Independence and Unity: Constitutional Futures on These Islands

Citation

Swan CB & Doyle J (2025) Independence and Unity: Constitutional Futures on These Islands. In: Gillespie P, Keating M & McEwen N (eds.) Political Change across Britain and Ireland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 200-220. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781399541558-011

Abstract
First paragraph: The UK’s vote to leave the European Union amplified debates over the con-stitutional future of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Proponents of Welsh and Scottish independence were reinvigorated, using the vote as an oppor-tunity to demand constitutional change, notwithstanding the challenges that independence outside the EU would pose to their constitutional ambitions. In Ireland, both North and South, the intensity of discussions about unification increased, particularly as protracted negotiations between the EU and the UK took place. This chapter captures a crucial constitutional moment on these islands, between 2016, when the UK voted to leave the EU, and early 2023. In doing so, we analyse the constitutional thinking of the largest political par-ties actively advocating constitutional change in their respective territories: the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin. We analyse these constitutional policies on three dimensions: the relationship claimed with one another, the future relationship with the EU, and the relationship with the rest of the UK, should their constitutional objectives be achieved. In doing so, we find that while the EU is a significant contextual factor for all three, the constitutional debates in Scotland, Wales and Ireland largely reflect the specific dynamics in each territory.