Scottish protesters demand 2nd independence vote
Scottish protesters have marked the second anniversary of the 2014 independence referendum by calling for a fresh vote, hoping that they can secede from the UK in the wake of the Brexit vote.
Hundreds of pro-independence activists gathered in the city of Glasgow on Saturday to campaign for their cause.
The protest was held on the eve of the second anniversary of the independence vote on September 18, 2014, where 55 percent of the voters opposed the idea.
Britain’s recent vote to exit the European Union (EU), however, has revitalized hopes for secession.
During the June 23 EU referendum, Scotland voted 62 to 38 percent to remain in the 28-member bloc, but British voters as a whole voted 52 to 48 percent to leave.
Now that the UK is leaving the union, activists think they have a better shot at independence.
Pat Lee, a protest organizer, told the crowd of over 500 that the continued use of food banks by poverty-stricken Scots showed the Union of England and Scotland had failed to deliver social justice.
“It's an absolute shame that in the 21st century we have people forced to rely on food banks. It's scandalous,” he noted.
A Scottish Independence Convention was slated to be addressed by former Scottish first minister Alex Salmon, who said earlier this week that he expected a second independence referendum within the next two years.
Tommy Sheppard, an MP and SNP deputy leadership contender, was also going to speak at the convention event.
The ruling pro-independence party, SNP, played a major role in keeping Scotland a part of Britain in the previous referendum.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said earlier this month that the time has come for the country to launch a “new conversation” on independence in the aftermath of the Brexit.
According to a post-Brexit survey by the Sunday Post, 59 percent of the participants backed independence from the UK.
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