Cameron says he will not oppose Scottish independence vote
Graffiti stating ‘Free Scotland’ appears on the gable end wall of a derelict cottage today in Bannockburn, Scotland.
The British government said today it would allow Scotland to hold a referendum on leaving the United Kingdom more three centuries after joining it, according to the Associated Press.
The coalition government of Prime Minister David Cameron, which is opposed to Scottish independence, said it would clear legal obstacles and allow Scotland to decide whether to secede.
Over public protests, Scotland and England were joined in 1707 although both countries had by then had a single King for over a hundred years.
More from GlobalPost: Scottish independence: Cameron steps in
Independence is favored by the Scottish National Party, which won a majority in the Scotland's parliament in 2010.
According to The Guardian, proposals published today would extend the powers of Scottish lawmakers, allowing them the power to call a referendum on the single question of whether to secede from the UK. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's deputy first minister, said the Scottish government wished to hold a referendum by 2014.
In forward to the consolation, Cameron and his deputy, the Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg, wrote:
They [the Scottish National Party] have campaigned consistently for independence, and while the UK government does not believe that this is in the interests of Scotland or of the rest of the United Kingdom, we will not stand in the way of a referendum on independence. … The future of Scotland's place within the United Kingdom is for people in Scotland to vote on.
Cameron, according to the AP, has urged Scottish authorities to make decisions on the referendum "sooner rather than later" as uncertainty on the future of the UK could ward off investors.
Alex Salmond, head of Scotland's semi-autonomous government, has favored independence as a means of gaining local control over Scottish natural resources as well as revenue collection.
"This is a huge decision for Scotland. This is potentially the biggest decision we have made as a nation for 300 years," Salmond was quoted as saying said Tuesday as he toured an oil facility in Dyce, eastern Scotland.