Scottish independence: A second referendum is now “inevitable”, says Nicola Sturgeon
While all parties should respect the result of last years Scottish independence referendum, a second vote is "inevitable" in the future, leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon has said.
Read more: A yes vote would have plunged Scotland into a deep depression
Speaking on BBC's The Andrew Marr show, Sturgeon said she believed a second referendum would take place in her lifetime. She added:
It is not the right of any politician to stand in the way of the Scottish people if there is an appetite at some point in the future to have another referendum. It really boils down to public opinion.
If there was no shift in public opinion it would be wrong to propose another referendum, but equally if we see a sustained shift in public opinion, it wouldn't be right to rule it out.
On the topic of the European Union, if Scotland votes to stay in but "find ourselves being taken out of the EU anyway", that fundamentally changes the nature of the UK that people voted to stay part of last year, Sturgeon added. "We would see rising demand for another referendum."
Read more: Low oil prices would've helped an independent Scotland
Sturgeon's comments come the month after she said Prime Minister David Cameron is "living on borrowed time".
The leader of the SNP also said that chancellor George Osborne is implementing austerity of choice, not necessity. "[The government] are going much further than any fiscal necessity demands".