Why Scots face historic election
A pro-independence party looks set to win the May 3 vote, 300 years after Scotland united with England.
from the May 3, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
"There has been a glacial shift over a long period of time against being British," says David McCrone, the director of the Institute of Governance at the University of Edinburgh.
He points to the fact that 30 years ago a third of Scots said they were British first, then Scottish. Now that's down to less than half that amount, at 15 percent.
Still, opinion polls show only about half of Scots, at most, in favor of independence. Some put that figure as low as 25 percent.
Professor McCrone, who says that the true figure is around one-third, says there is still a strong mood toward greater powers for Scotland.
"There is a shift to greater self-government," he says. "Around two-thirds of people want the Scottish Parliament to have more powers."
Since 1999, the Scottish Parliament has had devolved powers, though many key issues like defense and taxation remain with the UK parliament in London, which for nearly 300 years governed Scotland's affairs.
McCrone describes the move toward greater self-government as an ongoing trend that people want to push further. "It may be less a question of independence and more of interdependence in the future," he says.
'80 to 90 percent' support a referendum
The SNP, though, argues that most people support the idea of at least holding a referendum on independence.
Its charismatic leader Alex Salmond, says, "What is not in doubt is when you ask people do you want a referendum? Do you want the right to decide? Then the majority is overwhelming, it's 80, perhaps even 90 percent in favor of that."
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