The issue of Scottish independence is re-emerging ahead of the country’s May 2021 parliamentary election. The U.K. Parliament’s opposition to a new independence referendum will create debate over how to react, though the Scottish government remains unlikely to push for unilateral secession. On Nov. 30, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that if her Scottish National Party (SNP) wins the country’s parliamentary elections next year, it will push for an independence referendum “in the early part” of the new legislative term, though she did not provide a specific date. According to Sturgeon, the U.K. Parliament cannot veto Scotland’s “inalienable right of self-determination.” This means U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party, which controls a majority of seats in the U.K. Parliament, will face pressure for another Scottish independence vote less than a decade after the 2014 referendum....
