Scottish independence starts fundraising drive to push support for secession above 50 pct

Political and civic groups backing Scottish independence from the United Kingdom started a fundraising drive on Monday to push support for secession above 50 per cent.

The initiative is a sign of growing frustration with Prime Minister Theresa May's plans to take Britain out of the European Union, as well as pressure on Scotland's pro-independence first minister Nicola Sturgeon.

With less than six months to go before Britain leaves the EU, May's government has yet to agree on a divorce deal.

Sturgeon has said she will wait to see the detail of any agreement before deciding on Scotland's own path.

The website "ThisIsIt", which pools 18 Scottish nationalist groups, said it was seeking funds to pay for the professional campaign needed to push up public support for independence.

"Scotland did not vote for Theresa May's disastrous vision of Brexit," it said. "The crisis we face shows that Scotland must go its own way."

The campaign raised over 12,000 pounds ($15,780) within a few hours on Monday, just over a third of its initial target. It aims to raise 180,000 pounds in total.

Scotland voted 62-38 per cent stay in the EU in Britain's referendum on membership in June 2016, two years after rejecting independence by 55-45 per cent in another, legally binding, plebiscite.

Britain as a whole voted 52-48 to leave the EU, taking Scotland with it.

Sturgeon says that the only solution to Scotland's Brexit "problem" is independence. But she is wary of calling for a new vote only for May to refuse to consider it. Britain's parliament, which is sovereign, needs to sign off on any new referendum.

Sturgeon has tried to persuade May to keep the UK in the EU's single market after Brexit, but many in May's own conservative party want to break with the EU altogether.

(With inputs from agencies.)