Scottish independence: Learn from Quebec’s mistakes and beware last-minute promises. Vote Yes.
Sol Zanetti
Wednesday 17 September 2014
Now, in the last few days of the Scottish referendum campaign, the No side promises rather suddenly more political powers and more autonomy for Scotland, seemingly using the very same strategies that had Quebec federalists consolidate their wins in 1980 and 1995.
Owing to the fact that the SNP has comprehensively and definitively presented the rationale behind Scottish independence over the years, what we as international observers from Quebec would like to bring to the debate is our experience of the consequences of a No vote. Our experience has shown that these promises were never kept. We have found that a vote for the status quo, each time, has meant a loss of political power and an increase in our economic dependence to the capital.
I think it’s interesting to see the similarities between the UK/Scotland and Canada/Quebec, another Commonwealth country discussing independence. It’s interesting to see that there was the same panic in Canada followed by a number of promises at the last minute to Quebec much like we have seen this week from Westminster. Promises not being kept wouldn’t be a first for the UK government either, who promised Ireland ‘Home Rule’ which never happened.
Please read all of Sol Zanetti’s article that was posted TODAY! The link is above.
In voting No then, we have less political power today to initiate economic projects that would benefit our population, and less ability to offer quality services to them. We lost veto powers, funding of healthcare did not keep pace with our demands and our ability to change the situation has diminished. Education funding is embroiled in administrative tugs of war. Our money is spent outside our borders to develop industry while our own industries decline, and we are in constant danger of receiving Canada’s stockpiled nuclear waste without our consent.
This is what’s worrying more than a leap of faith towards Independence. I think whether you are voting ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ there are no certainties on what comes next.
How can we feel confident that if No win Westminster will behave in a fashion similar to what we have experienced? Quite simply, because Westminster enacts the will of the majority of the citizens it represents. Bluntly put: Westminster cannot have Scotland as a priority. If it had ever been in its interest to decentralize powers to Scotland and give it more autonomy it would not need to wait until a few days before the vote, as the Yes side is gaining momentum, to promise this. In fact it could do this more or less irrespective of Scottish consent.
The three UK party leaders heading up from Westminster at the last minute making promises has made me wary as to WHY they left it to the last minute to come to Scotland. We’ve known about this referendum for YEARS! The momentum of the ‘Yes’ support seems to have grown to a size that Westminster perhaps had not anticipated. Surely they should have put more into the ‘No’ campaign, which has been very fragmented, full of scare stories and negativity.
It will also endeavour to increase Scotland’s economic dependence towards the UK, diminishing its chances even more for a majority of Scots to feel empowered to initiate change again. Legal barriers to more powers and an increased dependence on London: each strategy designed to make sure the union endures indefinitely.
The ‘No’ camp go on about how voting ‘Yes’ will be a forever decision and that we won’t be able to turn around in a few months time and ask to return to the UK. So what if we vote ‘No’ and realise we made a HUGE mistake? It really does go both ways. A vote for ‘No’ is as much of a leap in the dark as voting ‘Yes’.
The people of Scotland have everything to gain by securing the right to vote their own laws, manage their own taxes and sign the treaties that tie them to other independent nations of the world including the United Kingdom.
I think this point is key. Even if the remainder of the UK decide to ‘punish’ Scotland for voting ‘Yes’ and becoming independent, there are many other countries around the world who will be willing to reach out a friendly hand. We will be able to sign treaties but we will also be able to stay out of illegal wars! Yes, we do already have powers from our devolved parliament at Holyrood, we had some powers before we voted for devolution too as part of the original union. Why shouldn’t we be able to make our OWN decisions for our OWN people?
One Day to Go 