Defence Could Play Big Part In Second Scottish Referendum

Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed she will seek approval of the Scottish Parliament to hold a second referendum.

The First Minister says she will give Scots a "real choice" between Brexit and leaving the UK.

Ms Sturgeon said next week she will "seek the authority of the Scottish Parliament to agree with the UK Government the details of a section 30 order - the procedure that will enable the Scottish Parliament to legislate for an independence referendum".

A second referendum poses a real threat for the UK’s defence stability and the Trident nuclear deterrent, which has been long opposed by the Scottish National Party.

The missiles, currently based at Faslane in Argyle and Bute, would have to be relocated, an extremely expensive move.

Previous estimates calculated that it would cost between 2.5 and 3.5 billion and take around 10 years to rearrange the deterrent somewhere else in the UK.

According to the MoD, the Clyde naval base at Argyll and Bute is Scotland’s biggest employment site.

Around £140m a year is spent on maintaining the defence estate in Scotland, which includes military sites in Leuchars, Kinloss, Lossiemouth, Fort George, Royal Marines Condor near Arbroath, and the Hebrides Range.

Losing the ability to recruit in Scotland would also have damaging consequences for British Forces, who in recent years have seen their numbers shrinking.

Recent quarterly location statistics for January 2017 reveal that there are 14,070 MoD personnel based in Scotland, 6.8% of the UK’s total, of whom 10,140 were military (4,200 Navy; 4,120 army; 1,820 RAF) and 3,930 civilian.

A second vote could take place in autumn 2018, just four years after the first independence referendum.

The First Minister said:

"If Scotland is to have a real choice, when the terms of Brexit are known but before it is too late to choose our own course, then that choice must be offered between the autumn of next year 2018 and the spring of 2019."

Prime Minister Theresa May has said that a second independence referendum in Scotland would set the country on course for "uncertainty and division".

In an interview with Sky News, NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that by leaving the UK, Scotland "will also be leaving NATO, but of course it is possible to apply for membership and then the allies would then decide whether the independent state would become a member of NATO."

Scots previously voted by 55% to 45% to stay part of the United Kingdom.

The First Minister’s announcement comes after nearly two-thirds (62%) of Scots opted to stay in the European Union, but the UK as a whole voted for Brexit.