Scottish Conservative Leader Says Scots to Vote to Stay in UK in 2nd Referendum

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Scotland would vote overwhelmingly to stay with the United Kingdom if First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for another referendum on Scottish independence, leader of the Conservative Party Ruth Davidson said Friday, as reported by British media.

Davidson told The Telegraph newspaper that the pro-unionists were extremely likely to secure a victory by an even larger margin than in 2014 and the arguments for leaving were less substantial than before.

Davidson reportedly added that UK Prime Minister Theresa May had a response ready if Sturgeon attempted to ask for the power to organize another referendum at the upcoming Scottish National Party spring conference slated for March 17-18.

The majority of Scots, 62 percent against 38 percent, voted to stay in the European Union at the 2016 nationwide referendum, however, the United Kingdom overall voted to leave. Sturgeon then said that Scotland would consider taking the second vote on independence, claiming that the Brexit referendum outcome neglected Scotland’s willingness to stay in the European Union.

On February 1, UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said that the UK government would not grant the Scottish authorities the power to hold another independence referendum as Sturgeon must respect the results of the 2014 independence vote, when Scotland voted against becoming an independent state, and the United Kingdom’s choice to leave the bloc. A day later, a spokeswoman for May said that the UK government did not see any changes in public opinion that could serve as a reason for holding the second referendum on Scottish independence.