UK Prime Minister Theresa May will have a difficult time opposing the second independence referendum in Scotland after she said the Brexit deal would be disclosed by fall 2018, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.
The first minister noted that uncertainty of Brexit terms hindered holding the second independence referendum.
“I think it makes it very difficult for the prime minister to maintain a rational opposition to a referendum in the timescale that I have set out,” Sturgeon told reporters as quoted by The Guardian newspaper.
“Therefore if she’s saying to me today, as she was in very simple terms, that she believes the terms of Brexit will be clear before exit, and in time for EU ratification, then it seems to me she therefore has no basis for standing in the way of that timescale,” she added.
After the United Kingdom held the 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union, Sturgeon said that Scotland would consider taking the second vote on independence, claiming that the Brexit referendum outcome neglected Scotland’s willingness to stay in the European Union.
Earlier in March, the first minister reiterated her pledge to withdraw Scotland from the United Kingdom and promised to hold a new referendum on the country’s independence which is planned to be held between fall 2018 and spring 2019.