The stakes of the 2021 Scottish elections

2021, and the May elections, are set to be a crucial moment in the future of the Union. The battle lines for the election have already been drawn – on one side, the 11-point path to Scottish independence published last month by the SNP, and on the other the UK Government and Boris Johnson, who maintained on a visit to Scotland last week that ‘now was not the time’.

The Holyrood elections will take place against a heady backdrop of 9 months of poll leads for independence, a bolstered Nicola Sturgeon and an ebullient Boris Johnson determined to make the case for his successful vaccination programme and Scotland’s return to growth inside the Union.

With an uncertain path ahead for business, corporates and investors, the Global Counsel team discussed:

• What the polling does and doesn’t tell us
• The likely options that flow from the May elections
• How the debate will be framed given the changed landscape created by Brexit and covid-19
• The key considerations for UK plc