Scotland’s Nationalist Government ‘Unlikely’ to Get Permission to Hold 2nd Independence Vote

The Scottish Saltire flag flies next to the British Union Jack flag with the London Eye wheel seen behind in London, Britain, on July 29, 2019. Toby Melville/Reuters

The Scottish government would be “unlikely” to overcome the opposition from the UK government and succeed in holding a second independence referendum, a former civil servant who negotiated the first independence vote has said.

In the first independence referendum held in 2014, the Scottish electorate voted 55–45 percent to reject independence and remain part of the UK.