respectively. Causes for this included English fears that Scotland would select a different (Catholic) monarch in future, and the failure of the Scottish colony at Darien. The Union was brought into existence under the Acts of Union on 1 May 1707, forming a single Kingdom of Great Britain. Scottish jacobite resistance to the union, led by descendants of James VII of Scotland (II of England), continued until 1746 and the Jacobite defeat at Culloden. Union with Ireland (1801) With the Acts of Union 1800, Ireland united with Great Britain into what then formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The history of the Unions is reflected in various stages of the Union Flag, which forms the flag of the United Kingdom. Ireland was partitioned in the early 1920s: Southern Ireland, now known as the Republic of Ireland, left the United Kingdom, while Northern Ireland chose to stay within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Devolution (1999) The Liberal Democrats, and their predecessor Liberal Party, have long been supportive of Home Rule as part of a wider belief in subsidiarity and localism. In a mirror image of how the Liberal Democrat Party is itself structured, that party is generally supportive of a federal relationship between the countries of the United Kingdom. The Liberal governments of the late 19th century and early 20th century supported a "home rule all round" policy, which would have meant creating national parliaments in England, Ireland and Scotland with common and external matters (such as defence and foreign affairs) decided by the UK Parliament. A "Government Of Scotland Bill" was introduced to the UK Parliament by the Liberal government in 1913, and its second reading was passed in the House of Commons by 204 votes to 159. The bill did not become law, and home rule fell off the agenda after most of Ireland became independent in 1922. Following the Kilbrandon Report in 1973, recommending a devolved Scottish Assembly, the Labour government led by Jim Callaghan introduced the Scotland Act 1978. A majority voted in favour of the proposed scheme in a March 1979 referendum on the proposal, but the Act stipulated that 40% of the total electorate had to vote in favour. The result of the referendum did not meet this additional test, and the Labour government decided not to press ahead with devolution. When the party returned to power in