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Scotland to decide independence after Brexit talks: First Scottish minister

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (L) and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrive for the signing the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh on August 7, 2018. (AFP photo)

Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says her country will decide on a fresh drive for independence from the United Kingdom as soon as it is known on what bases and rules Britain will leave the European Union.

Sturgeon said Sunday that as soon as she sees what kind of Brexit deal British Prime Minister Theresa May will reach with the EU, Scotland will decide on what it should do on the way for independence from the rest of the UK.

“When Theresa May comes back and says ‘I’ve got the deal’ we will judge that ... it looks as if it might be November, I will set out my views on the next step at that stage,” Sturgeon told BBC while referring to May’s ongoing negotiations with Brussels which is expected to end in a deal in the coming weeks.

Scots supporting independence from Britain failed to emerge victorious from a referendum in 2014 in which some 55 percent of the voters voted for the region to remain in the UK. However, they launched a fresh call for secession after a Brexit referendum in June 2016 in which Britons voted 52 to 48 to leave the EU.

The pro-independence camp in Scotland defies London’s assertion that the region, which is one of the UK’s four nations, should abide by the results of the Brexit referendum. They insist that some 62 of the voters in Scotland voted for continued EU membership.

Sturgeon, who SNP has backed the idea for a second referendum on Brexit, said Sunday that independence for Scotland had become inevitable in the light of developments over the past two years.

“Brexit brings the issues around this very sharply into focus - that democratic deficit that we’ve seen in the last two years,” she said, adding, “I think Scottish independence will happen.”

Tens of thousands marched on the streets of the Scottish capital Edinburgh on Saturday to show their support for independence.

The huge rally, which came on the eve of SNP’s annual conference in Glasgow, marked the culmination of a series of protests and demonstrations in summer in which people across Scotland called for a fresh drive for independence from the British rule.


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