How Unionists are preparing for a second Scottish referendum

This afternoon Scottish Parliament will vote on Nicola Sturgeon’s call for a second independence referendum. With MSPs expected to vote in favour of the motion, Theresa May’s line that ‘now is not the time’ for a referendum looks set to come under increased pressure. ‘IndyRef2’ could still be pushed back as far as 2020/21 but behind the scenes Unionists are beginning to make preparations for a second vote.

So, what would — and what should — a cross-party campaign look like this time around? Two years prior to the 2014 referendum, Better Together was established with the support of the three main unionist political parties in Scotland: Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservative Party, and the Scottish Liberal Democrats. I understand that representatives from the three parties held a meeting a couple of weeks ago to moot the idea of forming a similar campaign vehicle — with the working title ‘New Direction’ — in anticipation of a second referendum.