Scotland May Try To Break Away From The United Kingdom — Again
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross and former leader Ruth Davidson hold placards, in front of Stirling Castle on Wednesday during campaigning for the Scottish Parliamentary election. Andrew Milligan/AP hide caption
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross and former leader Ruth Davidson hold placards, in front of Stirling Castle on Wednesday during campaigning for the Scottish Parliamentary election.
Andrew Milligan/APOn Thursday, Scots vote in Regional Parliamentary elections. That's not usually an international story, but the ruling Scottish National Party is running on a platform to hold another independence referendum. Another vote on whether Scotland should leave the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland and Wales could follow their lead.
Scotland voted to stay in the U.K. during the last independence referendum in 2014. But then the Brexit vote happened. Scots heavily voted against leaving the European Union but were outnumbered by the British. Ultimately, the U.K. voted to leave the E.U.
NPR's London correspondent Frank Langfitt has been driving across Scotland over the past few days, asking people how they feel about another referendum and the reviews are mixed.
Ailsa Henderson, a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, describes what might happen after this week's vote and what, if anything, is still keeping the U.K. together.
In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
This episode was produced by Jessica Beck, Brianna Scott, Connor Donevan and Lee Hale. It was edited by Sami Yenigun with help from Wynne Davis and Kevin Beesley. Our executive producer is Cara Tallo.