Second Scottish Referendum On Hold, Announces SNP's Nicola Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon has withdrawn the proposed second Scottish independence referendum until after the Brexit deal has been signed. She told the Scottish Parliament that there was no public desire for a further vote in the near future and that the proposals had been shelved until late 2018 at the very earliest.

Sturgeon's Scottish National Party (SNP) lost 21 seats during this month's General Election, a result that was widely seen as a reaction to their second referendum idea. The SNP still holds the majority of seats in Scotland - 35 of 58 - but faced incursions from Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

Seats held by the party's Westminster leader Angus Robertson, and former first minister Alex Salmond were among those lost to the Tories.

Credit: PA

"My responsibility as first minister is to build as much unity and consensus as possible," she told Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). "We face a Brexit that we didn't vote for and in a form more extreme than any of us could have imagined one year ago.

"But I want to reassure people that our proposal is not for a referendum now or before there is sufficient clarity about the options - but rather to give them a choice at the end of the Brexit process when that clarity has emerged.

"Instead, we will - in good faith - redouble our efforts and put our shoulder to the wheel in seeking to influence the Brexit talks in a way that protects Scotland's interests."

She also said that her party had not yet won the argument for independence, telling Holyrood: "We haven't done that yet but I have no doubt that we can."

Credit: PA

The SNP leader continued to impress on MSPs that the mandate existed for a second vote, but that it was not appropriate to hold it at the moment.

Scottish voters have voted five times in the last four years and will in all likelihood face another UK General Election in the near future. They closely voted down independence in 2014, before voting in the SNP at the 2015 General Election, where the party won 56 of 58 Westminster seats.

That was followed by the 2016 Scottish Parliament Election - which the SNP won handily - and the 2016 European Union referendum, in which Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, while the UK as a whole voted to leave.

Source: The Guardian

Featured Image Credit: PA

Michael Minay

Mike Minay is a trending journalist at LADbible. He’s co-ordinated interviews with some of the big names from the world of news and sport including ITV’s Robert Peston, Sky Sports’ Jeff Stelling and darts champion Michael van Gerwen. His reporting days began on University radio in Birmingham, before moving to BBC Sport Online – creating content for large events such as Wimbledon and the FA Cup final. Mike still commentates on Football League matches at the weekend. A Manchester LAD at heart.

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