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Scottish Independence: A Question Far from an Answer
On February 15, 2023, Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon announced that she will resign. While she may be leaving, the SNP's mission is still the same — to get Scotland to leave the United Kingdom.
And according to the most recent surveys, it has almost half the country on its side.
But in a vote, of course, almost half would not be enough.
The percentage of Scots who support independence has actually fallen a little since the end of 2022 — from 53% in December 2022 to 47% in February 2023.
But why does the SNP want to leave the UK?
Scotland does already have some independence.
It has its own parliament and can make some of its own decisions. But ultimately, it's the UK government in London that has the power, and it can block decisions made in the Scottish parliament.
There is a feeling among some in Scotland that for too long they've been dancing to England's tune. For example, the UK left the European Union based on 52% of its people voting to leave. But in Scotland, 62% voted to stay.
There has been a Scottish independence referendum before. In 2014, 55% of Scots said no to leaving the UK.
Some are not sure if independence is worth the risk. Scotland is a country of about 5.5 million people — how would the nation and its economy change if it were on its own?
The SNP wants to ask the Scottish people to vote on independence again. But it needs London's permission — and unlike in 2014, London is now saying no.
So it looks like the issue isn't likely to go away anytime soon.。