Speech given from historic battle site where Scots beat English in 1297. Scotland, however, voted 62-38 percent to remain in the bloc. The Times now reports that support for a Scottish split has only edged up since 2014.
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Despite Sturgeon’s insistence that the Brexit vote had shifted Scottish opinion, a YouGov poll for the Times Scotland on Friday suggested the figure in favour of independence had barely shifted over the past two years, despite the June referendum.
The first minister told BBC Scotland she was ready to work with those who were concerned leaving the market would be economically damaging.
“Scottish National Party Leaders”, edited by James Mitchell and Gerry Hassan, will be published by Biteback on September 15.
Mr Smith said: ” I don’t think it’s radically different, the SNP are not a progressive left alternative to Labour, I think their attitude on taxation, the refusal to introduce the 50p rate of tax, the refusal to increase corporation tax in Scotland shows that they’re not really progressive.
The commission, to be chaired by former MSP Andrew Wilson, “will inform our thinking on how growth can be sustained in the here and now and during the period of uncertainty caused by Brexit”, Ms Sturgeon said.
Centre-left leader Sturgeon said the survey would be conducted through a website and by polling party members, aiming to reach two million people, or around half the electorate.
Party sources confirmed that Sturgeon’s view was that remaining within the single market was essential for both Scotland and the rest of the UK.
“This summer we witnessed seismic changes which will have a deep impact on our ambition for this country”, Sturgeon said.
Unionists across the United Kingdom were understandably concerned about the threat to the Union from Brexit, but there is no early sign of a surge in support for nationalism in either Scotland or Northern Ireland since June.
She said that they had to “accept the hand they were dealt” and that they had found comfort in their marriage.
Sturgeon, who heads the pro-independence Scottish National Party, has said Brexit will force Scotland to leave not only the European Union but also the single market, and that she is not prepared to wait and see what will happen without putting up a fight.
She added: “That (independence) has to be an option that Scotland has to consider”.
“There can be no doubt that Brexit raises afresh the issue of independence”, she said.
That makes balancing the books tough without unpopular austerity measures which the SNP opposes.
“We want to understand in detail how people feel about Europe, Brexit and independence”.
The party will have a deep trove of information on which to base its next steps by the time the shape of the Brexit negotiations in London and Brussels become clearer.
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While most Scots still do not back independence, opinion polls have narrowed and another Scottish vote could prove tough to manage as Britain grapples with its European Union exit.
