Big news from Scotland today: The country will hold an independence referendum on September 18, 2014, according to NBC News and other sources. The vote could see Scotland split from the rest of the United Kingdom and become its own country.
Scotland was an independent country until 1707, when the Treaty of Union and subsequent Acts of Union created the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Today, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland includes England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland together in one sovereign state.
The announcement of the date was the latest step in the process toward possible independence for the nation’s 5 million citizens.
Voters will be asked a single question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"
Scotland has a government, in Edinburgh, but remains under the ultimate authority of the United Kingdom. It elects lawmakers to both its own parliament, which handles most day-to-day matters, and the House of Commons in London, which controls defense, immigration and UK-wide taxation.
But the Scottish National Party, which favors independence, reportedly faces an uphill battle to win the referendum, Reuters reported, with opinion polls putting support for independence at about 30 percent of the electorate in Scotland, while about 50 percent favor the status quo.
The Scotsman noted that the vote will take place before the Ryder Cup is staged at Gleneagles, one of the events that people had assumed would be used to build up a feel good factor in the run up to the plebiscite.