Scottish nationalists raise prospect of another independence vote after 2016

Scottish nationalists raise prospect of another independence vote after 2016

• Nicola Sturgeon Getty Images

Just a month before the most unpredictable British election in a generation, Scottish nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon raised the prospect of another independence referendum after 2016 that could break apart the United Kingdom.

Though Scots voted to stay part of the United Kingdom in a September 18 referendum, support for the Scottish National Party (SNP) has surged before a UK-wide general election on May 7.

Former Scottish nationalist leader Alex Salmond said during the referendum campaign that the September vote was a once in a generation chance to break the 307-year-old union with England. But speaking on Tuesday in a four-way televised debate in Scotland with the leaders of the Scottish Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties, SNP leader Sturgeon raised the prospect of another vote after a Scottish parliamentary election in 2016.

Sturgeon said she still wanted independence, but cautioned that next month’s UK-wide election was not a re-run of the referendum and would not lead directly to independence for Scotland.

When asked whether the SNP would seek a mandate for another breakaway vote in the 2016 election, she said: “Well that is another matter. We will write that manifesto when we get there.”

Her response prompted an audible groan from some in the studio audience in Edinburgh, one of whom told her that the people had spoken and said “no” to independence.

With neither Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives nor Ed Miliband’s Labour Party forecast to win an overall majority, opinion polls indicate nationalists will win 35-50 of the 59 Westminster seats in Scotland, up from six in 2010.

via NorthEast Calling http://ift.tt/1FewqO8