LONDON: Scotland voted 62% to 38% to remain in the European Union in the June 23 referendum, it is bracing for another referendum on its independence, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed on Thursday.
Speaking at the Scottish National Party’s conference in Glasgow, Sturgeon, who has been critical of the Brexit vote and the Theresa May government’s plans to take the United Kingdom out of the EU, said a draft bill for the independence referendum will be published next week.
The draft bill will be part of a consultation the Scottish government plans to initiate, given the overwhelming vote in Scotland to remain in the EU. The bill and the consultation are the first steps towards holding the second referendum on independence.
The first referendum, held on September 18, 2014, resulted in 55% voters saying “No” to independence.
Sturgeon said Scotland has the right to seek something better if there were prospects of an unstable future as part of the United Kingdom. “I am determined that Scotland will have the ability to reconsider the question of independence and to do so before the UK leaves the EU,” she said.