Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Confirms Plans For Independence Vote

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday confirmed plans for a second Scottish independence referendum in the wake of the U.K.'s plan to leave the European Union. In a press conference in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said she will ask the Scottish parliament next week to vote in favor of her plans for a new independence ballot. The new referendum could take place between the autumn of 2018 and spring 2019. That would allow Scotland to vote on its independence before the U.K. has left the EU and possibly allow the Scots to stay in the political union. Sturgeon said she's been trying to reach a Brexit compromise with Westminster, but has been met with a "brick wall of intransigence." Scottish voters overwhelmingly backed remaining in the in the EU in the U.K.'s Brexit referendum in June last year. In the first Scottish independence ballot in 2014, the country chose not to split from the U.K., with 55% choosing to remain. The pound rose to $1.2230, up from $1.2168 late Friday in New York.