Scottish independence

Scottish independence is the political movement seeking to make Scotland a sovereign state separate from the United Kingdom. It includes parties, campaigns, constitutional proposals, and public debate over independence.

Acts of Union 1707: The laws that united the kingdoms of Scotland and England as the Kingdom of Great Britain. The union created the constitutional arrangement that independence campaigns seek to end.
Section 30 order: An order under the Scotland Act 1998 that temporarily transfers specified powers from the UK Parliament to the Scottish Parliament. A Section 30 order enabled the 2014 referendum by granting Holyrood authority to hold it.
Nicola Sturgeon: A Scottish politician who led the Scottish National Party and served as Scotland’s first minister from 2014 to 2023. Her government made a second referendum the central constitutional issue of its later years.
Unionism in Scotland: The political position that Scotland should remain part of the United Kingdom. Unionism contests the movement’s central claim that sovereignty should leave the UK.
Scottish fiscal deficit: The difference between public spending attributed to Scotland and the public revenue raised there, as estimated in UK fiscal accounts. Its size and allocation shape arguments about the affordability of independence.
Scottish National Party: A Scottish political party that supports Scottish independence and has governed Scotland for much of the twenty-first century. The party became the movement’s largest electoral vehicle and its principal governing force.
Scotland Act 1998: The UK law that established the Scottish Parliament and defined its devolved powers. It provides the legal framework within which Scotland’s institutions operate before any change in sovereignty.
Alex Salmond: A Scottish politician who led the Scottish National Party and served as first minister from 2007 to 2014. He led the Scottish Government during the 2014 referendum campaign.
Federalism in the United Kingdom: Proposals to distribute constitutional power among the nations and regions of the United Kingdom through a federal system. Federalism offers a route to greater self-government without Scottish secession.
North Sea oil: Oil and natural gas extracted from fields beneath the North Sea, including waters near Scotland. Its revenues have featured in independence arguments, though production and receipts fluctuate.

Linked from 14 pages