NICOLA Sturgeon will travel to London this week as she seeks to form an alliance with Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party in an attempt to stop the UK crashing out of the European Union.
It comes as Prime Minister Theresa May continues to fight for survival in Westminster amid warnings the next seven days will be "critical" for the future of the UK.
Ms Sturgeon insisted it was now "incumbent" on opposition parties to come together and put forward alternatives to Mrs May's Brexit agreement, which she said was unlikely to make it through the Commons.
She confirmed her MPs would vote against the deal and urged others to "coalesce" around keeping the UK in the single market and customs union - while also pushing for a second Brexit vote.
The First Minister said she would announce her plans for a second independence referendum - which she previously suggested would be outlined once a Brexit deal had been reached - in the "not too distant future" after the "dust settles" in Westminster.
She told the BBC: "If the House of Commons says we want to go down the road of single market and customs union membership, we want more time to take this back to the people of the UK in another vote, we need an extension of Article 50. If there is a clear change of direction then I believe the EU would be prepared to look at that.
"But that means those who don't want this deal coming together.
"Those who don't think the Continued on Page 4 OPINION Mark Smith: Page 13 Continued from Page 1 Prime Minister's deal is the right way to go now have a responsibility to come together and coalesce around an alternative.
"I will seek to have discussions this week with other parties to get us into that position."
Ms Sturgeon said she was keen to talk to the Labour leader "and whoever else" in the Commons in the coming days.
She said Mrs May's deal amounted to a "blindfold Brexit" with no clarity over the future relationship with the EU.
Her comments were echoed by Scottish Brexit Secretary Michael Russell, who will travel to London today for a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on European Negotiations.
He insisted he now has "little confidence at all that UK ministers are interested in serious talks". He added: "It seems clear the UK Government's deal will be defeated in the House of Commons and therefore we will do everything in power to ensure a common-sense alternative is in place."
It comes as the Prime Minister faces another stormy week after unveiling her draft withdrawal agreement with the EU, with speculation she could face a vote of no confidence as early as tomorrow.
Mrs May warned her critics that ousting her would not make the "negotiations any easier and it won't change the parliamentary arithmetic".
Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, who resigned on Thursday morning, warned she is allowing the UK to be "bullied and blackmailed" by Brussels.
Meanwhile, a group of five Brexiter Cabinet ministers - Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom, Liam Fox, Chris Grayling and Penny Mordaunt - are pushing for key changes to Mrs May's deal. If they fail to secure these and choose to resign, it could prove devastating for Downing Street.
Last night it emerged frozen and chilled warehouses across the UK are running out of space as firms desperately seek to stockpile goods in preparation for a no-deal Brexit.
Addressing a Confederation of British Industry conference today, Mrs May will acknowledge her Government faces "an intense week of negotiations ahead of us in the run-up to the special European Council on Sunday".
She will say: "During that time I expect us to hammer out the full and final details of the framework that will underpin our future relationship and I am confident we can strike a deal at the council that I can take back to the House of Commons."
Ms Sturgeon reiterated her belief that Scotland's interests have been "sidelined" during the Brexit process, but she appeared to delay any imminent announcement on a second independence referendum.
It came as the latest poll showed an increase in support for independence, but with a stubborn lead for staying in the UK.
Britain Elects last night tweeted a Panelbase poll, from November 2-7, saying the Scottish independence referendum voting intention stands at 43% for Yes and 52% for No.
The First Minister previously indicated she would outline plans for another vote "when Theresa May comes back and says I've got the deal".
However speaking to the BBC, she said: "I think it's firstly appropriate to wait and see what the House of Commons does.
"This withdrawal agreement, as things stand right now, is not getting the approval of the Commons.
"Wait until the dust settles. I will come forward with my views on what I think on the appropriate next steps for Scotland specifically in the not too distant future, but I think it's reasonable to allow the dust to settle."
Pamela Nash, chief executive of pro-UK campaign group Scotland in Union, labelled the remarks "reckless".
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel