Scottland demands another independence vote from the UK

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has written to British Prime Minister Theresa May to formally demand that she allow a second referendum to be held on Scottish independence ahead of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union.

England and Wales voted to leave the EU in the June, 2016 referendum but Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay, calling into question the country's future.

Scotland's parliament on Tuesday voted to hold a referendum on secession from the UK in 2018 or 2019, to which the UK government must first give its approval before any such poll can he held.

May who just formally begun the two-year divorce talks from the EU said  now is not the right time for another referendum.

In 2014, Scots rejected independence vote by 55 to 45 per cent, but Sturgeon says the situation has changed since then because of Brexit.

In her letter on Friday, Sturgeon said she wished May well in negotiations with the EU, but added it seemed inevitable the outcome would leave the UK outside the European single market

"In these very changed circumstances, the people of Scotland must have the right to choose our own future - in short, to exercise our right of self determination," she wrote.

"I am therefore writing to begin early discussions between our governments to agree an Order under section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 that would enable a referendum to be legislated for by the Scottish Parliament."

Sturgeon who agreed with May that it would be wrong to hold a referendum immediately said it should take place after the terms of Brexit were agreed and a future trade deal with the EU was struck.

Reuters