Anyone watching the Labour leadership’s refusal to rule out a post-election agreement with the SNP, would be forgiven for thinking such an arrangement was unique. However, explains Daniel Cetrà, pro-independence parties offering support to minority governments is nothing new – as evidenced by Spain.

There has been a great deal of comment recently about the prospect of the SNP supporting a minority Labour government in Westminster.

This article first appeared in The Herald.

For a few months in 2014, Scotland moved to the centre of international attention.

*Join the Centre on Constitutional Change & Territorial Politics Research Group for Frédéric Bastien's seminar on Thursday 11 December 2014. Trudeau, Thatcher and the Fight for Canada’s Constitution – and lessons for Scotland*

One can imagine that the European Commission breathed a collective sigh of relief when the results of the Scottish independence referendum were announced on 19 September 2014.

Yesterday there was a symbolic and non-binding vote on independence in Catalonia. In a festive atmosphere, 2.3 million Catalans made their way to polling stations. Voters were asked two questions: whether Catalonia should be a state, and if they replied yes, whether it should be an independent state. Results showed that 80.7% (almost 1.9 million) voted yes to both questions, 10% (more than 230.000) voted yes to the first question and no to the second, while 4.5% (almost 105.000) voted no.

The effects of the independence referendum are playing out beyond Holyrood, Westminster and the party conferences. The 19^th of September also saw Catalonia, itself no stranger to constitutional debates, enter a new stand-off with Madrid. The dispute has once again set the Spanish Prime Minister on a collision course with the Catalan President, leading to an intervention by Spain’s Constitutional Court but, explains Dani Cetrà, that is unlikely to be the end of the story.

In a blog originally posted on The Conversation, Dani Cetra examines perspectives from Catalonia.