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Could people in Scotland soon be asked if they want to leave the UK and form an independent country?

The SNP - or the Scottish National Party - won the most seats and votes in Scotland in the general election, taking a massive 48 out of 59 seats there.

The party also won a lot more votes than it did at the last election in 2017, with the SNP even winning the seat of Jo Swinson, the leader of the Liberal Democrat Party.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said that meant people in Scotland should be allowed to decide once again whether the country should stay as part of the United Kingdom.

Earlier this year Ms Sturgeon said a new referendum on Scottish independence could be held by the year 2021., following the UK's Brexit vote.

However, UK ministers are opposed to such a move with Michael Gove saying the previous vote in 2014 should be "respected".

Ms Sturgeon has said Scotland "cannot be imprisoned in the union against its will" by the UK government, and has challenged Boris Johnson to give Scotland the power to hold a second independence referendum.

The SNP have been in control of the Scottish parliament in Holyrood since 2007, and it's important to remember that there are many reasons voters might have given the party their vote, not related to Scottish independence.

For example people might have voted SNP because they think the party is already doing a good job of running Scotland or because they support some of the party's other policies.

After the SNP's election victory Ms Sturgeon said: "I don't pretend that every single person who voted SNP will necessarily support independence.

"But there has been a strong endorsement in this election of Scotland having a choice over our future; of not having to put up with a Conservative government we didn't vote for and not having to accept life as a nation outside the EU."

Nicola Sturgeon said it also showed that voters in the country did not agree with Brexit and did not want to leave the European Union.

Ms Sturgeon added: "The results across the rest of the UK are grim but underlines the importance of Scotland having a choice.

"Boris Johnson has a mandate to take England out of the EU but he must accept that I have a mandate to give Scotland a choice for an alternative future."

Back in 2014 Scotland had an independence referendum, with the question "Should Scotland be an independent country?" being put to voters.

Voters answered with "Yes" or "No", and the "No" side won. More than two million voters (55.3%) decided against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour.

The turnout of 84.6% was the highest recorded for an election or referendum in the United Kingdom for more than 100 years. It was the first time people aged 16 and 17 were allowed to vote in a UK referendum.

Scotland has been part of the UK for more than 300 years.