Scottish Independence
Should Scotland become Independent?
Scotland is at a turning point. On 18th September 2014 a referendum will be held asking voters a simple yes/no question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” It has become more apparent that Scotland does not benefit from being part of the union with England, Wales and Northern Ireland and as a consequence of this many people agree that Scotland would be better off as an independent country. Some say the union is no longer fit for purpose and it is holding Scotland back. But many people oppose these views saying Scotland needs the rest of the UK and the economic and social factors of independence would be too great to deal with. Independence for Scotland means that we will have the right to make our own decisions about the future of our own country rather than those decisions being made by politicians in London. In this essay, I will present a fair conclusion by weighing up the arguments for and against Scottish Independence.
The relationship between Scotland and its larger neighbour have always been difficult, especially during the “wars of independence” led my William Wallace and then by Robert the Bruce. After many cross-border disputes, including when Scotland was defeated by the English in 1513 at Flodden, the Scottish and English crowns we united in 1603 when King James IV of Scotland became monarch of the British Isles. The 1800s saw Scotland’s economy booming but proposals to give Scotland some form of “home-rule” was continually unsuccessful until 1999 when a Scottish parliament was re-established. The First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, and the SNP unexpectedly won an historic grand slam - forming the first majority government in the Scottish parliament despite the Scottish system being set up to prevent a party gaining a majority and the only majority government in the whole UK - enabling Mr Salmond to demand an independence referendum.
Moreover independence would enable Scotland to become more
Scotland is at a turning point. On 18th September 2014 a referendum will be held asking voters a simple yes/no question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” It has become more apparent that Scotland does not benefit from being part of the union with England, Wales and Northern Ireland and as a consequence of this many people agree that Scotland would be better off as an independent country. Some say the union is no longer fit for purpose and it is holding Scotland back. But many people oppose these views saying Scotland needs the rest of the UK and the economic and social factors of independence would be too great to deal with. Independence for Scotland means that we will have the right to make our own decisions about the future of our own country rather than those decisions being made by politicians in London. In this essay, I will present a fair conclusion by weighing up the arguments for and against Scottish Independence.
The relationship between Scotland and its larger neighbour have always been difficult, especially during the “wars of independence” led my William Wallace and then by Robert the Bruce. After many cross-border disputes, including when Scotland was defeated by the English in 1513 at Flodden, the Scottish and English crowns we united in 1603 when King James IV of Scotland became monarch of the British Isles. The 1800s saw Scotland’s economy booming but proposals to give Scotland some form of “home-rule” was continually unsuccessful until 1999 when a Scottish parliament was re-established. The First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, and the SNP unexpectedly won an historic grand slam - forming the first majority government in the Scottish parliament despite the Scottish system being set up to prevent a party gaining a majority and the only majority government in the whole UK - enabling Mr Salmond to demand an independence referendum.
Moreover independence would enable Scotland to become more