Scottish Independence: Pros and cons

SNP supporter responds to David Cameron's intervention today

David Cameron today hardened the resolve of Scottish nationalists to win independence for their nation by interfering with SNP referendum plans. Whatever he may say about giving Scots a clear choice “sooner rather than later”, the only reason he has done this is to make the referendum less likely to result in a ‘Yes’ vote. “Sooner rather than later” can, I think, be considered a U-turn in anyone’s book, when you consider that the conservative policy on the referendum was, until recently, a solid “never”.

Cameron’s new stance is something of a gamble, as it presents the SNP with an example of Westminster meddling in Scottish affairs on a plate. The argument that Scottish independence would affect the rest of the UK too may not wash with nationalists. In fact, when a poll was conducted back in Summer, a less-than-convincing 48% of English people said they wanted Scotland to remain in the union, and only 45% said they would even want to be consulted in the event of a ‘yes’ vote north of the border. English support of separation meanwhile (36%) polled only one percentage point lower than Scottish support (37%).

But what if the English, Welsh and Northern Irish were given a say on this issue? Do you know how you would cast your vote? You should probably prepare for the eventuality, just in case, and so I have taken it upon myself to draw up a list of my top 5 pros and cons of Scottish secession from the Union to help you decide. And Scots, you might find this helpful too!

	Pros	Cons
5.	English nationalists are always harping on about the fact that Scottish MP’s can vote in Westminster on laws that don’t affect Scotland. If there were no more Scottish MP’s in Westminster, this could no longer happen!	Some say the Scottish economy may be too weak to survive on its own, as a lot of wealth is currently redistributed northwards through grants and benefits from Westminster.
4.	Scots Gaelic, as an official language of the new state, would get a boost from its newly elevated status.	If the Scottish constituencies were removed, the balance of the UK parliament would be tipped sharply in favour of the Tories, since no one in Scotland has ever voted for them.
3.	British politicians often complain about being isolated in the EU, but if Scotland maintained good relationships with the UK we could finally find ourselves an ally (assuming Scotland stays in the EU!)	We could see tight border controls emerge between Scotland and England, with long queues in airports. Hadrian’s wall might be turned into the longest bank of passport control desks in history.
2.	The romantic notion of national self-determination is a powerful emotive force, and many people would feel all warm and tingly if they felt the Scots had finally achieved it.	National self-determination and nationalism are a bit old fashioned, frankly. Are imaginary boundaries between so-called ‘peoples’ still important in a world of globalisation, migration and multiculturalism?
1.	Scotland and the UK could vote for each other in the Eurovision Song Contest!	To some people, the "United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland" just doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

There is one more advantage to Scottish independence that I can’t help but mention, and it could be the crucial argument: It would annoy David Cameron.

What are your views? Please leave comments below!