by Alastair Jamieson
Scotland's government began moves Friday to hold a new referendum on independence from the U.K. after the "Brexit" vote, saying it faced being taken out of the European Union against its will.
First Minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon said officials would plan for a "highly likely" vote on separation from the rest of the U.K.
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Scots voted by 62 percent to 38 percent to remain in the EU, according to Friday's results, in contrast to the overall U.K.-wide result of 52 percent to 48 percent in favor of quitting the bloc.
A majority of voters in Northern Ireland also voted to remain in the EU, suggesting the U.K. faces internal constitutional upheaval as well as a contentious divorce from Brussels.
The issue is seen as important in Washington — and not just due to the historic "special relationship" with the U.K.; Scotland is currently home to 58 U.S. Trident II D-5 missiles, a key plank of NATO's nuclear deterrent.
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Scotland's nationalist government wants to ban nuclear weapons on moral grounds within four years of gaining independence. This would force London to relocate the weapons to alternative bases in England or return the weapons to the U.S., costing billions of dollars and creating upheaval precisely at a time of heightened regional security concern.
The SNP, which won last month's Scottish Parliament election, pledged in its manifesto that there would be another ballot if there was a "significant and material" change in circumstances from the 2014 referendum in which Scots narrowly voted to remain in the U.K. by 55 percent to 45 percent.
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A key argument in the 2014 poll was that Scotland's continued membership of the U.K. would also safeguard its future in the EU. A new vote could see a significant swing towards Scottish independence.
"We've got a united country in Scotland which wants to be part of Europe, and in the manifesto it said if Scotland was dragged out of Europe against the will of the Scottish people, then the Scottish Parliament should have the right to hold another independence referendum," said Sturgeon's predecessor, Alex Salmond.
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