Ms. Sturgeon said that unless Mrs. May made further concessions, Scots should be able to choose whether to follow other Britons into “a hard Brexit,<br />or to become an independent country able to secure a real partnership of equals with the rest of the U. K. and our own relationship with Europe.”<br />She also argued that, in its current, weakened state, and trailing in opinion polls, Britain’s opposition Labour Party stands little chance of winning a general election, and<br />that independence was the only way for Scots to prevent themselves from being governed — possibly for a decade — by Mrs. May’s Conservative Party, which has limited support in Scotland.<br />Parliament Clears Way for ‘Brexit’ Talks as Scottish Vow Independence Vote -<br />By STEPHEN CASTLEMARCH 13, 2017<br />LONDON — New battle lines were drawn over Britain’s future on Monday, when the government secured unrestricted authority to negotiate withdrawal from the European Union while confronting the possibility<br />that in doing so, it may bring about an independent Scotland.<br />Speaking in Edinburgh on Monday morning, Ms. Sturgeon said she would seek permission from the Scottish Parliament to hold a second referendum, which she said should be staged between fall 2018<br />and spring 2019 — before Britain quits the European Union.<br />After Monday night’s votes, David Davis, the cabinet minister responsible for negotiating Brexit, said Parliament<br />had supported the government “in its determination to get on with the job of leaving the E. U.<br />and negotiating a positive new partnership with its remaining member states.”<br />“We are now on the threshold of the most important negotiation for our country in a generation,” Mr. Davis added in a statement.
