Scotland to seek independence referendum over Brexit

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today said that she will be seeking the Scottish Parliament's permission to hold a referendum on Scotland's independence from the United Kingdom.

Sturgeon wants this referendum to be held between the second half of 2018 and first half of 2019 for Scotland to be able to have a say over its relationship with the European Union (EU) post-Brexit.

If it gets parliamentary approval, this will be the second such Scottish independence referendum after 2014, when the region had voted to



remain part of the UK.

Scotland had rejected independence from the UK by 55 per cent in the September 2014 vote.

"I will take the steps necessary now to make sure that Scotland will have a choice at the end of this process. A choice of whether to follow the UK to a hard Brexit, or to become an independent country able to secure a real partnership of equals with the rest of the UK and our own relationship with Europe," Sturgeon said from her official Bute House residence in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh.