Scottish leader seeks another independence referendum

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images(EDINBURGH, Scotland) — What would Brexit mean for Scotland? If the answer is a rough deal, then the Scots may well have an opportunity to leave the United Kingdom via another referendum.

Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon announced on Monday that next week, she will “seek the authority of the Scottish parliament to agree with the U.K. government the details of a Section 30 order, the procedure that will enable the Scottish parliament to legislate for an independence referendum.”

The first minister said the move is about “bringing greater clarity and greater certainty and greater control over the process that lies ahead of us.”

Sturgeon said that if Scotland is to have a “real choice,” the vote should be held between the autumn of 2018 and spring of 2019. That timeline, she explained, would be when the terms of Brexit would be known but before it would be too late for the country to make a choice.

Scotland last held a referendum in 2014, when voters rejected independence, 55 percent to 45 percent.

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