Scotland, Brexit and the Broken Promise of Democracy

Abstract

In the last fifty years, the UK has seen considerable political divergence between its constituent nations, especially between Scotland and England. This observation applies both to the constitutional debate, including the question of EU membership, as well as to many policy issues, such as the orientation of successive British governments towards austerity. In the Scottish Brexit debate both these aspects have come together potentially providing the trigger for the final break-up of an increasingly disunited Kingdom. The first part of this chapter traces diverging Scottish attitudes towards EC/EU membership and towards fiscal austerity since the early 1970s. The second part concentrates on the Scottish debate during the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016. The third and last part deals with Scotland’s ability to exert agency during the Brexit negotiations and the potential implications of Brexit for Scotland.