The year Brexit came into force will most likely be marked by Scotland’s demand for independence. Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon are already on the move. an article byuractive italy.
The Scottish question will be a key element of the year 2021 for the British struggling post-Brexit. In the UK, the year began with the entry of Brexit and immediately continued with exchanges between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who was increasingly determined to lead Scotland into independence, Because the country could not digest abandonment. The European Union was “imposed” by the English.
The conflict between London and Edinburgh is not new. In 2014, a referendum on Scottish independence ended in a victory for the federalists, but in 2016 the outcome of the Brexit referendum strongly rekindled the desire for self-determination beyond Hadrian’s Wall, which is now said to be a fault line. goes.
Nicola Sturgeon, who also heads the Scottish National Party (SNP), stepped down again in 2016, when she criticized post-Brexit UK governments that failed to take into account the cause of Scotland, where many strong Pro-European sentiments took the lead. Victory for “staying”.
“More and more people in Scotland believe that our aspirations can be best met by continuing to contribute to the common effort and solidarity that the EU represents” and “thanks to Brexit, now We can do this only as a fully independent member of the state, ”said Nicola Sturgeon.
But Prime Minister Johnson is not in favor of a new referendum and made it clear once again last weekend.
It is true that London cannot ignore the growing desire for self-determination that is expressed in the north of the state. Recent elections have shown growing and continued support for independence, also fueled by the coronavirus pandemic that has widened the gap with Edinburgh.
Formal steps need to be taken to fulfill the wishes of Scottish citizens.
In 1997, a referendum brought parliamentary powers back to Edinburgh and the previous year, thanks to the Scotland Act, a legislative act of the British Parliament, significant powers were transferred to Holyrood Assembly (hence the name of the district where it is located). ). They give Scotland great autonomy with respect to powers relating to a possible divorce between the Kingdoms of Scotland and England, which remain under the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Westminster.
Two years before the 2014 referendum, the House of Commons passed the Edinburgh Agreement, which temporarily handed over the power to hold an independence referendum to the Scottish Assembly.
At present, however, such a process seems unlikely. So Edinburgh may decide to act unilaterally in the hope that the Supreme Court will approve this option. But it would theoretically at least be equivalent to breaking the majority interpretation of the Scotland Act.
If the British Conservative government persists in refusing to hold a second referendum, it would in principle be possible for Scotland to act unilaterally in the hope that the Supreme Court of Scotland would reject the majority interpretation of the Act, thereby ensuring the validity of the consultation Will go But this is a risky hypothesis.
Nicola Sturgeon nonetheless intends to complete the process by following the progress of proceedings between the two parliaments. The problem is likely to come from a conservative majority in the London Assembly, which does not view Scottish separatism favorably. The prime minister will likely work with Boris Johnson to try to bring this new opportunity to life.
Even if the independence referendum were held and ended with a ‘yes’, Scotland would face a number of complex issues starting with the lack of a national currency (making one is not easy, e.g. that it will not be easy to keep the pound sterling), and especially from the point of view of euro membership, as well as for membership processes, which require the fulfillment of specific requirements, as a result, mechanisms that are certainly not fast.
The fact is that next May there will be elections for the renewal of the Scottish Parliament, where the SNP currently has a relative majority (but on the question of independence, it can count on green MPs who make it possible to reach an absolute majority. ). The outcome of the consultation will determine how things proceed.
“For too long the UK governments have steered Scotland in the wrong direction,” said Nicola Sturgeon, referring specifically to Brexit. “It’s no surprise that so many Scots have had enough,” she said. And it is precisely the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in London, as well as the growing popular discontent over Brexit, that may prove stronger than everything else.
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