Nicola Sturgeon’s speech at Bute House on Monday in effect challenged Theresa May to give Scotland, which voted in favour of remaining in the EU by 62% to 38%, special access to the single market and substantial new powers or face a second Scottish independence referendum. The polls also show about a third of SNP voters backed leave in the EU referendum. Sturgeon acknowledged the Scottish parliament does not have the legal authority to stage a poll under the UK’s referendum legislation. She expects to command a narrow majority if all six Scottish Green MSPs vote alongside the 63 SNP members. The UK and Scottish governments will then need to sign a second “Edinburgh agreement” which in 2012 set up the 2014 independence referendum, before asking the Electoral Commission to adjudicate on the question to be set.

Source: The Guardian March 13, 2017 10:55 UTC