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Scottish independence, if, and what?

Mike McCartney

5th July 2022

Some background reading on the issue

Those who visit this blog site will no doubt be aware that the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, is moving forward with IndyRef2.

If not, see here form the BBC.

Andrew Rawnsley in the Observer has written thoughtfully on Sturgeon's plans:

"The course she has embarked on is paved with hazards. One risk for her is that she gets what she’s asking for. After the 2014 defeat for independence, I heard many senior SNP figures say they wouldn’t want to try again until they had polling evidence of a solid majority for independence – 60/40 was often mentioned – over a sustained period. They haven’t managed that despite all the help they have been gifted by a hardcore Brexit that told Scotland to get stuffed and a Scots-repellent Tory prime minister. The SNP’s gamble is that the intensity of a campaign would sufficiently move the dial for them to win."

Essentially, despite jokes in the press that the SNP will hold a series of referendums until they get the result the want, if Sturgeon gets the poll and Scottish opinion doesn't swing in the favour of the Scottish nationalists then the issue will be dead for a generation, and the implications for the party/Scottish independence will be massive.

See Rawnsley's full article here.

But what I really wanted to share was the excellent piece from the i. It tries to answer the of the constitutional and pragmatic issues that students ask questions about. And it is very good. So it is a cut and keep for Politics teachers, or anyone planning to do a talk to a Politics Society on the issue any time soon! The link is here.

Mike McCartney

Mike is an experienced A-Level Politics teacher, author and examiner.

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