Editing Scotland (section)

=== 21st century ===

[[File:Opening of the Scottish Parliament, 1999.jpg|thumb|right|The official reconvening of the [[Scottish Parliament]] in July 1999 with [[Donald Dewar]], then [[first minister of Scotland]] (left) with [[Queen Elizabeth II]] (centre)]]

The [[Scottish Parliament Building]] at Holyrood opened in October 2004 after lengthy construction delays and running over budget.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 October 2004 |title=UK &#124; Scotland &#124; Guide to opening of Scottish Parliament |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3719396.stm |access-date=1 August 2018 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728164327/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3719396.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Scottish Parliament's form of [[proportional representation]] (the [[additional member system]]) resulted in no one party having an overall majority for the first three Scottish parliament elections.

The pro-[[Scottish independence|independence]] [[Scottish National Party]] led by [[Alex Salmond]] achieved an overall majority in the [[Scottish Parliament election|2011 election]], winning 69 of the 129 seats available.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carrell |first=Severin |date=6 May 2011 |title=Salmond hails 'historic' victory as SNP secures Holyrood's first ever majority &#124; Politics |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/may/06/scottish-elections-salmond-historic-victory-snp |access-date=1 August 2018}}</ref> The success of the SNP in achieving a majority in the Scottish Parliament paved the way for the [[Scottish independence referendum, 2014|September 2014 referendum on Scottish independence]]. The majority voted against the proposition, with 55% voting no to independence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 September 2014 |title=Scottish independence referendum – Results |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/results |access-date=1 August 2018 |archive-date=18 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140918212409/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/results |url-status=live }}</ref> More powers, particularly concerning taxation, were devolved to the Scottish Parliament after the referendum, following cross-party talks in the [[Smith Commission]].

Since the 2014 referendum, events such as the UK leaving the European Union, despite a majority of voters in Scotland voting to remain a member, have led to calls for a [[Proposed second Scottish independence referendum|second independence referendum]]. In 2022, the [[Lord Advocate]] [[Dorothy Bain]] argued the case for the Scottish Government to hold another referendum on the issue, with the [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom|Supreme Court]] later ruling against the argument.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 November 2022 |title=Supreme court rules against Scottish parliament holding new independence referendum |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/nov/23/scottish-independence-supreme-court-scottish-parliament-second-referendum-indyref2 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=18 July 2023 |archive-date=13 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213031458/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/nov/23/scottish-independence-supreme-court-scottish-parliament-second-referendum-indyref2 |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the Supreme Court decision, the Scottish Government stated that it wished to make amendments to the [[Scotland Act 1998]] that would allow a referendum to be held.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Faye |date=14 December 2022 |title=SNP reveals new plan to secure indyref2 without Westminster backing |language=en |work=Sky News |url=https://news.sky.com/story/snp-reveals-new-plan-to-secure-indyref2-without-westminster-backing-12767700 |access-date=14 December 2022 |archive-date=14 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214005509/https://news.sky.com/story/snp-reveals-new-plan-to-secure-indyref2-without-westminster-backing-12767700 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="r556">{{cite web | last=Torrance | first=David | title=Scottish independence referendum: legal issues | website=House of Commons Library | date=2025-02-18 | url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9104/ | access-date=2025-03-03}}</ref>