User:Nallerton/sandbox

Hi Noah

A referendum concerning Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held on 27 October 2016. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No", the same question which was asked in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum 2 years prior. The "No" side won with 2,364,727 (64.1%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (35.9%) voting in favour. The turnout of 85.8% was the highest recorded for an election or referendum in the United Kingdom since the introduction of universal suffrage, surpassing the turnout for the previous independence referendum of 84.6%.

The Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2016 set out the arrangements for the referendum and was passed by the Scottish Parliament in January 2016, following an agreement between the devolved Scottish government and the Government of the United Kingdom. The independence proposal required a simple majority to pass. All European Union (EU) or Commonwealth citizens residing in Scotland age 16 or over could vote, with some exceptions, which produced a total electorate of almost 4,300,000 people.

Yes Scotland was once again the main campaign group for independence, while Better Together remained the main campaign group in favour of maintaining the union. Many other campaign groups, political parties, businesses, newspapers, and prominent individuals were also involved. Prominent issues raised during the referendum mirrored many of those from just two years prior, including what currency an independent Scotland would use, public expenditure, EU membership, and North Sea oil. An exit poll revealed that retention of the pound sterling was the deciding factor for those who voted No, while EU membership in the event that the United Kingdom left the European Union was the deciding factor for those who voted Yes.