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/image%2F0691026%2F20160124%2Fob_fbb1b4_img-0956.JPG "The blog of Peter Sanderson-Dykes; some useful insights from the world of corporate coaching, plus an alternative look at various forms of current affairs and an insider's guide to life in France")
SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE - THE CONTINUING DEBATE
Published on September 3 2014
SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE - THE CONTINUING DEBATE
I’ve been asked quite regularly what I think about Scottish independence and the forthcoming referendum. And although I’m not allowed to vote (because I don’t live there!) my opinions are frequently expressed.
Like many people I suppose, I was a little torn in two. The heart said yes without any hesitation, to be free at last of English domination would be a great thing. The brain said no, however – how could a small country survive with an unclear monetary policy and the risk of North Sea oil running out.
And so I watched the second televised debate between First Minister Alex Salmond and the anti-independence Alastair Darling. The latter I found both aggressive and unconvincing, the former, quite calm, excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills (he doesn’t need any coaching from me there!) plus an ability to provide coherent answers with clear facts at the ready. Salmond definitely got me thinking the unthinkable – why not! After all, so many small countries seem to exist without any oil or gas reserves (some original members of the EEC, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, for example) and very few European nations have not been run by tyrants, been invaded or had their borders changed in the last century. In short, Scotland has quite a lot to justify its status as a fully recognised nation-state.
Furthermore, I’ve just read (yet another) excellent and well researched article by George Monbiot.
http://www.monbiot.com/2014/09/02/someone-elses-story/
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Scots voting no to independence would be an astonishing act of self-harm By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 3rd September 2014 Imagine that the question was posed the other way round. An ...
I like the way he looks at the question from another angle while the facts he presents speak for themselves.
So, I hope the vote goes in favour of independence.
But if it doesn’t, I hope that London will keep some recent (and rather belated) promises and give Scotland more say over what happens north of the border. Indeed, given the way that what happens in and around London seems to be the top and often only priority for any number of so-called “British” governments, maybe the West Country, Wales and the north of England should create a sort of Commonwealth with Scotland – a sort of Celtic Benelux!