LONDON: The risks to Britain of its vote to leave the EU were laid bare on Monday when Scotland’s nationalist government announced a new independence vote in anticipation of the imminent start of the Brexit process.

Legislation empowering Prime Minister Theresa May to formally begin withdrawing from the European Union is expected to become law by Tuesday, allowing her to start Brexit at any point.

But Downing Street sought to play down speculation she would immediately trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon treaty, starting the two-year divorce process.

“We have been clear that the prime minister will trigger Article 50 by the end of March,” her spokesman said, heavily emphasising the word “end”.

The prospect of an imminent start to negotiations to pull Britain out of the EU, after four decades of membership, was however enough to push the Scottish nationalist government into calling a fresh independence vote.

As the price for cutting immigration, May has said Britain will leave Europe’s single market — a move that the Scottish National Party (SNP) in power in Edinburgh has warned would be highly damaging to jobs and growth.

SNP First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said since the June referendum vote for Brexit that Scotland, where a majority wanted to stay in the EU, sought a different future.

On Monday she made good on her threat, promising to give Scotland “a choice at the end of this process”

“A choice of whether to follow the UK to a hard Brexit or to become an independent country, able to secure a real partnership of equals with the rest of the UK and our own relationship with Europe,” she said in Edinburgh.

The announcement pushes to centre stage one of May’s biggest concerns about Brexit, the break-up of the United Kingdom, as she prepares to start negotiations with the other 27 EU member states.

Legislation empowering the prime minister to trigger Article 50 returned to parliament for its final stages on Monday.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2017