It's coming yet for a' that. Maybe.
Goodness me. A couple of weeks ago conservative historian
Michael Fry (scroll down) came out for independence. Now
Cardinal O'Brien says that he "would be "happy" if Scots wanted separation". Meanwhile multi-millionaire industrialist Tom Farmer who has recently given the SNP £100,000 to encourage more debate in next May's election is now supporting
full independence. I'm beginning to think it may happen.
I don't believe that independence is the best solution however. The real answer was described on this very blog (scroll down) all of three years ago:
The Freedom and Whisky constitutional plan is this:Withdraw from the EU
Devolve all powers - except defence and foreign affairs - to the various national parliaments
Each parliament to be fiscally independent with contributions being made to the federal government in proportion to population
The federal government should be situated on the Isle of Man, which is not in any of the home countries but is equidistant from all four of them
The Irish Republic should be invited to unite with the North and rejoin the UK with Dublin taking its rightful place in the Anglosphere alongside Cardiff, Edinburgh and London
However if Scotland is to become independent we should pay attention to David Watt of the Institute of Directors:
“Because of the culture we live in, Scots may not be naturally as competitive or as hungry for success as workers in other countries, in large part because of the wide availability of public sector jobs. Scotland is burdened with an oversized public sector which employs more than a third of the total workforce.”He also claims that the lure of a job for life, a healthy wage and pension, draws people from the private sector, “ where they could have more impact by establishing and growing their own enterprises”. He claims this results in an aspiration for “safety and security rather than making a mark in the world”.
An independent Scotland will really need to do something about that excess of public sector jobs. Otherwise, nae chance.
posted by David Farrer at 11:58
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