason.

In an interview with Sky News ahead of her SNP party’s spring conference, she declined to say whether or not she would drop plans for a referendum if Brexit did not take place.

Ms Sturgeon said: “I will make that judgement at that time. The last thing I’m going to do is narrow Scotland’s options.

“Brexit and the protection of Scotland from Brexit is what I’m focused on.”

She added: “If Brexit doesn’t come to pass, I will make that judgement at that time. Right now our working assumption is that Brexit will happen, I hope it doesn’t but that’s what we’ve got to prepare for.

“The last thing I’m going to do right now – I mean we could be facing Boris Johnson as the next prime minister in the next few months – the last thing I’m going to do is narrow Scotland’s options because given what’s happening in the UK right now and the damage that could be done to Scotland, Scotland needs as much flexibility for the future as possible.”

Her political opponents have rounded on her, calling her remarks “shameless.”

Scottish Conservative constitution spokesman Adam Tomkins said: “This is proof that Nicola Sturgeon wants to press on with her break-up plans come hell or high water.

“Whether there’s a hard Brexit, a soft Brexit or no Brexit at all – the First Minister will make this all about independence.

“The voting public saw through this scam last time and will do so again.

“It’s a shameless approach – Nicola Sturgeon isn’t even pretending to care about Brexit anymore.”

The UK government has repeated its refusal to grant Scotland the legal power to hold a referendum, a so-called Section 30 order.

Political observers have suggested that Ms Sturgeon’s best chance of achieving such legal consent from Westminster would be a snap election that delivered a minority Labour government.

Asked by Sky News if that could create a scenario in which she offered support in return for the power to hold a referendum, Ms Sturgeon did not rule it in but did not rule it out.

She said: “The best way forward is for the case for independence to be made and won, for support for independence to grow and for the demand for independence to make it completely unsustainable for any UK government… to stand in the way of the right of the Scottish people to choose.”

Pressed over whether she would do business with Jeremy Corbyn, she said: “I will deal with that if that is the situation we find ourselves in.”

While she had previously said she would seek to be part of a “progressive coalition to keep the Tories out of power”, she added: “I am not going to speculate about the results of future general elections that we don’t even know when will happen at the moment.

“Instead I will deal with the situation that is before me and I will seek to make the case for why Scotland, given the profound damage that Brexit will do to our country, why Scotland should have the ability to choose between that and a better future, an iindependent future.”

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