Government spending in the UK is controlled by something called the Barnett Formula, which presently results in about £60Bn&#x2F;year being transferred from England to Scotland. Should Scotland have become a separate country, this river of money would have run dry overnight. The Scottish Nationalists calculated that with oil at $100&#x2F;barrel, they could manage without it. However a) the price of oil collapsed and b) the part of Scotland that actually &quot;owns&quot; most of the oil, the Shetlands, was adamant that it wanted to stay part of the UK. So 28 out of 32 voting districts in Scotland, decided the present arrangement suited them well enough!