Nicola Sturgeon warns about demand for Scottish independence

The demand for a second referendum on Scottish independence could become "unstoppable" if Britain votes to leave the European Union, Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned. Speaking at the start of the Scottish National Party (SNP) annual conference in Aberdeen, Ms Sturgeon told her party she would not seek a fresh vote on independence unless there was "strong and consistent" evidence that many of those who voted no in last year's referendum had changed their minds.

She warned David Cameron, however, that the outcome of the EU referendum could "materially and fundamentally" change the circumstances in which Scots voted to remain part of the United Kingdom.

"Last year, you told the Scottish people that the only way to protect our EU membership was to vote no. It was one of the central issues of your campaign," she said. "If you try to take Scotland out of the EU against our democratic wishes, you will be breaching the terms of last year's vote. And, in those circumstances, you may well find that the demand for a second independence referendum is unstoppable."

The conference in Aberdeen is the SNP’s first since the party’s landslide victory in Scotland in May’s UK general election, when the party won 56 out of 59 Westminster seats. It is the party’s biggest conference yet, with four times as many delegates attending than were at last year’s in Perth.

The SNP’s membership has more than quadrupled since the referendum last September, from 25,000 to 114,000.

Launchpad

After eight years in government in Scotland, the SNP is hoping to use its conference as a launchpad for its campaign for next May’s Scottish parliamentary elections. The party was buoyed by a YouGov poll yesterday, showing its support in Scotland rising to 51 per cent, 30 points ahead of

Labour

, its closest rivals.

Labour has sought to challenge the SNP on its record in government, particularly since it won a majority at Holyrood in 2011, and on a property scandal surrounding the SNP’s former business spokeswoman at Westminster, Michelle Thompson.

Ms Thompson resigned the party whip last month after police began an investigation into “alleged irregularities relating to property deals”.

Ms Sturgeon took aim at Labour in her opening address, pouring scorn on its new leader and contrasting Labour’s divisions with the SNP’s discipline.

"You know, there is much that I hoped the SNP and Jeremy Corbyn could work together on. But over these last few weeks, it has become glaringly obvious that he is unable to unite his party on any of the big issues of our day," she said.

The party’s leader at Westminster, Angus Robertson, also trained his fire on Labour, taunting Mr Corbyn about his lifelong opposition to Trident, Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent. The SNP wants to scrap Trident, but Labour is divided on the issue, with many of its leading figures in parliament determined to keep it.

“Labour weren’t prepared to have a specific debate on Trident at their conference. I am pleased that the SNP is debating it here at our conference. I’m also happy to help Jeremy Corbyn and ensure that there is an early debate and vote at Westminster aimed at opposing Trident renewal,” Mr Robertson said.