Scotland's Leader Has Called For A New Independence Vote Before Brexit

Scotland's leader wants to hold another referendum on independence from the United Kingdom.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced Monday she will ask Scotland's parliament for permission to hold a second independence vote.

"It is important that Scotland is able to exercise the right to choose our own future at a time when the options are clearer than they are now, but before it is too late to decide our own path," Sturgeon said at a press conference.

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Scotland's first referendum on the issue took place in 2014. Back then, voters decided 55 percent to 45 percent to stay a part of the U.K.

But ever since Britain voted to leave the European Union last year, Sturgeon has reiterated that a new independence referendum is "highly likely."

In the Brexit vote, 62 percent of Scots wanted to stay in the EU. But 52 percent of the U.K. as a whole voted to leave. 

Sturgeon said the new referendum could take place as early as next year, once the terms of Britain's exit from the EU become clearer.