Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warns that the country may go for another independence vote in order to avoid “being taken down” by a “really damaging” decision to leave the European Union.
Sturgeon told Sky News on Monday that Britain’s decision to quit the EU would “undermine workers rights, environmental standards and social protections.”
“I’ve been very clear that the option of an independence referendum has to be on the table because if it isn’t then Scotland risks being taken down a really damaging path with no control over the future of our own country,” she said.
She made the comments as British Prime Minister Theresa May was expected to confirm that Britain would leave the single market in a speech scheduled for Tuesday.
The British finance minister also spoke Sunday of measures for London "to regain competitiveness" after Brexit, hinting at tax cuts to encourage companies to move to the UK.
“That actually starts to become a fundamental question of what kind of country we want to be,” Sturgeon said, warning of a “low tax, low wage, deregulated economy” after quitting the bloc.
In a landmark referendum held on June 23, nearly 52 percent of British voters, amounting to more than 17 million citizens, opted to leave the EU. The majority voters in Scotland did not back Brexit.
“Whether they voted leave or remain that starts to raise pretty profound and fundamental questions about what kind of country we want to be - and for Scotland not just what kind of country we want to be, but who gets to decide that, because this is not a path that the majority of people in Scotland decided to take,” she noted.
Meanwhile, pro-independence Scottish Greens warned that May’s stance on Brexit may leave Scotland with no “other option” than another referendum.
In 2014, over 55 percent of the people in Scotland voted against independence while nearly 45 percent backed it.