Yes or No…that is the question

As you may be aware, Scotland is conducting a national referendum on September 18^th, 2014.  The question on the table: Should Scotland separate from the United Kingdom?

The outcome will have definite impacts on the country, regardless of which side wins the vote.  We have met many friendly and interesting people throughout our journeys in Scotland.  Being neutral in this debate has given us an opportunity to ask questions of the various people we have met to try and understand both sides of the debate.

Our impressions when speaking to people who support “Yes” – in favour of separating from the UK:

• Scotland would be better off independent from being governed by Westminster.
• Scotland has oil, and so is a strong basis for and independent Scottish economy
• Concerns about the National Health Service moving towards privatization in the rest of the UK.  The concern on the “Yes” side is that the elderly and vulnerable will fall through the cracks and quality of service will sharply drop.
• The current influence of the Scottish political representation in Westminster is quite low, and so Scottish priorities are not always taken into consideration.
• England has nuclear weapons hosted in Scotland…and Scotland wants them out.

Impressions from the “No” side – in favour of staying within the UK we heard:

• The risks to Scotland, particularly to the economy, are too great, and the benefits not sufficient.  There were many unanswered questions such as:
• What currency would be used (continue with the British Pound?  Take on the Euro? Issue a new currency?)
• How would taxation be managed?  As a smaller economy, Scotland would miss out on the benefits of having a tax base of 63 million people in the whole UK, rather than just over 5 million in Scotland
• Along with questions on health care, education, postal service…and many others
• How much of the UK debt would Scotland need to take on as part of ‘devolution’?
• Oil rights alone are not going to sustain Scotland financially long term.  Eventually the oil will run out and then the economy of this (potentially) new, smaller country will be in grave danger.

One evening we also watched what I’d call a “Yes/No” debate on the BBC, with leaders from both sides taking part, as well as some audience participation.  We didn’t watch the whole debate, but it was clear to us that there is much passion on both sides of the issue.

We have noticed many road signs which proclaim support for the sides.  Here are some samples:

While we don’t have a personal position in the debate, our time here in Scotland has raised this historical vote to our attention, and we will continue to follow the debate and the outcome with interest.  Of course, we have seen these types of debates and referenda in Canada as our neighbouring province of Quebec went through their own process to test the interest of the people to secede from Canada, and thus can fully appreciate the positions of both sides.