Opinion: Independent Scotland as far away as ever

Brexit may have increased support for Scottish independence, but has made it much more difficult in practical terms, says Professor Ronan McCrea (UCL Laws). The election of another pro-independence majority in the Scottish parliament underlines the degree to which Brexit has imperilled the unity of the United Kingdom. However, despite the victory of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and their pro-independence allies, the route to separation from the UK remains strewn with legal, political and economic obstacles that, counterintuitively, Brexit has made more difficult to overcome Legally, it is clear that the question of Scottish independence is a matter for the UK parliament. The 2014 independence referendum happened only because Westminster agreed to give a one-off power to the Scottish parliament to hold a vote. This power lapsed once the vote was held. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made it clear that he will not agree to hold a further referendum any time soon and first minister of Scotland and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has ruled out following the Catalan example of an illegal vote. While this means that Scotland will not see equivalents of the dramatic and troubling events in Catalonia such as the imposition of lengthy prison sentences on leaders of Catalan pro-independence political parties, this does not mean that the UK authorities can put off the issue of independence indefinitely.