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'The clock is ticking' for Scotland to call a second independence referendum

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says that Scotland is now in “uncharted waters”.

THE COUNTDOWN TO a second Scottish independence referendum appears to have begun after Prime Minister Theresa May laid out the course towards a “hard” Brexit – but Scots are as divided as ever.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said another vote was “more likely” than ever after May outlined her plan to pull the country out of the EU’s single market despite Scotland’s objections this week.

“Time is fast running out for the UK government to convince us that they care one jot about Scotland’s interests,” Sturgeon told the Scottish parliament on Thursday.

“If they don’t, Scotland does face a choice: do we go down the damaging path set out by Theresa May… or do we want to take control over the future of our country?”

Following a meeting with Brexit minister David Davis on Thursday, Sturgeon’s representative Mike Russell said: “The clock is ticking”.

Scotland voted in 2014 by a margin of 55 to 45 percent to stay in the United Kingdom.

But Sturgeon argues that last year’s vote for Brexit has left Scotland in “uncharted waters” since a majority of Scots instead opted to stay in the EU.

She has put forward proposals for Scotland to be allowed to remain in the single market even as the rest of Britain leaves and has drafted an independence referendum bill just in case.

Her independence ally Patrick Harvie, co-convener of the Scottish Greens whose votes she needs to get a second referendum through parliament, has predicted it will be held some time in 2018.

‘Tension in the family’

The dilemma for Sturgeon is that many Scots say the EU referendum has not changed their minds on independence.

The latest poll of 1,002 respondents carried out by BMG Research for the Herald newspaper last month found 55 percent against and 45 percent in favour — the same split as in the 2014 vote.

Brexit Scotland voted to stay in the EU, and Theresa May signalled a hard Brexit earlier this week. Andrew Milligan PA Wire / PA Images Andrew Milligan PA Wire / PA Images / PA Images

Mother and daughter Irene and Cara Henney, from Paisley on the edge of Glasgow, are typical of the generational divide seen in both the independence and EU referendums.

Irene, 55, who works in sales, said no to independence but yes to Brexit.

“Sturgeon has lost sight of what matters to the Scottish people, like health and education… By calling for a second referendum she’s probably alienating a lot of people,” she said.

Cara, 18, a student, voted yes to independence in her first ever national vote after the Scottish government lowered the voting age to 16.

Cara missed the EU referendum, which was reserved for over-18s, but said she would have voted to stay.

“While I don’t agree with some of Sturgeon’s priorities, now that Scotland is being taken out of the EU against its will she is giving us an opportunity to fight back,” she said.

Asked about the differences with her mother, she said: “It does cause some tension in the family”.

Stuart Salter, 34, a town planner from Edinburgh, voted No to independence and wants to remain in the EU.

He said: “The Brexit vote hasn’t changed my mind about independence.

“Driving Scotland towards another independence referendum will only add to the present uncertainty”.

Campbell Fraser, 50, a drama workshop director from Clarkston, south of Glasgow, said he wanted Scotland to be an independent EU member state.

“We have to make sure we win because I don’t think we’ll get another chance in my lifetime,” he said.

Forced independence bid?

Political experts believe Sturgeon may be left with little choice but to call a referendum.

But Michael Keating, director of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Centre on Constitutional Change, told AFP: “There is no sign whatsoever that the UK government is going to take (Sturgeon’s) proposals seriously.

“They have to say they are, because if they reject it out of hand, they will be playing right into the Scottish government’s hands,” he said.

Nicola McEwen, professor of Territorial Politics at Edinburgh University, said Sturgeon had left no “compromise position” for Scotland.

“The worry for the Scottish government is if you hold a second referendum and lose it, you lose the leverage for Scotland within the United Kingdom.

“But if the situation is such that there doesn’t appear to be much leverage now anyway, the Scottish government may decide it has nothing to lose.”

© – AFP, 2017

Read: 8 things we learned from Theresa May’s Brexit speech

Read: Scotland first minister ‘not bluffing’ about second independence referendum

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    Mute ☘
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    Aug 28th 2019, 9:46 AM

    people can move all around ireland with guns and drugs and i bet if i drove one day without road tax i would be in court,

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    Mute Ed Collins
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    Aug 28th 2019, 9:50 AM

    @☘: and rightly so

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    Mute The long walk home☘️
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    Aug 28th 2019, 10:01 AM

    @Ed Collins: who is giving you thumbs up , have you 17 accounts? people really believe it should be easier move around Ireland with guns than a dodgy tax disc. No wonder we’re screwed

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    Mute STOIC SAVAGE
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    Aug 28th 2019, 10:03 AM

    @The long walk home☘️: no one said that though??

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    Mute Mjhint
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    Aug 28th 2019, 10:08 AM

    @Ed Collins: shows where your priorities lie. We have a traffic corpin Ireland with poor resources to serious crime all the way up to the prison service & road tax is yours and the government’s priority. Orwell described you well. No louder voice to be heard defending an oppressor than that of the oppressed. It’s people like you who have the country and its people on it’s knees.

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    Mute The long walk home☘️
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    Aug 28th 2019, 10:19 AM

    @STOIC SAVAGE: that was his point or did it go way over your head?

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    Mute Tommy Roche
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    Aug 28th 2019, 10:49 AM

    @☘: In fairness, it’s far easier to spot an untaxed car than it is to spot a car carrying guns or drugs. And just as an aside, if you end up in court for driving an untaxed car, it means your tax has been out of date for a hell of a lot longer than one day. You have one month from expiry date of your motor tax to get it renewed. Its written on your renewal notice. Go into a second month untaxed and you pay a penalty when you finally do tax it, and you may get an on the spot fine. 3rd month you’d certainly get a fine and theres a risk the car could be impounded. Purely anecdotal, but from what I’ve seen/heard you’d really need to be taking the mick to end up in court for non-payment of motor tax alone, ie, expired for a year or more.

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    Mute Jesse James
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    Aug 28th 2019, 10:59 AM

    @Mjhint: We don’t have Traffic Gardai in Ireland. They are regular Gardai in cars marked Roads Policing.

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    Mute Paul
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    Aug 28th 2019, 11:33 AM

    @Jesse James: incorrect. We have a dedicated Roads Policing Unit, they are appointed to those units and are no longer on the regular units.

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    Mute my name
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    Aug 28th 2019, 11:36 AM
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    Mute STOIC SAVAGE
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    Aug 28th 2019, 11:59 AM

    @The long walk home☘️: nah…. His point was both are illegal and rightly punishable by law… Think it was your head it went over pal

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    Mute Thomas Maher
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    Aug 28th 2019, 12:12 PM

    @☘: they dont drive around with guns taped to the windscreen theyre a bit harder to spot than the lack of a tax disc

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    Mute The long walk home☘️
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    Aug 28th 2019, 9:54 AM

    life should mean life, some of these people are out after 11 years still young men.

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    Mute MickN
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    Aug 28th 2019, 10:12 AM

    Another week another tragedy in Louth.. For the size of the county its never out of the news…

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    Mute Conor V
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    Aug 28th 2019, 10:39 AM

    @MickN: it’s a bid County :)

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    Mute Leo Lalor
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    Aug 28th 2019, 11:46 AM

    How long is this feud going on. Like the kinehan hutch feud and it appears all the gardai are capable of is hiding on motorways catching you at 125 kph. Traffic corps are a waste of resource for the public. Fianna Gael love them . Revenue collection

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    Mute Michael Kavanagh
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    Aug 28th 2019, 11:58 AM

    @Leo Lalor:
    The auld penalty points mounting up, are they? Try a simple solution – obey the rules of the road- it works!

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    Mute John Joe & Bridie
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    Aug 28th 2019, 11:58 AM

    @Leo Lalor: Yawn

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    Mute Eamonn Ó Maoldomhnaigh
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    Aug 28th 2019, 12:54 PM

    @Leo Lalor: A good few of the Hutch/ Kinehan murders have been solved but don’t let that stop your bit of Garda bashing.

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    Mute Seaniecp
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    Aug 28th 2019, 1:37 PM

    @Leo Lalor: I’m sure more people die on the roads each year then to gangland violance. Maybe I’m wrong.

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    Mute Think Before You Buy
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    Aug 28th 2019, 1:06 PM

    The violence, not just in Louth, but across the country is directly related to the vast amount of money generated through using drugs for recreational purposes. It is for control of the area in which this money is spent that these gangs are fighting to control. Remember it always harms someone THINK BEFORE YOU BUY http://www.thinkbeforeyoubuy.ie

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    Mute aYoungRory
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    Aug 28th 2019, 2:04 PM

    I’m calling for a head banger hunger games this year.
    Let every wannabe lunatic in Ireland meet up in Longford on December 8th when it’s empty for Culchie Christmas…. No holds barred, no innocents hurt and less than 2k damage done. We can hold a mass funeral at 12 midnight for the fallen and crown the last standing survivor ‘Hardest Man in Ireland’.

    Danny Dyer can present the trophy to him moments before we fire both men into the surface of the moon.

    Then we take the homes of the losers and redistribute them to the homeless.

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    Mute Maciej Zadorozny
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    Aug 28th 2019, 1:18 PM
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