Login
Login

2015 in Scotland

{{Short description|none}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2016}}

{{Year in Scotland| 2015 }}

Events from the year 2015 in Scotland.

Incumbents

{{further|Politics of Scotland|Order of precedence in Scotland}}

= Law officers =

= Judiciary =

Events

= January =

  • 3 January – Eight people are reported missing after cargo ship {{MV|Cemfjord}} capsizes in the Pentland Firth.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-30667084 |title=Major search after ship overturns off north of Scotland |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=3 January 2015 |access-date=4 January 2015}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-30670842 |title=Cemfjord survivor chances said to be 'very slim' |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=4 January 2015 |access-date=4 January 2015}}
  • 9 January – Hurricane-force winds cause travel disruption and leave tens of thousands of homes without power across Scotland.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-30726678 |title=Hurricane-force gusts cause disruption to power and travel |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=9 January 2015 |access-date=9 January 2015}}

= February =

  • 18 February – Cargo ship MV Lysblink Seaways runs aground near Ardnamurchan Point on a voyage from Belfast, Northern Ireland to Skogn, Norway. Her crew remain on board and she is refloated on 20 February{{cite web|title=Large cargo ship runs aground near Ardnamurchan|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-31515061|website=BBC News|access-date=20 February 2015}}{{cite web|title='Beached' cargo ship Lysblink Seaway refloated|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-31545794|website=BBC News|access-date=20 February 2015}} but declared a constructive total loss and scrapped.{{cite web |url=https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/564c571840f0b674d6000033/MAIBInvReport25_2015.pdf |title=Report NO. 25/2015 |publisher=Marine Accident Investigation Branch |access-date=19 November 2015}}

= March =

  • 22 March – Membership of the Scottish National Party officially crosses the 100,000 mark; meaning that 1 in every 50 people in Scotland is now a member.{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/scottish-politics/snp-boost-as-membership-soars-past-100k-mark.1427009904 |work=Glasgow Herald |title=SNP boost as membership soars past 100k mark |publisher=Newsquest |date=22 March 2015 |access-date=22 March 2015}}
  • 31 March – RAF Leuchars transfers to Army control as Leuchars Station.{{cite web|date=31 March 2015|title=Army now in charge at Leuchars|url=http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/local-headlines/army-now-in-charge-at-leuchars-1-3734050|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716153120/https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/local-headlines/army-now-in-charge-at-leuchars-1-3734050|archive-date=16 July 2015|accessdate=4 November 2020|website=Fife Today}}

= April =

= May =

= June =

  • 25 June – Scotland's population grew by 19,900 to reach 5,347,600 in 2014 according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33266792|title=UK population increases by 500,000, official figures show|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|date=25 June 2015 |access-date=26 December 2015}}

= July =

  • 5 July – UNESCO gives World Heritage status to the Forth Bridge, one of Scotland's best-known structures.{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/forth-bridge-awarded-unesco-world-heritage-status-1-3821999|title=Forth Bridge awarded UNESCO World Heritage status|work=The Scotsman|date=5 July 2015|access-date=6 July 2015}}

= August =

= September =

  • 6 September – Rail transport returns to the Scottish Borders after 46 years with the reopening of the Waverley Route between Edinburgh and Tweedbank, under the name of the Borders Railway.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-34108746|title=Borders-to-Edinburgh railway opens as longest UK line in century|publisher=BBC|date=6 September 2015|access-date=6 September 2015}}

= October =

  • 14 October – A train collides with a vehicle near Uphall in West Lothian, but the passengers are unharmed.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-34530924|title=Train collides with vehicle near Uphall in West Lothian|publisher=BBC|date=14 October 2015|access-date=14 October 2015}}
  • 16 October – First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announces to the annual SNP conference that party membership now stands at 114,221.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-34553158|title=SNP Conference 2015: Who are the party's new members?|publisher=BBC|date=16 October 2015|access-date=23 October 2015}}
  • 22 October – The voting rights of Scottish MPs are to be restricted after the Conservative-majority UK Government wins a vote on its controversial "English votes for English laws" (EVEL) plans.{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13888756.Voting_rights_of_Scottish_MPs_to_be_restricted_after_Government_wins_Evel_vote/|title=Voting rights of Scottish MPs to be restricted after Government wins Evel vote|publisher=The Herald|date=22 October 2015|access-date=23 October 2015}}
  • 29 October – A 16-year-old youth is detained by Police Scotland after a fellow pupil is stabbed to death at Cults Academy near Aberdeen.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-34660140|title=Pupil dies after school stabbing at Cults Academy near Aberdeen|work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |date=29 October 2015 |access-date=29 October 2015}}
  • 31 October – A motorist dies and ten people are taken to hospital with injuries after a car collides with a bus near West Kilbride.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-34687469|title=Driver dies and two seriously injured in crash between car and bus|publisher=BBC|date=31 October 2015|access-date=31 October 2015}}

= November =

  • 12–13 November – Storm Abigail, the first official winter storm named in the British Isles, is at its peak across Scotland.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-34794583|title=Storm Abigail|publisher=BBC|date=13 November 2015|access-date=1 December 2015}}
  • 24 November – A Scottish National Party motion opposing the renewal of Trident is defeated in the UK Parliament by 330 votes to 64, with most Labour MPs abstaining.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34911204 MPs reject SNP calls for Trident to be scrapped] bbc.co.uk, accessed 26 December 2015

= December =

  • 1 December – Report of discovery of fossilised dinosaur footprints on Skye.{{cite news|first=Ian|last=Sample|title=Sauropod footprint find makes Skye Scotland's largest dinosaur site|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/dec/01/sauropod-footprint-find-makes-skye-scotlands-largest-dinosaur-site|date=2015-12-01|access-date=2018-03-03|work=The Guardian|location=London}}
  • 2 December – Despite the fact Scottish MPs vote by 57 to 2 against UK air strikes in Syria,[http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14120866.Not_in_my_name__SNP_MPs_apologise_to_Syria_for_air_strikes_on_Twitter_after_57_of_Scotland_s_59_MPs_oppose_bombing/ Not in my name: SNP MPs apologise to Syria for air strikes on Twitter after 57 of Scotland's 59 MPs oppose bombing] heraldscotland.com, accessed 26 December 2015 the UK Parliament overall votes by 397 to 223 in favour of air strikes.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34989302|title=Syria air strikes: MPs authorise UK action against Islamic State|publisher=BBC|date=2 December 2015|access-date=2 December 2015}}
  • 4 December – The Forth Road Bridge is closed due to structural defects, and the Scottish Transport Minister, Derek Mackay, declares that it will not be reopened until January 2016.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-35001277|title=Forth Road Bridge to be closed until new year|publisher=BBC|date=4 December 2015|access-date=5 December 2015}}
  • 5–6 December – Peak of Storm Desmond, with heavy rain and strong winds, causing flooding across southern Scotland.{{Cite web|title = Red Warning as Storm Desmond batters parts of Scotland|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-35014930|website = BBC News|access-date = 2015-12-24}}
  • 9 December – Election Court decides that although Liberal Democrat Alistair Carmichael had told a "blatant lie" in a TV interview, it had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt that he had committed an "illegal practice" that would invalidate his election as the Member of Parliament for Orkney and Shetland.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-35049150|title=Alistair Carmichael case: Legal bid to oust Lib Dem MP fails|date=9 December 2015|work=BBC News|access-date=9 December 2015}}
  • 22 December – It is announced that the Forth Road Bridge will reopen for all vehicles except HGVs on Wednesday 23 December, ahead of schedule.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-35160296 Forth Road Bridge to reopen on Wednesday] bbc.co.uk, accessed 26 December 2015
  • 30 December – A section of the A93 west of Ballater collapses due to flooding caused by Storm Frank.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-35206652] bbc.co.uk, 31 December 2015
  • 31 December – More than 1,700 same-sex couples have married in the first year after Scotland became the seventeenth country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-35204654|title=More that 1,700 same-sex couples married in first year of law|date=31 December 2015|work=BBC News|access-date=4 January 2015}}

Deaths

The arts

See also

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Years in Scotland |state=collapsed}}

{{Year in Europe|2015}}

Category:2010s in Scotland

Category:Years of the 21st century in Scotland

*Scotland