Scottish Independence – A waste of energy
I have to ask myself why Scottish people want independence in an era of economic uncertainty, when the only country in Europe bucking the trend is the UK, and how a conquest over 300 years ago still grates the self-proclaimed William Wallace of politics, Alex Salmond. Don’t we all want the same things, the English, Welsh, Northern Irish and the Scots? Can this huge diversion of resources be justified?
The nationalists have eluded themselves that they can follow in the footsteps of Norway when the reality would look more like South Sudan. The dream of getting rich quick on oil and building a fabulously wealthy nation is never going to happen. Trouble is, the money for the oil infrastructure came from UK coffers, not just Scottish, so the debate over who has rights to the oil would drag on for decades, if not indefinitely, a total waste of everyone’s energy.
Of course the truth is that most Scots don’t want independence at all. The latest pollshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_Scottish_independence_refer... show that in fact Scottish Independence is but a dream of a minority of bitter and unrealistic Scots who detest rule from London so much that they would rather their children had no jobs but could burn images of the queen all night long. It’s also widely believed that most people who are undecided as of yet would generally vote against independence given the choice, making the margin even more significant. I’m glad that most people have the sense to realise what is truly important to their families, not a 300 year old grudge, but long run job security, healthcare and education.
It disgusts me to think of the amount of time, money and energy that has been wasted on the dream of a minority of nationalists. Just think what could have been done with all that money? Better teachers, hospitals, more police, parks and facilities. An abhorrent amount of money has been wasted but things will be so much worse if Scotland ever does severe ties with the UK.
From 1707 the nationalists have dreamt of governing themselves again, even though the benefits of the union are so vast. It’s rather like when the Romans invaded Britannia. At first the locals rebelled and refused to accept their new masters, but when, over time, they realised the benefits, such as warm houses and centres of commerce they realised the benefits outweighed the selfish reality of wanting to make your own decisions on every tiny issue. The difference in 2014 is that English people do not consider themselves rulers of Scotland yet the nationalist would have you believe that we do. The reality in 2014 is that we are the same nation to all intents and purposes, whilst keeping our unique history and local identity.
The financial cost of independence would be stupendous. It’s estimated that the cost alone of having new embassies in every country would be in the hundreds of millions of pounds, and that’s British Pounds, not Scottish Pounds, or whatever worthless currency they’ll adopt because as soon as they go alone the market will flop on its face, house prices would crumble, people would be desperate to get over Hadrian’s Wall once again. It would be an economic nightmare.
The cost of a new army, secret service, health service, police force would be just astronomical, wasted money when you already have those things in superior forms. There is no way Scotland could subsidise higher education in its current format with no tuition fees for local students, not to mention the health service with the high number of smokers and heavy drinkers in Scotland, let alone the crazy economic gamble of serving ties with the fastest growing economy in Europe. Countless top employers have said they’ll leave Scotland should they vote for independence such as RBS, Lloyds, BAE Systems and Standard Life to name but a few. Here is an apt quote from a concerned Scottish no voter, ‘I also believe that Scotland will go into economic doldrums for many years and that Scotland will operate in a very fragile and uncertain environment with the local, regional, national and European political parties all fighting for position and not worrying about the people of Scotland or businesses.’ But we’re looking at long-run prosperity! They argue, - like the oil that will one day run out?
It’s not as if Scotland doesn’t already have a strong sense of national identity and political autonomy. Considering all the economic benefits, sacrificing the right to control tax levels seems a fair compromise. Mr Salmond is also a first rate hypocrite, refusing to acknowledge the Scottish islands’ claims for self-rule even though they cite the very same reasons he uses to justify leaving the UK. Explain that one?
I respect that Scotland has a right to choose independence, but when polls suggest only a minority of people actually want independence can such vast amounts of time and money truly be justified? Is this good for Scotland? Many nationalists have a true grievance that dates back hundreds of years when Scotland merged with England in 1707, they see something humiliating that their laws and taxes are still made in London, even though they have a high degree of self-rule and a strong national identity and are the complete equals of every citizen of this great nation – we are still foreign invaders to them. How can toffs in London really know what life is like in Scotland? How can those rich businessmen 600 miles down south have any idea about Scotland? People with this false mind-set of suppression can’t be reasoned with but I just ask them - Are you really so different? I don’t think so.
I for one hope they stay in the Union. We share the same values, we share the same modern history and we want the same future. To my mind we are equals with different accents but we want the same things in life. Together we are stronger, and anyone who denies that or would rather wave a flag but have no job has their priorities very wrong indeed. I just hope once this epic waste of resources is over we can all move forward as one nation and tackle the issues that really matter.
