John Major suggests two-vote independence referendum to break impasse over future of UK
Published Date: 11/9/2020
Source: news.yahoo.com
Sir John Major has said that offering two votes on Scottish independence - including a confirmatory referendum once negotiations over separation are complete - could break an impasse over the future of the UK. In a lecture on Monday night, the former Prime Minister warned that Boris Johnson’s current strategy of refusing to allow a second referendum to take place under any circumstances could play into the SNP’s hands. Instead, he suggested that UK ministers could agree that an independence referendum takes place, but only on the condition that a second vote was later held to confirm a Yes vote so that “Scottish electors would know what they were voting for, and be able to compare it to what they now have.” Nicola Sturgeon was one of the leading voices in favour of a ‘People’s Vote’ after the UK voted to leave the EU. Although the campaign to secure a second EU referendum failed, the arguments put forward in favour of a referendum on the final Brexit deal were similar to Sir John’s proposal for a two-vote process on independence.