Therese Raphael, Columnist

The Last Thing Scotland Needs Right Now

At least for now, a replay of the 2014 independence vote is the last thing the country needs.

June 29, 2022 at 4:00 AM UTC

Therese Raphael is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion covering health care and British politics. Previously, she was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.

Is it time for another one?
Photographer: ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

Should Scotland leave the United Kingdom? Scots voted “no” to that question eight years ago. But Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants to put it to them again next year: She announced a new independence vote on Oct. 19, 2023.

She knows the bid to take her case to the UK Supreme Court is a long shot. And a referendum wouldn’t necessarily be in her Scottish National Party’s best interest — at current polling, the SNP would lose the vote, and what then would the point be of the party at all?