Scotland to seek a second referendum on independence as Brexit process moves forward

(Image credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

last updated 13 March 2017

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced Monday that she will seek a second referendum on Scotland's independence from the United Kingdom. Sturgeon said she will ask the Scottish Parliament for permission next week, as Britain gears up for its departure from the European Union following the Brexit vote last year. Though Britain voted in favor of exiting the EU, Scotland voted 62 percent to 38 percent in favor of staying in the European alliance.

Sturgeon said Monday she had to "make sure that Scotland will have a choice at the end of this process" as to whether it wants 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." Sturgeon has been trying to negotiate with British Prime Minister Theresa May, but she said the U.K. government has not "moved even an inch in pursuit of compromise and agreement."