The streets were half-empty on Thursday in Edinburgh, where the traditional New Year’s Eve party “Hogemanay” was canceled by a blockade, and Scots face 2021 worried about Brexit, although many hope it will give a new impetus to the independence process.
The Royal Mile, where typical Scottish produce such as whiskey or tartan is displayed in the windows, was half deserted and covered in snow.
Several passers-by expressed concern over the Brexit climax at 23:00 GMT on Thursday.
“It is really sad to leave the European Union, but when it is over, we will have to relaunch the independence process,” said Zoe Stewaert, who in 2016 voted to stay in the EU, as did 62% of Scots. .
Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, a pro-independence activist, believes Brexit could be an opportunity to increase support for secession.
The Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), Sturgeon’s party, is the big favorite for the May 2021 local elections and insists it wants to hold a second referendum on self-determination after the “no” independence won in consultation. held in 2014.
A landslide victory for the SNP in the upcoming elections would increase pressure on London to accept a second referendum, which they have already called “indyref2”.
However, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson strongly opposes this second vote, although his refusal could lead to a political crisis in Scotland.
2021, a decisive year? –
58% of Scots are in favor of breaking with Britain, according to a recent survey by Savanta ComRes for the Scottish newspaper, which showed a particularly high level of support for independence.
“It is very difficult to detect a trend, because it varies. In the first half of 2020, things were from 50 to 50. But in the second half (supporters of secession) exceeded 50% and reached 59%,” he said. especially for covid-19 crisis management, explains Nicola McEwan, a professor of political science at the University of Edinburgh.
Sturgeon, with a high level of popularity, took advantage of the management of his pandemic, much more appreciated by the public than Johnson’s irregular performance during the health crisis.
Mike Blackshaw is already campaigning for secession from “Yes Cafe,” decorated with a portrait of the prime minister and where pro-independence activists in Edinburgh often meet.
The shirts and needles are already ready, as well as a new independence flag, which mixes the colors of the Scottish flag with those of the EU.
“The year 2021 will be a decisive year for the independence movement,” says Mike Blackshaw, who has campaigned for secession for decades.
Blackshaw, with a long white beard, is clear about his desire for “the first jog”, a Scottish tradition that says that the first symbolic step after midnight brings good luck: “A referendum in September, win it and then I will be able to live peacefully “.