Glasgow, Scotland. With a whole lot on the stove right now, way down south in London town, Theresa May’s message to Scotts seeking independence is, don’t call us, we’ll call you, as to when the next independence referendum will take place.
British Prime Minister Theresa May took her campaign for the June general election to Scotland, where she has rejected nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon’s demand for a seat at the Brexit talks.
Launching her Conservative party’s Scottish manifesto, she also reiterated that “now is the not the time” for a second “divisive” referendum on Scotland’s independence.
Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party (SNP), which dominates politics north of the border, has called for a fresh vote on independence before Britain leaves the European Union.
PM May promised to consult the devolved Scottish government if re-elected next month, but said: “I will be negotiating as the prime minister of the United Kingdom.” Scottish voters voted by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent to stay in the 28-member bloc in last year’s referendum, but it was outvoted by the rest of the country.
“Give me the ability to strengthen Scotland’s hands in those negotiations, get a seat at the negotiating table and argue for Scotland’s place in the single market,” Sturgeon said this week to Scottish voters.
But Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who joined May at the campaign event Friday, dismissed the idea. “Given that Sturgeon wants Scotland to leave the UK and she wants Scotland to be in the EU, you have to ask, Which side of the negotiating table does she want to be on?” Theresa May emphasised the importance of Britain’s constitutional ties in her speech saying, “This is a time to pull together, not apart.”
Scotland’s voters rejected independence in a 2014 referendum by 55 percent to 45 percent. A new polls recently found that support for going it alone remains at 45 percent.