MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Scotland could renew its independence bid in the event of a successful "yes" vote in Britain's upcoming EU membership referendum, UK former Foreign Secretary William Hague said.
"Scottish nationalists would jump at the chance to reverse the argument of last year’s referendum – now it would be them saying they would stay in Europe without us. They would have the pretext for their second referendum, and the result of it could well be too close to call," Hague wrote in The Telegraph on Tuesday.
Despite his longstanding eurosceptic views, Hague stated that he would be voting in favor of the United Kingdom remaining in the European Union in the referendum. The conservative politician said that European Union's shortcomings paled in comparison to the mounting challenges to the Western world, ranging from the turbulent Middle East to the potential "breaking up of Europe into uncontrolled rivalry."
Prime Minister David Cameron pledged in his party's election manifesto for the United Kingdom's May general election to hold a referendum on the matter. The Conservative Party-backed bill on the referendum has been passed by the UK parliament.
