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It would be kinda funny if England held a referrendum for independence because English independence movements do actually exist since the lack a government of their own due to them being the dominant part of the union

something that may have been significant to mention is that before the Acts of Union, it was decreed that the Scottish dynasty would rule England and Scotland, not the English one. This was seen as a victory over England and a way to placate the masses that it was Scotland ruling over England instead of the opposite.

An important part missed in the timeline of this video was the Union of the Crowns in 1606 where the Scottish King James VI inherited the throne of England (and thus Ireland too) uniting the 3 kingdoms in a personal union. This brought an end to the Anglo-Scottish rivarvly and the Auld Alliance. It is pretty important context for the Acts of Union 1707 since both countries had already been closely aligned for a 100 years at that point

I’m Scottish and proud to be British, the SNP doesn’t speak for me and nor does Nicola Sturgeon. The SNP vision of scotland is one of isolation and inward looking, small minded and anglophobic. That is not a scotland I want my daughter grown-up in

Edinbruh Also it would be helpful to include that the Act of Union was when a Scottish King was on the English throne, i.e. both countries were ruled by the same monarch

I can't believe this video completely ignored the Stuart dynasty. A crucial moment for the British isles and one of the reasons the Union was formed. Since both nations had the same monarch it made sense for the Scots to join a union with England.

Edinburgh is pronounced 'Edinburra.' As a North American my Scottish Grandparents hammered that into my head haha.

It seems to be contextual. Enough has happened with the Tories since 2014 that many Scots I know are now on board with leaving when they weren't before

Quick note though, England doesn't ridicule Scotland. Westminster ridicules Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland AND England.

It's hard for me to say if Scotland is better off in or out of the UK. All I can say is that I'll miss having Scottish SAS soldiers in games.

The map showing the EU should have included the EEA as well, to show the complete size of the European economy.

As a Scot, I'd rather just have my bins emptied, thanks

Its fascinating that a country that fought so fiercely to preserve its independence would end up willingly joining the country it fought independence from, many decades after its monarch became monarch of that country (England). Its also fascinating that the UK is a country consisting of countries but is also a unitary state.

I normally love your content, but I'm astonished, to say the least, that you didn't mention the Scottish personal union over England in 1603 - not even once. Sure, economy may have been a factor, but there was a major precursor to the acts of union a century before. Frankly, I'm quite disappointed as your content is usually of high quality. But this felt more of a shallow, bait type of video. Hope you continue to improve and hold yourself to a higher standard. Cheers for the interesting videos though!

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"Canada's Alberta region has some separatist tendencies". *Quebec has left the chat*

I don't think Canadian Interest on Scotland stems from Alberta but from Québec situation.

So pleased to see you cover this. Always respected your geo-political reporting, never expected Scottish independence to show up on your radar. Always good to get an outside view, you'll not find anywhere on the BBC that clearly explains the historical trajectory of Scotland's sovereignty. I grew up in Berwick on Tweed, the town changed hands between England and Scotland thirteen times, it's now English (yet it's football team plays in Scotland), I am very aware of the struggle between the two nations. THANKS ! Note - not Edinburg, but Edinbur or Edinbur~u.

Love the background history of the disastrous Darian expedition. This is little known and seldom taught but hugely important.

The short answer is no, the long answer is definitely no.

It would be weird to see the worlds biggest empire ever just to be reduced to half an island a century later.

I remember the discussions back then. Main argument was, that Scotland might need to leave the EU, if they leave GB. This was a huge dealbreaker for most scots, which are heavily pro EU. So they voted No. Then Brexit happened. A new referendum would only be fair due to the main argument being voided.

free scotland!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿♥️

I think two important elements of the 2014 Independence Referendum were missed in the video: [1] The pro-independence vote was polling significantly lower before the 2014 campaign began than it is currently polling. As a result it is thoroughly possible that a renewed campaign will this time pull it over the finish line. [2] In the 2014 "Better Together" campaign against independence the possible loss of EU membership for an independent Scotland played an important role, to the point that campaigners were suggesting that if Scotland wanted to remain in the EU then they had to remain within the UK. It took England just 2 years to rip up that "promise" and leave the EU nonetheless. The strongest and most convincing "Better Together" campaigners in 2014 were Labour and LibDem politicians. For them to join a "Tory-led" campaign against independence in 2023 would be much more politically complicated. Scottish Labour and LibDem however have lost very significant influence. With Liz Truss seemingly certain to become the next British PM, the Scottish Yes campaign in 2023 will have an ideal British PM an opponent. She's not only certain to alienate Scottish voters across the political spectrum, but she is also certain to be confrontational towards Ireland and the EU, and she leads a party of which polling shows consistently that it does consider "losing Scotland" a fair price to pay for a more radical version of Brexit". I think the 2023 referendum is going to be significantly harder to win for a campaign against independence than the 2014 one.

It's probably worth mentioning that one of the main arguments made by the official unionist campaign during the 2014 independence referendum was that independence jeopardised Scotland's EU membership, whereas the Union guaranteed it. The UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced the Brexit referendum as a Tory policy within weeks of the vote, and the rest is history.

If I was the Russian/Chinese government I would be pouring so much money towards supporting the Scottish independence campaign. It would be an opportunity to significantly weaken the UK on the cheap.

Being Scottish means a lot to me

Northern Ireland also wanted to stay in the EU. If Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 leaves Northern Ireland will also leave

Proud Scot here, Edinburgh is pronounced: “Edin-buruh” or “Edin-bruh” not “Edinburg”. Great video as always 🤙🏽🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Fun fact: Chinese have hoped Scotland to win independence, due to UK backing of Hong Kong protests in 2019-21. Yet Chinese are not sure if Scotland winning independence can bring any benefit for Beijing, for its alignment with an increasingly hostile Europe can be. Plus, don't forget I don't add "government". Because Beijing had no position on it officially.

Sooner the better 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The one thing absolutely guaranteed if there is another independence vote, is a dis-united Scotland as the divide appears to be currently in the region of 50/50.

Can England section off Westminster like Rome and the Vatican? I think that would solve a lot of problems for the UK.

what really matters in the end is that a military alliance remains in all of europe, you can splinter economically but your armies need to all be on the same page.

The question is how will the European Union fare in a twenty years time?

I'm northern English, if Scotland does get independence can you start the border south of Manchester. I'd love to get us away from the corrupt Westminster

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Still waiting for one indy supporter to actually show proof Scotland would be better off independent? Not speculation not comparing yourself to another country. Actually proof where is the financial data to prove it?

Damn, The British Empire broke so hard now it is not able to held an island together.

Thank you for the video. your organization of talking points are well thought out and feels like you provide a balanced viewpoint!

Couple of mistakes I noticed in your video, in 1707 the union of the Kingdom Of England and the Kingdom Of Scotland formed the Kingdom Of Great Britain, not the United Kingdom. The first United Kingdom was not formed until 1801 when the Kingdom Of Ireland joined a union with the Kingdom of Great Britain. The flag used to represent Northern Ireland on your graph was the wrong one, the Northern Irish flag is the Ulster Banner, not St Patrick's Saltire. Otherwise great video! :-)

Scotland leaves the UK and and England takes its place as airstrip one as the five eyes unify into Oceania.

Is the dead of Queen Elizabeth going to affect national sentiments in Scotland?

The smaller and more local the government the better for the common man. William Wallace would never accept an England crown.

Liz Truss did not say Scotland should be ignored, she only said that Sturgeon should be ignored.

Before the Scots make a decision, they should ask the pro-independence faction whether or not they have a sensible, realistic plan for making an independent Scotland prosper. Take lessons from the Brexit fiasco to your heart. Do not be independent first and try to figure out what going to do later.

There is many societal differences between Scotland and England in the modern day. Scotland is a progressive nation wishing to carve it's own path, it should be allowed to. FREEDOM.

go on scotland 💪💪💪💪

An interesting thing is a possible cascade effect. If Scotland did it, what of Ireland? What of Québec? All of the separationists regions would have a recent precedent to point to.

The big problem with independence is that you can't blame anyone for your own incompetence. Greetings from Czech Republic.

SCOTLAND SHOULD BE INDEPENDENT.

Independence referendum in 2014 was ambitious to say the least. In 2013 the YES movement was only polling 31% - 32%. By September the 14th it rose to 45% and this was the eventual result in the referendum. Today in 2022 the polls are virtually 50% YES and NO, with no real independence campaigning started. Covid and the current energy crisis has reduced the focus. However demographics have relentlessly moved towards a YES vote. In 2023 if the referendum goes ahead there will be 9 years of new young voters who are polling 70% YES and don't but into the old image of the UK Union. Similarly, there will 9 years of older voters who have died(accelerated by Covid) who have polled at 65% NO. Also we have all those EU Remainers who voted NO in 2014 because "Better Together" lied about staying in the EU. Of course the final reason is the Current Conservative government and what will be 13 years of austerity which has seen the UK destroyed for ordinary people. Scotland wants and deserves better.

I visited the Scottish Parliament last month, just some standard session. What struck me was that the government always had the position "No, let's set this standard the same as in the EU Law XYZ", and when Unionists argued against it, the leader of the Scottish National party kindly reminded them to go talk to London for "the mess you created".

I think the biggest misconception this video has is confusing Scotland with the SNP. Liz Truss said it was best to ignore Nicola Sturgeon, not Scotland. Being Scottish liging in Scotland, the vast majority of people i speak to dislike the SNP and think they are completely incompentent. Wasting public funds, a decline in education standards, a worsening of the NHS and throttling funding to Local Councils to a point where they are functioning on a knife edge. As a proud Scot I think its disgusting the way SNP has governed Scotland in the last 15 years. They have ran this country into the ground and we are currently in no position to become independant. Just because the SNP are detestable, please do not equate them with the people of Scotland.

I dont think Lizz said to ignore Scotland just to ignore Sturgoen beating the same drum every year.

There's no way the English billionaires are gonna let Scotland have full control over those oil rigs, and wind energy at a time like this.

At the end you mention NI joining with Eire to "for Ireland to reclaim independence". Ireland was NEVER a unified, independent country, it was only unified after the Tudors got involved.

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It's funny that the SNP moan about independence, when England has no government. Take a thought about that.

This may be how the UK ends, but certainly not how "Britain ends", as Britain is the name of an island. It is not a political entity, but a geological one. The United Kingdom may indeed break up after Scottish independence, and it is just as likely or unliikely that Northern Ireland will leave the UK. Even in Wales there is a longstanding independence movement.

The Welsh are about 20 years behind Scotland in seeking independence, and within England itself the English aren't happy with the current governing setup as London does care about York, Liverpool, Manchester, etc. Although the short-term effects may be bad for Scotland, many small nations like Ireland that trade heavily with GB are very successful economically. The trend in Scotland is towards independence especially since younger Scots are much more simpathetic to independence. Having recently watched your video on how Brexit would lead to the UK being a huge success and the EU falling apart, well I'm still waiting.

Why would they leave? Ireland, Scotland, and England are stronger United than apart it makes no sense of why want independence.

Of course Scotland will break away - that's how these things work. Nothing lasts forever, particularly not unions where one or more partners are getting a raw deal. The only question in my mind is: When? Will Scotland suffer (short term) from leaving Britain? Yes, of course! But Iike I said, nothing lasts forever. Now here's a mischievous (half serious) thought: Maybe Scotland and Ireland should form a new Union. That would really irritate the English nationalists, and it might get Scotland straight back into the EU. After its Brexit mistakes, England would deserve such a humiliation.

*The Angles will never let them go.*

Good job and well researched: I didn't even knew of the ruinous Scottish expedition to Panama. Always good to learn something new.

Did he just say edin-burg? It's pronounced edin-burh

Great so long as England not expected to finance their independence. Like we have the rest of former colonies.

Love to Scotland from an Indian in Germany

I'd assume that right now, after a global pandemic and during a terrible war in Europe a referendum for independence would fail. People seeks stability in times of crisis

I'm Norwegian and I just can't wrap my head around how people don't know how Edinburgh is pronounced.

Wow! Maybe the spirits of Rob Roy and William Wallace aren't dead after all. Bravo!

England did not offer scotland to join the union, a Scottish king offered england to join scotland.

England does not 'ridicule Scotland'. Ridiculing Nicola Sturgeon is not ridiculing Scotland... The SNP is not Scotland.

But who would the SNP blame for their failings in an independent Scotland?!

Cut them loose and build a border wall … 🇬🇧👍

I am Scottish and I support independence!

It is an undisputed fact that the EU single market is much bigger than that of the UK. So how come that after 40 years of having access to this market by virtue of the UK’s EU membership Scotland’s biggest trading partner is still England, Ireland & Wales? It would seem that opportunity & actuality are very different things.

The reliance on the slogan, ‘once in a generation’ was just that, a slogan. It’s got the same constitutional standing as the £350 million for the NHS per week on a bus and it doesn’t invalidate the results of a future referendum. If the House of Commons votes to simply refuse to grant a second referendum to the Scots Government elected with a mandate to hold such a referendum then they will be changing the Union of the United Kingdom from one based on consent to one that survives only by force of law.

They should add qualifiers to the referendum like: •yes •yes, but only if Northern Ireland comes too •yes, but only if the EU will allow us to join upon independence •yes, but only if Northern Ireland will come as well, and the EU will allow is to join upon independence •no, independence is too unpredictable •no, the United Kingdom is better for Scotland •no Or something like that. Please don’t read into my proposed qualifiers too much lol

If they want to, they have the right to self determination.

A major thing that's not quite said in this video was the last independence vote was mainly decided because voting for independence would have resulted in Scotland having to leaving Europe. So we voted to stay to remain in Europe but then Brexit forced us to leave Europe and now suddenly England removed the main reason we decided to vote to stay. Being a part of Europe is more important than being a smaller partner in a union in the UK. And I guess it's kind of history repeating itself as we are back to siding with the French 🤣

SNP was not wrong in 2014 - Nicola Sturgeon in a debate with Lib Democrat leader accurately predicted Brexit and what staying in the Union meant for Scotland.

Thank you so much for brining to me, here in Quebec Canada these rare authentic images of the funeral and public presence of Russians daring to confront the regime as they mourn, not only the loss of this courageous martyr, but hopes for Russian freedoms. Thank you Konstantin for the important work that you do everyday!

FREEDOM!!!!

Why does everyone on KZfaq push the Panama colony as the reason for the act of Union, Scotland and England had been merging their legal systems for nearly a century leading up to this and in reality Scotland had been administered as part of England since the civil war

Should be noted that before the act of union there was the act of crowns around a hundred years before it, that joined the monarchs together, mainly the first king of the Uk was a Scottish one. But of course 1690 that had to be runied..

Freedom 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Long live to a free 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #lowlanders #highlanders #unite #🦁❤️

"Brexit is a disaster over which Scotland has no control" This feels like a somewhat tenuous point. Arguably, anyone who doesn't vote Tory can make this claim. London for example voted for remain by almost the same margin that the Scottish did (and maybe would have exceeded it if many of the EU nationals that live here had been granted a vote about the future of their home) Does that mean London should declare independence. Yes. The Free City of London should carve itself out of the blue hell it exists in and forge a new future in the EU, with independent Scotland.

As an Englishman, I'm rooting for Scottish independence. I favour decentralisation. And it means less SNP influence in parliament.

Scotland could rebuild and hopefully be as rich as Norway, we have the assets, we have something special. we need this to progress as a country, as a culture, to keep our identity like our ancestors once did. we need more freedom so that we can progress into a more technological and sustainable country.

I was not one bit surprised when England voted to leave the EU. If you where you should see why.

Great working with you as always! To those of you interested in getting the full picture of issues like the one in this video, check out the link in the description and let us know if you have any questions.

so Scotland wants a union with Denmark this time

Don't underestimate the many countries who would "punish" a newly independent Scotland for fear to see their own county divided by independentist movements.

Great vid as always!

Scots : we want independence ! Brits : if you do so, you'll leave the EU market ! Scots : ok, vote NO to independence Albion : brexit

As an Englishman i would welcome Scottish, Welsh and Irish independence..

Scotland will never leave. They are bankrupt, with the worst deficit in Europe. Even worse than Greece. Only the UK giving it tens of billions of subsidies keeps it afloat. It has a 15% deficit. Also look at Scottish exports, which make up a large part of its economy, 75% go to the UK, and a tiny amount to the EU. If a trade barrier went up or if English people stopped buying Scottish goods, which they would if it left, Scotland would be in massive trouble. Also a lot of Scottish jobs are totally reliant on the UK and govt jobs or military shipbuilding. The number of jobs and companies that would leave would wreck Scotland. Especially all its finance and tech companies who have said they would have to move to England. Plus there is no mention of the UK joing the CPTPP trade bloc and India free trade deal soon. These are game changers for Scottish whisky and food exports, where there is a 150% tariff in India on whisky. They would lose this if they left, even if they joined the EU. Plus any new Scottish currency would have to be created. They could not use the pound, and investors would short it immediately wrecking it because of all these issues. There is no way out of that. Plus they would have to fund Scottish pensions not the UK and take on around 200 billion in UK debt. They simply cannot afford it and would go bankrupt. Plus this is ignoring the 1.5 million or so Scots living in the rest of the UK who want the Union. They would have to vote in any second vote. The Snp have a terrible record in office and will eventually lose power, esp when Sturgeon leaves. This video doesn't mention any of these critical points. Also will the EU even exist in 5 to 10 years? It is about to go through its biggest debt crisis, and have anti EU politicians in France soon, and a dying Germany who can't afford to keep paying for the poor members. Plus even if it does exist I doubt they would anger the UK by admitting Scotland. The EU countries that depend on UK defence and intelligence won't allow it, and neither will Spain who doesn't want Catalonia to leave.