British Prime Minister David Cameron has reminded voters that a vote to leave the European Union may lead to a second Scottish independence referendum and increase the UK’s instability, The Guardian reported.
In a fresh effort to bolster support for the campaign for the United Kingdom to remain in the EU, Cameron told a live referendum debate on ITV on Tuesday night that he worried about the prospects of a further Scottish vote.
“You don’t strengthen your country by leading to its break-up.” – David Cameron
There was a “deeply patriotic” case for the UK remaining intact and within the EU, he insisted.
Cameron’s remarks contradicted his assertion last year that there was no case for a further Scottish referendum, but also raised a crucial question for Scottish voters: what will the vote on 23 June mean for their future?
If the Brexit campaign wins on 23 June against the wishes of a majority of Scottish voters – dragging Scotland out of the EU “against its will”, in the words of Nicola Sturgeon and her predecessor as first minister, Alex Salmond – that in turn would trigger substantial demands from nationalists for a second independence referendum.
That raises huge questions about Scotland’s economic security, and how the country would manage the competing and challenging demands of the EU and the UK and it would threaten to plunge the Scottish National party’s government in Edinburgh into crisis.
Even so, the EU referendum campaign in Scotland is only now starting in earnest, even while the rest of the UK has been immersed in Brexit and remain events.
WN.com, Jim Berrie
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