According to a political expert, the desire for independence in Scotland remains unbroken even ten years after the referendum on secession from the United Kingdom. In surveys, almost half of Scots are still in favor of it, says Kirsty Hughes from the Scottish Centre on European Relations think tank in an interview with the German Press Agency. In younger age groups, this is even a clear majority.
Ten years ago today – on September 18, 2014 – the Scots voted against secession in a referendum by 55 percent to 45 percent. Since then, the proportion of those in favor of independence has increased slightly, and at times there was even a narrow majority in the polls.
Public debate currently revolves around other issues
This fact is not affected by declining support for the Scottish Independence Party (SNP), which suffered a bitter defeat in the recent British parliamentary elections.
Expert Hughes therefore believes that the matter is far from being put to rest, even if the Labour government – like its Conservative predecessor – considers the issue to be closed and the public debate is currently revolving around other issues such as the ailing health system and the economic situation.
“I think the only way to get another referendum is for the numbers to rise and for it to become a genuine democratic issue,” says Hughes.
If the proportion of supporters in polls increases to 60 percent or more, the issue would be hard to ignore. “And I wouldn’t rule out that happening in the next ten years,” she adds.
Hughes believes that the independence movement could receive a new boost if the question of secession from Great Britain gained momentum in Northern Ireland.
Former Prime Minister Sturgeon is confident
Former Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who is considered the best-known face of the independence movement, expressed confidence that the separation would succeed. “I am as confident as ever that we will achieve this goal, and more quickly than currently seems likely,” Sturgeon wrote in a guest article for the Daily Record newspaper. “And when we do that, we will begin in earnest to build a better Scotland.”
According to a ruling by the Supreme Court in London, the British central government would have to agree to a new referendum. However, it stresses that the 2014 referendum was a one-off affair. Those in favour of secession, on the other hand, argue that Brexit has changed the situation. In the Brexit referendum in 2016, a clear majority of Scots strictly rejected Britain’s exit from the EU.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240918-930-235643/1
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