On the 18th of this month, the United Kingdom will take a poll regarding what citizens think about the separation of Scotland from the United Kingdom as an independent nation. In his speech David Cameron, the British Prime Minister gave a statement that urged the people of Scotland to vote against the separation. He appealed to his audience by stating that the United Kingdom is a family and he does not wish to see it in pieces.
The prime minister’s speech however brought about the opposite effect, causing Scottish people to turn their backs on him and lean more towards their region’s independence and sovereignty.
Scotland has a population of around 5.3 million people which is only 10 percent of that of the entire United Kingdom. The land takes up around 32 percent of England’s territory. The people are mostly Celtic and the territory was annexed into England when Queen Elizabeth I had no children of her own and her cousin, who was the king of Scotland at the time was proclaimed king of both England and Scotland.
The sudden surge in approval of Scottish independence among both English and Scottish citizens caused uproar in the British Parliament. Representatives from all three major British political parties were all dispatched to three key cities in Scotland to convince the people to vote in opposition of Scottish separation. Representatives from the Labor Party, Conservative Party and the Free Democratic Party were sent to Glasgow, the Scottish Borders, and Edinburgh where the Prime Minister is also planning to visit.
It is unusual that the three major political parties of England are working together in on key issue despite their disagreements with each other. Prime Minister Cameron noted to the Guardian that it is better to cooperate in situations like this than working alone. The Guardian also noted that the three parties even cancelled a parliamentary conference to invest more time in convincing the public that Scotland must not separate from the U.K.
If Scotland does become an independent state, many experts expressed that a certain amount if chaos within British society is inevitable. In the case that it becomes a reality, there are many other issues that must be addressed. If the vote is passed, then Scotland will gain its independence on the 24th of March in 2016, 307 years after its annexation. The newly established government will have to form a constitution, decide on whether to continue to use the British pound, and even negotiate with the British Parliament regarding how much of the U.K.’s debts they would have to take responsibility for. The most obvious change will be that David Cameron’s administration would lose a great deal of support from the people and many believe that the elections of May 2015 will have to be delayed.
The most recent poll indicated that 51 percent of British citizens approved of Scotland separating from the U.K. whereas only 49 percent were against the idea. Many political experts have expressed that Scottish independence may very well become a reality.
