Alex Massie Alex Massie

Nicola Sturgeon’s cherished Brexit grievance rears its head

Politics is a question of priorities. Push always comes to shove and that’s when you discover what a party really thinks is important. We’ve seen this repeatedly this year. The Labour party, for instance, has decided power is for other people. And the Conservative party has decided that leaving the European Union is something worth risking the Union for. If we have to break-up the United Kingdom to save the United Kingdom, then so be it. A price worth paying, you know. But don’t pretend you weren’t warned about this. Because you were. Repeatedly. There’s a reason, you know, why Ruth Davidson and most of her Holyrood colleagues campaigned for a Remain vote. They could see what was coming down the pipe in the event of a vote to Leave. Granted, it is no surprise that Nicola Sturgeon still believes in Scottish independence and no surprise, either, that she believes Brexit makes it more imperative than ever. She’d still be arguing for it even if ‘Remain’ had won the day in June. But when she says Brexit changes everything, it is hard to deny she has a point. It’s the Conservatives – in England, not Scotland – who said the EU referendum vote was the most important choice Britain faced in nearly half a century. That choice, especially the particular choice made, has consequences. So today, at the SNP conference in Glasgow, Sturgeon put the UK Government on notice:

But hear this – if you think for one single second that I’m not serious about doing what it takes to protect Scotland’s interests, then think again. If you can’t – or won’t – allow us to protect our interests within the UK, then Scotland will have the right to decide, afresh, if it wants to take a different path. A hard Brexit will change the UK fundamentally.

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