Scottish Independence

Background

Scotland was an independent country until the 1707 Acts of Union, which united Scotland with England (and Wales) in the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Although the crowns of both kingdoms had been held by the same people since 1603, when James VI of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth I of England as James I, each country had its own parliament and legal system, border tensions remained high and trade and social barriers remained formidable. The 1707 Acts merged England and Scotland's parliaments and abolished trade barriers, although the countries retained distinct legal systems.

The first few decades of the new kingdom saw a number of attempts to restore the ousted Stuart monarchy (the 'Jacobite rebellions'), centred on and led from the Scottish Highlands. Far from being a Scottish national movement, however, Jacobitism was as unpopular in Presbyterian lowland Scotland as it was in much of England.

Although union was not universally welcomed, it allowed Scotland's commercial, intellectual and political elites to thrive, with Scots subsequently providing a disproportionate share of Britain's Empire-builders.

A separate Secretary of State for Scotland represented Scotland's interests within the Government from 1707 to 1745, when the post was abolished with powers largely exercised thereafter by the Home Secretary and the Lord Advocate. A post of Secretary for Scotland was created in 1885, which was upgraded to Secretary of State in 1926. The Scottish Office moved its base from London to Edinburgh in 1939, and it took over many powers exercised by other Departments during the 20th Century.

The Scottish National Party was founded in 1934 with the aim of uniting the nationalist movement through the merger of the left-leaning pro-independence National Party of Scotland (NPS) and the Scottish Party, a group of former Conservatives preferring home rule. At the time of the merger, the home rulers' views prevailed, and the SNP rejected the goal of full independence.

The SNP's first MP was elected in 1945, but it was not until the 1960s that the party began to make substantial electoral headway. Notably, in 1967, the SNP won over 200,000 votes in local council elections, and took 40 per cent of the national vote in 1968's council elections.

The gains being made by the nationalists led the Labour Government that year to set up the Kilbrandon Commission to draw up plans for a Scottish Assembly, and Conservative leader Edward Heath to promise to support plans for devolution. The SNP won seven and then 11 seats in the general elections of 1974, having successfully co-opted the discovery of North Sea oil to its cause with the 'It's Scotland's oil' campaign. During this period, the SNP developed an explicitly social democratic left of centre political agenda to complement its nationalist aspirations.

The Scotland Act 1978 made provision for a referendum on devolution. Although the March 1979 referendum found a majority of those voting in favour (1,230,937 - around 77,000 more than those against), it did not achieve the 40 per cent of the overall electorate threshold required for the result to stand.

The failure of the referendum saw the start of a period of decline for the SNP, as it fell victim to factionalism, with the expulsion of members of Siol nan Gaidheal and the leftwing 79 Group.

Under the Conservative Thatcher and Major governments there was little impetus to revive the devolution project, but it remained part of Labour's agenda - what John Smith famously called Labour's "unfinished business". In 1988, a Scottish Constitutional Convention was formed, bringing together MPs, MEPS, local authorities, the STUC, business, church and civic groups, which produced its final report, 'Scotland's Parliament. Scotland's Right' calling for a Scottish Parliament in 1995.

On its return to power in 1997, Labour set out its plans for a Scottish Parliament and a referendum in September that year. 1,775,045 (74.3 per cent) voted in favour of a Scottish Parliament, with 614,400 (25.7 per cent) against; and 1,512,889 (63.5 per cent) supported giving the Parliament tax-varying powers, with 870,263 (36.5 per cent) against. The Scottish Parliament was established in 1999.

On May 4 2007 the SNP achieved a historic victory in the Scottish parliamentary elections. The nationalist party increased their share of Holyrood seats, with 47 of the 129 seats available. Labour slipped into second place with 46 seats.

Following the results, Alex Salmond, leader of the SNP, said: "Scotland has changed for good and forever. There may be Labour governments and first ministers in decades still to come, but never again will the Labour Party think it has a divine right to government."

Talks with the Greens and the Liberal Democrats with the intention of forming a coalition fell apart, leading the SNP to form a minority government with Mr Salmond as first minister.

Opposition parties refused to work with the SNP because of its commitment to a referendum on independence before the end of its first term. With opposition support necessary to hold a referendum in any case, it is unlikely Scots will vote on independence during the current government.


Controversies

Research conducted by the Constitution Unit at University College London into the impact of devolution from 1997 to 2004, suggests that while there "is no evidence of an increase in support for independence in Scotland", devolution had thrown the SNP "a new political lifeline", as voters are more willing to vote for the SNP in the Scottish Parliament elections than in Westminster elections. In addition, the review found that devolution had done little to reduce the importance of Westminster in governing and being responsible for Scottish affairs.

Although independence from the UK remains an SNP objective, it still remains a minority concern and many radical proponents accuse the party of having compromised itself through participating in the Scottish Parliament, which remains subject to Westminster. The SNP includes both 'gradualist' and 'fundamentalist' wings, which even some within the party have warned may be hard to reconcile.

Despite the Scottish Parliament having considerable powers, Westminster reserves a wide range of policy areas, including defence and foreign policy, which are widely thought to be necessary for independent statehood.

An ICM/Sunday Telegraph poll in November 2006 said 52 per cent of Scots favoured an independent Scotland. The poll also suggested that 59 per cent of English voters also support independence for Scotland.



Statistics

The SNP's share of the Scottish vote in general elections since its formation are: 1935 - 1.1 per cent; 1945 - 1.2 per cent; 1950 - 0.4 per cent; 1951 - 0.3 per cent; 1955 - 0.5 per cent; 1959 - 0.5 per cent; 1964 - 2.4 per cent; 1966 - 5.0 per cent; 1970 - 11.4 per cent; February 1974 - 21.9 per cent; October 1974 - 30.4 per cent; 1979 - 17.3 per cent; 1983 - 11.7 per cent; 1987 - 14.0 per cent; 1992 - 21.5 per cent; 1997 - 22.1 per cent; and 2001 - 20.1 per cent.

An ICM poll in November 2006, five months before Scottish elections in May 2007, found 52 per cent of Scottish voters would like an independent Scotland.
Statistic 1: (Source: Wikipedia, 2004); Statistic 2: (Source: The Scotsman newspaper, November 2006)


Quotes

"The Kingdom of Scotland, within its own proper marches as they were held and maintained in the time of King Alexander of Scotland, last deceased, of good memory, shall belong to our dearest ally and friend, the magnificent prince, Lord Robert, by God's grace illustrious King of Scotland, and to his heirs and successors, separate in all things from the Kingdom of England, whole, free and undisturbed in perpetuity, without any kind of subjection, service claim or demand."

Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton, 1328

"The long struggle for a Scottish Parliament is over: the campaign for independence goes on."

Scottish National Party, 2004