Scotland to vote on independence

Presumably the former, just as she is Queen of many other countries that became independent of the UK:

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_realm

Although the latter does sound potentially entertaining!

 

Boris Johnson has already said he won't allow a second independence referendum, but if SNP wins a straight up majority in the Scottish Parliament in the 2021 election it will be interesting to see whether they can force the issue.

 

Well, according to the UN, the top seven countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita are European: Liechtenstein is first, Monaco is second, Luxembourg is third, Switzerland is fourth, Norway is fifth, Iceland is sixth, and Ireland is seventh.

So at least by one reckoning, the first, second, fourth, fifth, and sixth wealthiest countries in the world are European countries that aren't in the EU, which isn't exactly a compelling case for the necessity of EU membership.

Then again, it not being necessary to join is not the same thing as it being advisable to leave.

Despite a majority wanting to remain in the EU, even now polls show a majority of Scots would vote no on independence were a referendum held today. Scotland's economy is weaker than the UK's as a whole, so their hesitation is understandable. Either way, Sturgeon certainly has her work cut out for her if she wants to be the founding mother of an independent Scotland.

But Northern Ireland is different, they'll probably reunify with the Republic of Ireland in the next few decades either way simply because of demographics: Catholics there make more babies than Protestants do. If Dublin starts to look better than London to moderate Protestants in the meantime, perhaps that would hasten the process? I don't know.