Ruth Davidson tells Theresa May: Say no to a second Scottish referendum
2 min read
Ruth Davidson has urged Theresa May to reject any demands from Nicola Sturgeon for a second referendum on Scottish independence.
The Scottish First Minister said yesterday that she wanted to "restart a debate" about the break-up of the UK, less than four years after Scotland voted against the move.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said this morning that "now is not the time for another divisive independence referendum and there is no appetite for one".
Mrs May last year rejected Ms Sturgeon's request for the Scottish Parliament to set up and run a new poll.
Speaking at a conference on the future of unionism in London, Scottish Tory leader Ms Davidson said the Prime Minister should deliver the same response if Ms Sturgeon asked again.
She said: "I think she was chastened last year after calling for the second vote and then losing almost one-third of her Westminster seats.
"Even with her comments yesterday, my understanding is that their official position is still 'wait and see'.
"My advice to the Prime Minister is that if the question is the same, the answer should be the same."
At the same conference, former Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling, who led the pro-Union Better Together campaign during the Scottish referendum, said: "I do not believe there will be another Scottish referendum in the foreseeable future - possibly not in my lifetime."
Ms Davidson added: "I would happily fight another referendum against because binary referenda put people into different camps and I don't think that's healthy for the body politic."
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