Scotland will have another Independence Referendum

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By Jason Michael

Nicola Sturgeon has announced that the Scottish government will now seek another independence referendum to save Scotland from the effects of a Brexit it has already rejected at the polls. The clock on the Union is ticking again.

Speaking from Bute House in Edinburgh this morning, First Minister Sturgeon set out her plan to table another independence referendum before the Scottish parliament and to seek a Section 30 order from the British government. Regardless of the unionist spin about the people of Scotland not wanting another referendum, the recent rise in support for national self-determination to fifty percent indicates that the people of our country most certainly do want to revisit this question. Now at least we know that the “#IndyRef2” phoney war has come to an end and that we will be returning to the question of Scotland’s future before too long.

Scotland deserves an informed choice on our future once the terms of Brexit are known. Read my speech here. #scotref https://t.co/42hq4RmgKs
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) March 13, 2017

While we had expected this announcement on or around the 17 March at the Scottish National Party Spring Conference, the rumour that Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, was ready to trigger Article 50 as early as tomorrow has forced the hand of the Scottish government. Brexit was rejected by the people of Scotland and all the key indicators show that leaving the European Union and the Single Market will be deeply painful for Scotland’s economy. As the elected leader of the Scottish government Nicola Sturgeon has both a clear mandate and an obligation to do what is necessary to protect Scotland from the effects of decisions being made for us by London.

The Scottish government has given Downing Street every opportunity to consider the needs of Scotland and the Scottish people. Our government has offered the Prime Minister a set of proposals which would afford London the change to negotiate with Scotland terms for Brexit that might better suit both nations, but these proposals have been ignored and now – on the eve of Article 50 being activated – the government of Scotland has been put into a position where it must take matters into its own hands if it is to fulfil its obligations to the Scottish people. It would seem to be the case now that independence is the only way forward for Scotland.

None of this is, however, the beginning of another independence campaign. It is merely the Scottish government’s signal that this is London’s last warning. The First Minister stated clearly that the door would be left open for the British government to come to the table, but we all know that this is not likely to happen. No doubt the Prime Minister will do whatever she can to slow down this process until she has wrecked Scotland with the completion of the Article 50 negotiations, but what she cannot do is deny us this referendum out right. It is now the task of the Scottish government to ensure that we can have this referendum before any real damage is done.