Scottish Independence

Con ten-spotts Introduction 3 Chapter I General information - 4 Chapter II Arguments for and against the Scottish liberty Arguments for the liberty 6 Arguments against the independence 7 Conclusion 10 Bibliography - 11Introduction The subject I have analyzed in this look for paper is the possible independence of Scotland. I chose this topic because the Scottish independence is a problem of great importance non only for the UK and Scotland, however also for the whole Europe. While doing my research I found precise strong and opposing opinions about this recent topic. Scottish independence is a relevant and important matter that has been debated for many age but is now at the pinnacle of debate.Both public and politicians and opposing opinions about independence and throughout this work I pass on evaluate the dependable about electric current and most emotive arguments for and against independence. First, I will speak about the historical background of this issue and about the parties fighting for independence. Next, I will represent for and against arguments, which will help to understand this complicated issue. Chapter I General information Scotland was an free-lance country from 843, with the unification of the Scots and Picts.In medieval prison terms, Scotland fought for freedom from England, which Mel Gibson dramatic exclusivelyy depicted in his Academy Award-winning movie Braveheart. Not long afterwards Wallace died in the early 1300s, Robert the Bruce led Scotland to independence, and it remained an autonomous race until the Act of Union joined Scotland and England in 1707. Since then Scotland has been one of four countries in the unite Kingdom. nonetheless, the United Kingdom returned some autonomy to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and gave them the correct to form their avow parliaments, in the slowly 1990s.Thus, in 1999, Scotland received devolved powers for a new parliament in Holyrood. And now, more than than 700 l ong time after William Wallace died fighting for Scottish independence, and more than 300 old age after Scotland and England came together in a United Kingdom, a new agreement could lead to an independent Scotland. Since the Scottish National Party (SNP) came to power five old age ago (in 2007) there has been a wave of nationalistic fever sweeping the country and independence is on their agenda. Increasingly people see autonomy as a panacea for all the difficulties Scotland faces.Thus, in 2014 Scotland will decide to maintain the UK or to dissolve it, and this decision will shape not only the incoming of Scotland, but also of the whole UK. The question of various debates is gage Scotland take the nigh step and become a fully functioning independent ground again, and will this be good for Scotland and the rest of UK, or at least for one of them. As I have already mentioned, the Scottish independence is support most prominently by the Scottish National Party, which is before lo ng the largest political party in Scotland.But other parties also have pro-independence policies. These ar the Scottish commonality Party, the Scottish Socialist Party and Solidarity. Seventy-two of the seats in the Scottish Parliament ar now held by parties/members who have expressed pro-independence sentiments, everyplace 55% of the total. These argon the 69 Scottish National Party members, the two Green members and Margo MacDonald, an independent politician. It is also important to know, that SNP forms a minority government in the Scottish Parliament.On the matter of Scottish independence British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Scottish counterpart, First Minister Alex Salmond, signed a deal in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Monday paving the way for Scots to vote on independence from the United Kingdom. The referendum, expected to be held in 2014, would allow Scots a straight yes-or-no vote on staying in the union. On this case the Yes Scotland campaign was launched in May. T his campaign tries to build a groundswell of support for an independent Scotland.However, Cameron has vocally opposed Scottish independence. In February, he said I am 100% clear that I will fight with everything I have to keep our United Kingdom together, since an intact United Kingdom, consisting of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is stronger, safer, overflowinger and fairer. Rather, the SNP claims that a positive vote for independence in a referendum would have enormous moral and political force impossible for a future day government (Westminster) to ignore, and hence Westminster will declare Scotland independent.After this agreement was signed, different surveys were released, and almost all these surveys showed that less than 50% of the Scots polled wanted to break off from the United Kingdom. Its fair to tell apart that not enough people want independence. The fact that the SNP are in power now dischargenot be considered an reading material that Scotland wants independence. The United Kingdom, and its constituent parts by proxy, are signatories to the United Nations Charter and as such any action to deny the people of Scotland a cover to vote would be in contradiction to the obligations to uphold self-determination.Article 1 in both the International agreement on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) reads All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely accompany their economic, social and cultural development. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 15) further states that everyone has the right to a nationality, and that no one should be arbitrarily deprived of a nationality or denied the right to change nationality.However, there are certain factors that give draw close to the possession of the right to self-determination These are ? a history of independence or self-rule in an identifiable territory ? a unambiguous culture ? a will and capability to regain self-governance Chapter II Arguments for and against the Scottish independence 1. Arguments for the independence Now I want to speak about the reasons why many Scots consider they should their independence back. First and foremost, Scotland is its own country.It is a distinct country which has its own culture, people, history, traditions, national dress, land and sea borders, health service, legal establishment, education system, flag and a history of nationhood that. So beyond any sensitive debate, it qualifies under all three criteria (the Scottish Parliament representing the capability section), and any attempt to frustrate the peoples right to self-determination will remark itself on the wrong side of both domestic and international law. The next argument is that Scotland considers that UK spends some of the countrys money not appropriately and effectively.They say that while the UKs position as a power of the institution has dwindled in the last fifty days and especially in the last ten years it unfortunately still spends money like a superpower of the world. This can be seen with it throneing in nuclear weapons for the next 35 years at a cost between ? 20bn to ? 35bn. This is a solid amount of the deficit, that the current UK government is onerous to save through cuts to schools/universities, hospitals, police, and other public services.Thus, if Scotland were independent, they would invest their elsewhere. Control over North Sea anele and gas, which is expected to generate ? 56bn in revenue over the next six years, is also a major battleground in the run-up to the independence. Alex Salmond, Scotlands archetypical minister, claims Scotland would take control of 90% of North Sea fields after independence, helping it to become one of the worlds richest countries. Furthermore, for the next fifty years, renewable energy is seen as a key industry worldwide.Scotland has a strategic position for wind, hydro, and tide powered energy. With over 40 years of North Sea oil still available, the profits could be poured into renewable energy instead of being sent to London. Nowadays a great rise of nationalism can be observed in Scotland. Thus many Scots stick to the point that if Scotland were to become independent, it would emphasize their greatest individuals, businesses, and achievements instead of having them immingle with Westminster politicians. 2. Arguments against the independenceFrom all the above mentioned we can conclude that there is obviously a case for Scottish Independence, but before doing this we shall discuss the reason against the Scottish autonomy. with being a part of Great Britain Scotland has managed to become one of the top financial powers in the world but some are still trying to fix Scotland when in fact it isnt broken. People think they should have more control over their own country and demand more rights. However they do have control over their country as they decide on matters like health, education, transport, housing, environment and local affairs.Isnt that enough? Scottish devolved parliament has been working independently since 1998 with no major issues so why should this be changed, if it can bring many problems. People complain that Scottish devolved parliament doesnt have enough power yet they have Scottish MPs sitting in Westminster deciding on incline issues, whereas no side MPs are sitting in Holyrood. The Scottish parliament has only Scottish MPs deciding on its affairs but down in Westminster England have Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish and English MPs deciding on theirs. How is that fair?If anyone should be complaining it should be the English. Scotland has its own devolved parliament but also has 258 Labour seats down in Westminster deciding on British and English issues. First of all they are prospering to have as much power as they do being eve n less than a tenth of the population of Britain. So, why should this be changed, if it can result in many problems of different types. Moreover, for unionists, the main argument against Scottish independence is the Barnett formula a rule that Scotland receives 10 pence of every pound make in the UK, while only having 8. % of the population. Social issues would not be our only problem Scotland would encounter numerous other issues if we were to become independent. Problems with passports or currency what would be done about them? What would be the solution? Tell a six million population to apply for a new passport and exchange all of their money to Euros. Also problems like defence force or immigration and the other issues which affect the whole of the British island which are now dealt with in Westminster. How would separate independent states decide to split these responsibilities?The assumption that independence is achievable with the costs and problems involved is something th e Scottish taxpayer would have to bear the burden of. Scotlands strong position in Britain is not the only reason against autonomy. The fact that people simply dont want independence is another vital argument. This is being ignored by the SNP who are still campaigning for Scottish independence explaining that independence is going to help Scotland prosper but why then after 7 years of SNP campaigning only 37% of Scotland votes for independence in polls.Another barrier is that numerous commentators have raised the objection that since a vote for independence would affect the intact UK, then residents of England, Wales and Northern Ireland should also be entitled to vote. Others have raised the issue of whether Scots not currently resident in Scotland should have the right to vote. More problematic would be Scotlands status as an independent EU member state in the area of foreign and particularly defending team policy.It currently remains unclear if an independent Scotland would rem ain part of the British military forces or if it would develop its own military capabilities and consequently an independent defense and security policy. This is probably the biggest concern for the British government which has to fear that the withdrawal of Scottish forces from the UKs military capabilities would substantially weaken the status of a little Union consisting only of England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the EUs defence and security pillar.To exit from the United Kingdom certainly poses substantial and unforeseen risks for Scotland, most of all in terms of the countrys economic and budgetary development. However, England potentially has most to lose overall from Scottish independence. If Scotland splits from the rest of the UK and turns out to be relatively viable as an independent country it is possible that Wales, and even Northern Ireland, will follow its example. As a smaller country real outside the Eurozone, Englands influence over the political and economic agenda of the EU would be diminished.It would then only be a matter of time for the Eurosceptics in the Conservative party and the UK Independence Party to get their way and for a public referendum on Englands EU membership to take place. Hence, English Eurosceptics who consider Scottish independence as an opportunity to push their country quicker towards EU exit should think again. Scotland might have the last laugh after all. Conclusion Thus, in this research paper I spoke about the issue of Scottish independence. This is a matter of global importance, and in the first chapter of my work I tried to give general information about the history of his question, about the parties which want their country gain independence, about different surveys held on this issue. In the second chapter I represented the major for and against arguments. This arguments help us understand what are the main reasons some Scots want independence and what are the objections. Thus, we can come to a conclusi on, that if the Scottish national partys irrational campaign for independence does succeed one day Scotland would be feeling at a whole different range of problems. The separation of Britain would provoke competition, bad relationships and ambiguity in various questions.And in my opinion even if the theme of this independence does have good points for Scotland, this nationalistic pride will only make both Scotland and the rest of the UK more vulnerable. Bibliography 1. http//www. markedbyteachers. com/as-and-a-level/english/scottish-independence 2. http//edition. cnn. com/2012/10/15/world/europe/uk-scotland-independence/index. html 3. http//wingsland. podgamer. com/weekend-essay-the-right-to-decide/ 4. http//www. bbc. co. uk/ discussion/uk-scotland-13326310 5. http//topics. cnn. com/topics/scotland 6. http//www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-19942638 7. ttp//edition. cnn. com/2012/10/15/world/europe/uk-scotland-independence/index. html 1. http//interstateinaninsta nt. wordpress. com/2012/02/04/the-case-for-scottish-independence-regional-trade-energy-and-power/ 8. http//www. charliedavidson. net/scottish-independence/ 1 . http//www. markedbyteachers. com/as-and-a-level/english/scottish-independence 2 . http//wingsland. podgamer. com/weekend-essay-the-right-to-decide 3 . http//www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk-scotland-13326310 4 . http//topics. cnn. com/topics/scotlandScottish IndependenceShould Scotland be Independent? There has been a wave of nationalistic fever sweeping the country ever since the SNP came to power in 2007. Independence is on their agenda and now there is a referendum set for 2014. But why should we go independent? After all, we have been married to England for over 300 years and our country is too poor and too wee to square up to the economic giants in the global market today and what would snuff it if the our banks were to self-destruct again? Would we manage to govern our own country independently?Increasingly people are beg inning to see autonomy as a panacea for the predicament Scotland faces. However, there are masses out there that are still worried about the myriad of unanswered questions about independence. Furthermore, misconceptions are conceived through the unionists tactics, throw enough mud and hopefully some will stick, and now that the referendum date has been announced, we can observe the balmy thrashing Scotland will receive through the masses of propaganda that the London controlled media will propagate. Firstly, it is important to consider if Scotland is prosperous enough to survive on its own.Scotland is a rich country, yet many Scottish people are poor. Scotland has a surplus of energy, yet many Scottish people struggle to heat their homes. Scotland produces an educated work force thanks to our tradition of free education for all, yet Scots are forced to emigrate to find work. Why is that, if the Union has been so great for us? Poverty, which disfigures much of our country, is a dire ct product of the Union. If Scotland really is so poor, a derelict society dependent on handouts, then just why is it that Westminster is so desperate to keep a hold of us?Those opposing Scotlands independence claim that she would be unable to cope in a property like the HBOS and RBS bailouts. The truth about one of the bailouts is illuminated if we consider the name HALIFAX Bank of Scotland it was not solely aScottish bank it was run from Halifax, in Yorkshire, England. All the management and decision-making was carried out in England. So half of the blame deserves to be placed on the avaricious muttonheads at Halifax. After all, it was coping just fine before Halifax came along.Unlike what the media skewed towards, Scotland actually deserves the minority of the blame for the crash at RBS too. As Andrew Hughes Hallett, Professor of Economics at St Andrews University put it, intercommunicate on Radio Scotland. by international convention, when banks which operate in more than on e country get into these sorts of conditions, the bailout is shared in proportion to the area of activities of those banks, and wherefore its shared between several countries. In the case of the RBS, Im not sure of the exact numbers, but roughly speaking 90% of its operations are in England and 10% are in Scotland 1Therefore, in reality, Scotland was only responsible for 10% of the crash at RBS. Which is quite a substantial deviation from what the media proposed. I wonder how they managed to dodge that fact. Oil is a finite resource and eventually it is going to run out. But what is the point in computer simulation its not there now just because theres a chance that it may only last 30-40 years? According to the oil companies. Which I am sure must be absolutely 100% accurate. Why would an oil company want to underestimate the length of time their reserves will last? It does not at all sound like simple business logic to me.Lets all face it if a come to tells a family that their g ranny has three years left and she passes in six months the doctor will be met with a multitude of beetroot faces demanding explanations. In addition, the more people that begin to think that oil is drying up the higher the price will be. And that means mega bucks for the oil companies when they make money Scotland makes money (that is if it were independent). As it stands, Scotland currently wants to set up an oil fund. It does not sound like a bad idea that is how the Norwegians powered their way through the recession.They were smart enough to secure the opportunity. However, the UK is against this because it wants the money for bank bailouts and nuclear toys. So what happens when it eventually does run out? Well, as it runs out, a 50% reduction does not exactly translate to a 50% fall in revenue prices will rocket and despite this possibly not boding well with the consumers, it will still boost the nations economy. In addition, it is possible we will stumble upon even more fin ancially viable reserves which no one seems to account for in the horrible statistics.If not, then we will just simply have to be a bit more economical and is Scotland not the perfect place to go commonalty? We are geographically sound in terms of wave and wind energy. With the oil fund pot, that we will have if we go through with autonomy, we will be able to fully open the door into the renewable industry. This will propel us through any economic crises that may face us afterward down the line. And the country will be clean. However, if we do not go through with independence now, before our oil runs out, then yes, we probably have very little chance of independence being successful.I bet David Cameron would happily let us devolve after that. Scotland is not uniquely incapable of governing itself. We are not too wee. We have a larger population than the Irish Republic, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Slovenia. We have approximately the same population as Denmark or Finlan d. In area, we are larger than Slovenia, the Irish Republic, Belgium We are approximately the same size as the Czech Republic or Austria. Plus, the Scottish parliament appears to be plugging outside(a) just fine and if all of these countries can manage on their own why cant we?People of Scotland, vote for independence while we can in 2014 After 300 years of a helpless bickering marriage, I think it is time for an amicable divorce. It happens every day. Sometimes it just does not work out and it is time that we all come to grips with that fact. 1 http//www. muzzerino. com/2011/08/truth-about-hbos-and-rbs-bail-out. html http//www. muzzerino. com/2011/08/truth-about-hbos-and-rbs-bail-out. html http//www. newsnetscotland. com/index. php/scottish-opinion/4341-a-unionist-lexicon-an-a-z-of-unionist-scare-stories-myths-and-misinformationpoverty