United Kingdom: towards 6 May election. Curtice (Univ. of Strathclyde) to SIR, “proportion of Scots in favour of a departure from London has increased”

“Granting a Scottish independence referendum is a risky bet for Boris Johnson because the proportion of Scots in favour of a departure from London has increased after Brexit. I would say that today half of Scots want to leave the UK, compared to 44% in 2014, when the first vote on the subject was held. If we look at what the polls say, had we voted a few weeks ago, we would already have an independent Scotland”. John Curtice told SIR news agency that the UK and the Scottish governments could end up in court if UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson does not give Scotland a second referendum after next Thursday’s election. “The SNP leader began to call for a second referendum in 2017, after 62% of Scots voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum”, the expert explains. “Once the pandemic is over, it will be very difficult for Boris Johnson to say no. If he were to say no, Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon would hold a referendum anyway, challenging the British government to bring it to court. According to the SNP, there is a legal right to a IndyRef2 even if the UK Supreme Court says no. London will respond either by asking unionist voters, who want to remain in the UK, to boycott the referendum, or by passing new legislation in an attempt to block all legal pathways to voting”.
Valentina Bombelli