Unionism in Scotland
Charles III William, Duke of Rothesay Swinney government The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP Kate Forbes MSP Sixth session Alison Johnstone MSP Angela Constance MSP Dorothy Bain KC The Rt Hon Lord Carloway KC PC United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections Local elections Referendums Starmer ministry The Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP Unionism in Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Aonachas) is a political movement which favours the continuation of the political union between Scotland and the other countries of the United Kingdom (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), and hence is opposed to Scottish independence.
[citation needed] The former Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore, has written that he does not call himself a Unionist, despite being a supporter of the union.
This he ascribes to the Liberal Democrat position in regard to Home Rule and decentralisation within the United Kingdom, noting that: "for me the concept of 'Unionism' does not capture the devolution journey on which we have travelled in recent years."
[6] Scotland emerged as an independent polity during the Early Middle Ages, with some historians dating its foundation from the reign of Kenneth MacAlpin in 843.
The independence of the Kingdom of Scotland was fought over between Scottish kings and by the Norman and Angevin rulers of England.
A key period in the Kingdom of Scotland's history was a succession crisis that started in 1290, when Edward I of England claimed the Scottish throne.
The monarchies were subsequently restored in 1660, with Scotland reverting to an independent kingdom sharing the same monarch as England and Ireland.
Causes for this included English fears that Scotland would select a different (Catholic) monarch in future, and the failure of the Scottish colony at Darien.
[8] The Liberal governments of the late 19th century and early 20th century supported a "home rule all round" policy,[9] which would have meant creating national parliaments in England, Ireland and Scotland with common and external matters (such as defence and foreign affairs) decided by the UK Parliament.
Following the Kilbrandon Report in 1973, recommending a devolved Scottish Assembly, the Labour government led by Jim Callaghan introduced the Scotland Act 1978.
The result of the referendum did not meet this additional test, and the Labour government decided not to press ahead with devolution.
When the party returned to power in 1997, they introduced a second devolution referendum which resulted in the enactment of the Scotland Act 1998 and the creation of the Scottish Parliament.
Supporters argued that it would strengthen the Union, as giving Scotland self-government would remove the contention that independence was the only way to obtain control over internal affairs.
Support for devolution within the party was rejected and was opposed by the Conservative governments led by Margaret Thatcher and John Major in the 1980s and 1990s.
[15] The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and Solidarity seek to make Scotland an independent sovereign state and a republic separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
[17] The referendum result was accepted by the Scottish and British governments, leading to Scotland remaining a devolved part of the United Kingdom.
Further moves have since been made towards increased devolution of power to the Scottish Parliament, which has been incorporated into UK law via the Scotland Act of 2016.
In the 2019 UK general election, SNP support increased to 45% of the vote and they won 48 of the 59 seats contested in Scotland.
Despite losing seats in Scotland, the Conservatives won an overall majority and the UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020.
An academic study surveying 5,000 Scots following the referendum in 2014, found that the "No" campaign performed strongest among elderly, Protestant and middle-income voters.
[22] At the referendum a total of 4 out of 32 council areas voted in favour of independence, these being: North Lanarkshire (51.1% Yes), Glasgow (53.5% Yes), West Dunbartonshire (54.0% Yes) and Dundee (57.3% Yes).
In the 2011 UK Census:[25] The council areas with at least 90% of the population stating some 'Scottish' national identity were North Lanarkshire, Inverclyde, East Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire.
[26] The council areas with the highest proportions of people stating 'British' as their only national identity were Argyll and Bute and Shetland, each with 12%.
These three parties have philosophical differences about what Scotland's status should be, particularly in their support of devolution (historically Home Rule) or federalism.
[39] The Orange Order used the opportunity to speak out against the possibility of nationalists increasing their share of the vote in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election.
In the run up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the Orange Order held a Unionist march and rally in Edinburgh which involved 15,000 Orangemen, loyalist bands and no voters from across Scotland and the UK.
[42] Similar events were held in other cities across the rest of the United Kingdom, including in Manchester, Belfast and Cardiff.
