Vote SNP even if you’re against independence, Sturgeon urges Scots

Nicola Sturgeon has urged voters across Scotland to support the SNP in next week’s EU elections “whether you’re for or against independence”, to send a convincing message about the country’s opposition to Brexit. While opponents have accused her of using the Brexit deadlock as an excuse to campaign for independence, Sturgeon stepped up her appeals to pro-European voters to discount Labour. Launching her party’s EU manifesto on Friday, she dismissed as “pointless” Jeremy Corbyn’s talks with Theresa May, and accused him of wanting to overturn the referendum result in Scotland, where a majority voted to remain. Speaking to an audience of candidates and activists hours before the Brexit party leader, Nigel Farage, was due to hold a rally in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said: “We have senior Tories now openly calling for an electoral pact with Nigel Farage … it is a deadly serious possibility and for Scotland it would be a nightmare.