Is it goodbye?....

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17 September 2014

If it is I should care, but I don't...

At heart I am a Unionist and should be in a full Cameronesque pannick mode over the future of the Union. But, to be frank, I could not care less.

I have watched the unedifying referendum campaign at a distance in the assumption a No vote would result. After all the Scots are not totally bonkers are they?

But it seems they are, or at least close to half the Scots, Romanians and Poles living there seem to be as mad as hatters.

What we have seen from both sides is an uninspiring campaign of bullying and lies, with from the Yes campaign at least, a fair bit of intimidation thrown in. It is not enough for Cameron and the other two main Party leaders to make emotional speeches about 'our family' in the last days of the campaign and it is certainly appalling to see massive bribes of money and powers being promised to buy a No vote.

Right now I see a Yes vote as offering the best and easiest solution for England and Wales. Goodbye and good riddance to the ungratefuil miserable Scots. Soon after independence their economy will hit a rock given the spending and taxation promises of the main two Scottish Parties and, no we should not help them out as they will be in a mess of their own making. I can actually see an independent Scotland, needing to stand on its own two feet, having to 'swing right' politically to save itself.

And the prize for England?
The removal of 59 Scottish MPs from Parliament, 58 of them pretty much useless Labour, LibDem and Scottish Nationalist MPs. No longer will English education, health and local government be determined by Scottish MPs while English MPs have no say over these matters in Scotland. A Constitutional injustice will have been righted.

But if there is a No vote these Constitutional issues will loom greater than ever with more and more powers, including economic powers, being devolved to Scotland.

There will have to be change and that can only be good for England as there will be much less chance a Labour government will wreck the English economy again, but this will not be an easy Constitutional solution to achieve given the reluctance of Labour to provide a fair political settlement for England at the expense of their own power.

Then of course there is the promise that the Barnett formula will remain. That really is a promise too far and I hope that no Conservative MP will agree to that absurd bribe.

So a Yes vote is the easiest way out for England.

So now I, a Unionist, hopes that Scotland votes YES on Thursday for English freedom.

Guest 698 wrote:
Agree totally.
Guest 714 wrote:
Excellent piece Barry although I'm surprised you didn't raise the West Lothian issue.

I'm afraid to say you confirm what I've been telling you for ages, Cameron is spineless and unprincipled, regardless of the outcome his position is weakened irrevocably.
howard mcsweeney1 wrote:
The whole thing is a total mess, if the yes vote wins Scotland will still be part of the UK until March 2016.
This would mean that they will still have all their MP's in the commons after May 2015 for a 10 month period while negotiations re; separation go on.
Guest 655 wrote:
David - the West Lothian issue is the Constitutional injustice I referred to, I just did not use the term.
Guest 714 wrote:
Fair point
Guest 683 wrote:
The whole referendum issue has thrown into focus the parlous state of politics nationally and internationally. That the three leaders headed to Scotland in the dying days before the referendum, after so protracted a process, speaks volumes of their disregard for anything outside of London and highlights why there is such a high level of disenchantment and disengagement amongst the electorate. There needs to be a radical reshaping of politics that engages with the electorate and offers representation of the people but there is nothing of real substance on the political landscape and I don't feel that there are the levels of trust to enable this to come from the current set up.
Guest 655 wrote:
Well said Mark
SWWood wrote:
A good read, but I must disagree on a couple of points.
Firstly, I think it's worth remembering that there are a very significant number of Scots who are not in favour of independence, and indeed in many cases despise what Salmond and the SNP are doing to Scotland. To describe them all as "ungrateful, miserable Scots" is grossly unfair to those loyal to the Union
Guest 698 wrote:
Judging by the tactics of some members of the Yes lobby, if the vote is No we can look forward to a short period of sectarian violence. By short I mean a generation or three, just like Ulster.
SWWood wrote:
Secondly, I believe a No vote actually provides an enormous opportunity for the Tories. Clearly the genie is now out of the bottle. The Scots will get more powers devolved, but it is unthinkable to believe that this devolution will be allowed on it's own. There will have to be a solution to the various constitutional difficulties that this throws up. Given that Labour has real difficulties in this area (which is why Devolution was such a half-a***ed solution in the first place), there is an opportunity for Cameron to seize the initiative with this issue and draw up comprehensive plans to solve these issues once and for all, including if necessary the creation of an English Parliament. There is an appetite across the country for change now, and Cameron should make this the central issue at the next General Election, rather than allowing UKIP and the EU to dominate discussions.
howard mcsweeney1 wrote:
Cameron has already ruled out an English parliament and the demand for it has dropped anyway with places like Cornwall, Devon and Yorkshire looking for more localised powers. No doubt others will follow making the situation totally confusing. I fear Peter is right in that feelings have run very high in Scotland recently with physical assaults and windows being put through and a no vote could lead to an Ulster style situation. I still think that pragmatism amongst the undecided will lead to a no vote.