Scotland Tries to Separate from the United Kingdom

Scotland Prime Minister Alex Salmond and British Prime Minister David Cameron signed an agreement on Oct. 15 that will allow Scottish Parliament to hold a referendum in 2014 to decide if Scotland will leave the United Kingdom and become an independent country. According to the Scotland Referendum website, Scottish ministers want to give the country more economic growth, have the same range of powers as a normal sovereign nation and have an independent voice in Europe and the rest of the world. The referendum would allow Scotland to end its 300-year union and give the country freedom in economic decisions and create independent policies on foreign and defense affairs.

Scotland has its own parliament, but major factors including economy and foreign policies are controlled by the House of Parliament in Westminster, England. Since the Scottish National Party was elected to control parliament last year, the referendum could be put into effect.

Cameron told BBC, “I’ve made that referendum possible and made sure that it is decisive, it is legal and it is fair.” Salmond, who agreed this is the right direction for Scotland, told The Guardian, “What we strive for as the government of a devolved Scotland, we can achieve as the government of an independent Scotland.”

Not all responses to the referendum, however, have been positive. Other political leaders see Scotland’s departure from the United Kingdom unfavorable. First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones is opposed to Scotland’s independence, stating that the United Kingdom would be a “very different thing” and the relationship between Wales and Scotland “would require a much more radical reconsideration,” as reported by BBC.

Scottish citizens are currently leaning towards no independence. According to the latest poll from Herald Scotland, 29 percent of voters would vote for independence, while 55 percent would vote to keep Scotland in the U.K., and 14 percent are undecided. From the same report, other European surveyors are showing similar results, with 44-55 percent opposing Scotland’s independence.

Scotland does not need independence right now. There is no pressing need for Scotland at this time to break off from the United Kingdom. Poll after poll, independence has not been the favorable option yet.  There are no financial or social issues that have been reported that would require Scotland’s departure from the United Kingdom. While Cameron signed off on the referendum, he admitted, “I want to be the prime minister who keeps the United Kingdom together,” according to The New York Times.

The Scottish government believes that its economy will be able to grow without being interconnected into the United Kingdom’s. However, more damage could be done than expected. Scotland is a small country and could face huge shocks in their economy. According to The Economist, the Scottish government believes that oil found in the North Sea will create blooming economic growth. However, from the same report, Scotland will in the short term only gain enough money in taxes as it would lose in subsidies, which would create no profit for the government. Scotland would be more vulnerable to an unstable economy. The Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS, the two largest banks in Scotland, both had to get bailouts by the British government in October 2008. Banks in Scotland cannot go through another bailout option. If such a situation would occur, the country could go into default. If Scotland were an independent country, there would be no support from other countries in the United Kingdom to prevent default from happening. Scotland also would not get the amount of revenue from foreign investment as it would expect since it would have to compete with England.

According to Herald Scotland, the Scottish government has not taken any legal advice from the European Union. From the same report, the government stated it would wish to continue to be a member of the EU, but it has not cited opinions from legal authorities like it has done in previous legal actions. The government should be taking advice from the European Union, especially since the Republic of Ireland, who claimed independence from England since 1922, is a member of the union, and is succeeding in its independence. While Irish banks had to be bailed out in 2010, according to the Irish Examiner, Ireland is making a comeback and will be “close to being a success story that the EU needs it to be,” said European Affairs Minister Lucinda Creighton.

The Scottish government’s only selling point for claiming independence is the economy, but worldwide the economy has seen better days. As I have stated in a previous article, the European Union is currently in a huge financial crisis. While Scotland has the intention of following in the footsteps of its British Isle neighbor, the Republic of Ireland, it is clear that Scotland should not try leave the U.K. if it doesn’t have sound reasons.

Sarah Garrity can be reached at sarah.garrity@spartans.ut.edu