New Scottish independence drive announced

Nicola Sturgeon, a Scottish politician, is the first Minister of Scotland and the leader of the Scottish National Party.

Ms. Sturgeon has been a member of the Scottish Parliament since 1999.

In 2016, Forbes magazine ranked Ms. Sturgeon as the 50th most powerful woman in the world and the 2nd most powerful woman in the United Kingdom.

The first referendum on Scottish independence took place on 18 September 2014.

Scotland voted to remain as a part of the UK, instead of being an independent state. While 44.7% population voted in favour of an independent state, 55.3% voted against.

Uncertainty over Scotland's EU membership was considered to be the major factor contributing in the outcome of the referendum.

Around 200,000 trade jobs in Scotland are connected to the rest of the UK.

Having been a part of the UK provided Scotland with one of the oldest, powerful, and most stable currencies in the world, backed up by 31 million taxpayers.

As a part of the UK, Scotland's finances became stronger following low taxes and rise in public spending.

Following UK's exit from the European Union, Nicola Sturgeon announced to reconsider results of the first Scottish referendum.

Nicola Sturgeon said, ''It is 'democratically unacceptable' that Scotland will be taken out of the EU against its will and a second independence referendum is 'highly likely'."

Nearly 62% people in Scotland voted to remain in EU, in a referendum held on June 24 2016.

Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon sparked a fury by threatening the UK to veto Brexit.

She has announced that the members of the Scottish Parliament might use their "legislative consent" powers to block the UK's exit from the European Union.

The threat might elevate the prospect of a long legal battle, over enacting results of last week's referendum where Scotland overwhelmingly voted to remain.

French President Hollande and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy rejected Nicola Sturgeon's proposal for a separate Scotland-EU deal and said it would have to leave with the rest of the UK.

Mariano Rajoy added that the Scottish government had "no competence" to negotiate with EU.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the EU Commission added that they could not interfere with the UK's internal politics.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced plans for a fresh Scottish independence drive after the tumultuous fall-out of the Brexit vote.

She urged Scots to engage in the country's "biggest ever political listening exercise" so that she can call for a fresh referendum.

She stated that she intends to gauge the public sentiment for or against a fresh independence vote.