The first political resolution debated and approved in the new Scottish Parliament that emerged has overwhelmingly supported this Tuesday a new request for a new independence referendum to be held.
Both the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Greens have voted in favor of the text, which calls on the central government in London to transfer to Holyrood (as the Scottish legislative assembly is known, due to the palace next to which it is located) the powers to call a consultation. Downing Street has rejected this request every time it has been raised in recent years, both to previous Conservative governments and to the current Labor Party Executive and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Both the SNP and the Greens, when they governed in coalition. After the last elections, both have seen their number of seats reduced, but together they continue to add up to a figure (75 deputies) much higher than the absolute majority, which resides at 65.
The nationalist chief minister, John Swinney, committed in his electoral program to once again promote independence desire in the new legislature if there was parliamentary support. His promise, however, was more symbolic than pragmatic. The bases of the SNP continue to keep the flame of independence alive, but all surveys show that it has become a very relegated priority on the lists of Scottish citizens, much more concerned about the high cost of living or the deterioration of public health.
Parliament demands in its resolution that the Starmer Government transfer to it the ability contemplated in the so-called Section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 to call a referendum. In 2014, when Scots rejected secession after a bitter and polarizing campaign by 55% to 45%, it was the Cameron Government that used its prerogative to allow the consultation.
Swinney intends to raise the matter again with Starmer when he meets him in the coming days. “Independence can allow Scotland to emerge from the political chaos and economic stagnation” suffered by the United Kingdom “and give greater security and prosperity to the nation by returning to the EU as a partner,” the Chief Minister proclaimed in the autonomous Parliament when defending the resolution.
In any case, Just hours before the parliamentary debate, Scots learned that the ex-husband of the former charismatic Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, had gone to prison after accepting his guilt in the embezzlement of funds from the SNP, of which he was chief financial officer. Peter Murrell spent almost half a million euros on clothes, watches, fountain pens and even a motorhome, with money from donations to the independence cause.
In the last year, the SNP has seen its reputation among Scots sink, after a decade of stranglehold at the polls. In any case, it has managed to maintain the image that it is the most appropriate party to defend the interests of this historic territory of the United Kingdom.
