First Minister Salmond Calls for Scottish Referendum on Full Independence

Yesterday, the Scottish National Party published a White Paper suggesting that there should be a multi-option referendum on Scotland’s future in the UK. It proposes that voters choose from the status quo, enhanced powers for the Scottish assembly, or full independence. The move is a deft one by First Minister Alex Salmond as he doesn’t expect independence by Christmas. Instead, he wants to keep the issue at the forefront in Scotland for the next four years, and this will have significant impact on the UK as a whole.

The White Paper is careful to explain that a separate independent Scotland would retain the Union of the Crowns, that is, Elizabeth II remains Queen of Scotland, just as she is of Canada and other parts of the Commonwealth that haven’t become republics. The referendum, if passed in favor of full independence, would only undo the 1707 Act of Union that put Scottish MPs in Westminster. Scotland would become a full member of the EU (surely, Brussels may have something to say on the matter), the UN (does England get to keep the British Security Council seat?), and possibly NATO (why not? Slovenia, Estonia and Poland are in).

Naturally, Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats threw cold water on the notion. Mike Pringle, Edinburgh South Lib Dem MSP, said, “You can have all the fanfare you like, there is simply no chance of this referendum happening whatsoever.” Annabel Goldie, the Tory boss in Scotland, said, “Don’t be fooled, this White Paper is about independence no matter how it is dressed up with bells, whistles and frills.” Scottish Secretary Des Browne of Labour stated, “Two thirds of Scottish voters voted for parties that support the Union in the Scottish Parliament elections. We created a Scottish Parliament - with powerful primary legislative powers on devolved matters -- because we wanted to give the Scottish people greater democratic accountability in these areas. But the Government also believes that certain decisions are sensibly taken for the UK as a whole. The Union provides us with a strong voice in the world - for Scotland as well as the other countries making up the UK.”

So, why bother? There are already rumors of a general election this autumn. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is governing with a House of Commons elected under Tony Blair. A fresh election victory would give Mr. Brown a five-year term to put his own mark on British politics, and every day he delays in calling the election is another day he’s “Tony’s Sub.” New Labour will have to run a British campaign while the SNP can run just a Scottish one. Mr. Brown will have to defend everything Labour has done, and the SNP gets to run against him as his policies affect only Scotland.

Mr. Brown is a Scot, and he sits in Parliament for a Scottish constituency. He knows exactly what an independent Scotland would mean for his party – permanent minority status since Scotland provides a large number of Labour MPs (the country still hasn’t forgiven the Tories for Margaret Thatcher’s reign of error north of the border). In the end, he may have to accept that Scotland gets to play the same role in the UK that Quebec has in Canada. For the next four years, until Mr. Salmond’s term is up, the discussion will be how much more does Scotland get, with the SNP saying “yes,” and Labour saying “no.” Voters don’t like to be told “no.”

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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