I’m surprised there has not been a thread on this yet, but what do you think of Scotland independence from the UK?
What are the pros and cons of Scottish independence? Would Scotland be better off remaining in the UK?
Finally, would Washington and western Europe like to see an independent Scotland?
I can certainly understand why Scots would want their independence, but I think it’s a mistake. Sharing a common currency, military, and system of laws benefits both the English and the Scottish. Life is very fluid between the north and the south. Independence would create a bunch of pointless red tape.
No there would be little red tape as Scotland should rejoin the EU and could have open borders and agreements with England and Wales and N.Ireland.
Ireland is an independent country but we have little problems in doing business or working in the UK and vice versa British in Ireland. We share the same EU visa zone aswell. Don’t see that Scotland should meet any major practical impediments to being independent at all.
On the contrary Scotland could be run by Scots for Scottish people and choose its own path instead of having to follow Londons lead all the time. If done well they could create more recognition of their land overseas, but nothing is guaranteed, that’s life, there’s no need to fear change.
(edited in consideration of avoiding possible offense to concerned individuals)
How would it be different from now, I mean in any meaningful way?
I don’t really care.
I think they should go for it. There’s too much fear about breaking up the Union - IMO the Northern Pound will remain strong.
But it appears likely the quo will prevail.
Either way, I think this referendum will be a win-win for both England and Scotland. If Scots voted for independence, there are other ways to maintain close ties. Otherwise it shows there are ways to go to make a perfect union.
Also, there are nations without its own army and currency.
Sovereign nations without its own army:
Under US protection:
Marshall Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
Palau
Under protection of Australian and/or New Zealand:
Kiribati
Samoa
Under protection of France:
Monaco
Countries that use other nation’s currency:
Nauru uses Australian dollar
El Salvador, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau use US dollar
Ireland uses the euro after almost 80 years of using Irish pound indexed to sterling, the euro has been very popular in Ireland as it is very stable and liquid currency, even though the UK is Ireland’s largest trading partner. Scotland could use Scottish pound indexed to sterling or join the euro eventually, both are very feasible.
Seems a little daft to want to use the Euro now with all the experience of the past 6 years: that is, how small countries that can’t control their own currency are screwed over by the big ones such as Germany.
You say that as if it’s a bad thing 
Doesn’t the royal family own 25% of Scotland? What happens to that land?
Economically speaking, there are some concerns.
An Economist article noted that a lot of financial institutions are headquartered in the great north. Independence could trigger an exodus to the remnants of the UK.
The bigger issues, though, are Scotland’s belief it can rely entirely on oil from the North Sea – which some question the sustainability of – and what to do about a currency. The UK seems pretty set on not letting an independent Scotland use the pound, but I highly doubt they’ll be able to join the eurozone immediately upon gaining independence. There may end up being some sort of stop-gap currency before the euro can be introduced.
Meanwhile, there will be tricky questions over things like debt to the UK government (pay it off per capita?).
Note: I don’t know all that much about the region to be honest, but these are conclusions I’ve reached just thinking about the basic idea of independence for any country. It’s never organic or clean-cut. These and other issues will go on and on and on for years afterward.
And seeing as Scotland wants to close Rosyth, the UK should cancel all military protection and let the Scots make do with their clans.
A haggis-based economy is a happy one!
This thread should be merged with “Scottish independence has got nae faloorum”
forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi … 1&t=132775
which has a much more suitable title.
Perhaps the Scots will treat it rather like Putin did Crimea
[quote=“Zla’od”]“Scottish independence has got nae faloorum”
[/quote]
Them Scots speak some kind of alien language which sounds a lot like Russian. Plus the men wear dresses and stick hookahs in their mouths…
The UK should definitely cut them loose. And seal the border, before it’s too late.
Shouldn’t we be bombing them?
Take a look at the northern european countries. The independence of Norway, Iceland, and now, the push for independence in Greenland. Complete clean-cuts, with democratic referendums, and no violence whatsoever. Of course, people up there are civilized.
Any negotiated, non-violent democratic process should be clean. The UK did the right thing in allwing people to vote.
As for the “would they be better without England?”… Well, for starters, being on one’s own is never bad. I’m not aware of a single country that gained its independence and surrendered it back later, even if they are not as well as before.
Every person who believes in democracy and freedom of choice should support a referendum for independence (any referendum, actually). And all the democratic governments should allow them and abide by the results without resorting to trick the people by masking the socio-economic data that allows them to make a good decision.
Ahh, don’t get me wrong. “Clean” is not referring to violence. I just meant there will be many sticky issues that they’ll have to spend a massive amount of effort trying to resolve.
I’d imagine that an independent Scotland will both benefit and be hemmed in on defense matters. On the one hand, Scotland could probably get away with spending only a pittance on defense as it’s neighbors are friendly, and UK/USA would never let a hostile foreign power threaten a country so close to the UK or allow the North Sea oil fields to fall under foreign control. In that way, Scotland could effectively get a free ride in part.
The downside is probably the same. Even if Scotland wanted to enter into defensive treaties or pacts with potentially troublesome countries (China, Russia, N. Korea, some of the Middle East states), I can’t see the UK/US allowing that to happen.