The question of Scotland's status as a nation is an ancient one, and has something in it of the universal struggle among small nations for independence from their larger neighbours; it is a question dependent on an understanding of history, culture and language. Personally, I am eager to see Scotland become an independent state again (either alone or within the European or Scandinavian federations). This is partly as a result of my desire to see democracy work properly, which I believe is easier to achieve where a population is smaller and people feel their votes make more difference. It also has to do with my observations as to the will of the majority of the people who live here, and the means by which they identify themselves. It is, further, based on specific political factors - long term differences in the Scottish and English populations' political preferences, and specific concerns among the Scottish people as to the types of government which have ruled from distant Westminster over the last twenty five years.
Scotland was officially joined with England under the Act of Union, which followed (after several intervening decades) James VI, son of the more famous Mary Queen of Scots, becoming James I of England also and establishing his parliament in London. In legal terms, the Act of Union has already been broken - one of its stipulations was that the two nations should never be subject to different levels of taxation, which occurred when Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government introduced the notorious Community Charge (better known as the Poll Tax) to Scotland in 1988, a year ahead of its establishment in England; however, attaining independence for a nation after three centuries of subjugation has never been so simple as proving that a contract was broken.
Scotland has different economic concerns from England (and Wales, though as Wales is also making moves towards independence that point may become moot). It has a system of agriculture based around the harsh conditions which the hills and mountains of the highlands offer to farmers. There are specific concerns here, such as the fact that no case of BSE has ever been found in a cow from a Scottish herd, but because of its status as part of Britain, Scotland suffered great economic damage as a result of association with England's infected herds (which are separately bred and differently fed). Scotland is much more dependent than England on fishing, and therefore requires different policies where permits must be negotiated with its European neighbours. Scotland has oil, an important source of revenue, whose wealth many feel has been plundered by the English. With its ragged coastline and impressive hills, Scotland has significant options in terms of wind and wave power, natural and renewable sources of energy, which have failed to be developed under English rule.
Further to this, Scotland has a distinctive legal system which its people are generally proud of, and which is gradually being eroded by pressure from England - pressure, for example, to abolish the 'not proven' verdict which enabled a jury to refuse to convict simply on the basis of an absence of evidence, but with the option for retrial remaining. This system is, on a deeper level, symptomatic of differences in the Scottish psyche which have developed due to our different cultural and geographic background. There is, for instance, a greater focus on the importance of hospitality and supporting the poor in Scotland than there is in England; I would venture to say that this has to do with Scotland's more hostile natural environment and the survival traits which have developed in its society as a result.
Should Scotland achieve independence, I see no problem with offering a Scottish passport to everyone who is normally resident here or who is on the Scottish electoral register, as well as to people who were born here and choose to request it. Some people have, inevitably, attempted to hijack the independence movement and turn it into a racial issue, but I consider their branch of politics to be an irrelevance. What is important is the political and social future of our nation, diverse and multi-ethnic as it is; a modern, twenty first century Scotland not hampered by pseudo-historical or naively isolationist baggage.
Increasingly, I find myself of the opinion that devolution (which I voted for) is a good thing, not just in itself, but as a step on the road to independence. It has presented Scotland's politicians and electorate with a challenge on a smaller scale; a test of our mettle, if you like. It has enabled us to establish a distinctive electoral system (based, unlike the Westminster parliament's, on proportional representation) and has given us some time to learn how to use it. It has enabled us to identify more clearly the areas where we are politically distinct from England and the areas where we can expect to encounter poltical difficulties within our own population. Futhermore, it has given us the chance to get our various necessary institutions up and running, so that if and when we become independent we shall not be thrust into it having to do everything at once. I don't think we were, on a practical level, ready for independence five years ago, but I think we're ready for it now.
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Last updated 7th December, 2005