If Scotland votes for independence, some disaffected Unionists may want to break away 8 May 2021 • 8:07pm Even Unionists should not begrudge the SNP’s electoral triumph. For a party which has been in government for 14 years to be returned for a fourth term is remarkable. While the SNP has not won an overall majority, there remains a pro-independence majority in Holyrood. The SNP intends to seek a second independence referendum as soon as Covid is conquered. But power to grant that referendum lies with London. Schedule 5 of the 1998 Scotland Act declares the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England to be a reserved matter. After the SNP won an overall majority at Holyrood in 2011, David Cameron agreed to a section 30 order delegating the power to hold a referendum to the Scottish parliament. And Boris Johnson has said that he will not agree to another such order, since the SNP insisted in 2014 that the referendum was a “once in a generation” attempt.