Scotland

Another late one, but as with much of the Better Together campaign, it's one more last-ditch and incredibly heartfelt plea to the voters of Scotland to keep this kingdom united. I am finally adding my voice to the calls for unity. Here we go. 

Much has been made of the shared history we have lived as the United Kingdom, though the systems used by its constituent nations are almost as old as each other and therefore this 307 years we've had together are but the blinking of an eye. Yet we must remind ourselves that union at all between Scotland and England was merely personal for a century before that; being the line of Stuart monarchs from James VI to Anne. The circumstances surrounding political union were sadly not desirable, but were borne of necessity. Almost the same mindset has now pervaded the SNP & therefore Yes campaign modus operandi "Get rich, or die trying". 

Sadly, Scotland will surely die trying. The oil wealth which is a large supposition on which to base income for the coming decades will shrink. Scotland will have to diversify much quicker than Alex Salmond suggests if it is to break the surly bonds of fossil fuel dependence. That is not to denigrate the native ingenuity of Scots, the people who gave us John Logie Baird (more about him later), James Watt (without whom Baird's invention would be as nought) and Alexander Graham Bell (without whom I wouldn't have the means to publish this blog). These three alone are behind the great technological revolutions of the past century. 

What, then, for the Scottish economy? Well, as well as oil drying up, financial institutions are running to register their operations in the City, presumably to avoid the punitive corporation tax which will follow independence in 2016. Other corporations are also looking to relocate, presumably for the same reasons. Another great reason, therefore, to vote No; the jobs market will clearly suffer. That is to say nothing of the currency which Scotland is expected to use; they cannot have sterling, it's as simple as that. They wish to leave the political union, the currency union would be radically affected to the extent that it would have to be severed. The Bank of England regulates all interests rates and values centred on sterling; as the European Central Bank does with the Euro, the US Federal Reserve on the dollar and so on. Can anyone imagine Alex Salmond standing up in Holyrood to deliver an economic statement basically advising the chamber that Scotland would have to reintroduce the groat on 1 January 2017? 

That is to say nothing of the political implications. Aside from the immediate identity crisis which would plague the rest of the UK which would need to be solved on the formal date of severance (1 March 2016), all sorts of other issues will have to be addressed. We already know that the Queen will still be head of state in Scotland, which is a sensible move. What of those Scottish MP's elected in 2015, during the transition period? Will there be another general election in May 2016 in order to decide the make-up of a new House of Commons, possibly with a view to electing a new government? Of course, Scotland's place in the world would immediately be thrown into question. Unable to join the EU immediately and with a doubtful NATO membership on the cards, added to which it would need permission (should it apply) to enter the Commonwealth and be a UN member; Scotland would be outside things for a little while. In the meantime, rUK (rest of UK) would be thrown from the UN Security Council, probably have its NATO membership downgraded and have its votes in the EU reduced. Scotland has 1% of the EU's total population; when the qualified majority votes happen, Scotland will probably only get one or two votes. 

It could also come to pass that Scotland loses its stake in the BBC. Of course the Beeb would broadcast in Scotland on the invention created by a Scot, but how much would it charge to do so? Would there be a separate Scottish license fee, or would it be reflected in taxation? Obviously Scottish actors and performers would still be contracted to the BBC, so we'd get to keep the likes of Billy Connolly, Bill Paterson, David Tennant, Lindsay Duncan, Michelle Gomez and Phyllida Law. 

There are, of course, more sentimental reasons to keep the UK together than merely economic might, political clout and how the BBC spends the cash it saves on commissioning in Scotland. We went out and built an empire together; though the English may have run the Colonial Office, the Scots were the gophers on the ground in Africa and India. Scots regiments helped contain the Indian Mutiny and helped Britain keep up her commitments to her allies. Scotland contributed to the sacrifices made in World War I and in World War II endured bombing on the Clyde. Scotland underpinned the great British shipbuilding reputation. Scotland ensures that the UK remains as a middleweight power punching so far above its weight. The soft power of English diplomacy backed up by Scottish muscle. To remove Scotland from the UK is to throw that all away. We did so much together to shape human history in three short centuries and can do just as much if not more in another three. 

Scottish independence will mean many wilderness years before the tree finally bears fruit. It could be a decade before the books properly balance, hopefully without a massive sell-off of the NHS north of Berwick. While I don't doubt that the Scots will be prepared to buckle down in order to weather the storm, the pain will be keenly felt across all sections of Scottish society. In five years' time, when prices are still inflated and the Scottish Royal Mail has finally been sold to UPS, will it all still be worth it? When the nuclear submarines have been relocated to Carlisle and Southampton, taking the jobs away from Faslane and the new defence centre is still under construction, will it still have been the right thing to do? When Salmond has to share power with Labour again in 2019 and EU membership is still a dream, will the pro's still outweigh the con's? 

I am not Scottish, but I am British before I am English. I don't understand why we have to label ourselves so pettily when we can all be proud of belonging to one British identity. Not enough has been done to explore that and there is fault on both sides when exploring the reasons for such. We have great reason to celebrate all that binds us and so must mourn our separation. Scots have enriched our culture and our history immeasurably and to yank it all away to simply chase an ideal which could prove catastrophic but meantime hoping to prove a point seems to me nothing short of peevish. I have never liked Alex Salmond and therefore cannot abide the thought of waking up on Friday morning to hear the terrible news that our United Kingdom will have but eighteen short months of union before irrevocable separation. To subject Scotland to his half-baked proposals would be madness and I refuse to believe the Scots, always a sensible people, would allow him to wreck their country so badly. 

Please, Scotland, please don't leave us. Don't abandon the union so readily. Don't put yourselves through the torture of all I described. Stay and help continue forging a better world. Stay and help us all prosper. Please.