Scotland’s First Minister has faced widespread criticism in Westminster for her repeated calls for another independence referendum by the second half of 2020. Ms Sturgeon’s SNP claim that, as Scotland voted to Remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum, the UK is forcing it to leave the bloc against its will. She says therefore the conditions have changed significantly from the 2014 “once-in-a-generation” vote and so another referendum should be called. Yet Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled out the possibility of a second independence referendum. He attacked the SNP in this week’s PMQs, asking Westminster party leader Ian Blackford why the focus was on independence rather than Scotland’s failing domestic policies in education.

However, Mr Blackford himself was questioning Ms Sturgeon’s demands for a second independence referendum back in 2017, according to The Guardian.

Scotland expert Severin Carrell wrote: “The Scottish National Party’s most senior figures at Westminster have advised the First Minister to make Brexit, fighting austerity and promoting her programme for government her priorities after the party endured bruising losses at the general election.”

Speaking at the SNP’s annual conference, Mr Blackford told Ms Sturgeon that setting a target date for the second referendum was “putting the cart before the horse”.

He added: “We need to know what will happen with Brexit, what is going to be the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, but the second thing is we need to set out a vision of what kind of Scotland we expect to see.”

This followed a poor performance in the 2017 general election from the SNP, where the party lost 21 out of its 56 seats in Parliament, secured in 2015. 

Mr Blackford also pointed out that solid economic foundations must be in place before any independence cases can progress. 

He explained: “I think it’s very clear that people want us to demonstrate we’re a government that is worthy of the trust of the people of Scotland.”

As the SNP’s policy is to leave the UK and re-join the EU as an independent state, many have questioned how this would work considering Scotland has the largest deficit within Europe.

In 2018, it was found to be seven times higher than the UK as a whole.

Commentators wonder if the EU would accept a nation with such a spending gap, with many asking why Ms Sturgeon is focused on independence rather than pressing domestic issues.

In 2017, Mr Carrell continued: “Sturgeon’s gamble that the Brexit vote last year would trigger an upsurge in support for Scottish independence, particularly among voters who opposed independence in 2014, fuelled an unexpectedly fierce backlash in June’s [2017] election.”

She was subsequently pushed to hold back her demands for a second independence referendum in the spring of 2019.

DON’T MISS
Sturgeon’s independence bid shut down by Scottish councillor [REVEALED]
SNP MP admits Brexit WILL help Sturgeon’s independence bid [EXPLAINED]
Nicola Sturgeon accused of post-Brexit ‘lie’ by fuming Tory candidate [INSIGHT]

Ms Sturgeon has since ignored the advice of Mr Blackford. She also took her majority in the December election, where Scotland won 48 seats out of a potential 59 available in Westminster, as a mandate for independence.

However critics have disputed this claim.

For instance, Tory councillor for Perth and Kinross Angus Forbes told Express.co.uk after the election that independence was “further away than ever”.

Mr Forbes explained: “The SNP did well last [year] but not as well as the last immediately after the [2014] referendum – that success didn’t deliver Indyref2 and this one won’t either.”

He pointed out that the SNP secured 45 percent of the vote share in December, while the combined unionist parties won 55 percent of the electorate’s support.

Mr Forbes added that these statistics show the party “has not made any progress of 2014” – the vote was split 45 percent in favour of independence and 55 percent wishing to remain with the rest of the UK.

Source: Read Full Article