Alex Salmond says second Scottish independence referendum “inevitable”
He may have failed in his attempt to lead Scotland to independence, but former First Minister and now SNP MP in Westminster Alex Salmond, believes it's not the end of the dream.
He has called a second vote on Scottish independence "inevitable" speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday morning.
"I think a second independence referendum is inevitable. The question, of course, is not the inevitability, it is the timing," he said.
Read more: Could the threat of Brexit trigger a second Scottish independence referendum?
Discussing what could spur a second referendum, he said:
"I can see three issues which are moving things towards a second referendum, on a timescale yet to be determined. One is the refusal to deliver the 'vow'. The 'vow' was about home rule, devo-to-the-max, and that has not been delivered. The second issue is the European issue – if you had a situation where Scotland voted to stay in EU and was dragged out on the votes of the people of England.
The third thing emerging is from the Budget and the Welfare Bill. Instead of getting devo-to-the max we are getting austerity-to-the-max and that divergent view of what is right in social terms between Scotland and England is another thing which is moving things to another referendum."
Scotland voted against independence 55 per cent to 45 per cent in last year's vote, but the country won concessions from Westminster for devolved powers.
Watch the full interview with Salmond below.