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An Idiot’s Guide to Scottish Independence

10 Jan 2012
Stephen O'Donnell
12
devolution, independence, Politics, Scotland, snp

This is for the benefit of my English friend’s, who don’t know what to think about the current political arguments concerning Scottish independence. Personally, I’m against independence, as are the majority of people in Scotland.  Financially, it could work, but there would be 20 years of grief, that I’d rather do without.  And frankly, I’m just not that patriotic.  Despite the noises made by the SNP, the governing Party in the Scottish Parliament, it remains extremely unlikely to happen. 

Here are some salient bullet points, to bring you up to speed.

  1. A referendum on public support for Scottish devolution was held in 1997, as it was a manifesto pledge of the newly elected New Labour UK government.
  2. The Scottish Parliament was formed in May 1999, following the election of 129 MSP’s.
  3. Government powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament include, Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing, Education, Environment, Health, Housing,  Enterprise, Trade & Investment, Justice, Policing & Courts, Local Government, Fire Service, Economic Development, Transport.
  4. This means that Scottish MP’s in Westminster have far less responsibilities and work than their English colleagues.  They also get to vote on laws affecting England, which don’t cover Scotland
  5. There have been 4 elections (every 4 years) using proportional representation. The first two formed a Labour / Lib Dem coalition government, the third a minority SNP government, and the forth, in 2011, an SNP majority government.
  6. The current First Minister is Alex Salmond, who has served since 2007.
  7. For 2012-13, the Scottish Government has an annual budget of £33.9 billion.
  8. Scotland’s revenues from taxes and duties in 2009-10 were £41.2 billion.
  9. As Education is devolved to the Scottish Government, Scottish students were unaffected by the UK Parliament’s introduction of Student Tuition Fees by Labour in 1999.
  10. In January 2000, the Scottish government, decided to replace annual tuition fees for Scottish students studying at Scottish universities with a £2,000 charge after graduation. This charge was abolished in 2008. Only the (very) minority Conservative Party proposes to introduce tuition fees, if elected.

As with different states in the USA, the greatly differing political views of the Scottish population meant that a devolved parliament was sensible.  Like it or not, Scots resented being governed by parties that didn’t represent them, or with policies that they didn’t agree with.  18 years of Tory rule led to no Tory MP’s in Scotland, and that resentment remains today.  The SNP have capitalised in the UK election of a Tory / Lib Dem Coalition government, and plan to harness this in a referendum for independence.

The SNP plan to hold their referendum just after Glasgow hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2014, which is also the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn.  By then they pray enough nationalistic fervour will be summoned, ably assisted by the David Cameron in Westminster.   This could also be a great result for David Cameron, as a generation of landslide Tory victories would ensue in England.  Ironically, the last 3 UK Prime Ministers are Scots. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were born and educated here, and David Cameron’s family are from Aberdeenshire.

For these reasons, I’m not entirely persuaded by David Cameron’s insistence on a referendum now, rather than later.  The SNP would definitely lose, if it were held this year.  Already this week, there have been Tweets from South of the border, calling for “Scotland to **** Off!”, which plays right into the SNP agenda. The devolved parliament is popular in Scotland, but I don’t believe there is enough appetite for full independence.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-16478121

 

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About the Author
Stephen O'Donnell is a lifelong recruiter, internet enthusiast, fadgadget and peripatetic writer.
  • Hung Lee

    Great analysis Stephen. As someone who has lived in both Scotland and England (and born in neither, and so have no dog in this particular fight!), my tune has changed a great deal over the years. I think Salmond is right to agitate for Independence and the Scots are right to go. I never understood the New Labour obsession for devolution – there was no popular demand for it – but the end of the Union was inevitable once separate parliaments were established. We might as well get on with it. England will be condemned to permanent Tory misrule, until the regions recognize the wisdom of independence from the City dominated South themselves!

    • Stephen O’Donnell

      Thanks Hung.

      I think it would be fairly simple to answer the West Lothian question by England itself devolving from the Westminster Parliament (and using the emptied House of Lords for it).  Many people moan about the cost of government, MP’s, buildings and expenses, but in the scheme of things, I think it’s a relatively trifling amount.

      I would bet hard cash that independence for Scotland will not come in the next decade, but there will be a whole of grief generated by those on both sides of the fence.

    • An Englishman Abroad!

      Devolution was a convenient solution to giving Scots, who were heavily represented at Westminster in the Labour government, more power over their destiny, while preserving Labour’s hold on power through the large number of Labour MPs returned to Westminster. Exactly the Labour Party concern today that if Scotland becomes independent, the Westminster parliament will become dominated by Conservative Governments for the forseeable future. Interestingly, the structure of the Scottish Parliament and its proportional representation, was designed to prevent the Nationalists gaining a majority. Aye right!

    • Peterpolly

      Quite simply, if by the Autumn of 2014 the Tories look like getting a 2nd term alone in Westminster, then Scotland will vote yes to Independence.

      • Stephen O’Donnell

        That’s certainly the SNP plan.  If they can fan the flames of anti-English sentiment by then, they hope to catch the Scottish electorate at the right time.

  • Darren

    As an English man who lived in Scotland for two years it is not until you live there you can come close to getting a balanced view, let alone understand the Scots.  I love Scotland for never surrendering its identity and the sense of national pride that it has about its nation and its history and for always speaking their minds.

    People south of the boarder who tell you xxxx off, as you put it, are the same people normally are racist, religionist etc and so in my world are a non-voice no matter who annoying they must be to you 😉

    England would be screwed without Scotland, not least for the armed forces and in particular our special forces which have their highest percential derived from Scottish regiments.

    • Stephen O’Donnell

      Thanks Darren.
      I think it’s definitely a topic that’s hard to comprehend from outside Scotland.  It doesn’t help when the media continually propagate the myth that Scotland is over subsidised from England, and not grateful enough for it.  The truth is that the whole of the UK is subsidised heavily by the City of London, and Scotland itself is a net contributor of revenues.
      I believe we do very well in all other important areas in our partnership with the rest of the UK.

  • An Englishman Abroad!

    As a matter of interest, does the apparent imbalance between Scottish Funding and Scottish Tax receipts take account of funding of reserved services, such as Defence, etc.? It is mystifying for most people who live “Down South” that in Scotland we can enjoy free student tuition, prescriptions, toll free bridges, etc.. And yet still have the highest proportion of publicly funded employment in the UK.

    • Stephen O’Donnell

      I believe the arithmetic does take account of those reserved services, and also takes account of the North Sea Oil revenues (which admittedly won’t last forever).
      Politicians themselves don’t raise the point of whether Scotland can afford to be independent, as it’s a quagmire of blurred stats.

      Just as adjacent councils do, the Scottish Parliament simply prioritises different things in its budget.  English tax payers are not paying for Scottish student fees.

      For what it’s worth, I believe the English Parliament should abolish tuition fees, in line with Lib Dem policy.

  • Ian Tickell

    Being British myself, I was always amazed that people in Englandshire found it hard to comprehend that the Scottish status quo, until the advent of a stronger SNP, was that anything even vaguely resembling a monkey in a red t-shirt would be voted into office – especially across the Central Belt (where, let’s be honest, the power lies) – merely to spite the Southern ‘toffs’ of the Conservative party. 
    A 50 year near mandate to profligately spend, corrupt, and empire build have left the Labour party in Scotland with no credibility. The only option, for voters of any shade, was to vote SNP. Only their activists can believe that Scotland wants full independence.
    However, any party that will switch off the money supply to BBC Alba, BBC Gael, and all other garlic-speaking, hairy, anomalies has my vote.

    • Stephen O’Donnell

      Ballot box choices for Scottish voters:
      Conservatives – Never, are you mental??!!Lib Dem – Fine if you like to knit porridge and shortbreadLabour – They’ve had their chance, and blew it.SNP – Why not?  It’ll piss off the rest. What are their policies again?

  • WelshInNZ

    Will Scotland remain in The Commonwealth? Or will they need to apply?

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