By Year 9 pupil Lucy.
Theresa May has now said that ‘now is not the time’ for a second referendum on Scottish independence. However, the prime minister did not say if she had ruled out holding a referendum at some point in the future. The First Minister of Scotland has called for a referendum to be held in the autumn of 2018 or the spring of the following year. Mrs May also said that it would be “unfair” to hold a vote until the UK’s future relationship with the EU became more clear.
Theresa May said: “So when the SNP government say that now is the time to start talking about a second independence referendum, I say that just at this point all of our energies should be focused on our negotiations with the European Union about our future relationship. To be talking about an independence referendum would I think make it more difficult for us to be able to get the right deal for Scotland and the right deal for the UK.”
Scotland voted by 55% to 45% to remain in the UK in a referendum in Scotland 2014, but Mrs Sturgeon says a second vote is needed to allow the country to choose what path to take following last year’s Brexit vote. She has said that she wants a new vote to be held before a deal on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union is finalised.
The Scottish Parliament is due to vote next week on whether to seek a Section 30 order from the UK government, which would be needed to make any referendum legally binding.