Unionism in Scotland

Unionism in Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Aonachas) is a political movement which favours the continuation of the political union between Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland as one United Kingdom, and hence is opposed to Scottish independence. Scotland is one of four countries of the United Kingdom which has its own devolved government (the Scottish Government) and its own parliament (the Scottish Parliament), as well as representation in the UK Parliament. There are many strands of political Unionism in Scotland, some of which have ties to Unionism and Loyalism in Northern Ireland. The two main political parties in the UK — the Conservatives and Labour — both support Scotland remaining part of the UK.

The Scottish unionism movement consists of many factions with varying political views but which are united in being politically opposed to Scottish independence, which would mean Scotland leaving the UK and becoming an independent state. Political parties which support Scottish independence include: the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Scottish Greens. The SNP have formed the devolved Scottish Government since 2007. After the SNP won an overall majority in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the UK and Scottish governments agreed to hold a referendum on Scottish independence, which was held on 18 September 2014. The three main UK political parties formed the Better Together campaign, supporting Scotland remaining part of the UK. The referendum resulted in a victory for the "No" (unionist) campaign, with 55.3% of votes cast for "No" to Scottish independence, and 44.7% cast for "Yes" to Scottish independence. Following the referendum, Better Together ceased to be active and Scotland in Union was established the following year in March 2015.