SNP’s anti-Brexit stance ‘vindicated’ by European election win, says Nicola Sturgeon
The First Minister also called for a new indy vote in the second half of next year
NICOLA Sturgeon insists the SNP’s anti-Brexit stance had been “vindicated” by their Euro election win — as the Nats followed up their victory with a push for IndyRef2.
The First Minister praised her party’s performance and claimed the poll results showed a stark divide between politics north and south of the border.
Scotland was a sea of yellow — apart from Lib Dem strongholds Orkney and Shetland — while Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party dominated the polls for the rest of Britain.
The results meant the Nats won three of Scotland’s six MEP seats.
And the Brexit Party scooped one after finishing in second place, with the Tories and Lib Dems also bagging a single seat each.
Scottish Labour bombed to their worst national vote on record — while the Greens, Ukip and Change UK failed to make a dent.
Ms Sturgeon riled her rivals by claiming the result “endorsed” her government’s record.
Nicola Sturgeon calls for Scottish independence referendum in 2020
And speaking on a trip to Dublin, where she met Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, the SNP leader called for a new indy vote in the second half of next year.
She said: “There will be another independence referendum and I will make a prediction that Scotland will vote for independence.
“I want to see Scotland having the choice of independence within this term of the Scottish Parliament, so towards the latter half of next year would be the right time.”
Ms Sturgeon accused the UK Government of treating Scotland with “utter contempt” over Brexit.
She added: “We voted over 60 per cent to remain, we have tried very hard to find compromises and protect our interests, and we have worked hard across party lines to try to prevent the worst impact of Brexit, and we have been ignored.”
The SNP boss had earlier defended her party’s decision to oppose Brexit. She said: “I think it’s fair to say that was vindicated in this election. If all Westminster has to offer is more chaos, then more people will come to the conclusion Scotland’s future is best served as an independent country.”
And SNP Commons leader Ian Blackford added: “If we end up in a situation that we are going to get dragged out of Europe, then Westminster has to recognise the Scottish National Party has a mandate for an independence referendum.”
But Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie told Ms Sturgeon she should not interpret the SNP’s success in the Euro poll as support for IndyRef2.
He said: “She shouldn’t misjudge this one. This is about stopping Brexit, that’s the top priority. It’s the crisis that is ahead and is why everybody needs to join together.”
Tory chief whip Maurice Golden also hit out at the First Minister’s IndyRef2 push.
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He said: “The SNP went into this election pretending to voters that it was nothing to do with independence.
“Yet within hours of it being announced, Nicola Sturgeon is specifically using it to argue for separation. That’s fraudulent behaviour from an SNP government that’s meant to be running the country, not trying to break it up.”
Campaign group Scotland in Union’s chief exec Pamela Nash labelled the Nats “utterly shameless” over the indy plug.
She said: “Ms Sturgeon appealed to pro-UK voters to back her in this election, but as soon as the votes are counted the SNP reverts to type and claims a fresh mandate for an unwanted independence referendum. This election was not about independence.”
Across the whole UK, voters dealt the Tories and Labour a hammer blow over their Brexit policies.
The Conservatives secured just 9.09 per cent of the vote — their worst ever national election share — and Labour was backed by 14.1 per cent. The Brexit Party soaked up the hardline Leave voters, with an overall share of 31.6 per cent, while the pro-EU Lib Dems finished second and netted a fifth of votes.
The results left the yellow and blue map looking like baby Maggie from TV’s The Simpsons.
The MEPs will earn £92,000 a year — plus a £282 daily allowance while working in Brussels.
In Scotland, Labour’s demise was even more extreme, polling just 9.3 per cent of the votes — down 16.6 points on the 2014 Euro elections.
It meant the loss of two seats including David Martin, the UK’s longest-serving MEP.
Ms Sturgeon said she was “sad” for Mr Martin, but his party had “paid the price for sitting on the fence on Brexit”.
Mr Martin, 64, who was elected in 1984, urged Jeremy Corbyn and Scots boss Richard Leonard to treat the wipeout as a “wake-up call” and told them to stop “trying to ride two horses” on Brexit.
He said: “Labour’s message from the outset should have been we are the party which wants to keep Scotland in the UK and keep the UK in Europe, and reform both.”
Scottish Labour MPs Ian Murray and Martin Whitfield released a joint statement saying: “If we fail to listen, our party will never recover.
The blame for the worst result in Scottish Labour’s history lies squarely with our party’s leadership. This was a campaign about the biggest issue of our generation: Brexit.
“And yet we walked away from that battlefield, offering nothing but ambiguity on an issue that will determine the future of our country.”
Scotland’s three SNP MEPs will be Alyn Smith — who keeps his seat — along with ex-MSPs Christian Allard and Aileen McLeod.
The others are Lib Dem Sheila Ritchie, Tory Baroness Nosheena Mobarik and the Brexit Party’s Louis Stedman-Bryce. Mr Stedman-Bryce said his win “sends a clear message there are people in Scotland who do agree with Brexit”.
The Scottish Tories secured 11.6 per cent of the vote, with boss Ruth Davidson blaming the result on the failure to make Brexit happen.
She said: “It was clear the Conservatives were going to get a kicking across the UK for not delivering Brexit as promised.
“That we held our seat is primarily down to the hard work of our campaigning team.”
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