From January to May, I had the privilege of interning at the Scottish Parliament for the Scottish National party. During this time, I had the opportunity to learn about the Scottish political system, as well as the United Kingdom political system and an interesting issue: the Scottish Independence Referendum.
For those who don't know, here's a brief summary of Scottish politics and the independence referendum. On September 18th, 2014 Scotland will hold an independence referendum asking voters one question: Should Scotland be an independent country? Yes? No? If Scotland becomes an independent country, it will no longer be a part of the United kingdom. In order for Scotland to become an independent country, Scotland needs 50% of its citizens to vote "Yes."
The Current Political Landscape: How does Scottish politics work?
Like the American system, there is a supreme court in the Scottish political system e.g. Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. (This will be explained another day.) Unlike the American system in which there is the Senate, House of Representatives, and President, in the Scottish system, there is the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Government, UK Government, and UK Parliament.
The Scottish Parliament is the law making branch of Scottish politics, and the Scottish Government implements the laws that the Scottish Parliament passes. Under the Scotland Act 1999, Scotland only have devolved powers. Devolved powers include agriculture, education, health, housing, local government, arts, tourism etc.
The rest of the powers that Scotland does not have are called reserved powers. Reserved powers are powers of UK politics. Like the Scottish Parliament, the UK Parliament creates laws, whereas the UK governemnt implements the laws that UK Parliament passes. Reserved powers include but are not limited to things like social security, immigration, military, nuclear energy, employment etc.
Although the Scotland Act 2012 extends power in devolved matters, the Scottish Parliament can not implement laws or deal with issues related to reserved powers.
Why do Scots want independence?
The heart of the independence debate isn't about Scottish nationalism, rather it is the principle of being governed by democracy and fairness.
1. An under represented Scotland
Under the current system, Westminster oversees the UK politics. The problem is that the political parties in Westminster, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrat Party, and even the Labour Party do not necessarily implement laws in favor of Scotland. Scotland tends to be very liberal compared to the rest of the UK, and many of these policies implemented by Westminster do not necessarily benefit the Scottish citizens. In fact, if anything, the policies implemented by Westminster tend to harm rather than benefit Scottish citizens, and increase the poverty gap between the rich and poor. i.e. Welfare Act 2012..aka the Bedroom taxes. The problem with this policy was that it increased homelessnes in Scotland because housing became unncessarily more expensive.
Overall, the problem is that Scotland DOES NOT necessarily get the government that citizens vote for, and Scottish politicians can't exactly do anything to alleviate the problems if Westminster implements policies regarding reserved issues because the issues fall under reserved powers.
2. Reserved Powers: the problem
Scotland is an incredibly rich natural resource country; however, Scotland can not control its own resources or make decisions about the economy because- reserved powers. Oil for example is one of Scotland's primary exports; however, the wealth and profits gained from the extraction of oil does not necessarily go back to Scottish government or its citizens.
In the case of an independent Scotland, Scotland can control its own resources, make decisions about its economy, and decide how wealth can benefit all its citizens.
3. Political parties and policies
Again, I have to emphasize this but Westminster is primarily dominated by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Party. This is a huge issue as both Scotland and UK have opposing views. Scotland tends to be run by the Scottish National Party which favors things such as EU membership, free tuition, free national healthcare, free prescription etc. On the otherhand the UK Parliament is very conservative, and tends to implement policies favoring things such as the privitization of healthcare, and the want to leave the EU.
4. The impossible "devomax"
Ideally, what all Scots can agree on is that the safest option if available would be "devomax" meaning that Scotland would still be a part of Britain; however, all political powers would be implemented by the Scots rather than the Brits. The Conservative Party, and the Labour Party have both promised "devomax" if Scotland does not get independence; however, the problem with a "no vote" is that Scotland may never actually get devomax. In 1979, Scotland missed out on its opportunity to become an independent country. This lead to Thatcher gaining power, implementing poll taxes, and borderline destroying the Scottish economy. During her time period, she mplemented policies destroying Scotland's steel and mining industry, which doubled Scotland's unemployment rate and dismantled union power.
The moral of this point is that if Scotland does not take the opportunity and choose the option to become independent now, the problem is that Scotland may change; however, it may not change for the better....especially with the upcoming British vote of whether or not Britain will stay in the EU.
There are many more reasons why Scots want independence; however, these are some of the main reasons I could think of on the top of my head that would help explain why some Scots are voting for independence.
Until next time,
Tina.
