SECESSION

Scotland Pushes for Independence Vote

Referendum would be held in 2014.

The United Kingdom may not be united for long, if Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has his way. Salmond says his people ought to be able to vote on whether to have greater independence from Britain, but British Prime Minister David Cameron says the vote should be all or nothing: total separation or the status quo. Salmond struck back, saying Cameron has “no mandate” to set rules and that the vote would be held in Scotland in 2014. He called Cameron's intervention “almost Thatcher-esque.” Salmond's party has long pushed for Scottish independence. It currently has a legislature that controls internal policies but defers to London on foreign policy.