Scottish independence: What happens next after UK rules a second vote is not allowed?
The UK Supreme Court has ruled that Scotland's parliament can't organise its own independence referendum.
Wednesday's decision was unanimous. It confirmed that the Scottish government didn't have the legal authority to introduce legislation that would allow a new vote without Westminister's permission -- something successive governments in London have refused to give.
Despite Wednesday's ruling, the issue of Scottish independence is not going away.
The number of Scots is split evenly between those who want to stay part of the United Kingdom, and those who want Scotland to become an independent nation.
So what happens next? Predicting the future in politics is notoriously difficult, but there are three main scenarios that could play out in Scotland.
The SNP could wait until the next UK national election scheduled for 2025, hoping that they will secure an increased majority, strengthening their case for independence.
“We want this to be beyond doubt,” said Ruaridh Hanna, an SNP activist.
“We need to convince more people [that] independence is the best way forward," he told Euronews.
If the SNP were to return an even bigger vote in 2025, Hanna believes this would bolster the case for a second referendum and put pressure on Westminster to allow one, both at home and internationally.
While recognising it was still too early to tell, he hoped that the “clear democratic deficit” shown by the British government in not permitting the vote would boost support for independence.
“A lot of people around Scotland today, who were sitting on the fence before, will be listening to the evening news tonight and thinking, how is this right?
“This cannot be a voluntary union if there was no way out,” he added, suggesting it becomes something
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