DEMAND for a second referendum on Scottish independence will be “unstoppable” if Scotland votes to remain in the EU while the rest of the UK votes to leave, according to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Such a result, Sturgeon said, would “fundamentally change” the nature of the United Kingdom that Scots voted to stay in last year.
Speaking on the Andrew Marr show yesterday morning, the First Minister said she did respect the result of last year’s referendum but said a “sustained shift” in public opinion would lead to another vote on Scottish independence.
She also warned opposition politicians against “standing in the way of the opinion of the Scottish people” when it comes to that second referendum.
“What we need to do, firstly, is to respect the result, but also to say very clearly it’s not the right of any politician to stand in the way of the opinion of the Scottish people if there is an appetite at some point in the future to have another referendum,” Sturgeon told Marr.
The First Minister also said a referendum was in the hands of the Scottish people and would not necessary be inevitable: “For me it really boils down to public opinion. If there’s no shift in public opinion then it would be wrong to propose another referendum. But if we do see a sustained shift in public opinion it wouldn’t be right for anyone to rule it out.”
When asked if Scotland voting to remain in the EU while the rest of the UK votes to leave would trigger a second referendum, the First Minister said such a circumstance would “fundamentally changes the nature of UK that the people of Scotland voted to stay in last year”.
This Sturgeon said, would see “demand for another referendum in those circumstances perhaps be unstoppable.”
Although the SNP leader did stop short of suggesting renewal of Trident or the continued austerity of the Conservative Government in Westminster would be triggers, saying that such policies would “drive support for independence.”
Sturgeon was also pressed on Michelle Thomson. The Edinburgh MP resigned the SNP whip a fortnight ago after police launched an investigation into her solicitor Christopher Hales over concerns of mortgage fraud on 13 properties bought by her.
Sturgeon denied that the Thomson affair was the result of a failure to vet candidates properly. “As a party we’ve quadrupled in size over the past year so that makes it all the more important that we make sure systems like vetting processes are robust and fit for purpose,” she said.
“So we will learn any lessons that require to be learned. I’m simply not prepared to jump to conclusions about an investigation that is currently under way. Even MPs are entitled to a presumption of innocence.
“I know it’s not a fashionable view but it’s one that I think it’s important to stress.”
Sturgeon also put up a vigorous defence of her party’s record in government and the creation of Police Scotland: “A single police force and creating a single police force was the right thing to do because it has allowed us to make savings.
“Once you have one chief constable instead of eight chief constables, with all of the attendant bureaucracy that goes with that, so unlike in England we’re not seeing the numbers of police officers on our streets plummet.
“We’re addressing the difficulties that the police service has faced but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that moving to a single police force has been the right thing to do.”
Sturgeon continued: “This is going to be one of the messages to the party conference this week: I’m not going to rest on our laurels. I think we’ve got a record to be proud of and we will go into the election defending it vigorously.”
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