Scottish Voters Reluctant About Independence Vote as Economy Struggles Amid Pandemic
On 5/5/21 at 9:22 AM EDT
The economic upheaval following Britain's exit from the European Union and the coronavirus pandemic has cast a shadow over the push for Scottish independence.
As Scotland heads into parliamentary elections Thursday, the Scottish National Party, which has led a minority government since 2016, says a big victory will give it the political momentum to hold a referendum on whether Scotland should end its union with England.
Scotland voted to remain in the U.K. in a 2014 independence referendum, but Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon says that Brexit changed the situation. While the U.K. as a whole voted narrowly in 2016 to leave the bloc, a majority of Scottish voters wanted to remain in the EU.