Time to chart Scotland's future as 'independent, European nation': First Minister Sturgeon reacts to UK-EU Brexit accord

 

 

24 Dec, 2020 15:54 / Updated 10 hours ago

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FILE PHOTO © AFP / ANDY BUCHANAN 

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has hit out at the post-Brexit trade deal reached between the UK and EU, renewing her call for Scotland's independence.

Sturgeon said in a tweet on Thursday that Brexit is "is happening against Scotland’s will," referencing the fact that the majority of Scots voted for the UK to remain in the EU.

"There is no deal that will ever make up for what Brexit takes away from us. It’s time to chart our own future as an independent, European nation," she said.

The Scottish National Party politician earlier slammed the deal as a "disastrous outcome" for Scotland's farmers amid reports that seed potatoes, worth millions of pounds in exports to the country, will not be included in arrangements allowing UK crops into the EU from January 1.

Brexit has thrust the issue of Scottish independence back into the the spotlight after 62 percent of the nation voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum on the UK leaving the European bloc.

Her SNP colleague and the party's Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, joined her in condemning the Brexit deal, saying "Scotland will be poorer," come January 1 once the UK stops trading on rules set by Brussels.

Westminster has so far resisted the idea of a second referendum on Scottish independence, after 55 percent of Scots voted to remain in the UK back in 2014. 

Sturgeon, however, has pledged to delay campaigning for another vote until after the country is through the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

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