Sturgeon urges Scottish parliament to back referendum call
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Scotland's First Minister and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon makes a speech during the SNP Spring Conference, in Aberdeen, Scotland, Saturday March 18, 2017. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP) (The Associated Press)
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is asking the Edinburgh-based Scottish parliament to back her demand for a referendum on independence within two years.
Scottish voters rejected independence in a 2014 referendum that was billed as a once-in-a-generation vote. But Sturgeon says Brexit has changed the situation dramatically.
She said Tuesday that "staying in the U.K. hasn't safeguarded Scotland's place in Europe, it has jeopardized it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Britons voted in June to leave the EU, but voters in Scotland backed staying in.
British Prime Minister Theresa May plans to trigger the two-year EU exit period on March 29.
The British government has to approve a legally binding referendum, and May says she will not agree to Sturgeon's timescale.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Scottish parliament is due to vote Wednesday on whether to back Sturgeon's referendum call.