First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has announced that consultation for a second independence referendum bill will begin next week.
Speaking at the SNP party conference in Glasgow, Sturgeon said the bill would be published in the coming days, marking the first step towards a second referendum on the subject of whether Scotland should become an independent country.
She said:
“I am determined that Scotland will have the ability to reconsider the question of independence and to do so before the UK leaves the EU – if that is necessary to protect our country’s interests.
“So, I can confirm today that the Independence Referendum Bill will be published for consultation next week.”
The SNP warned it would to push for a second referendum if England dragged Scotland out of the European Union against the wishes of the Scottish people, and the publication of this bill is Sturgeon following through with this threat.
In the first referendum on 18 September 2014, 55% of voters said “no” to Scottish independence, but staying within the European Union was a large part of the arguments to stay as part of the UK. Now Theresa May has made a motion towards a “hard Brexit”, where the UK would lose access to the single market in order to avoid EU immigration.
