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Nicola Sturgeon promises second independence referendum: 'There is too much at stake for Brexit to be imposed on Scotland'

SNP leader confirms new vote at manifesto launch

Russell Cheyne
Tuesday 30 May 2017 11:32 BST
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Nicola Sturgeon promises second independence referendum

The Scottish National Party is offering voters a new choice on independence at the end of Brexit process, leader Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday.

“There is just too much at stake for Brexit simply to be imposed on Scotland, no matter how damaging it turns out to be,” Sturgeon, also leader of the devolved Scottish government, told supporters at the launch of the SNP'S policy document ahead of a 8 June general election.

Prime Minister Theresa May has rejected the SNP's demand for a new choice on secession, saying that it was not the time for another vote.

Scots rejected independence by a 10 point margin in 2014. But Nicola Sturgeon's SNP says a new vote should be offered because Scotland voted to keep its EU membership last year while Britain as a whole opted to leave.

“I believe (..) strongly that at the end of the Brexit process - not now, but when the terms of the deal are known - Scotland must have a choice about our future; a choice between following the UK down the Brexit path or becoming an independent country,” Sturgeon said, adding that the Scottish parliament had already backed the government to do so.

Copyright Reuters

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