Is this the end of the fight for Scottish independence?
When the SNP was voted into the Scottish parliament as the leading party in the country there were immediate concerns that the group would push for Scottish independence in the short to medium term. These concerns were not without foundation and as soon as the government had found its feet the subject of Scottish independence was pushed very much to the fore. But has the recent economic downturn quashed the fight for independence in the short term?
As much as the Scottish government would argue that the fight goes on, recent opinion polls show a definite weakening of the resolve of many to go independent. We can only speculate how the Scottish economy would and will perform without the assistance of the UK government but many forecasts suggest a serious and prolonged downturn with limited funding to refloat Scotland as a whole.
There have been various fights with the UK government to secure further funding for Scotland and again this shows the growing dependence on the Union. The Scottish government made much mileage of oil stocks around Scotland when prices were around $150 per barrel and now they are less than a third of that value the authorities have gone very quiet.
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