THERE THEY GO AGAIN: Scotland to publish independence referendum consultation bill next week.

Scotland will publish a fresh independence referendum Bill for consultation next week, part of a strategy to ensure that Scotland’s voice is heard in the negotiations to take Britain out of the European Union, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced on Thursday.

“There is no rational case for taking the UK out of the single market and there is no authority for it either,” she told delegates at her Scottish National Party conference.

She said it would be an act of “constitutional vandalism” to try to ignore Scotland’s parliamentary voice on the issue.

Politically, Britain without Scotland would be a lot like the U.S. without California, Illinois, and New York.