Nicola Sturgeon has “given up on being a First Minister for all of Scotland” in publishing her separation bill, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has said.
The SNP will formally unveil its consultation into a second independence referendum today.
And in teeing up the event, the First Minister said she was launching the bill not because she didn’t respect the 2014 result – when a decisive majority voted No – but because times had changed.
However, repeated polls have shown no appetite for another divisive vote north of the border, and support for independence is falling.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said:
“We promised during the election to fight proposals for a second independence referendum every step of the way, and that’s exactly what we are going to do.
“The First Minister says she respects the result from 2014, but there will be more than two million Scots who now know otherwise.
“Instead of using Brexit to further her own political ambitions, Nicola Sturgeon should be working closely with the UK Government to address the risks and explore the opportunities this decision creates for industries and sectors across Scotland.
“Scotland’s business community doesn’t want another independence referendum, and the majority of the people of Scotland don’t want another independence referendum.
“The fact that Nicola Sturgeon is desperately pushing for one shows she has given up on being a First Minister for all of Scotland in favour of championing her own separatist agenda.”