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.”An independent Scotland will really need to do something about that excess of public sector jobs. Otherwise, nae chance.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”.
1 comment:
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Sandy P
Petition to become a US territory.
Tax breaks abound. Jobs will come.
16 October 2006, 04:13:31 GMT+01:00
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Wild Pegasus
Complete independence would probably spell the end of the massive UK defence budget, which would be better for the Scots and for the world at large. If there were still a UK, Scottish taxpayers will have to pony up for all that defence spending. Complete independence means no more defence budget burden.
As for the Republic joining the UK, LOL.
- Josh
16 October 2006, 02:38:30 GMT+01:00
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Jim H
I work for a UK firm and I don't see my job type existing in Scotland if we leave the UK. I wonder how many more of us there are out there. I remember the SNP saying that we can still make Navy ships for the remaining UK??? I have as much confidence in their grasp of the economic downsides of independence as I have in Tommy Sheridan's.
16 October 2006, 01:22:35 GMT+01:00
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matt
Your F&W plan is great, except I don't see the Isle of Man as a feasible place to have the UK federal government. Maybe the defence headquarters could be on the Isle of Man but it would destroy our position in the international community to locate the foreign affairs HQ and the federal parliament/executive in such an out-of-the-way place. And Douglas is a bit of a dump in any case.
Independence in some form or another does look increasingly likely. But unless accompanied by momentum to cut back the state sector, free up the economy and motivate the general population... I'll be out of here.
15 October 2006, 20:08:33 GMT+01:00
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