Scotland Woman and Flag - H 2014
AP ImagesScotland is looking set to hold a second referendum on whether or not it should become an independent country.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement Monday, revealing that the impending Brexit had forced the decision and that she would ask the Scottish parliament next week for permission to hold another referendum.
While the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, the figures from Scotland were overwhelmingly in support of staying (62 percent to 38 percent).
With British Prime Minister Theresa May looking likely to trigger divorce proceedings this week, Sturgeon said she had to act to “make sure that Scotland will have a choice at the end of this process.” She added it would be “a choice of whether to follow the U.K. to a hard Brexit, or to become an independent country able to secure a real partnership of equals with the rest of the U.K. and our own relationship with Europe.”
She added that, if the referendum were approved, she hoped it would take place between the fall of 2018 and spring of 2019.
The Scottish independence referendum in September 2014 proved to be a lively and emotionally charged affair, with celebrities on both sides of the debate (hello, J.K. Rowling) arguing as to whether or not Scotland should become an independent country. Eventually, the “Better Together” campaign came through with 55 percent, and its union with the United Kingdom remained.
