PM defiant over Scottish referendum as she hails '˜defining moment' for Britain

Addressing Parliament in the wake of Monday’s successful passage of the Article 50 Bill, Theresa May launched a fresh attack on Nicola Sturgeon’s calls for another vote, accusing the First Minister of “constitutional gameplaying”.

The robust response came as the SNP leader’s campaign for a referendum took a personal turn, as she suggested the Prime Minister lacked a mandate for her Brexit agenda because she was “not elected”.

It also came as Ms Sturgeon confirmed she could seek permission for a second vote from the Scottish Parliament as early as next Wednesday, and warned Westminster not to “block” her efforts.

Mrs May’s statement to the Commons today was originally touted as the moment at which she would finally announce the triggering of Article 50.

It saw the Prime Minister welcome the passage of the Brexit Bill, heralding it as a “defining moment” for the country and an opportunity to build “a strong, self-governing global Britain”.

However, she did not confirm whether the Bill had received Royal Assent, or provide any further indication of when she might begin the formal exit process.

She told MPs only that she will return to the Commons before the end of this month “to notify when I have formally triggered Article 50”.

It was widely speculated that this delay was a result of Downing Street being caught off-guard by Ms Sturgeon’s intervention on Monday, which saw the First Minister set out her timetable for demanding a second independence referendum.

Ms Sturgeon has since confirmed she will seek the Scottish Assembly’s consent to apply for the relevant Section 30 order next week, with a vote expected on March 22.

The SNP leader went on to urge politicians in Westminster no to try and “block” legislation for a referendum – or dictate the time frame – as she argued the decision “must be made in Scotland”.

And in a personal dig at Mrs May, she took to Twitter to defend her “clear” mandate for acting, stressing that while she was elected to deliver a manifesto commitment, “the PM is not yet elected by anyone”.

Responding to questions about the prospective referendum in the Commons, Mrs May initially struck a conciliatory tone as she issued a fresh call for unity.

But she quickly made her opposition to a vote clear, as she lambasted the SNP’s attempts to overturn a “once in a generation” result and accused them of “engaging in constitutional game-playing with the future of the United Kingdom”.

The Prime Minister also dismissed SNP claims that an independent Scotland could remain a member of the EU after the rest of Britain leaves, stating that she “did not detect” any support for the idea at last week’s European Council summit.

“The evidence in Scotland is that actually the majority of the Scottish people do not want a second independence referendum,” she added.

Earlier in the day, Downing Street revealed that Mrs May has asked ministers to work with her in developing a new ‘Plan for Britain’, that will bring together the Government’s aims for Brexit and its “ambitious programme of economic and social reform”.

Explaining the motivation behind the move, a spokesman stated that while the Prime Minister “looks forward” to the start of negotiations with the EU, she does not want to “lose sight” of her mission to forge “a stronger, fairer country”.

The announcement follows criticisms by a number of Brexit opponents that the sheer scale of the challenge to come will see a lot of domestic policy abandoned or postponed.

The plan was welcomed by members of the Tory party as an opportunity to ensure the UK gets the most out of Brexit.

But Lib Dem leader Tim Farron dismissed it as “an attempt to distract from this Government’s hard Brexit plans, and the shambles of a budget that will hit thousands of workers in Yorkshire.”

“Theresa May has no real plan for Brexit and that means she has no real plan for Britain,” he said.