Here's a map of the British Isles with the 'none UK' bits in green. Note how tiny the so called Northern Ireland is and that some of Southern Ireland is further north than Northern Ireland.
I'm
not sure if the rest of the world know that Scotland are going to the
polls in September to vote for independence. It is a yes/no vote and
I really wonder whether they will succeed in breaking away from the
rest of the United Kingdom; they have been part of the UK since about
1707 and I also wonder what the political party UKIP will call
themselves. They are a kind of British 'Tea Party' with
nationalistic, jingoistic, anti-immigrant and other right wing loony
policies and UKIP stands for the United Kingdom Independence Party.
The
other thing on the line is that if Scotland do break away will they
be able to retain use of the pound (£) sterling? The three main
parties in Britain don't want Scotland to have the pound – or the
BBC or any other British stuff – but I have to ask myself if three
individuals have the right to tell anybody within the union whether
they can have the pound or not! The three are the Chancellor of the
Exchequer and his two shadows. If this was in America there would be
a constitutional argument but as there is no constitution in Britain
where is the rule book?
What's
that I hear you say? Britain? Yes that's part of the title – The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Will it still
be the United Kingdom with just England, Wales and Northern Ireland
as members? Will the UK be weakened by the separation? How strong
will Scotland be?
I
do know one thing and that is if Ireland had an all Ireland football
team – both the Republic and the North – they would be stronger
than they are now with the two teams. This shows with the strong rugby team
which is made up of the north and south.
You can also say that about
a British football team – England/Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland –
but then we wouldn't have the rivalry between the various nations;
which is healthy.
Of
course we could take it further or even farther and have a European
Football team but who would we play? South America? Asia?
There
are already two continents who play – the USA and Australia – and
whilst they may come to something one day it won't be for a while.
So
what will happen if they do gain independence? - Scotland, I mean -
Will they build a wall? Will they have an immigration post on every
road like they do on the Continent?
The
trouble is this is an island and the people who live here are not
used to borders like they have elsewhere. People go from England into
Wales and Scotland without even noticing it so that will be a
difference.
When
Scottish, Welsh and Irish people go to America the Americans call
them English because they can't quite hear the difference. The Welsh
and Scots don't like that, and who can blame them, in fact if you
correct them they say 'it's all the same.'
Well
it isn't is it?
People
over here can't tell the difference between the American and Canadian
accents – but is there a Canadian accent or is it just a posh American one with the addition of eh, for sure, and the pronunciation
of about as aboat?
There
is a certain Scottishness to the Canadian accent and I met a guy in
Los Angeles who I would have sworn came from one of the northern
Irish counties and he was from Niagra – on the Canadian side.
But
I digress – as usual, so what about (aboat) the poand (sic) ? And
what about UKIP?
The UKIP should NOT be confused or compared to the SNP(Scottish National Party), the UKIP has had far more success in England than in Scotland.
ReplyDeleteOne of the main reasons for the worry over Scotland leaving the union is economic…this clip is from 'Wikipedia'...'The economy of Scotland is closely linked with the rest of the United Kingdom and the wider European Economic Area. Scotland has a higher GDP per capita and larger GVA per capita output than England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom as a whole when revenues from North Sea oil and gas are taken into account'. Well for decades now the oil profits have poured into London and a pittance has been returned, I believe here in the US they had a civil war over such things.
Scotland could make their own economic framework to encourage investment, lets take a look at Ireland…they offer no/low taxation to encourage companies to base themselves there, Scotland 'presently' doesn't have that luxury.
As a fellow Scotsman once said…'There are lies, damned lies, and statistics*'. For those of you who know who said that its a joke :-), there are all kinds of numbers out there about how much Scotland 'costs' the UK but if the Scots are so costly then shouldn't the rest of the UK be glad to be rid of them? I would if that were the situation, but instead theres a constant drumbeat of Whitehall fear mongering which makes me think that Scottish independence would be a better thing for Scotland than the Scots presently think.
If I had a say I wouldn't use the the UK Pound, why dilute your better economy with a currency of a poorer one? Scotland already has several banks that produce currency(Bank of Scotland/Royal Bank of Scotland/Clydesdale Bank etc) so its not a tough switch. For years several businesses in London(when I lived there) wouldn't even accept Bank of Scotland notes though they were ,and are, legal tender.
How much more money from everyone in the UK needs to go to build yet one more sports arena…in London! People all over the UK must surely be sick and tired of the London-centric construction of things by now, they've certainly paid more than their fair share into facilities that most will never use or see except on the BBC.
Talking of the BBC, folk in Scotland do pay the same amount of cash for their TV licenses as everyone else does, its not free for them either. It is nice to see though that the BBC after many decades is slowly changing the age old character used in countless plays/films that needed a 'drunk'... who was almost always in possession of a Scottish accent.
There are right wing nut jobs in every country, empty jugs make the most noise, in England there is the British National Party who have had a modicum of success politically. The problem with those groups/individuals is that they are easy to see and report on much to the dismay those around them with opposite views, as in the rest of the UK they are a source of shame to the people of whichever country they live in.
Poll numbers presently show that the majority of Scots will likely vote to stay with the UK, thats sad, they are more resilient and capable than they realize.
Andrew.
*=WInston Churchill.
I don't think there is much in what you say, Andrew, that I disagree with as I never believed that we - the big we the population as a whole - would benefit from any North Sea Oil. I seem to remember people saying we would have cheap petrol just like in America but it wasn't to be was it and we all know it now just as the latest diatribe from Osborne about employment in the so called UK and how great it's all going to be by 2020 - my eye sight was at least 20/20 at one time but by the time the date arrives our sight will have blurred by all the facts and figures thrust at us like cholesterol commercials on American TV.
DeleteIt is a pity Scotland didn't get the advantage that Norway had from the oil which pays for its whole welfare system and other things.
I think Scotland will come out of this better than they are now - the least they will get is the so called Devo- Max - but you know, there are 5 months left of campaigning and as long as people like David Bowie and Alistair Darling (what are you thinking
about Mr Darling) stay out of things I am betting that they will vote for independence.
UKIP = Tea Party; nuff said. x x
Hey C,
ReplyDeleteOnly folk from Scotland/UK will be interested in this subject Chris, to everyone else its a matter of small interest :-)
The 'devo-max' is a red herring thrown out to confuse the issue, the vote is a straight up yes/no on independence, the deco-max is a kind of half way in-between that isn't even on the table as an option. For those still reading the blog here is a clip from The Scotsman newspaper to explain what it is...'The so-called “devo max” plan, which sees the Scottish Parliament running everything apart from defence and foreign affairs...'
It always bums me out when some poll about Europe comes out and as per usual the UK is at/near the bottom be it life expectancy(Eastern Europe being the lowest), general happiness/health. As a country that consistently appears in the worlds list of wealthiest you never seem to 'see' that wealth when you are at the working class level though you know damn well you're contributing to it vastly.
Cheap fuel prices? I barely remember that but you're right! My brother still groans when I complain that a gallon of petrol is at $4+ :-) So as you look at countries that produce fuel all over the world you see that they have the lowest prices per gallon than anywhere…except in the UK, why? For the last 40 years that great spigot of cash has been flowing into Whitehall with barely a blip on the radar for anyone living/working in the UK, where does that money go and what is it spent on?
As you mention Norway they have managed their cash-flow very well, they are the perfect example of what to do with a windfall. They are taking their cash and investing it in every company around the world so that in the future when the oil runs out they'll still have a share of the worlds pie but without the work. And in the UK? Is it any wonder that Scotland wants to get its slice before it too runs out? We get precious little of it at present and that isn't going to change anytime soon.
I'm not as confident as you that Scotland will vote for independence, there is a great gash of fear and 'stay the course(no matter how dismal)' mentality that will drag the vote elsewhere as surely as a boat anchor. The usual complaint I imagine is that the Scottish politicians will be no better than the ones presently ruling over us to which my argument is can they be any worse? Time will tell.
All the best,
Andrew.
PS:Went by Farmers Market the other week when my Brother was in town and had a donut(doughnut ;-) at Bob's…Delicious!!
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous about your visit to Bob's!! This subject seems to be attracting a lot of hits, though - let's hope they click on to the adds!!
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