Scottish Office Minister David Mundell
announced that in the fall of 2014 a referendum will take place to find
out whether the Scottish people want autonomy or independence from
Britain, or whether they prefer Scotland to still be a part of the
United Kingdom. Gaelic freedom will thus be placed on scales along with
people's doubts about the ability of the new state to survive in the
time of crisis.
The question of Scotland's separation
from the UK appeared a long time ago. Scotland has been a part of the UK
since 1707. In 1997, Scotland obtained limited autonomy within the UK.
Two years later, Scotland received its own executive power and
parliament. The Scottish autonomy embraces such fields as education,
transportation, health care, culture and environmental protection.
Financial planning, social and, of course, foreign policy remained in
the jurisdiction of the UK.
The echoes of Scottish separatism can be
found in the classic Scottish literature. For example, writer and poet
Hugh MacDiarmid was known for his pro-Scottish views. In 1928, he was
one of the originators of the establishment of the national party of
Scotland. George Orwell called MacDiarmid a typical representative of
"Celtic nationalism."
A surge of Scottish separatism occurred
during the 1970s, when clashes between IRA fighters and the British Army
became especially frequent in Northern Ireland. Scottish nationalists
also demanded official London should give them independence, but the
effort was no success.
Another reason to raise the issue of
Scottish independence was the victory of the Scottish Nationalist Party
in the elections to the Scottish Parliament in May 2011. The party won
69 out of 129 possible seats. SNP party leader Alexander Salmond called
for a referendum about the separation of Scotland from the United
Kingdom. The Scottish Nationalist Party on the rights of the
parliamentary majority can afford such undertakings, taking into
consideration the fact that the SNP has been pursuing this goal for more
than ten years.
No sooner said than done, although not
at once. In late May 2012, the Scottish government initiated a campaign
called "Yes Scotland". The goal was to convince the residents of the
autonomy that living apart from the UK would be more comfortable and
better for them. The campaign will run for two years. During this time,
the organizers will have to collect one million signatures for the
Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. In this case, the
independence of the five-million-strong Scotland will become a fact.
Alexander Salmond insists that if
Scotland is able to deal with the problems of health care, culture,
education and other areas in the management of the autonomy, then the
local parliament will be able to handle economic issues. Deputy First
Minister of the autonomy and the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said that
the oil fields of the North Sea continental shelf, as well as exports of
Scotch whiskey would ensure the economic independence of Scotland.
Sturgeon asserts that the Scottish have the right, just like citizens of
other countries, to determine the economic policy of their state.
Moreover, she claims that it would not be complete independence, because
the British monarch will continue to be the head of Scotland. In
addition, some questions could be solved together with Britain, should
the need arise.
Alexander Salmond, hinting at the
possible advantages of Scotland's independence, pointed out that in this
case Scotland would not participate in any military operations outside
the country, nor would it allow the deployment of nuclear weapons on its
territory.
According to Reuters, about 40
percent of the population support Scotland's independence. A half of the
population of Scotland is opposed to separation from the United
Kingdom. Ten percent have not decided on their preferences yet.
Salmond suggested that Scotland could
enter the EU and the euro area after separation. However, London did not
agree with it. UK Foreign Minister William Hague warned that the export
of whiskey, the national product of Scotland, would be significantly
reduced should the autonomy separate from the United Kingdom. This may
hurt the economy of the independent Scotland.
Prime Minister David Cameron also spoke
against the separation of Scotland from the United Kingdom. He believes
that a referendum on such a serious issue should be organized by London,
not Edinburgh. The Labour Party supported Cameron on that.
However, the referendum will take place
despite many objections. In the fall of 2014, the citizens of Scotland
will decide whether their independence should be or not. However, do all
respondents realize possible consequences of Scotland's separation from
the UK in national and global scale?
Will Scotland's independence be
economically advantageous? The head of Better Together movement Alistair
Darling said that it would definitely be better for Scotland to remain
one country with the UK. The reasons for that are plentiful. Even
considering the oil reserves in Scotland, the independence of the
autonomy will not mean that all revenues from oil sales will be
automatically wired to the treasury of the new independent state.
Firstly, oil reserves are not infinite. Secondly, the extraction and
processing of oil near Scotland involves many companies from the UK and
other countries. It is not yet clear how the oil revenues should be
shared if Scotland moves away from the UK.
Of course, one can develop alternative
sources of energy, like other European countries do. Scotland does it
already, although at the expense of the Treasury of the United Kingdom.
Should Scotland gain independence, the funding of the renewable energy
sources will be halved.
Darling also pointed out that in
difficult economic realities of today, under the conditions of the
global economic crisis, it is better for Scotland to stay in the UK. It
is easier to survive together economically. Scotland has economic ties
with other parts of the country. Once those ties are cut, negative
consequences will emerge both in Scotland and in the whole Kingdom.
Should problems arise, Wales, England and Northern Ireland will have to
credit and subsidize the Scottish economy. Does anybody want it?
The national mentality is an important
part of life in Scotland, as well as in any other country of the world.
According to Alistair Darling, the people of Scotland are proud of being
both Scottish and British citizens. The two notions are practically
inseparable. One should not artificially break the mental foundations of
the nation: it can be fraught with many negative consequences in the
future.
As for global consequences, the official
London fears that the separation of Scotland from the country will
undermine the international prestige of the United Kingdom. The United
Kingdom may thus give a negative example to other states of Europe and
the world, promoting the rise of political and social instability.
Spain, Greece ??????, Italy and Romania will be watching Scotland's way to
independence.
Sergei Vasilenko
Pravda.Ru
12/10/12
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