Brexit has worsened the relations between Scotland and UK. The reduction in powers consequent on the Westminster taking all the powers "returned" from the EU into its own perview with out recognition the effect on devolved powers has yet to be resolved.
An analysis how the Brexit process has unfolded in Scotland since the 2016 vote. With the UK as a whole voting to leave the EU whilst Scotland, and Northern Ireland, voted to Remain, political tension was inherent in the relationship between the Scottish and UK governments over Brexit from the start.
This tension worsened during the subsequent two to three years as the Article 50 process got under way. Scottish support for remaining in the EU is compared to that across the UK, together with polling evidence on the subsequent evolution of support for Remain and for another EU referendum (a ‘people’s vote’). Political responses in Scotland are then considered, focusing in particular on the varying positions of the Scottish Government.
The Scottish Government took a more strategic approach to Brexit in the initial weeks after the Brexit vote, which was then replaced by a more tactical emphasis on staying in the EU’s single market and defending the devolution settlement. This shifted again in autumn 2018 when the Scottish Government came out in favour of a people’s vote and put more emphasis on Remain over a ‘soft’ Brexit; this position was strengthened through 2019. How the politics of Brexit and the politics of independence have intertwined since 2016 is also briefly considered.