NICOLA STURGEON firmly believes an independent Scotland would thrive as a member of the EU and has repeatedly criticised the Brexit process, pointing out that a majority of the Scottish people voted Remain - but, during the 2016 referendum campaign, the SNP were accused of "barely lifting a finger" to prevent the Brexit vote, unearthed reports reveal.
Ms Sturgeon is determined to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence in 2020, even if Prime Minister Boris Johnson is repeatedly rejecting her demands. Her calls have grown louder after Britain’s departure from the EU on January 31, as the SNP leader believes Brexit has happened against the will of the Scottish people. Scotland voted by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent in 2014 to remain part of Britain, and a year later voted by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent to remain in the EU.
Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show at the end of February, the SNP leader urged independence supporters to "be patient", but said it was essential to push for Indyref2 as the UK negotiates its "future relationship with Europe".
She also noted she was not against "testing the limit of the power of the Scottish Parliament" in court, but claimed she was not "actively looking at" trying to hold an unofficial referendum in the near future, like that of Catalonia in 2017.
As the future of the Union appears uncertain, a 2016 report by The Telegraph sheds light on claims that, despite Ms Sturgeon claiming Brexit justifies a second independence vote, the SNP “barely lifted a finger” to prevent it during the EU referendum campaign.
Official figures released by the Electoral Commission showed the nationalists spent just £90,830 fighting to keep the UK in the EU – even though their upper limit was £700,000 and had buoyant finances following a surge in party members.
Sturgeon independence plot exposed: How pro-EU SNP 'hardly lifted finger' to stop Brexit (Image: GETTY)
"But the party’s pitiful investment in the campaign tells another story completely.
“The SNP is not a poor organisation, yet it treated the EU referendum like it was a council by-election.”
Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, added: “They hardly lifted a finger during the referendum.
"The SNP can redeem their lacklustre EU campaign by backing our fight to keep the UK within the EU.”
The Electoral Commission figures showed the SNP spent £64,105 on leaflets and £26,725 on advertising.
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The largest single item of expenditure was just over £23,000 on 1.75 million copies of a leaflet titled "You and Your Family Are Better Off in Europe".
In contrast, the party spent £1.3million in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum campaign.
Among the organisations that spent more than the SNP fighting for a Remain vote were the trade unions Unite (£140,173), the GMB (£96,430) and the shop workers’ union USDAW (£104,190).
