Second Scottish referendum in the works
Calling for Scots to try and understand the other side’s views, she said: “I know how upset I was on the morning of 24 June as I came to terms with the result of the European Union referendum”.
Scottish Tories’ leader Ruth Davidson has warned refusal would provoke a backlash and boost the independence case, as happened in Catalonia when Madrid blocked a vote on autonomy.
She said that while leaving the United Kingdom would bring “challenges”, she ensured voters would have that choice if the Conservative government fails to secure a deal that keeps Scotland in Europe’s free trade area.
She said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon could today have set out a positive, constructive vision for how the country progresses together.
The first minister will also speak about her domestic policy priorities.
She told party members: “Let me be crystal clear about this – Scotland can not trust the likes of Boris Johnson and Liam Fox to represent us”.
A majority of voters in Scotland and Northern Ireland wanted to remain in the European Union but Wales and England backed Brexit.
Ms Sturgeon said: “Theresa May came to Edinburgh just a couple of days after she became Prime Minister, gave a commitment to me and to Scotland that we’d be fully involved and that she would listen to options we put forward”.
But Sturgeon added: “If the choice we face is an inward looking, insular, Brexit Britain, governed by a right wing Tory (Conservative) party, obsessed with borders and blue passports at the expense of economic strength and stability. And as the world around us changes, we must ensure that Scotland remains the progressive, internationalist, communitarian country that the majority of us living here want it be”.
A new “investment hub” to showcase the country will be established in Berlin, and the agency Scottish Development International will have its European staff more than doubled.
The First Minister also announced plans for “specific proposals” aimed at protecting Scotland’s interests in Europe and keeping the country in the single market “even if the rest of the United Kingdom decides to leave”.
The remarks followed a statement by Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesperson, vowing to impede Sturgeon’s plans to unveil draft legislation next week to prepare for another independence vote within the next two years.
Scotland also has a more rapidly ageing population and lower per capita earnings – issues the extracts of Sturgeon’s speech issued overnight did not directly address. Well, I hit the button for a referendum when support was 27%.
The Scottish Greens welcomed Sturgeon’s announcement of a consultation on a new referendum bill.
The SNP will present a bill for another referendum to the Scottish Parliament this week.
The First Minister said: “This is not something that any other country has ever done before”.
Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat Scottish lawmakers would vote against another referendum, but would find themselves outnumbered.
In 2014 Scotland held a referendum on independence, in which 55.3 percent of voters voted to remain in the UK.
“The SNP isn’t just the real opposition to the Tories at Westminster”, she declared.
Mr Edwards said the 2014 independence referendum was “probably the most energising political event of my lifetime”.