As the curtain prepares to fall on the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s premiership “serious political gamesmanship” will determine Scotland’s future after its devolved government threw down the gauntlet on independence, according to political observers.
The leader of the Scottish National Party and Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has declared her government’s aim to make the UK’s next general election a de facto vote on Scottish independence if permission to hold a referendum on Oct. 19, 2023 is denied.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks at a press conference to launch a second independence paper at Bute House in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 14, 2022. (Andrew Milligan – Pool/Getty Images)
The first—and last referendum—on whether Scotland should become an independent country in 2014 saw voters decide to remain in the 300-year-old union by a 10 percent margin….