Scotland hopes to join EU as an independent nation
Brexit: Scotland hopes to 'join' EU as an independent nation
Majority of Scots are in favour of independence, according to latest poll
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Saturday she hoped Scotland would gain independence and "join" the European Union,stressing that Brexit had been against the will of the Scots, who had overwhelmingly opposed it in the 2016 referendum. "We are now suffering a hard Brexit against our will, at the worst possible time, in the midst of a pandemic and an economic recession," Nicola Sturgeon lamented on the website of her pro-independence SNP party, two days after the UK left the single market and customs union.
She reiterated her determination to hold another referendum on Scottish independence, after the one lost by her camp in 2014, when 55% of Scots said "no" to independence. But the decision to hold such a referendum rests with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson,who strongly refuses. However, a broad SNP victory in next May's local elections would increase pressure on London to accept a new consultation. According to the latest survey conducted by the Savanta ComRes Institute for The Scotsmannewspaper in mid-December, 58% of Scots now support a break with the UK, unprecedented.
"We didn't want to leave"
"As an independent member of the European Union, Scotland would be a partner and could build bridges - not just a bridge to building a stronger economy and a fairer society, but also a bridge to facilitate EU-UK relations," Nicola Sturgeon said. While the British as a whole voted 51.9% for Brexit in 2016, the Scots had opposed 62% of leaving the European Union.
With Brexit, "our citizens will be less safe and their right to work, study and live elsewhere in Europe will be restricted," she lamented, pointing out that 2,000 Scots had participated last year in the Erasmus university exchange programme, which the UK government has given up and replaced it with its own international programme. "We didn't want to leave and we hope to join you soon as an equal partner," Sturgeon said.
Source:- Flash News and News Agencies