NICOLA Sturgeon and the SNP will today be urged to "get off the fence" and back the call for a People’s Vote on Brexit.

Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, who will make the challenge, will also use his keynote speech to conference to stress that Brexit shows "breaking up is hard to do", insisting the reaction to Britain quitting the EU should not be for Scotland to then leave the UK.

The SNP leadership appears divided on the issue of backing a second vote on Brexit with some fearing its outcome could harm the chances of a successful independence referendum.

Noting how after 40 years of EU membership "the ties that bind us are strong, the economic relationship is deep," the Fife MSP will tell party delegates: "There is a lesson for Nicola Sturgeon: rather than rubbing her hands with glee that Brexit could help her win independence, she must surely see the obvious?

"After 300 years the ties that bind us are strong, the economic relationship is deep, the laws are common."

Mr Rennie will argue: "The lessons of Brexit are the lessons for independence. Everyone can see it; except Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP.

"The rest of the world can see the lesson of the destruction of a single economic market. They can see the harm of making it harder for business to get goods and services to market, harder for individuals to get the benefits and opportunities that brings.”

But he will say the SNP response to the break-up of the EU single market is to break up the UK single market because for the Nationalists independence “always come first”.

The Scottish Lib Dem leader will insist: "And now they won't even help the rest of us get the chance to have a final say on the deal."

He will add: "Scotland deserves better than this. Scotland demands better. I say to the SNP: get off the fence; stand up for Britain's place in Europe; put your voice behind a public vote on the deal."

In response, SNP MSP Rona Mackay denounced Mr Rennie’s remarks as “ludicrous stuff,” saying how he “bizarrely, would rather attack the SNP Government over Brexit than the Tories or Labour”.

She added: "The Lib Dems should be joining our fight to keep Scotland in the single market - which is around eight times bigger than the UK market alone - backing jobs, living standards and our economy, and keeping the pressure on the Tories, who have no mandate here."