<P> A national referendum to decide on Scottish independence was held on 18 September 2014 . Voters were asked to answer either "Yes" or "No" to the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" 55.3% of voters answered "No" and 44.7% answered "Yes", with a voter turnout of 84.5% . </P> <P> In the second half of the 20th century the Labour Party usually won most Scottish seats in the Westminster parliament, losing this dominance briefly to the Unionists in the 1950s . Support in Scotland was critical to Labour's overall electoral fortunes as without Scottish MPs it would have gained only two UK electoral victories in the 20th century (1945 and 1966). The number of Scottish seats represented by Unionists (known as Conservatives from 1965 onwards) went into steady decline from 1959 onwards, until it fell to zero in 1997 . Politicians with Scottish connections continued to play a prominent part in UK political life, with Prime Ministers including the Conservatives Harold Macmillan (whose father was Scottish) from 1957 to 1963 and Alec Douglas - Home from 1963 to 1964 . </P> <P> The Scottish National Party gained its first seat at Westminster in 1945 and became a party of national prominence during the 1970s, achieving 11 MPs in 1974 . However, a referendum on devolution in 1979 was unsuccessful as it did not achieve the necessary support of 40 per cent of the electorate (despite a small majority of those who voted supporting the proposal) and the SNP went into electoral decline during the 1980s . The introduction in 1989 by the Thatcher - led Conservative government of the Community Charge (widely known as the Poll Tax), one year before the rest of the United Kingdom, contributed to a growing movement for a return to direct Scottish control over domestic affairs . The electoral success of New Labour in 1997 was led by two Prime Ministers with Scottish connections: Tony Blair (who was brought up in Scotland) from 1997 to 2007 and Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010, opened the way for constitutional change . On 11 September 1997, the 700th anniversary of Battle of Stirling Bridge, the Blair led Labour government again held a referendum on the issue of devolution . A positive outcome led to the establishment of a devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999 . A coalition government, which would last until 2007, was formed between Labour and the Liberal Democrats, with Donald Dewar as First Minister . The new Scottish Parliament Building, adjacent to Holyrood House in Edinburgh, opened in 2004 . Although not initially reaching its 1970s peak in Westminster elections, the SNP had more success in the Scottish Parliamentary elections with their system of mixed member proportional representation . It became the official opposition in 1999, a minority government in 2007 and a majority government from 2011 . In 2014 the independence referendum saw voters reject independence, choosing instead to remain in the United Kingdom . In the 2015 Westminster election, the SNP won 56 out of 59 Scottish seats, making them the third largest party in Westminster . </P> <P> After World War II, Scotland's economic situation became progressively worse due to overseas competition, inefficient industry, and industrial disputes . This only began to change in the 1970s, partly due to the discovery and development of North Sea oil and gas and partly as Scotland moved towards a more service - based economy . The discovery of the giant Forties oilfield in October 1970 signalled that Scotland was about to become a major oil producing nation, a view confirmed when Shell Expro discovered the giant Brent oilfield in the northern North Sea east of Shetland in 1971 . Oil production started from the Argyll field (now Ardmore) in June 1975, followed by Forties in November of that year . Deindustrialisation took place rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s, as most of the traditional industries drastically shrank or were completely closed down . A new service - oriented economy emerged to replace traditional heavy industries . This included a resurgent financial services industry and the electronics manufacturing of Silicon Glen . </P>

When did scotland get their freedom from england