Independence, then, might be inevitable, but it has to be contemplated with some sense of reality. The reality of Brexit in front of our eyes. Scotland’s freedom from unending Tory rule from London may well be unavoidable. The constitutional position is simply unsustainable. It is intolerable to most of the Scottish people. Can they face another five, 10, 15 years of English Tory rule, even with devolution? Probably not, and they might hope for the best from “global Scotland” as it seizes unnamed exciting new opportunities.

BBC History Magazine view of the Act of Union

A Scottish historical view of the passing of the Act of Union.

A largely neutral record of the events leading to the union of England and Scotland.

A brief description of the formation of the UK and its domination by England.

The union of England and Scotland was hindered in the 17th century by Scottish fear of becoming a region of England.  England feared alliances with France.  The Darien Scheme bankrupted much of wealthy Scotland.  Amidst allegations of bribery, the Scottish Parliament in 1707 voted for union with England. 

Decisions on independence are balanced between a few elements:

A rebalancing of relations with England outside the EU.

Independence with the objective to join the EU, creating a hard border with England.

Independence outside the EU and some trading arrangement with England.

Independence with membership of EFTA and a softer border with England.

The arrangements for the countries of the UK are likely to continue to develop through piecemeal change. This change process is more difficult as a result of the 2016 referendum on the EU. This presents an ongoing threat to the survival of the UK as a unitary state.

An independent Scotland within the EU would be part of the EU’s single market: England and Wales would be outside.  The border checks may be quite significant. Ireland's experience shows it is clearly possible for a small country to succeed economically in a similar situation to that which would confront an independent Scotland within the EU and establishing a new border.

There are indications that the EU would welcome an application from an independent Scotland. Full membership of the EU may take up to a decade to complete. As a new member state, Scotland would probably have to take on the normal obligations, which may include the use of the Euro.  A hard border with England would be the consequence of EU membership.  Even a looser relationship, similar to Norway, with the EU would require a customs border with England.

“We must think of self-governing Scotland as an independent legal jurisdiction which has internationally recognised legal boundaries. A Customs officer at an immobile Customs Station, in an open-borders 21st Century European community, has very little impact and demonstrates how Unionists miss the point, whilst further; successfully confusing our electorate by claiming “hard borders” are a show-stopper when in fact they are very largely irrelevant.”