The issue of Scottish independence has continued to plague the UK’s political agenda for quite some time now. The pioneers of the independence movement belong to Scotland’s largest political party, the Scottish National Party (SNP), and they are calling for Scotland to become an independent sovereign state. Her Campus Nottingham breaks down the facts on Scottish Independence for you.
The past New Labour government recognised the potential benefits for surrendering some parliamentary powers to Scotland. A referendum was held for a devolution plan and it was accepted with an approval of 74.3%. Subsequently, The Scotland Act (1998) was passed, allowing for the Scottish Parliament to be created. Devolution went some way to heal the wound left by Thatcher’s imposed poll tax on Scotland.
But New Labour’s previous efforts were not enough for the SNP, as they want full independence from the UK. This coming October, a referendum will be held on the topic of Scottish independence. However, Alex Salmond, the party leader, has presented an independence package that was filled with potential holes in the SNP’s recent manifesto. Simon Jenkins, writing for the Guardian, argued that Salmond’s proposals “suggested a decade of false hopes, economic woes, political shambles and austerity, before reaping the undoubted gains of small-countries-are-beautiful”. Even if Scotland did not win full independence and the referendum result was a “no” at a level of 40%, there is still a chance such an outcome would damage the union.
There are a number of arguments given for independence, such as the case for self-determination. This would mean that the people of Scotland, who have the most invested interest in Scotland’s future, would be able to make decisions for themselves and their country. For example, an independent Scotland would be able to join important and powerful international organisations, such as NATO, as a way to establish the country’s status on the global political stage. Therefore, self-determination would arguably make for a more empowered Scotland.
Alternatively, devo max could be granted to Scotland. This seems to be the more popular option amongst Scottish voters and would allow for Scotland to gain more economic powers that it currently does not possess. The present arrangement sees Scotland receive a block sum of money from the UK Exchequer, but devo max would mean that the Scottish Parliament would receive all taxation levied in Scotland and would be responsible for most of the country’s spending.
Scottish independence has very few benefits for Britain and quite likely even fewer for Scotland itself, and many advocates for independence have failed to recognise such disadvantages. An independent Scotland would create more problems than it would solve and would be extremely disruptive to the UK’s centuries-old political system. Ultimately, if Scotland were to achieve independence, the consequences could be detrimental to the UK’s political landscape.