title: Disunited Kingdom: How Westminster Won A Referendum But Lost Scotland
author:  Iain Macwhirter 
description: <DIV>&ldquo;An involving and thoughtful survey of a late spring in Scotland&#39;s political and cultural life.&quot; &mdash;Stephen Daisley, <I>STV&#160;</I></DIV><br /><br /><DIV>&quot;Cerebral and thought-provoking . . . &#160;Iain Macwhirter make his argument powerfully.&quot; &mdash;Andrew Sparrow, The <I>Guardian</I></DIV><br /><br /><DIV>&ldquo;A truly important book, particularly at this moment. It offers a huge sweep of history and deals with recent Scottish politics in formidable, but never tedious detail.&quot; &mdash;Andrew Marr, broadcaster and journalist</DIV><br /><br /><DIV>&quot;Easily the most accessible piece of writing concerned with the independence debate. An excellent guide to understanding the key issues.&quot; &mdash;the <I>List</I></DIV>
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  ##
  
  
  # Politics this week
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Jul 2nd 2016
  
  
  | [From the print edition](../..//printedition/2016-07-02)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](images/img1_u2.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  In a shock result, the British voted by a slender margin in a referendum to
  leave the **European Union**. After 33.6m votes were counted, 52% had opted to
  break away from the union after four decades. Turmoil ensued. David Cameron,
  Britain’s prime minister, never an enthusiast for the EU but who nonetheless
  campaigned vigorously to remain, announced his resignation. The vote exposed
  deep divisions in British society, notably over immigration. An e-petition to
  the government, calling for a second referendum gathered over 4m signatures,
  mostly from Remainers. See [article](https://t.co/4TtpAfH3hA).
  
  
  Mr Cameron was not the only party leader whose position became untenable. The
  opposition **Labour Party** impl