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[...]In Scotland, where the projected hit to gross domestic product in the event of no deal is 8 per cent, patience is wearing thin. Opinion polls show that support for independence is growing. When a recent Panelbase poll asked what would be better for Scotland, independence or staying in the UK under a no-deal Brexit, the result was 59 per cent for independence and only 41 per cent for no deal in the UK. When asked how they would actually vote in a second independence referendum faced with a no-deal Brexit, the majority for independence was smaller, at 52 per cent to 48 per cent. However, the direction of travel is clear. Perhaps most significantly, a majority of 51 per cent are now in favour of a second independence referendum either while the UK is still negotiating to leave the EU or once it has finished the negotiations.
It was a cross-party group of Scottish parliamentarians who, together with the barrister Jolyon Maugham, secured the ruling by the European Court of Justice that Article 50 could be revoked unilaterally. Next week, a cross-party group led by Scottish and Welsh parliamentarians will raise a further action in the Scottish courts to prevent the prorogation of parliament by an incoming prime minister. If we succeed, this will guarantee more time to resolve the dilemma of how to prevent no deal.
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