Scottish Independence

Arguments for and Against

Fictional letters for and against

Yes Voter
I want to tell you about the reasons why I am going to
vote Yes on 18th September. I want to present a positive
vision for the future of Scotland as a normal independent
country. I want to remain friends with other nations in the
UK, but increasingly I think Scotland needs to follow a
different path and determine its own future. I firmly
believe that only a Scottish parliament and Scottish
government, elected by the people of Scotland, will act in
Scotlands best interests.

Firstly, independence would ensure that Scotland gets the
government it votes for. For 35 of the 69 years since 1945,
Scotland has been ruled by Westminster governments with
no majority in Scotland. The current government is led by
a party that has just one Scottish MP. Scotland
overwhelmingly rejects the Conservative Party at every
UK general election, but we still end up being ruled by
Conservatives. That means that policies like the
privatisation of Royal Mail and the bedroom tax are
imposed on Scotland even when the majority of Scottish
MPs have voted against them. With independence, the
people of Scotland will be able to decide our own
government.

Secondly, I think we can use the powers of independence
to create a more prosperous Scotland. With the limited
powers of devolution we have already had success in
improving Scottish society and promoting economic
growth. But the fundamental economic decisions that
affect Scotland still lie with the Westminster government,
and those decisions are not taken with Scottish interests
in mind. The full powers of independence will allow us to
harness our natural resources, our strong international
brand and our world-class industries to help make
Scotland a more prosperous country. Having full control
over the fiscal levers means we make choices in
Scotlands interests. That might mean lowering
corporation tax to attract new businesses to Scotland. It
might mean choosing in the future to raise taxes (on the
rich or on everyone) in order to pay for better public
services. The central point is that Scotland will be in
control: we can change our tax system to suit our
businesses and our social needs.

Thirdly, an independent Scotland would be a fairer
Scotland. The welfare state set up after 1945 is under
threat. The NHS that we all cherish is gradually being
privatized in England, threatening the money available to
support our NHS in Scotland. The UK welfare reforms like
the bedroom tax have brought real hardship to vulnerable
No Voter
I want to tell you why I will be voting No on September
18th. For me, being in the United Kingdom with a Scottish
Parliament means that Scotland gets the best of both
worlds the opportunity make decisions for ourselves in
devolved public services while benefiting from the
security, strength and influence we enjoy as part of one
of the most successful and celebrated countries in the
world.

Scotland benefits from the strength and international
reach of the UK. This means we have access to a
worldwide network of embassies and the full weight of
the UK Government when it comes to promoting trade and
standing up for our interests. The UK is one of the most
powerful voices in international organizations like the
European Union and NATO, and one of only five countries
with permanent representation in the United Nations
Security Council. As part of the UK, Scotland can be far
more influential than we would be as a small independent
country.

Second, the UK is a family of nations with a shared history
and I believe a shared future. We benefit from being able
to trade freely across the whole of the UK and benefit
from our participation in UK-wide services. We pool and
share our risks and rewards. When Scotland is in any
financial or economic difficulty, the security of pooling
our resources with the other countries in the UK means
that any shocks are lessened. An independent Scotland
would be far more exposed. For example, it could never
have stepped in to save the banks in the face of the
financial crisis. Sharing risks among a population of over
60 million people provides more security than sharing
among 5 and a half million people. But its not just about
costs and benefits. We also share common values and
solidarity with citizens in the rest of the UK. I want a
prosperous and fair country for people in Swansea and
Southampton as much as in Scotland.

Finally, I believe passionately that we should be able to
do things differently in Scotland. That is why we have a
Scottish Parliament. We dont need independence to
protect what is distinctive about our education and health
systems. Nor do we need independence to start to
subsidize the cost of childcare for hardworking parents.
All of these things are already under the control of the
Scottish Parliament. We have the security of the UK for
big issues where it makes sense to work together (foreign
policy, defense, financial services, pensions) while having
a parliament that can take different decisions for Scotland
Scots. Independence would mean having the power to
build a better more equal society, where Scotlands
wealth was used to reduce poverty and provide support
for those who need it. An independent Scotland could
help people out of poverty instead of punishing them for
being poor. And with control over the full tax system, we
could see a transformation of child care so that women
are free to take up work when they want to and all
children have access to quality care and education even
before they go to school.

Democracy, prosperity and social justice these are the
reasons I am voting Yes in September.


so that our public services are designed and delivered to
suit our needs. The Scottish Parliament is very young and
has room to grow. We can do that within the UK. All of
the UK parties are committed to strengthening the powers
of the Scottish parliament, especially to give it more
power to raise more of its own budget from taxes paid in
Scotland. This will provide ample scope for Scotland to
take a different path in some areas if that is the wish of
the people of Scotland.

I believe that we should have a fairer and more
prosperous Scotland, but I dont believe independence is
the way to achieve it.


Response to No voters
I want to respond to some of the points made last week
and tell you why I am still convinced that independence
offers the best future for Scotland.

Our No supporter cites the international strength of the
UK. It is of course true that Scotland will have a different
relationship with the world, but I think this will be for the
good. We will not, for instance, ever have to participate
in wars in Iraq or be so close to the United States that we
cannot criticize them. Scotland can instead concentrate
on being a beacon for human rights and equality, much
like the foreign policies of Sweden and Norway. I also
expect that our international aid budget will remain as
generous. There is more to international relations than
having nuclear weapons, a large army and a UN Security
Council seat.

I agree that we share common values with those across
the rest of the UK. However, increasingly these are not
the values reflected in the UK Governments policies.
Policies like the bedroom tax would never be imposed in
an independent Scotland. We would have the powers to
create a welfare system that meshed with the tax system
in order to support people and encourage them back into
work. The higher public spending required for this could
be met from oil revenues and from economic policies that
prioritise growth, rather than austerity. We know that
GDP per head is higher in Scotland than the UK average.
We are a rich country, but we are currently forced deploy
our resources in a manner that ensures rising inequality
and a low-wage economy. Independence offers us the
opportunity to change that.

Under independence, we would have the final say over
the shape and direction of our economic policies. Instead
of trying to use devolution to compensate for the poor
decisions taken in London, we could finally start to
implement economic and social policies that are in tune
with our values. The examples of the Nordic countries
show that it is possible to combine high social spending
with economic competitiveness. For me, this is a
compelling vision and the referendum gives us the
opportunity to start to implement it.

I am not seeking to break ties with the other nations of
Response to Yes Voters
I want to respond to some of the points made last week
and tell you why I am still convinced that Scotland should
remain in the United Kingdom.

The Yes voter stated that independence means that
Scotland will always get the government that it votes for,
so it will never again be ruled by Conservatives. This is a
very short-sighted point. Governments may come and go,
but independence is forever. Not everyone voted for the
Scottish National Party, but they are still in power.
Democracy does not mean that people always get what
they want. In any case, when there is a Conservative
government at Westminster, the Scottish Parliament has
the powers to ensure that Scotland does things
differently. More powers will follow after the referendum.
We need to think about the next 50 years, not just the
next five.

The Yes voters two points about a fairer and more
prosperous Scotland have to be dealt with together. On
the one hand, she promises a business-friendly
environment with lower tax rates; on the other, she
promises increased funding for public services and a
reduction in inequality. We are to have the public services
and inequality levels of Sweden alongside the business
regulation and tax rates of the United States. It simply
does not add up. Just this week, the World Economic
Forum declared that the UK was ninth best country in the
world in which to do business. Promises about no cuts
ever are difficult to believe. On the contrary, the
independent Institute for Fiscal Studies points out that
Scotland would have to confront the same difficult
decisions about its finances that the UK currently has to
do. Again, I reiterate the point: the best way to secure a
generous welfare state in the 21st century is to pool
resources and risk at the UK level. This is the surest
protection for our public services. You need to analyse
very carefully the arguments of anyone who tells you that
the public finances of an independent Scotland will be so
instantly rosy that it can afford both to cut business taxes
and raise public spending. It seems to me that the reality
is at best much more risky and uncertain.

The idea that the NHS is at risk at this referendum is
difficult to take seriously. Although some NHS services in
the UK completely. There are many areas where we will
work together. Crucially, however, Scotland will choose to
opt in to these arrangements. Sovereignty will lie in
Scotland. We dont need to wait to see what Westminster
may or may not offer us in the future: we can start to
build a better country now.
England are delivered by private companies (much like GP
practices or pharmacies in Scotland), they are still free at
the point of use. Nobody is proposing charging and the
greater use of the private sector in England has coincided
with a substantial increase in NHS funding. There is,
moreover, no evidence to support the proposition that an
independent Scotland would suddenly be able to end
austerity overnight and increase budgets for all public
services. As it happens, I dont support greater use of the
private sector in the NHS either, but thats why we have a
Scottish Parliament, and it has been doing things
differently for over a decade.

Enhanced devolution gives us the powers we need to tailor
policies for Scotland without having to deal with the
problems of trying to reinvent the wheel by creating new
institutions for a Scottish state. Staying in the UK offers
and extremely positive future of further autonomy within
the framework of larger strength.