The Financial Times has acknowledged in an editorial that the Scots are entitled to a second independence referendum because the "constitutional situation" in which the first one took place has changed, since at that time it was not known that there would be a Brexit - which the Scots reject. In the referendum to leave the EU in 2016, 62% of Scots voted to remain. In the independence referendum, in 2014, 'no' won with 55% of votes. The British business newspaper of reference adds only one condition: that the parties seeking the referendum first obtain a majority in the next Scottish elections, which, if not called early, will be held in 2021.
The last paragraph of the editorial, puts it very clearly: "This newspaper firmly supports the United Kingdom as one of the most successful political marriages in history. But the argument that Britain’s departure from the EU changes the constitutional situation is legitimate. If parties that unequivocally support a new independence referendum win a majority under Scotland’s proportional system in the 2021 election, the case to grant one may become unanswerable. Before then, if it is to preserve the UK, the government must do all it can to persuade Scots once again to vote No."
The Financial Times argues that a new election victory is required in Scotland because the support achieved by pro-independence parties in the recent general election - at 45% - "does not grant a mandate" for a second referendum.
It acknowledges, however, that the Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon is right when she claims that the British government has ignored its proposals to remain within at least the European Single Market, while at the same time it has effectively granted Northern Ireland such a status. Brexit also lost in Northern Ireland.
The FT warns, however, that it would be difficult for Scotland to settle its accounts without transfers from the British government due to the fall in the price of North Sea oil, on which Scotland's revenue depends. Prior to the 2014 referendum, a barrel of North Sea "Brent crude" cost over $100. It is currently valued at $65. The newspaper also predicts that an independent Scotland would have a "hard border" with the south and that this would cause it economic harm.