News / Interviews

Scotland may be forced to leave UK: Journalist

Monday, 27 June 2016 6:53 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 27 June 2016 8:22 AM ]

A demonstrator holds a placard during a protest against the outcome of the UK's June 23 referendum on the European Union (EU), in central London, June 25, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Scotland’s plan to veto the UK’s exit from the European Union has little chance of succeeding and the Scots may finally hold a referendum to leave the UK, investigative journalist from Philadelphia David Lindorff told Press TV in an interview on Monday.

Nicola Sturgeon, first minister of Scotland, will be trying to “derail the Brexit using legislative means or legal means but failing that, I think, if they do have a poll again it seems likely to me that it would pass,” Lindorff said.

On Thursday, 51.9 percent of Britons voted in favor of leaving the EU while 48.1 percent voted to remain in the bloc.

In a 2014 referendum, some 55 percent of Scottish people voted to stay part of the UK to guarantee their presence in the European Union, but they are now in a situation that may push them to become independent from the UK to be part of the EU.

“They only have to shift five percent of the votes since there was a 10 percent margin in the last one; so, with 62 percent of the Scots voting to want to stay in the EU, that has to include a large number of people who will probably switch their vote on the issue of staying in the UK,” Lindorff argued.

Pointing to the response of EU member states to the Brexit, the journalist noted, “The European countries said they are worried about their own population wanting to separate from the EU also including France and maybe Spain and maybe Italy.” Therefore, the EU member states would like to see the Brexit happen as quickly as possible.

However, Germany, which is an important player in running the EU, is saying there is no need to rush the UK’s exit from the bloc.

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