Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP and Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell has urged Nicola Sturgeon not to take Scotland back to the divisiveness of the independence referendum.
Reacting to the First Minister's speech at the SNP conference where she said a draft independence bill will be brought forward next week, Mr Mundell said:
"Constant talk of another independence referendum is creating uncertainty and damaging the Scottish economy at a time when our growth is lagging behind the UK as a whole.
“The people of Scotland spoke loudly and clearly in the result of the legal, fair and decisive referendum of 2014 and that should be respected, as the UK and Scottish Governments both committed to do in the Edinburgh Agreement.
"As we prepare to leave the EU, the First Minister should commit her Government to working constructively with the UK Government to seize the opportunities that will bring, not taking Scotland back to the divisive constitutional debates of the past."