“Scotland did not vote for this and our position is clearer than ever,” said Nicola Sturgeon.
Photographer: Hollie Adams / Bloomberg
Photographer: Hollie Adams / Bloomberg
Prime Minister Boris Johnson may be in favor of his last-minute Brexit trade deal, but he faces a battle with Scotland in the coming months that could also determine the UK’s future direction.
Within an hour of the announcement that an agreement had been reached with the European Union on Thursday, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon quickly reiterated her demand for a second vote on splitting off the three-century-old union with England and Wales.
“Before the spin begins, it is worth remembering that Brexit is taking place against the will of Scotland,” she wrote on Twitter. “There is no deal that will ever make up for what Brexit takes from us.”
Photographer: Hollie Adams / Bloomberg
Scotland, which voted 62% to 38% to remain in the EU in 2016, will hold elections for its decentralized legislature in Edinburgh in May. Polls suggest that Sturgeon’s pro-independence Scottish National Party could win a majority that would bolster it pledge to hold a referendum on leaving the UK in the first part of the new parliament.
That would escalate the deadlock between London and Edinburgh, with Johnson so far declining to approve a second vote. Officials within his Conservative Party have already sounded the alarm about Scotland and the need to fight the SNP.
The trade deal with the EU presents “enormous opportunities” for Scottish companies, Scotland Secretary of State Alister Jack said Thursday. Sturgeon said it is unlikely to calm down Scottish companies already struggling with the coronavirus pandemic.
“Scotland did not vote for this and our position is clearer than ever,” said Sturgeon. “Scotland now has the right to choose its own future as an independent country and regain the benefits of EU membership.”