Scottish people are going to participate in a referendum to decide whether Scotland should be an independent country or not on 18 September 2014.
The Scottish National Party, left leaning nationalist party advocating secession from the Britain, came to power in May 2007. It vowed for Scotland's independence. They put forward the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill and set out the arrangements for it on 21 March 2013, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 14 November 2013. Accordingly, Britain was made to give it Royal Assent on 17 December 2013
The referendum question, as recommended by the Electoral Commission, will be "Should Scotland be an independent country?" – voters can answer only Yes or No. A total of over 4 million people in Scotland, aged over 16, can vote. To pass, the independence proposal requires a simple majority.
Scotland's policies have changed dramatically during recent years. They pay more attention to public welfare rather than big company's interests. For them, establishing justice is more important than making profit. That is, Scotland is a social-democracy country that care about its people, not a government who only tries best to serve large companies' interests.
There are also some other reasons. Unlike Britain, Scots, for example, are not against immigrants' entry into their country, but they welcome skilled immigrants who can help Scotland's economy. Considering foreign policy there are also differences. Scotland has never supported Britain's military adventures in other countries, e.g. in Iraq. Scotland's people know that they have to follow Britain's decisions in foreign affairs even if they disagree. Palestine case is an obvious example that government in London had supported Israeli regime's crime in Gaza, while government of Edinburgh not only did not support kid-killer regime's but also condemned their crimes against humanity and also helped Gazans financially.
Therefore, such deep differences between two counties in strategic affairs have led Scots to think of secession from Britain to be able to make decisions based on their own interests and norms. Indeed, Scotland's people have came to this believe that they want and are able to play their own role in the world's political scene.
