— I will be First Minister of all Scotland – assured Swinney after members of the Scottish Parliament re-elected him as head of government. In this way, he referred to the divisions in society regarding the separation of Scotland from the United Kingdom. However, he emphasized that he would not give up pursuing this goal.
— The Scots have once again clearly and emphatically shown what they want: a safer, more prosperous and independent state.. One where decisions are not made in Westminster [w Londynie]but here in Scotland – argued Swinney, who became the head of the regional government for the first time in 2024, replacing Nicola Sturgeon.
The SNP has been at the top for almost two decades
After the elections on May 7, the SNP is the largest party in Holyrood (the Scottish Parliament). In the 129-seat chamber, it won 58 seats, while the Scottish Labor Party and the right-wing populist Reform UK each won 17, and the Scottish Greens – 15.
The SNP has won Holyrood elections continuously since 2007.although not always with an independent majority. In 2014, in agreement with the conservative government in London, the party organized an independence referendum in which 55 percent Scottish residents voted to remain in the United Kingdom.
Another electoral victory of the SNP does not mean that the path to independence is easy. The government in London has de facto the right to veto the referendum, and the current British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, like his predecessors, has repeatedly declared that he does not want another plebiscite.
“For the first time in history.” They want separation from the United Kingdom
Before the elections, the SNP leader said that if his party wins an independent majority in parliament, it will be a clear signal that Scottish voters support the pursuit of a second referendum. However, the party was seven seats short of this goal. In parliament, the SNP now intends to rely on ad hoc alliances with the Greens, Labor and the Liberal Democrats.
YouGov research shows that Scots are not enthusiastic about Scotland breaking away from the United Kingdom. Since the beginning of 2021, in 22 polls, independence supporters have prevailed only twice, while in the most recent survey in March, the majority (56%) of respondents opposed secession.
It doesn't change the fact that For the first time in history, the parliaments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are headed by the heads of the parties that want these countries to secede from the United Kingdom. In Edinburgh it is the SNP, in Cardiff it is Plaid Cymru and in Belfast it is Sinn Fein.
In the case of Wales and Northern Ireland, the road to possible secession is also long. Plaid Cymru won the elections for the first time in history and wants to show that it can run the country, and only then focus on the possible separation of Wales from the United Kingdom.
In Northern Ireland this is subject to the conditions set out in the Good Friday Agreement and enshrined in the UK Act 1998.
