Why scotland wants independence

As predicted, on the sixth of May, , the Scottish National Party SNP was returned for its fourth term in government , gaining its largest parliamentary seat share in a decade. Despite not gaining an overall majority, what remains pertinent and continues to be so is that the Scottish parliament now hosts its largest pro-independence seat share in its history, with a margin.

Even though an independence referendum is more likely, it is by no means imminent, with both Johnson and Sturgeon commonly agreeing that the main priority for both the Scottish and British governments will be to steer the country through its post-pandemic economic recovery. However, regardless of the realities of when an independence campaign might materialise, it is increasingly important to understand why the desire for an independent Scotland is emerging once again.

Little over a generation ago, in the s and early 60s, the union could not have been more secure. During this time, a desire for Scottish independence was virtually non-existent, and the SNP was more of an irrelevant and eccentric sect as opposed to the mainstream political party we witness today.

Indeed, during this time, the distinct identities of Scotland and England played a reduced role in the national consciousness, resulting from the collective memory of British sacrifice of the second world war. Think Brexit was complicated? The U. Scotland has been part of Britain for There is no cut that will quickly set Scotland free, and the U. They are votes of the heart and declarations of identity.

If a majority of Scots want to leave the U. It might be messy and take a decade or more, but this is the destination to which Scotland now appears headed. Contact us at letters time. So far, the solution to this has been to create Metro Mayors with sweeping powers in big English cities. They are not universally popular, but they serve to start the process of localizing powers and slimming the U. The problem is they do not cover the whole of England, and there are no plans for this to happen at present.

However, something needs to give otherwise the Scots will be forced to choose between accepting a political system that leaves them disenfranchised and leaving the U. This does not seem to me to be a very happy or positive choice. The English are unionists at heart and would do almost anything to keep Scotland in the U.

They see the union as a meeting of equals, even though that is plainly not the case. It is hard to see how they would forgive any British prime minister who allowed Scotland to leave.

So, reform in England must quicken. Westminster must become much more like Washington: A body that reserves itself to deal with only those things states cannot do on their own. Scotland must be given the powers it needs to create the country it wants.

Scottish voters were given the choice of staying in the UK or becoming an independent country. Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon started openly pushing for another referendum - often referred to as indyref2 - immediately after the UK voted to leave the EU in For nationalists, this was proof that Scotland needed to take its future into its own hands rather than being tied to the UK and its Conservative government.

Many wanted indyref2 to be held before the UK left the EU in a bid to stop Scotland being "dragged out against its will" - but the argument is now that independence could allow Scotland to rejoin the EU in the future. The SNP, which forms a pro-independence majority at Holyrood alongside the Scottish Greens, has spent much of the past five years arguing that its electoral success alongside the Brexit vote means it has a "cast-iron mandate" to hold a referendum.

So far, the UK government has refused to grant the formal consent that Ms Sturgeon has previously said would be needed to ensure any referendum is seen as being legal. A series of opinion polls suggesting that a majority of people in Scotland were now in favour of independence rattled unionists ahead of the Scottish Parliament election in May - although some more recent polls have suggested that support for remaining in the UK could have edged narrowly ahead again.

Not surprisingly, opponents of independence - including the prime minister - don't want another vote on the issue. They argue that the referendum was, in Ms Sturgeon's own words at the time, a once-in-a-generation opportunity - which Mr Johnson has suggested should mean another one should not be held for about 40 years.

Unionists say Ms Sturgeon and her government should be focusing on tackling Covid and improving public services like health and education rather than independence. They also say that rejoining the EU would not be a straightforward process for an independent Scotland - and could potentially lead to a hard border between Scotland and England.