Nicola Sturgeon questions David Cameron's approach to EU referendum

Nicola Sturgeon warned David Cameron's "very narrow focus" on efforts to reform the EU risks the UK's membership as she urged the Prime Minister to focus on the “big in-principle arguments” for staying in.

The First Minister said she was “increasingly concerned” in the wake of suggestions a vote on the UK’s future membership of the bloc could take place as early as June.   

It comes after her predecessor Alex Salmond, now the SNP’s international affairs and Europe spokesman, claimed it would be “disrespectful” to hold a referendum so soon after May's Holyrood election.

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Sturgeon, who last week said it would be a “democratic outrage” if Scotland voted to stay in but found itself heading for the exit as a result of the overall UK outcome, said she is “reasonably confident” Scotland will opt to stay in but “less sure” about the rest of the UK as time moves on.

The First Minister told reporters she fears that if the ‘In’ campaign run the same kind of campaign as Better Together did in the Scottish referendum, it could find itself “overtaken” in the polls.

“They need to get away from, and David Cameron in particular needs to get away from, the very narrow focus on these renegotiation issues and make the big picture case for staying in,” she added.

The Prime Minister remains hopeful of striking an agreement with European leaders next month that will pave the way for the UK’s EU referendum, raising questions over how soon an in-out referendum would follow.

“I’ll be campaigning for Scotland and indeed for the UK to stay in the EU,” Sturgeon told reporters in a briefing at Bute House. “But I think the decision that is taken should be informed and it should follow a proper public debate.

“I fear that by focusing on the narrow issues up for renegotiation, the UK Government is in danger of selling the pass on the big economic and social arguments for staying in the EU and then leaving too little time for these big issues to be engaged with.

“David Cameron should make clear now that once the renegotiation is concluded, he will focus on these big in-principle arguments on jobs, investment, on the impact on our society and culture for staying in the EU because I think not to do so would risk jobs in Scotland and across the UK.

“I’ll be making the case for our EU membership in Scotland and I hope that the Prime Minister quickly stops giving ground to the leave campaign and gets out there and starts to make the positive case as well. To do otherwise I think would be a failure of leadership.”

The First Minister insisted she was “not trying to use Brexit for any other purpose” amid questions over whether it would act as a trigger for a further referendum on independence.

“I’m not sitting here privately hoping that there is a vote for the UK to come out of Europe,” she added.

“I am simply making the point – and, in doing it, I am not trying to suggest that there wouldn’t be a number of issues that arise because of this – but if we find ourselves in the situation, which I hope we don’t, that Scotland has voted to stay in but the UK as a whole has voted to come out, I think we are in constitutionally unchartered territory.”