NICOLA Sturgeon has insisted independence will allow Scotland to “aim higher and do better” than the UK as she raised expectations for a second vote on independence.
The First Minister made the comments on Twitter as she responded to an article shared on social media which suggested that it is time to “bury the pipe dream” of another referendum.
“It takes pretty skewed logic to look at Brexit and the general direction of the UK just now and reach this conclusion,” Sturgeon said.
“On the contrary, independence offers Scotland the opportunity to aim higher and do better.”
It takes pretty skewed logic to look at Brexit and the general direction of the UK just now and reach this conclusion. On the contrary, independence offers Scotland the opportunity to aim higher and do better. https://t.co/KP3qB5kvVw
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) January 3, 2019
The SNP leader is yet to announce the timing of indyref2 and she announced before Christmas that she would wait “until the dust settles” after a meaningful Westminster vote on Brexit.
Her latest comments, however, will encourage Yes activists across the country, who have already been preparing for a second referendum.
READ MORE: This is how the new Scottish Independence Foundation has made a huge impact
Yet not everyone was encouraged to read the First Minister’s tweet.
Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: “Brexit has demonstrated precisely how difficult it is to negotiate a deal to leave a close political union between nations.
“When you see how hard it is to leave the EU, just imagine the upheaval of leaving the UK; a 300-year-old union compared to a 45-year one; and one which is significantly more entwined.”
The former Labour MP added: “Our trade with the rest of the UK is worth four times our trade with the EU and Scottish independence would be eight times as costly as the worst-case Brexit.
“The majority of people in Scotland know that we are better off together with a shared culture and history we can build our future on.
“Nicola Sturgeon needs to accept reality and she should take the threat of a divisive second independence referendum off the table.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel