Almost 150,000 people sign petition against second Scottish referendum

MOSCOW: The UK parliament cleared the way on Monday for the British government to invoke Article 50, prompting Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to announce that she would seek the authority to hold another independence referendum, which should take place between fall 2018 and spring 2019 to accommodate for Brexit negotiations, Sputnik News reported.

The UK parliament must consider all petitions which reach more than 100,000 signatures for debate.

On Wednesday, a survey by ScotCen's Scottish Social Attitudes found that 46 percent of the Scottish public support independence, with 62 percent supporting the country remaining in the European Union.

The Scottish parliament will reportedly decide as early as next week whether Sturgeon should be given authority to ask the UK parliament for the power to hold a second referendum.