“Its not what you look at that matters, its what you see” (Henry David Thoreau). If I lived in Scotland, I would vote ‘yes’. I will try to explain why. 1. “No” may be a negative word, but it didn’t have to be a negative campaign. Contrast the optimism and vision of Salmond with the negativity and doom-laden predictions of the “no” team. I instinctively shy away from pessimism (one of the reasons why I spend too much time criticising the eco doom-merchants). If it is a vote between glimpsing the possibilities or fearing the shadows, I chose the dreamers every time. 2. If Scotland were to choose independence, it is in the interests of both Scotland and UK to reach agreements on borders, trade, security etc. There is no question of ‘spite’ from England as this is counter to our own economic and national interests. We are a grown up country; a deal may be hard, but will be achievable. 3. Currency. Of course Scotland could use the pound if it wanted to (or the dollar or euro or zloty for that matter). What it could not do, in the absence of a currency union, is print the currency. So Scotland is forced into financial discipline – why is that a bad thing? 4. Debt. Here is a big one. If the UK keeps sterling and the reserves that go to support it, why is it believed that Scotland have to take a share of the debt? I expect an independent Scotland to politely decline that opportunity. Just imagine a new country without a national debt. Indeed as I understand it, Scotland’s ‘overspend’ per head is roughly similar to the interest per head. 5. I strongly suspect that were Scotland to vote yes, there would not actually be a great deal of change. This flows from the point that it is in Scotland & the UK’s interests to reach agreements on a whole raft of issues. 6. Big Business. RBS and other have announced that they will re-domicile to the UK. In the world of globalisation, this makes not an iota of difference, save for a bit of pride lost. Compared to the pride gained, it rather pales into insignificance. 7. Opportunity. Scotland outside the UK and outside the EU has the opportunity to compete on tax – to be a low-tax economic powerhouse. Within the UK, Scotland’s self-interest may have been in welfare dependency, but outside its historic role as a beacon of enterprise and innovation has the opportunity to blossom.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 22:49:33 +0000
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