The Scottish Independence Referendum

Bogdan U. June 30, 2014 0
The Scottish Independence Referendum

On Thursday, September 18, 2014, a referendum which will decide whether Scotland can become an independent country or not will be held. This referendum is a follow-up on the recent agreement between the United Kingdom Government, and the Scottish Government. This referendum is expected to answer the question on whether Scotland should become an independent country.

Well, in general, the opinions can come from two basic categories. One from an Englishman’s point of view, and the other from a Scottish.

Most likely, an Englishman would say yes to Scotland’s independence. It would not be too hard for them to let go of the Scots if they really want it, and if their decision as a country is a product of a well informed study. Leaving the Scots alone would mean less complaint towards the Englishmen. There is a connotation that England thinks that they are the best in everything.

Scots themselves would also love to have a fairer, and a more prosperous country. Take this, Scotland gets 9.3% of the entire spending of UK, at the same time contributing 9.6% of taxes. They believe that they are in a stronger position financially compared to the rest of the UK. Also, Scotland is already used to paying for all government services as an independent nation; thus, they do not have to start from scratch up. If Scotland receives independence, they can expect to have their money spent in their own nation, rather than in UK. This will result to more jobs for the Scottish population.

There are many benefits if Scotland becomes independent. Aside from the previously mentioned reasons, Scotland will finally be able to relinquish ties from England, as they mostly hate being called as ‘British’. Scotland can, and has the capability to thrive economically, even without their link to UK. Scotland will even flourish more if it will be given the position to govern itself.

On the other hand, Scots, as well as some Englishmen would rather argue that Scottish independence will turn out to be pointless. Reality dictates that if Scotland becomes an independent nation, it would lose British companies and services such as the BBC and security services, among others.

Some also believes that the entire idea may sound good on paper, but eventually it wouldn’t work. True, the nation is home to oil reserves, but then again, oil can simply run out one day, along with renewable energy and whisky. In order to come up with renewable energy, money from the government is necessary, something which the Scotland government has no capability of doing.

There are many things that the Scots have to adjust to should they become an independent nation. All documentations have to go through necessary changes in order to adapt to the new government. Traveling from one country to another might be affected. Relationships with countries in Europe, as well as with other parts of the world also have to be updated and changed.

The reason why many chose to say no to this supposed change? Scotland lacks planning and strategy. The government seemed to jump into something without properly thinking whether it would be good for them or not. Compared to other nations who came with a well thought of plan, Scotland government is not yet equipped with the necessary documents and paper work to prove their capability.

Whatever the outcome of this referendum may be, the goal is to make Scotland ever more prosperous, whether with the help of another nation or not. We just hope that the result will be something that everybody would agree upon.

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