Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon says she does not believe there will be a second referendum on the terms of Britain's exit from the European Union.
Speaking in Dublin at an event hosted by employers’ group Ibec, Ms Sturgeon said there were forces that would resist such a move.
Rather than focusing on something down the road that might allow the obstacle be overturned, she said: “It’s really important to try to influence the direction of travel now.”
Ms Sturgeon is on a two-day visit to Ireland aimed at strengthening links between the two countries.
She said it was her government’s position that there was no mandate in the UK for a hard Brexit involving loss of single market membership.
Ms Sturgeon was also strongly critical of the UK government’s Brexit strategy, suggesting it was still unclear what it was trying to achieve.
Signals
“The signals I’m getting are not persuading me that the objective of seeking to retain single market membership is going to be what the UK government tries to do,” she said.
The Scottish leader said she had appointed a team of experts to consider options for Scotland retaining membership of the single market if the rest of the UK opted to depart.
She has previously stated that unless British prime minister Theresa May shielded Scotland from a hard Brexit, she would hold a second referendum on Scottish independence.
Ms Sturgeon said Mrs May’s March deadline for triggering article 50, the formal exit mechanism, was likely to come under pressure if Britain’s Supreme Court next week upholds the earlier High Court ruling on triggering Brexit negotiations.
“I think it’s an open question,” she said, noting it would be difficult for the British government to get legislation through the parliament in the timeframe.
Ms Sturgeon said the current ill will between London and Brussels would continue – “as long as the UK continues to display the kind of attitudes that it has been doing.”
As to whether there should be a special status for Northern Ireland as part of the Brexit process, she said she would be supporting special arrangements from different parts of the UK where there are different circumstances.
“Above and beyond and aside all of that, it’s extremely important to recognise the particular circumstances of Ireland, the peace process, the Good Friday Agreement and the importance to both of those things of maintaining an open Border,” she said.
Ms Sturgeon said she hoped the border issue could be something everybody in the UK and Europe could agree on, given what is at stake.
