Independence and the distribution of resources within Spain will once again take centre stage in Catalonia’s elections

Catalonia will hold parliamentary elections on 27 September, with a number of Catalan politicians presenting the elections as an effective vote on the territory’s independence from Spain. Mireia Borrell Porta writes that two issues in particular are at the heart of the debate over independence: fiscal redistribution within Spain and Catalan identity. She notes that while the Spanish government has rejected the idea that the elections are a de facto vote on independence, the result will go some way to indicating the views of Catalan voters on the issue