By Sasha Moedt (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: November 30, 2011
A turbulent political situation has surfaced in the United Kingdom as Scotland’s desire to break away from the UK has escalated since the election of the Scottish National Party (SNP), and now a referendum looms. Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond, leader of the SNP, has made it clear that he wants a referendum in the second half of his term.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron strongly opposes the referendum, though after Salmond’s first ever majority victory in the 2011 election, Cameron said he would not put any legal obstacles in the way of a referendum, according to The Guardian.
Instead, Westminster officials are looking for ways to appease Scotland’s discontent. The UK government is considering the Scottish Bill, part of a commission to review devolution. This would grant Scotland more fiscal independence.
A summary of the Scottish Bill reads as follows on the UK parliament website: “it would make changes to the finances of the Scottish Parliament, including a new Scottish rate of income tax, and make a number of adjustments to the boundary of devolved responsibilities.”
However, the Scottish National Party does not appear to accept the Scottish Bill in itself. Rather, discussion and debates continue on the campaign and question of the referendum.
David Cameron is looking to Canada’s own Clarity Act to provide guidance to the government of the United Kingdom with respect to the referendum. Not unfairly, Cameron wants a clear, concise question and outcome. The Clarity Act was a response to the perceived obfuscated question that was put to referendum by the Government of Quebec in 1995. The Liberal government of the day, after narrowly averting disaster, put a reference question to the Supreme Court of Canada to determine whether or not a province could unilaterally cede from the country and what requirements there would be for both federal and provincial governments in the event of a successful referendum. The ruling on Reference re Secession of Quebec formed the basis of the Clarity Act, which requires the federal government to negotiate in good faith with any province that wishes to cede in the event of a clear majority agreeing with a clear question.
It’s difficult to say whether, at the voter level, Scotland actually wants independence – a complete breakaway from the UK. To have more power in managing their own affairs is one thing, moving more towards devolution, but a complete break creates issues and conundrums in the constitution and economy. The stats are as follows: according to The Scotsman, 53 per cent of the Scottish people questioned would vote “no” in a referendum, found in a poll carried out by the Scottish Daily Mail, while 28 per cent were in favour of it, and 17 per cent were unsure. Scotland may not have voted Salmond in for the sole purpose of giving him the reigns to lead the move towards complete autonomy – perhaps they only want more political influence in issues directly regarding themselves.
But, look at Abbotsford’s municipal election. George Peary was a proficient political figure with years of experience behind him – but he was ousted because of his campaign for the P3. We’ve seen it in the provincial elections, too, with the backlash against Gordon Campbell’s introduction of the HST. What a leader pushes for can decide an election. Salmond’s landslide victory must mean something.
The Scottish people brought a nationalist into power to fulfill a desire. Whether that desire is secession from the rest of the UK, is something we‘ll find out.
Unification of England and Scotland took place in 1707, to strengthen both countries’ wealth. That in itself was a controversy; some say that in 1707, Scotland was in dire need of financial aid, and England stepped in to help, but others argue that influential Scottish officials were bribed by the English to carry out the unification. Whatever the case may be, the discontent is clear. Why should the Scottish pay taxes to fund the London 2012 Olympics? Why should the Scottish, a separate and unique culture from England, be lumped in and managed with and by another country?
Questions of how Scotland would manage their independence politically and financially dominate the discussions. Can Europe handle another financial blow at this time of economic crisis?
With Canada’s similar experience with Quebec’s movement towards secession, and with Canada’s own bid for independence from Great Britain behind us, the development and results of Scotland’s movement towards autonomy will be an interesting progression to follow.
