{"id":117,"date":"2020-03-23T20:07:37","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T02:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/leave-light-scotlands-future-post-brexit\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T14:05:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T11:05:14","slug":"leave-light-scotlands-future-post-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/leave-light-scotlands-future-post-brexit\/","title":{"rendered":"Leave a Light On: Scotland\u2019s Future Post-Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Candlelight<\/a> vigils, somber renditions of Auld Lang Syne<\/a>, patriotic flags, tear-filled speeches\u2026 What I am describing could very well be a funeral, and perhaps in some ways it was\u2026the death of Scotland\u2019s 47-year-old relationship with the EU was a funeral of sorts. While responses ranged throughout the United Kingdom, the scene in Scotland was (for the most part) somber as Scots reflected on their relationship with the EU and, of course, Great Britain.<\/p>\n

Scotland\u2019s reaction shouldn\u2019t be a surprise; 62% of Scots<\/a> voted to remain in the EU during the 2016 referendum. Though some Scots welcomed Brexit, many felt \u201cScotland (was) torn out of Europe against its will.\u201d<\/a> Indisputably, the majority of Brexit votes emanated from outside of Scotland. Here\u2019s a handy map from the Independent for reference:<\/p>\n

\"Indy<\/p>\n

Image from Indy100<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh, almost 75%<\/a> of voters chose remain, and in Glasgow, Scotland\u2019s largest city, 66%<\/a> of the population voted to stay in the EU. Every<\/a> single council in Scotland voted remain. Incontrovertibly, Scots chose to stay in the European Union; nevertheless, on January 31st at midnight, Scotland left with the rest of the UK.<\/p>\n

Across the North Sea<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leave a Light On<\/a>, an organization imploring the EU to remember Scotland, met Brexit eve with solemn celebrations. Brussels, clearly felt the same way\u2014leaving a proverbial (or perhaps actual) light on for Scotland at the European Commission:<\/p>\n

\"Europe<\/p>\n

Image from EuroNews<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

An image, conveniently recreated on Portobello Beach near Scotland\u2019s capital:<\/p>\n

\"sand\"<\/p>\n

Image from The National Scot<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Murmurs<\/a> point to SNP (the Scottish National Party) as orchestrating the coordinated \u2018love-letters;\u2019 nonetheless, the sentiment remains\u2026 Scotland and the European Union aren\u2019t ready to say goodbye. The romance doesn\u2019t seem to be one-sided. Donald Tusk, former president of the European Council, has shared his sympathy for the Scottish cause, even going as far as stating: \u201cSometimes I feel I am Scots. I\u2019m very Scottish now, especially after Brexit.\u201d<\/a> When asked about the European response to a Scottish appeal to rejoin the EU, Tusk went further: \u201cEmotionally, I have no doubt everyone would be enthusiastic here\u2026 there\u2019s a genuine feeling.\u201d<\/a> But, as open as the EU may be for Scottish membership, the nation has to become an independent country first\u2026<\/p>\n

The Start of Something New\u2026 Indyref2?<\/strong><\/p>\n

While many Scots want to remain in Europe, the future of Scotland and the EU is inextricably linked to Scotland\u2019s status as an independent nation. Very simply, if Scotland wants to remain part of the EU (or even re-join) they\u2019re going to have to leave the UK. Thus, while Brexit may have severed ties between the European Union and the United Kingdom, for Scotland at least\u2026 as the Scottish government\u2019s Brexit minister, Mike Russell, told supporters: \u201cthis is the start of something, not the end.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\"uk\"<\/p>\n

Image from The Telegraph<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Membership<\/a> in the EU was a crucial voting point for many Scots in the 2014 independence election, and now that unity with Britain does not include EU membership, rumors of a new independence referendum seem to materialize on the not too distant horizon.<\/p>\n

According to a new YouGov survey<\/a> on Scottish independence, the nation, for the first time since 2015, is majority (albeit 51%) supportive of Scottish independence. While indyref2 (independence referendum 2) may be, slightly, more likely now, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, warns there are \u201cno shortcuts\u201d<\/a> to a new referendum. In a message to SNP (Scottish National Party) supporters in Edinburgh earlier this year, Sturgeon emphasized the party \u201cmust focus on building and winning the political case for independence.\u201d<\/a> Unfortunately, a large part of her \u201cpolitical case\u201d must involve cooperation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson\u2026 something that remains difficult for both parties, especially in the post-Brexit landscape. Whether that is possible remains something to be seen; however, it is clear that independence won\u2019t come in the immediate future\u2026 well at least this year.<\/p>\n

Thus, while Scotland and the EU may still \u2018hold a light\u2019 for each other, Scotland\u2019s relationship with the European Union is predicated by its tumultuous connection with the United Kingdom. Scotland\u2019s membership in the European Union won\u2019t happen overnight\u2026 first, comes the long process towards independence.<\/p>\n

At least for now, Scotland (like the rest of the world) is mainly focused on curbing COVID-19, and independence remains on the \u2018back-burner;\u2019 however, it is foolish to assume this flickering light will fade. Perhaps the UK\u2019s response to coronavirus will illuminate new fractures within the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Author: Annie Rose Healion<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Candlelight vigils, somber renditions of Auld Lang Syne, patriotic flags, tear-filled speeches\u2026 What I am describing could very well be a funeral, and perhaps in some ways it was\u2026the death of Scotland\u2019s 47-year-old relationship with the EU …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":1385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dfsrublogposts"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1880,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117\/revisions\/1880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}