Scottish government plans an independence referendum before Brexit

British Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's plan for an independence referendum before Brexit. Sources close to May said that the prime minister would allow the referendum until several months after Brexit. However, Sturgeon said that it should be held between autumn 2018 and the spring of 2019.

The First Minister proposed the referendum because she thought Britain was dragging Scotland out of the European Union (EU) against its will. In June 2016, the Britons voted the referendum to leave the EU but Scottish voters wanted to stay inside the union. Sturgeon was hoping that Scotland would be able to stay in the customs union and in the European single market.

However, May advised Sturgeon that the Scottish government should focus on delivering good government and services for the people of Scotland instead of playing politics with the future of the country. But Sturgeon claimed that her action came because May refused to consider a special Brexit deal for Scotland allowing the country to remain part of the single market.

The Herald newspaper released a BMG poll result showing that 44 percent of the Scottish people opposed independence, 41 percent supported it, 13 percent were unsure while two percent would not say. The poll also asked if a referendum should take place before Brexit. The result showed that 49 percent disagreed, 39 percent agreed and 13 percent were unsure.

An EU official involved in the Brexit talks preparation said that it would be quite a complication for negotiators if the Scottish independence vote would be held during Brexit negotiations. The official said that it is too early to speculate on how Brussels might handle it. The official noted that it would be simpler if all of the UK left on schedule in early 2019. European Commission chief negotiator Michael Barnier declined to comment on it.

Former Chancellor Lord Darling gave his comment about the Scottish referendum. He said during the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme that a second referendum vote would be a bad idea. He said that asking them to go to the polls without knowing the deal is like asking to vote for a pig in a poke. He said that the people of Scotland were not daft which made them vote the way they did in 2015. He warned that the Scottish National Party should take lesson from US President Donald Trump's fight a second vote on a fact free basis in a bid to win.