Sources: Scotland
Every source cited on this case’s published pages, with where it is used. Organisation and government sources are labelled as perspectives.
- Status verified as of
36 sources. A working link shows that a source is available; it is not proof that the source supports a claim — that is checked by editorial evidence review.
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Book chapter · Scholarly work
Chronology of devolution 1885–1978, The Scottish Government Yearbook 1979 (Paul Harris Publishing, 1979), ISBN 0904505537 link
Reference chronology in the Scottish Government Yearbook (University of Edinburgh digitised series). The repository record prints the ISBN without its leading zero.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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News report · Journalism
CNN, Theresa May rejects Scottish referendum call (CNN, 16 March 2017) link
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Election authority publication · Electoral authority
Electoral Commission, Scottish Independence Referendum: Report on the referendum held on 18 September 2014 (Electoral Commission, December 2014) link
Statutory report to the Scottish Parliament on the conduct of the referendum. Locators are PDF pages.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Election authority publication · Electoral authority
Electoral Commission, The 2016 EU referendum: Report on the 23 June 2016 referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union (Electoral Commission, September 2016) link
Statutory report on the 2016 referendum, including the UK-wide result. Locators are PDF pages.
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Election authority publication · Electoral authority
Electoral Management Board for Scotland, Result of the Scottish Independence Referendum 2014 (Electoral Management Board for Scotland) link
The Chief Counting Officer’s declared national result and council-area results.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Election authority publication · Electoral authority
Electoral Management Board for Scotland, EU Referendum 23 June 2016: results for Scotland (vote breakdown and breakdown of valid votes by percent) (Electoral Management Board for Scotland) link
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Government publication · Government perspective or primary official source
Johnson, Boris, Letter from PM Boris Johnson to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon: 14 January 2020 (Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street (GOV.UK), 14 January 2020) link
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Government publication · Government perspective or primary official source
McKay, Sarah; McIver, Iain and Aiton, Andrew, The results are in – general election 2026 (Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe), 9 May 2026) link
Impartial parliamentary research blog on the 7 May 2026 election.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate, Scotland: constitutional status and the referendum question · Source record
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News report · Scholarly work
National Centre for Social Research, Scottish Social Attitudes survey marks 25 years tracking Scotland’s changing views (National Centre for Social Research, 9 October 2025) link
Press release summarising Scottish Social Attitudes findings, including constitutional preference measured in 2024.
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate, Scotland: constitutional status and the referendum question · Source record
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Government publication · Government perspective or primary official source
Osborne, George and HM Treasury, Chancellor on the prospect of a currency union with an independent Scotland (GOV.UK, 13 February 2014) link
Speech text as published (original script, may differ from delivery). States the UK Government’s position during the 2014 campaign.
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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News report · Journalism
PA Media, Devolved First Ministers to sign independence declaration (STV News, 13 September 2026) link
Press Association report carried by STV. Describes a planned meeting; it does not record that the memorandum was signed.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate, Scotland: constitutional status and the referendum question · Source record
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Peer-reviewed article · Scholarly work
Pattie, Charles; Denver, David; Mitchell, James and Bochel, Hugh, The 1997 Scottish Referendum: An Analysis of the Results, Scottish Affairs (Winter 1998) link
Peer-reviewed analysis of the 1997 results, with comparison to 1979.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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News analysis or explainer · Independent publication
Paun, Akash; Sargeant, Jess; Henderson, Duncan; Allen, Briony and Isaac, Megan, How could a second referendum on Scottish independence happen? (Institute for Government, 18 September 2024) link
Explainer from an independent UK government think tank; useful for party positions, polling context and legal routes.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate, Scotland: constitutional status and the referendum question · Source record
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Legislation
Scotland Act 1998 (The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), 1998) link
Establishes the Scottish Parliament (s. 1) and lists reserved matters, including the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England (Sch. 5, Pt I, para. 1(b)).
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate, Scotland: constitutional status and the referendum question · Source record
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Legislation
Scotland Act 2016 (The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), 2016) link
Sections 1 (permanence of the Scottish Parliament and Government) and 2 (Sewel convention), with the Explanatory Notes.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate, Scotland: constitutional status and the referendum question · Source record
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Government publication · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Government, Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland (Scottish Government, November 2013), ISBN 9781784120689 link
The Scottish Government’s 2013 prospectus for independence. It states that government’s proposals, not agreed outcomes. Locators are PDF pages.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Government publication · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Government, Section 30 letter (Scottish Government, 31 March 2017) link
News release with the full text of the First Minister’s letter to the Prime Minister.
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Government publication · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Government, Next steps in independence referendum set out (Scottish Government, 28 June 2022) link
News release reproducing the First Minister’s statement to the Scottish Parliament.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Government publication · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Government, A Fresh Start with Independence (Scottish Government, 8 October 2025), ISBN 9781806430307 link
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Government publication · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Government, Draft Independence Referendum Bill (Scottish Government, 28 August 2026), ISBN 9781807754792 link
Publication page and the accompanying news release of the same date (“Draft Independence Referendum Bill published”).
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate, Scotland: constitutional status and the referendum question · Source record
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Legislation
Scottish Independence Referendum (Franchise) Act 2013 (The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), 2013) link
Section 2 as enacted; the Act ceased to have effect on 1 January 2015.
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Legislation
Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 (The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), 2013) link
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Government publication · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Parliament, Origins of the Scottish Parliament (Scottish Parliament) link
The Parliament’s own short history of the pre-1707 Parliament of Scotland and its re-establishment in 1999.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Government publication · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Parliament, The path to devolution (Scottish Parliament) link
Official summary of the Royal Commission on the Constitution, the Scotland Act 1978 and 1979 referendum, the Scottish Constitutional Convention and the 1997 referendum.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Official record · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Parliament, 2007 Election Results (Scottish Parliament) link
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Official record · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Parliament, 2011 Election Results (Scottish Parliament) link
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Official record · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Parliament, 2021 Election Results (Scottish Parliament) link
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Official record · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Parliament, 2026 Election Results (Scottish Parliament) link
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Parliamentary record · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Parliament, Motion S5M-04710: Scotland’s Choice (Scottish Parliament, Lodged 20 March 2017; taken in the Chamber 28 March 2017) link
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Parliamentary record · Government perspective or primary official source
Scottish Parliament, Motion S7M-00105: Ambitious for Scotland (Scottish Parliament, Lodged 20 May 2026; taken in the Chamber 26 May 2026) link
Motion as amended, with the recorded division.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate, Scotland: constitutional status and the referendum question · Source record
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News report · Journalism
STV News, Swinney to discuss independence referendum with Starmer in bid to end ‘stalemate’ (STV News, 13 May 2026) link
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Court decision · Court or tribunal
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Reference by the Lord Advocate of devolution issues under paragraph 34 of Schedule 6 to the Scotland Act 1998 (Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, 23 November 2022) link
Unanimous judgment (Lord Reed, Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lord Sales, Lord Stephens, Lady Rose). Paragraph numbers refer to the judgment; the press summary is not part of the reasons.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate, Scotland: constitutional status and the referendum question · Source record
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Legislation
The Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2013 (The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), 12 February 2013) link
The section 30 order that let the Scottish Parliament legislate for the 2014 referendum, subject to conditions.
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate, Scotland: constitutional status and the referendum question · Source record
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Government publication · Government perspective or primary official source
UK Government, The Smith Commission (GOV.UK, 27 November 2014) link
UK Government statement on the cross-party Heads of Agreement on further devolution. Gives the UK Government’s view of the agreement.
Cited on: History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record
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Government publication · Government perspective or primary official source
UK Government and Scottish Government, Agreement between the United Kingdom Government and the Scottish Government on a referendum on independence for Scotland (UK Government, 15 October 2012) link
The “Edinburgh Agreement”, signed by David Cameron and Alex Salmond, with its memorandum of agreement and draft section 30 order.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate, Scotland: constitutional status and the referendum question · Source record
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Legislation
Union with England Act 1707 (The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), 1707) link
Act of the Parliament of Scotland ratifying the Treaty of Union. Articles I (union as Great Britain from 1 May 1707), III (one Parliament of Great Britain) and XIX (Court of Session to remain in Scotland) were consulted in the revised text.
Cited on: Scotland, History of the Scottish independence debate · Source record