I can support Scottish independence in second referendum, says Keziah Dugdale

Keziah Dugdale: «If you're faced with a binary choice between an independent Scotland in progressive Europe or a little Britain like Boris Brexit, I know where my cards will fall. Photo: Andrew O'Brien

The former Scottish Labor leader said she could support independence in a second referendum, acknowledging that her views had 'definitely changed'.

< p>Keziah Dugdale said she would «decide at that time» whether to support separation and insisted she was not ready to vote yes at this time.

But she added: Scotland in progressive Europe or little Boris Brexit in Britain, I know where my cards will fall. I also know that I would not have been able to fight for the Union with the same force as in 2014.

“So I moved. I have moved, of course, and I think we should continue to talk about some of these important issues in the country, but not only through a yes-no lens.

Ms Dugdale, who led Scottish Labor between 2015 and 2017, said she understood the case for independence better, but acknowledged that «there are big, big questions» that the Yes campaign must answer.

She revealed at an Edinburgh International Book Festival event that she had not been a Labor Party member for three years, citing her pro-European views as the reason for leaving. .

However, she said she «desperately» wants Sir Keir Starmer to win the next general election «because I want the Tories out of office.»

Ms. Dugdale, who appeared on the program » I'm a celebrity… Get me out of here! in 2017 is now Director of the John Smith Center at the University of Glasgow. She is married to Jenny Gilruth, SNP MSP member and Scottish Minister for Education.

She said at the event: “Of course, I understand the arguments for independence much better than in the past. That's not to say I didn't appreciate the strength with which many people held this view in 2014.

“But now I'm surrounded by nationalists — in a very good way — and we're talking about these issues. all the time. And in fact there are many common connections. We see Scotland free from poverty and inequality, where people can thrive and be who they want to be.”

Ms Dugdale said she didn't believe there would be anything else. hold a referendum within the next decade, declaring that neither Labor nor the Tories will allow it.