Unionism in Scotland

rdf:langString Unionism in Scotland

rdf:langString Unionism in Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Aonachas) is a political movement which favours the continuation of the political union between Scotland and the other countries of the United Kingdom (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), and hence is opposed to Scottish independence. Scotland is one of four countries of the United Kingdom which has its own devolved government and Scottish Parliament, as well as representation in the UK Parliament. There are many strands of political Unionism in Scotland, some of which have ties to Unionism and Loyalism in Northern Ireland. The two main political parties in the UK — the Conservatives and Labour — both support Scotland remaining part of the UK. The Scottish unionism movement consists of many factions with varying political views but which are united in being politically opposed to Scottish independence, which would mean Scotland leaving the UK and becoming an independent state. Political parties which support Scottish independence include: the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Scottish Greens. The SNP have formed the devolved Scottish Government since 2007. After the SNP won an overall majority in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the UK and Scottish governments agreed to hold a referendum on Scottish independence, which was held on 18 September 2014. The three main UK political parties formed the Better Together campaign, supporting Scotland remaining part of the UK. The referendum resulted in a victory for the "No" (unionist) campaign, with 55.3% of votes cast for "No" to Scottish independence, and 44.7% cast for "Yes" to Scottish independence. After the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the cross-party Better Together campaign ceased to be active. In its place now exists Scotland in Union (SIU), Scotland's largest and most active pro-UK campaign. Scotland in Union was launched in March 2015 with the aim of promoting Scotland's place in the UK. People who had supported Better Together in the 2014 referendum set up the campaign as a response to the continued, high-profile push for independence by Scottish nationalists after the referendum result. Initially, the organisation was led by its founder Alastair Cameron, a former Army captain. In January 2017, Scottish Labour's former Justice spokesperson Graeme Pearson was announced as Chief Executive. In August 2017, former Labour MP Pamela Nash took over the role.