Scotland's First Minister tweeted that May was "going out of her way to say Scotland's voice and interest don't matter", adding that the approach was "strange approach from someone who wants to keep (the) UK together."
PM going out of her way to say Scotland's voice and interests don't matter. Strange approach from someone who wants to keep UK together.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) October 2, 2016
Scotland voted decisively to stay in the EU and the Brexit result has sparked calls for a second referendum on Scottish independence.
Britain is set to leave the EU by 2019 after May announced that Article 50 — the formal process to leave the union — will be triggered by March next year.
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, May was keen to emphasise that was "no opt out from Brexit".
"We will negotiate as one United Kingdom and we will leave the European Union as one United Kingdom."
I want to be absolutely clear. There will be no unnecessary delays in invoking Article 50. pic.twitter.com/xSmfzhiGTn
— Theresa May (@theresa_may) October 2, 2016
However, the Prime Minister has insisted that she will listen to concerns from other parts of the UK, including Scotland.
"We will listen to and take account of the particular concerns of Scotland and other parts of the UK and we will want to ensure crucially that the benefits that we're able to achieve from the deal that we get with the European Union and the opportunities that will then open up to us outside the EU will be spread across the whole of the UK."
George Kerevan, SNP MP for East Lothian, told Sputnik that it would make "utter sense" to have a referendum on Scottish independence before Brexit is finalized.
"If there's going to be a Brexit and Scotland has voted to stay in the EU then it would make utter sense to have a referendum within the two year negotiating space between UK government and the EU," Kerevan told Sputnik.
Kerevan spoke to Sputnik at the Radical Independence Conference in Glasgow, where over 400 people met to strategize ahead of a possible second referendum.
The conference brought together left-wing activists from the SNP, the Scottish Green Party and RISE.
Meanwhile, Theresa May has also indicated that the UK is unlikely to stay in the single market, with control of borders set to be prioritized instead.
"We are not leaving the European Union only to give up control of immigration again," she said.
However, since the EU considers the free movement of workers intrinsic to the values of the single market, this would likely see Britain outside of the zone.
This could also pose a problem for an independent Scotland, as it would likely have to choose between tariff-free access to the UK or to the European Single Market.
Currently Scottish exports to the UK are worth US$58.8 million. That compares with US$14.9 billion to the EU.
