NOTHING has fundamentally changed in Scotland to justify a second referendum on independence while the changes to Britain’s economy following the first Brexit vote means another poll on EU membership is needed, Sir Vince Cable has insisted.
Speaking at a Westminster lunch for political journalists, the former Coalition Government minister, set to become the next Liberal Democrat leader, was asked why First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was wrong to want to have a second referendum on Scottish independence but he was right to want one on Brexit.
Sir Vince replied: “The arguments are quite different. My concern is very much with the European question and given the way it is evolving we are going to have to have a fresh look at it.
“I don’t think the fundamental facts have changed in Scotland. It’s quite unlike what’s happening on Brexit. We can see the legislation is evolving, we can see the impact on the economy, the need to reappraise it is very clear.
“But all the arguments for and against Scottish independence were very clearly aired last time and nothing has fundamentally changed that makes it necessary to reopen this,” he argued.
Last year, while the UK as a whole voted narrowly for Brexit, in Scotland 62 per cent of voters opted to remain in the EU.
The former business secretary reiterated how politicians, civil servants and voters were increasingly thinking Britain would now not leave the EU.
This, he explained, was because of the "sheer enormous complexity and difficulty" emerging over withdrawal and despite Theresa May's "ludicrously implausible" attempts to form a "very British" grand coalition on Brexit with Labour.
In addition, Sir Vince said the EU was now in a strengthened political position with the election of Emmanuel Macron as French President while the UK faced economic troubles with a short term credit bubble.
"So when you add all that together you start to ask the question well how can this possibly happen?
"I'm not putting my reputation as Mystic Meg on the line in saying I'm absolutely confident it would happen but the possibility of this just not getting any further is now becoming very real," declared the London MP.
The Lib Dem grandee said his party was now in a good position to "break through the middle" as Mrs May had "trashed" David Cameron's decade of modernising the Tories while Mr Corbyn's policies were "implausible".
Asked about his age, the 74-year-old politician said while older leaders were not better than younger ones, they had “some advantages” as he admitted he had been “lucky with my health”.
He added: “I keep very fit; I cycle, I go to one of Richard Branson's gyms several times a day...a week."
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