The results are in and it looks like the United Kingdom shall remain united. Yesterday, the pro Scottish independence movement lost to the "no" independence movement 44.7% to 55.3%, which was a much more decisive victory than pre vote polls predicted. While James Cameron, the British Prime Minister, can breath a sigh of relief, he is also facing some backlash from fellow conservative party members over some of the promises made to Scotland about greater autonomy should they vote to remain in the United Kingdom. There is also now some uncertainty in the British government about military bases in Scotland that would be forced to close should Scotland ever decide to secede from the United Kingdom in the future.
There is much to discuss here:
- Are you surprised by the result of this vote? Why or why not?
- Do you think England will give Scotland greater autonomy as promised during the election?
- Do you think the Scotland will try and declare independence in the future?
Here's an article for reference: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/world/europe/scotland-independence-vote-no.html?_r=0
I'm am not completely surprised by the results, the vote was not supposed to be close until some recent surveys had shown the 'yes' vote leading by a few percentage points. I think the media largely exaggerated the impact of the 'yes' movement, but still the turnout (something like 84%) and the closeness of the vote were astounding. If Cameron's government does not give some greater autonomy to Scotland (plus Wales and Northern Ireland, for the matter,) then he will find himself facing another referendum, which is decidedly what no one in England wants. I believe that the English need to realize that Scots deserve greater autonomy, while still combining in terms of economy and currency. As a whole, the UK is much more powerful as a sum of its parts. But citizens from the 4 countries need to have more freedom in dictating local politics, such as health care. For example, if Scotland wishes to tax its own citizens to promote some social policy, it should be able to. It is similar to state rights issues in the US. A state is allowed to raise its own funds as long as it is constitutional as determined by federal courts.
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