Nicola Sturgeon says she won’t pretend that every single person who voted SNP necessarily supports independence. But she will insist this result is a thumping endorsement of her demand for a second referendum.
She will make an official request in the next few days to be granted the legal power to hold an independence vote.
And we know that Boris Johnson will refuse, sparking a huge debate about whether the Conservatives are ignoring the constitutional choice of Scottish voters.
It’s a debate that can only escalate as we leave the EU – and one which may fuel support for independence itself.
The SNP leader said it was time for Mr Johnson “to start listening” to voters in Scotland.
She added: “I accept, regretfully, that he has a mandate for Brexit in England – but he has no mandate whatsoever to take Scotland out of the EU.”
The Scottish government will next week publish a “detailed, democratic case” for letting Holyrood decide on whether there should be a second independence referendum, said Ms Sturgeon.
However, interim Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw said: “We are not going to support a request for a second independence referendum and I don’t believe the prime minister will either.
“We are going to stand by the people who voted for us last night and the two million people who voted no in (**************************************************. ”
The SNP won 405 seats in Scotland in Thursday’s election after securing 45% of the vote – 8.1% more than in the last general election, when the party won seats. One of those MPs, Neale Hanvey, willsit as an independent.
The Conservatives won six seats, threein the north eastand three inthe south of Scotland; the Liberal Democrats won four; and Ian Murray was left asScottish Labor’s only MP when he held Edinburgh South.
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson will step down afterLosing her Dunbartonshire East seat to the SNP
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