Scotland Opens Pandora’s Box

Personally, I am delighted that the United Kingdom is still the United Kingdom. I genuinely believe that, had Scotland voted for complete independence they would have been totally screwed. Why? Primarily currency, that’s why. I do believe that we are, and have always been, ‘better together’ as the ‘No campaign’ put it.

Scottish First Minister and driving force behind the ‘Yes’ campaign, Alex Salmond, insisted that Scotland would be able to ‘keep the British pound’. Time and time again he was asked “what was his ‘plan B’ if Scotland was not allowed to keep the pound?”

Not once did he supply an even vaguely viable answer.

On one notable occasion he finally got annoyed at the constant question of what Scotland’s currency would be should the ‘Yes’ campaign emerge victorious but not be allowed to keep the pound. He basically stated that, should Scotland not be allowed to keep the pound then they would renege on their share of ‘the national debt’.

Now that was tantamount to a school boy taking his football home because he hadn’t been allowed to score enough goals in an after school soccer match.

That, for me, was the ultimate weakness in the ‘Yes’ campaigns argument and desire for complete independence. Without a currency they would have had to ‘make one up’ which, of course, would almost certainly have been a currency with no value in the world.

Had the government of the remainder of the UK allowed them to keep the pound it would have been political suicide quite simply because, particularly the English, would have been ‘up in arms’ that a now independent country had ‘their currency’ but were paying significantly lower taxes. Despite my belief that most of our politicians are demented in one way or another, even they are not so demented as to fall on such an obvious sword.

Now don’t get me wrong. I had and have a great deal of sympathy and, indeed, empathy with the ‘Yes’ campaign. I am a ‘northerner’, in other words I come from the north of England. Lancashire to be precise.

If the northern counties of England – Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Northumberland – happened to be a ‘country’ a la Scotland rather than ‘counties’ of England, we would have been fighting for independence decades ago as, in general, we ‘of the north’ have felt disenfranchised from our central government in Westminster for many many moons. Many, I suspect a majority, have had little time for the ‘Eton Rifles’ of our political class pretty much since I was in my late teens if not before.

Scotland, being still further north, (I’m good at geography me), quite understandably felt at least as strongly as we did and, almost certainly, even more strongly about this issue.

However, Scotland was allowed a degree of ‘devolution’ and granted it’s own ‘Scottish Parliament’ whence certain powers were devolved from Westminster to Scotland.

Although the English tolerated this devolution scenario ominous rumbles could be heard regarding free tuition fees for Scottish students at university whilst English students had to pay for their university education and run up tremendous debts in the process. The hated ‘bedroom tax’ was instigated in England whilst Scotland said ‘no’. Even more gauling was the fact that Scottish Members of Parliament in Westminster voted in favour of the ‘bedroom tax’ in England whilst voting against it in the Scottish parliament.

Whilst I have many sympathies for the Scottish ‘Yes’ campaigners I truly feel Scotland would have been well and truly fucked if they had voted to go it alone – I would have hoped against hope that I was wrong but, well, they have voted to stay so that’s that – or is it?

The British government have promised Scotland even more devolution and independent government – fair enough – but what of Wales and Northern Ireland? Clearly they will now expect more devolution in their favour and why not? I would if I was Welsh or Northern Irish.

So, what of England then?

Prime Minister David Cameron has had no choice but to acknowledge that the millions of English people now deserve their own voice. Again, it would be political suicide not to acknowledge this and, indeed, set off to put measures in place to ensure this.

United Kingdom Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has already written to Scottish Westminster MP’s requesting that they refrain from voting on any issue specifically regarding England – and quite right too. Labour have a serious problem on the horizon here. Although their leader, Ed ‘Gromit’ Milliband has stated his belief in English people ‘having their say’ independently of Scotland etc he is surely fully aware that over 40 of his Labour MP’s are from Scotland. Denying them the right to vote on ‘English’ issues would virtually wipe out the oppositions ability to ‘oppose’.

An ‘English Parliament’ would almost certainly be a ‘Conservative’ parliament, quite probably with UKIP finally making inroads into mainstream English politics if not British. Labour would almost certainly be a minor party in an ‘English’ parliament whilst the Liberal Democrats would continue to be an irrelevance.

I feel elated that we are still a ‘united kingdom’. A little sad for Alex Salmond and his ‘Yes’ supporters as, whilst I disagreed with them I certainly empathised with their feeling towards Westminster.

Hopefully, we, the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can now move forward in unison. Hopefully we can make our great united nation even greater and work together and be together and feel together and be better together.

Hopefully, in 2017, we can leave The European Union to it’s own devices. Hopefully, well before 2017, England will have it’s own parliament were ‘English politicians’ alone debate the interests of England. Westminster will only be used by all MP’s for topics of ‘national interest’.

We have interesting days ahead and we, the English, should, in my view, be very grateful to the Scots. Without their independence referendum it is unlikely that our ‘Eton Rifles’, so out of touch with the ‘man in the street’ would have ever considered actually letting ordinary English people have any realistic say in anything really. They know better.

Well, they don’t now and England, at last, will have a real voice.

Thank you Scotland. A nearly 90% turn out. Some have belittled Alex Salmond for saying ‘it was a victory for democracy’ and, I suppose, he may have been accentuating the positives as his side lost but, I agree.

Scotland? You just saved our democracy.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I leave you in somewhat celebratory mode with The Mod Father himself, Mr Paul Weller and his glorious late 70’s / early 80’s band The Jam

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