Explainer-Scottish independence: After Supreme Court defeat, can Sturgeon hold a new referendum?

LONDON (Reuters) - The UK Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an argument that the Scottish government can pass legislation allowing it to hold a second independence referendum next year, leaving nationalists searching for another route to a new vote.

In a referendum in 2014, Scots voted 55%-45% to remain in the United Kingdom, but the independence movement argues that the vote for the UK to leave the European Union two years later changed everything.

Here is the history of the push for Scottish independence and how another vote could happen:ACT OF UNIONThe nations of Britain have shared the same monarch since 1603, when King James VI of Scotland became James I of England. In 1707, a formal union created the Kingdom of Great Britain.Now, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland binds England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and has an overall population of about 68 million, of which Scots make up some 5.5 million.In 1998, the then Labour government passed the Scotland Act which created the Scottish parliament and devolved some powers from Westminster.ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION VOTEBoth sides agreed at the time of the 2014 plebiscite that it should be a once-in-a-generation poll. However, Scottish nationalists say Brexit means they should be allowed a second vote. While the United Kingdom as a whole voted in favour of leaving the European Union in 2016, a clear majority in Scotland voted to stay in the bloc.