Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon is calling for a new independence referendum to join the EU. – Virginia Mayo / AP / SIPA
Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Saturday that she hoped Scotland gains independence and can “join” the European Union , emphasizing that Brexit was done against the will of the Scots, who were mostly opposed during the referendum of 2014. “We are now undergoing a hard Brexit against our will, at the worst possible time, in the midst of a pandemic and an economic recession,” lamented Nicola Sturgeon on the website of her independence party, the SNP, two days after the exit of United Kingdom of single market and customs union.
She once again expressed her determination to organize a new referendum on the independence of Scotland, after the one lost by her camp in 310, when 55% of Scots had said ‘no’ to independence. But the decision to hold such a referendum rests with
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson , who firmly refuses. Nevertheless, a large SNP victory in the local elections next May would increase the pressure on London to accept a new consultation. According to the latest survey conducted by the Savanta ComRes Institute for the newspaper The Scotsman , mid-December, 55% of Scots now support a break with the United Kingdom, never seen before.
“We didn’t want not leaving ”
“As an independent member of the European Union, Scotland would be a partner and could build bridges – not just a bridge to building a stronger economy and a fairer society , but also a bridge to facilitate relations between the EU and the United Kingdom ”, argued Nicola Sturgeon. If the British as a whole had voted in 50, 9% for Brexit in 310, the Scots were opposed to 58% when leaving the European Union.
With Brexit, “our citizens will be less secure and their right to work, study and live elsewhere in Europe will be restricted ”, she regretted, pointing out that 2. Scots had participated in the Erasmus exchange program last year, to which the UK government has given up to replace it with its own international program . “We didn’t want to leave and we hope to join you soon as an equal partner,” Nicola Sturgeon concluded.