Covers modern campaigns for Scottish home rule and independence, the constitutional arrangements they have challenged, and the referendums and legal decisions that shaped them. The pre-1707 Kingdom of Scotland appears as background, not as a continuous modern movement.
Scotland was an independent kingdom with its own Parliament until the 1707 Union with England.[1][2] Organised nationalism grew in the twentieth century; a devolved Scottish Parliament was created in 1999, and voters rejected independence in a 2014 referendum held by agreement between the UK and Scottish Governments.[3][4][5][6] Since 2022 the question has turned on whether the UK Government will allow another vote.[7][8]
Status verified as of
Scotland is part of the United Kingdom with a devolved Parliament. The Scottish Parliament called for referendum powers in May 2026 and the Scottish Government published a draft bill in August 2026; in September 2026 the Prime Minister was reported to have written that a referendum remained off limits.[8][15][14]
History
How a kingdom that joined Great Britain in 1707 developed a home-rule and independence politics, gained a devolved Parliament, voted on independence in 2014 and returned to the question after Brexit.
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· Constitutional change
The Kingdoms of Scotland and England were united as Great Britain, with one Parliament, from 1 May 1707.
Significance here: Ended the separate Parliament of Scotland; the Union later became a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998.
· Referendum or popular consultation
A majority of voters backed the Scotland Act 1978, but the Yes vote fell short of the 40% of the electorate the Act required, and the Act was repealed.
Significance here: The failed threshold ended the first statutory attempt at a Scottish Assembly.
· Referendum or popular consultation
Voters approved a Scottish Parliament (74.3%) and tax-varying powers (63.5%), leading to the Scotland Act 1998.
Significance here: Provided the popular endorsement for the Scotland Act 1998 and the Parliament that first met in 1999.
· Agreement
The UK and Scottish Governments agreed the terms for a legal, single-question independence referendum to be held by the end of 2014.
Significance here: Created the agreed legal route for the 2014 independence referendum.
· Referendum or popular consultation
Voters rejected independence by 55.3% to 44.7% on a turnout of 84.6%.
Significance here: The only independence referendum held in Scotland; Scotland remained in the United Kingdom.
· Legal decision
The UK Supreme Court held that the Scottish Parliament cannot legislate for an independence referendum without a change to the reserved matters.
Significance here: Closed the route of a referendum legislated for by the Scottish Parliament alone under the current Scotland Act.
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
Claim: The Parliament of Scotland was the law-maker of the independent Kingdom of Scotland from the early thirteenth century until 1707.
Claim: Article I of the Union provided that Scotland and England would be united into one kingdom named Great Britain from 1 May 1707.
Claim: The Scottish National Party was formed in 1934.
Claim: The re-established Scottish Parliament first met on 12 May 1999.
Claim: In the Edinburgh Agreement of 15 October 2012 the UK and Scottish Governments agreed that the referendum should have a clear legal base, be legislated for by the Scottish Parliament and deliver a result that everyone would respect.
Claim: In the referendum on 18 September 2014, 2,001,926 votes (55.3%) were cast for No and 1,617,989 (44.7%) for Yes.
Claim: On 23 November 2022 the Supreme Court held unanimously that the proposed referendum provision related to the reserved matters of the Union and the UK Parliament, so the Scottish Parliament could not legislate for it without a change to the reserved matters.
Claim: On 26 May 2026 the Scottish Parliament agreed, by 72 votes to 55, a motion calling on the UK Government to make a section 30 order devolving the power to hold an independence referendum.
Claim: The Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England is a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998.
Claim: In the referendum of 1 March 1979, 51.6% of those voting supported the devolution scheme, but the Yes vote amounted to about a third of the electorate, below the 40% requirement.
Claim: In the referendum of 11 September 1997, 74.3% of those voting backed a Scottish Parliament and 63.5% backed tax-varying powers.
Claim: There were 4,283,938 registered voters; 3,623,344 votes were counted, a turnout of 84.6%, and 3,429 ballot papers were rejected.
Claim: The SNP fell short of the 65 seats needed for a majority, but the SNP and Greens together held 73 seats.
Claim: In September 2026 Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the Commons that another vote could be held if there were a clear consensus for it in Scotland, but a later letter to John Swinney said a referendum remained “off limits”. Attributed to PA Media report carried by STV News, 13 September 2026
Claim: On 28 August 2026 the Scottish Government published a draft Independence Referendum Bill using the 2014 question; it said the bill would be introduced once the necessary powers were secured.