LONDON (REUTERS) - Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was in talks with the Scottish Green Party to form a coalition that would cement a pro-independence majority in the devolved parliament ahead of a political fight the future of the United Kingdom.
Sturgeon, the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), said she had held discussions with the Greens, who have promised to support a second independence referendum, at her official residence.
The SNP had been hopeful of winning an outright majority in elections this month which would have strengthened their call for a secession vote but they fell one seat short of the 65 required in the 129-seat devolved Scottish parliament, partly because of an electoral system that helps smaller parties.