UK PM rejects Scottish independence referendum, citing Ukraine — RT World Information

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday rejected a request by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to carry a legally binding referendum on leaving the UK. With Johnson combating for his political life in London, he advised Sturgeon that rising prices, Covid-19, and Britain’s assist for Ukraine are extra vital points.

Sturgeon introduced final month {that a} second independence referendum can be held in October 2023, 9 years after Scottish voters selected for his or her nation to stay a member of the UK. 

Nonetheless, and not using a short-term switch of energy from London to Holyrood, the referendum can be a symbolic one, and Johnson refused to offer Sturgeon this vital switch.

“I can not agree that now could be the time to return to a query, which was clearly answered by the folks of Scotland in 2014,” Johnson wrote. As an alternative, the PM wrote that Scotland and the remainder of the UK ought to deal with their “shared priorities,” which he listed as responding to inflation, recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, and enjoying “our main half within the worldwide response to Russian aggression in Ukraine.”

Johnson described these points as “widespread challenges throughout the UK,” paying explicit consideration to Ukraine by thanking Sturgeon for committing £65 million ($77.5 million) to arming Kiev.

Sturgeon was dismissive. In a put up on Twitter, she described Johnson’s letter as presumably “one among his final acts as PM,” a reference to the requires resignation leveled at Johnson after dozens of his ministers resigned on Tuesday and Wednesday, citing a number of scandals on Downing Road.

“To be clear, Scotland could have the chance to decide on independence – I hope in a referendum on 19 October 2023 however, if not, by way of a basic election,” she tweeted. “Scottish democracy won’t be a prisoner of this or any PM.”

With out Johnson granting a switch of energy, Sturgeon’s solely hope for independence would relaxation on Parliament in Westminster passing a invoice to acknowledge a profitable vote. Nonetheless, even when a basic election had been to be known as, there is no such thing as a indication {that a} majority of MPs would assist such a measure.

In 2014’s referendum, Scots voted 55-44% to stay within the UK. Two years later, Scottish voters overwhelmingly selected to stay within the EU, and whereas Sturgeon has promised to ultimately convey Scotland again into the European bloc ought to it obtain independence, just one current ballot exhibits a slim majority favoring such a transfer. Different surveys by Ipsos and YouGov present voters rejecting independence by between one and eight factors.