January 16, 1707

Union with England Act 1707

Scottish Parliament ratifies the Treaty of Union

A literal touch of the royal sceptre turned the parliamentary vote into an act carrying Queen Anne's assent.

16 January 1707: the act passes at Parliament House

At Parliament House in Edinburgh on 16 January 1707, the Scottish Parliament approved the act ratifying the amended Articles of Union with England.

The recorded division was 110 approvers to 67 opponents, with 46 members absent or abstaining. Some secondary accounts report 68 or 69 noes; the official recorded list and Scottish archival summaries give 67.

Assent by sceptre

After the vote, the Duke of Queensberry touched the act with the royal sceptre — the Scottish form by which Queen Anne's assent was signified.

Statutory protection for Scotland's Presbyterian church government was written into the ratification settlement the same day.

Still not one kingdom

The twenty-fifth and final article had been approved on 14 January, and a draft ratification act was introduced on 15 January. What passed on the 16th was the whole amended settlement, church-security provisions included.

It did not create Great Britain that day. Union was expressly deferred to 1 May 1707, the amended articles still had to be enacted at Westminster, and the Scottish Parliament kept sitting until 25 March.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources 2 audit passes

How this was checked

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What the sources leave uncertain

The historical date is conventionally given as 16 January 1707 in the Julian calendar then used in Scotland. It corresponds to 27 January in the Gregorian calendar.
Some secondary accounts report 68 or 69 opponents, but the official recorded list and Scottish archival summaries identify 110 approvers and 67 noes.