U.K. government digs in heels as Scottish lawmakers vote for second referendum
GLASGOW — Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon secured the endorsement of the Scottish Parliament for a second independence referendum Tuesday, only for the United Kingdom's government to throw new obstacles in her path.
After three days of debate, and knowing it would mean a constitutional fight with Westminster, Scottish lawmakers voted 69 to 59 for First Minister Sturgeon's proposal for a new vote by spring 2019.
However the U.K. government, which has said “now is not the time” for a referendum as the U.K. negotiates Brexit for two years, immediately hardened its stand, raising the prospect of more delays, potentially taking a referendum beyond the next Scottish election in 2021.
Conservative Party sources have told The Herald they want to delay the issue past 2021 in the hope a pro-Union majority is elected at Holyrood — the Scottish Parliament — and kills off any chance of another referendum.
Sturgeon told members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) she intended to approach the U.K. government later this week about transferring referendum powers to Holyrood through a so-called Section 30 order.
Her plan is hold a referendum once Brexit terms are clear, giving voters a choice between Brexit in the U.K. and independence and a closer relationship with Europe.
Theresa May triggered Brexit on Wednesday by invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
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Sturgeon said she agreed with May that now was not the time for a referendum — she wanted Scotland to have its say on Brexit “when the time is right”.
She told Holyrood: “I hope that the U.K. government will respect the will of this Parliament. If it does so, I will enter discussion in good faith and with willingness to compromise.
“However, if it chooses not to do so, I will return to the Parliament following the Easter recess to set out the steps that the Scottish Government will take to progress this Parliament’s will.”
Options include publishing a referendum bill as part of efforts to build support for a Yes vote.
But the U.K. government instantly refused to enter talks until after Brexit, and suggested an open-ended timetable to let people absorb the impact of life outside the EU.
Scottish Secretary David Mundell said the timescale could include "the Brexit process, the journey of leaving and people being able to understand what the U.K.'s new relationship with the EU is".
He added: “We are not entering into negotiations on whether there should be another independence referendum during the Brexit process.
“We don't have a crystal ball as to how long that process will take. It will be a journey that will involve the negotiations with the EU, it may be a journey that involves transitional measures, it may be a journey that involves significant implementation time."