Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has cleared the first major hurdle for holding a new referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.
Her bid for a vote on secession won by 69 to 59 votes in Scottish Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, just one day before British Prime Minister Theresa May will initiate the process for Brexit, Britain’s departure from the European Union.
Brexit backlash is what drove Sturgeon and her Scottish National Party to push for another independence vote ― Scotland’s second in less than three years ― to potentially save Scots from being pulled out of the EU against their will.
Nearly two-thirds of Scottish voters opted to stay in the bloc during the historic Brexit referendum last June, when 51.9 percent of British voters chose to leave.
“We didn’t choose to be in this position, [and] in common with most people across the country, I wish that we weren’t in this position,” Sturgeon said earlier this month, upon vowing to ensure Scots “have a choice” in deciding their future. “A choice of whether to follow the U.K. to a hard Brexit, or to become an independent country able to secure a real partnership of equals with the rest of the U.K. and our own relationship with Europe.”
Scots rejected independence in a referendum in 2014, before Britain had announced the Brexit vote would occur. The circumstances are different now, Sturgeon insists, and therefore Scotland needs the chance to reconsider its democratic options. She wants “IndyRef2” to be held once the terms of Brexit are clear, but before it takes effect.
The countdown begins on Wednesday, when May will trigger Brexit proceedings by officially informing EU leaders of Britain’s intention to withdraw from the bloc. The U.K. will then have up to two years to negotiate an exit deal with the EU before it must leave.
Sturgeon’s next step in her unwavering pursuit of a new secession referendum is to win approval from British Parliament, but May is unlikely to grant it at this time ― she has repeatedly asserted that “now is not the time,” and Brits “should be working together, not pulling apart.”
Even if Scots do get the chance to vote on their sovereignty again, leaving the U.K. in hopes of rejoining the EU as an independent nation could be a risky venture. Scotland’s readmission to the bloc would not be automatic; it would have to reapply and win unanimous approval from EU members.
Some member states, including France and Spain, have already tried to discourage Scotland from attempting to negotiate with the EU as a new state.
Learn more about the referendum bid here.
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