We have some readers here from the United Kingdom, including some from Scotland. So, I’m wondering how you feel about the upcoming referendum vote on Scotland’s independence.
Any comments? For, or against?
For discussion . . .
— Jillian
P.S. I do have some Scottish blood in me, but I was raised in Canada and have never been to Scotland. So, I don’t have an opinion about the issue.
Jillian Page 
There was a lot of chatter about Scottish independence in the mid ’70s. That’s up to them. The notion of a nation-state is a fairly recent invention in human history. I am mindful of the fact that when Elizabeth died, her replacement in 1603 was the Stuart King James from Scotland. .
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I am and Englishman, living in England, so I don’t get a vote in this referendum. Even my Scottish friends living in England don’t get a vote. Only the Scots living in Scotland get any say in the matter, even though it affects the whole of the Unitied Kingdom. My wife and I have property in Edinburgh, so we could be significantly affected by a “yes” result.
Personally I think a “yes” vote would be very unfortunate. Not only would it undo three centuries of unification, it would also leave Scotland with many unanswered questions. Which currency they will use on independence is the most obvious one.
The Scottish Nationalists seem to think they can bully the rest of the UK into allowing them to share in the use of GBP, else they threaten not to pay their share of the national debt. That would turn the island of Great Britain into a “Stirling zone” that might have as many problems as the “Euro zone”. How much control of the Scottish economy are Scotland willing to give to the rest of the UK in order to be members of a “Stirling zone”?
An independant Scotland will not automatically be a member of the European Union, and Spain have said that they will veto any attempt by an Independant Scotland to join the EU, as they do not want to encourage the Catalan separatists to think they will be able to “do a Scotland”.
Many of Scotlands major companies that are headquartered there have already said that they will move to England if separation goes ahead. This includes the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Bank of Scotland, the Lloyds Banking Group, and Standard Life. The EU rules for financial institutions like these state that, if their main customers are in the EU then they have to be based in the EU. Beside, the British people own a large proportion of the banks following the bail-outs of the banking crisis.
The Scottish Nationalists don’t really want full independence. They want to keep much of what they already have (like GBP and EU membership) through being part of the United Kingdom. They even say they want to retain the Queen as their head of state, for goodness sake!
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Another thing to add is that much of the Labour Party’s support is in Scotland, so an independant Scotland would shift the balance of power within the remainder of the UK, in that the Labour Party (the party of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown that were in power for 13 consecutive years before the current Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition) might then struggle to get back into power. To some that may be seen as a ghood thing, but it is another indicator that an independant Scotland will have far-reaching repercussions.
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I’ve also seen commentators suggest that the recently announced Royal pregnancy might engender patriotism and help sway the vote to remain as part of the U.K. If people affected reply, I’d ask if this was any factor in their decision.
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There has also been the comment that if the rest of the UK had a say in Scottish independence then the vote would be to get shot of ’em 😉
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