Scotland. Consensus increasing independence from UK

By Alberto Galvi –

In recent weeks, support for Scottish independence has never been greater as more than half of Scots want to leave Britain.
This increased independence is attributed to Scotland’s success in controlling England and Coronovirus, and Scotland’s overwhelming hostility to Brexit.
For this reason, about half of Scots want Scotland to become an independent country, compared to those who support the Anglo-Scottish Union.
Support for the SNP (Scottish National Party), Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s Independence Party, is also reaching record levels. The SNP are in the process of obtaining an absolute majority in the Scottish parliamentary elections next May.
Independence will undoubtedly be the central issue in the upcoming elections. Johnson’s election victory last year was a defining moment.
British conservatives won most of the British constituencies on 12 December, drawing Labor votes in the strongholds of the working class, thus making a fundamental improvement in the British political landscape.
In Scotland, however, British conservatives have lost ground, with the SNP winning seven of its thirteen places.
If the main objective of the Scottish Government was to secure a legally valid new referendum through the electoral consent of Britain, this result was not successful.
Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon thus requested more autonomy for Scotland following the election results last December, but was rejected by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
If the SNP wins the next election it will create a new majority seeking a mandate for a referendum.
A pro-independence majority is already present in the Scottish Parliament, but a renewed electoral victory would demonstrate a clear desire on the part of the Scottish people to obtain independence from Britain.
The debate over Scotland’s independence in 2016 was heavily influenced by Brexit, forcing voters to choose between the EU and the UK as it was no longer possible to choose both.
This notion also changed the basis of the debate between the parties, as Scotland and the rest of the UK would seek different relations with the EU.
The SNP aims to achieve results in the form of the first independence referendum of 2014, empowering the Scottish Parliament for a legal referendum and temporarily through an agreement on a vote between the Scottish and British government.
The ensuing Scottish elections will prove decisive in determining its independence, strongly shaped by both Brexit and Coronavirus.
British Prime Minister Johnson rejected Sturgeon’s proposal to re-accept the question of referendum regardless of autonomy and high support for next year’s election results.
SNP Scotland would be happy to become independent on the assumption that England completes the process of exiting the EU without interruption.