Support for Scotland leaving the United Kingdom has fallen significantly in the wake of the Queen’s death, with overall support for the monarchy rising in other parts of the British Commonwealth.
The death of Queen Elizabeth II has seen support for Scotland separating from England, Wales, and Northern Ireland drop significantly, with polling indicating that anti-Britain sentiments in the country have dropped by as much as six points since June.
Support for the monarchy appears to have rallied in the wake of the late monarch’s passing, too, with an Australian poll finding that a significant majority of the country’s population wants it to remain a monarchy, while New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, while hinting at the possibility of her country breaking with the Crown, said that she would not be pushing for a republic.
According to polling done on behalf of The Scottish Sun, only 42 per cent of Scots now support separation, down from 48 per cent according to polling done in June.
Over a quarter of the population believes that the Queen’s death has strengthened the union between the Home Nations of the United Kingdom, while 18 per cent say that it has likely weakened ties.
The monarchy appears to have strengthened even more in Australia, with The Times reporting one poll as finding that 60 per cent of the country’s population now supports it remaining a monarchy, with support growing by five points since the ascension of King Charles III.
Another poll found that support for the monarchy has risen from 43 per cent in January to 57 per cent as of last week.
It is not all good news for the monarchy, however, with other Commonwealth leaders eyeing up the possibility of dumping the Royal Family following the Queen’s demise.
For example, while New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promised that she would not be pushing for her nation to become a republic anytime soon, she has said that she expects the country to abandon the monarchy within her lifetime.
This echoes a statement by Australia’s left-wing prime minister, Anthony Albanese, with the long-time republican issuing a saying that he would not try to turn his country into a republic within his first term in office.
Other Commonwealth Realm leaders have not bothered to wait until the Queen is in the ground before pushing for independence, with Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister, Gaston Browne, promising to hold a referendum on removing the monarch as the country’s head of state within the next three years.
“It does not represent any form of disrespect to the monarch,” the Labour Party politician insisted soon after the Queen’s death.
“This is not an act of hostility, or any difference between Antigua and Barbuda and the monarchy. It is a final step to complete the circle of independence to become a truly sovereign nation,” he asserted — although in fact the country is already fully sovereign, with the monarch’s role as head of state there entirely separate from their role as head of state in the United Kingdom.
The British government has no authority over Commonwealth nations that have retained the monarchy.
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