Nicola Sturgeon is behaving in a statesman-like manner, holding talks with all and sundry, polishing the silver in her official residence so it gleams under all those lights and cameras and saying things in calm and assured tones. She is displaying exemplary ‘leadership’ qualities as defined by the world of politics. However, can she really retain Scotland’s place in the EU?

As far as I understand it, the UK is the member country of the EU. The UK remains in the EU until article 50 is invoked and the negotiations are completed. This process will take roughly two and a bit years. Scotland, as part of the UK, is intimately involved and would no longer be in the EU at some point deep into 2018.

Scotland could become independent from the UK. To achieve that there needs to be another referendum with the opposite result to last time. A referendum can only be triggered with the agreement of Westminster, which may take some time. Victory may well depend on the price of oil at the time of the referendum. Once the vote is for independence, there will be a period of negotiation to agree the terms of separation from the » Continue Reading.