Brexit = Scottish Independence?
As of Tuesday, the polls in Scotland say 76% of Scots would vote to remain in the EU. It isn’t just the general population: out of 8 Scottish political parties, only two have publicly proclaimed to be in the Leave campaign. Although this isn’t as simple as it sounds: almost all of the Scottish parties in the Remain camp (SNP, Scottish Labour, Scottish Conservatives and so on and so forth) have said that they would not force all of their party members to campaign for the Remain camp. Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, has firmly proclaimed her support for the EU, but has also said that she would not campaign for it (although if you think about it, isn’t saying something like that campaigning?).
The two parties supporting Brexit are the usual suspects: UKIP (who, as of last week, have no more seats in the Scottish Parliament) and the socialist Solidarity party, who favour ““an independent Scotland out of the EU — unless it is reformed in the interests of working people.” RISE (Respect, Independence, Socialism, Environment), as you can infer from the name, is a left-wing party which has proclaimed neutrality on the whole issue. All they seem to want is Scottish Independence. This seems to be a trend: everything that is connected to Brexit seems to lead to a potential second Scottish Independence Referendum. David Cameron has also warned that leaving the EU might lead to Scottish Independence. It seems that almost all Scottish parties, no matter the outcome of the EU Referendum, believe that a second Independence Referendum is on the table. I suppose we will see what will actually happen at the end of June, but at the end of the day, Scottish Independence would certainly make things very difficult for Britain in the long run.
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