Sturgeon threatens new Scottish referendum in Autumn 2018 – but is it just a ploy?
Nicola Sturgeon.
An affirmative choice to leave the UK would trigger a few years in the wilderness, as Scotland would then have to apply to join the European Union, and the lack of trade deals might trigger hard times for the many, but that is a matter for the Scottish people to consider.
There is also the question of whether the Scottish First Minister is simply using the threat of another referendum to destabilise Brexit negotiations by Theresa May’s Tory team.
It is true that she has vacillated between threatening a vote and saying it would not be the right time. If certain politicians from other parties were to do the same, that would be classed as weakness.
Why does Ms Sturgeon get a free pass?
Nicola Sturgeon has said next year is a “common sense time” to hold a second referendum on Scotland’s independence.
The Scottish First Minister also said 2018 was an ideal time for another attempt because the UK’s post-European Union deal would look a little clearer.
It comes after the Government’s second Brexit defeat in the House of Lords as peers backed calls for a “meaningful” parliamentary vote on the final withdrawal terms.
More than 55 per cent of Scotland voted to remain in the UK in 2014 at a time when leaving the EU was a distant pipe dream for Eurosceptics.
But Ms Sturgeon has said she has a “cast-iron mandate” for a second referendum because 62 per cent of Scottish voters opted to remain in the EU last June.
A looming threat of another Scottish bid to leave the union further complicates Prime Minister Theresa May’s negotiations with the other 27 member states.
But under current constitutional conventions, London would have to approve a second Scottish plebiscite.
Source: Nicola Sturgeon says autumn 2018 ‘common sense time’ for second Scottish independence referendum
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62 % of Scottish voter voted to remain in the eu, how is that a cast iron mandate to have a referendum to leave the UK, and as has been repeatedly ad nauseum stated by the eu , the eu at the same time? or am I missing something?
“Scotland would then have to apply to join the European Union”
I would seriously consider campaigning to stay away from the EU, were I still living in Scotland. New membership requires joining the euro, and having no control over your own money supply is a terrible headache for any Treasury Minister.
“There is also the question of whether the Scottish First Minister is simply using the threat of another referendum to destabilise Brexit negotiations by Theresa May’s Tory team.”
Sounds like a wasted effort, to be honest. Like bombing the ruins of Ancient Greece – they’re already wrecked!
“Why does Ms Sturgeon get a free pass”?
From whom? She takes more stick on social media than most other leaders put together. The entire media, with the exception of a couple of papers and on-line blogs, slag her for anything the Scottish Government does, and even more often for things they have only been imagined to have done. She may seem to have a free pass to English folk who do not see the day-to-day shenanigans of the Scottish press and opposition MSPs. They don’t seem to understand that she is leader of a government that has such a huge mandate from the people here, one any of their own parties would die for.
Rant over. I am not sure about a timing for a referendum, only that when Independence comes, and it will, I want to still be alive to see it. I have wanted it as long as I can remember. If the timing is wrong, and we lose again, I certainly won’t. Personally, I think that Brexit should be left out of the equation since there are still too many optimists on the fence waiting to see if the outcome will be as bad as most folk think it will. To dive in as early as 2018 would keep those who vote with their Indy hearts, not their heads, happy but not for long, I fear.
I suspect that Sturgeon really want to be seen to be demanding a referendum, knowing that she will be blocked by May and thereby winning more support from Scots who don’t like being bossed about, even if they currently want to stay in the UK. They’re a bit like abused children, who won’t leave the abuser because of family.
Good luck Scotland jump off the sinking ship or it will take you with it
While I have no issue with Scotland seeking independence (I wish that Scotland had voted for independence), to say that Scotland voted to remain in the E.U. is untrue. 62% of Scots who were eligible to vote in the U.K. referendum voted to remain in the E.U. There was no Scottish vote; had there been, surely Scotland would be free to leave, however, it was a U.K. referendum, not a Scottish one; that referendum was the one for Independence. The U.K., by majority, voted to leave the E.U. and that majority includes Scottish votes.
Without the consent of the English Parliament, any referendum Sturgeon held could only ever be advisory…
The real question is “What can one do when Westminster has lost it’s way?” The SNP has put forward 3 excellent proposals not only for Scotland but also for the UK…which go far in sorting out what is really in the best interests of the UK as a whole in relation to the World and to Europe.These have been dismissed by the other three major parties and the derision and rudeness the SNP MP’s MSP’s & Nicola gets from them and the press is astounding. Just pause to think about it please
What proposals are those?