Should be Scotland independent? Give your opnion

State of the Union

Language Level: Advanced

Standard Accent: British

Source: Speak Up

Should be Scotland be independent? A recent survey by the Daily Mail newspaper shows that 51 per cent of people in Scotland (and 48 per cent in England) support Scottish independence; only 36 per cent Scots disapprove.

Scotland is a small country of five million people and 80.000 square kilometers, but it already has its own legal, banking and education systems. Its economy is boosted by a wealth of natural resources, including North Sea oil. After three centuries of union with England, is Scotland ready for independence?

William Donald, a retired civil servant, is in no doubt:

William Donald (Standard Scottish accent)

You’re asking the right man here, because I vote Scottish Nationalist. And independence wouldn’t do any harm to this country, as a whole, I don’t take anything away from Britain, but I think Scotland has been left at the side. We discovered North Sea oil there 30, 40 years ago, and gas. This could have been a totally and absolutely affluent country, same as Norway. And I say to myself, “where’s the infrastructure in this country now?

NOT SO FAST…

Annie Whittaker, a pensioner, is also a supporter of the Scottish National Party (SNP), but she thinks differently:

Annie Whittaker

 (Glaswegian Accent)

I think we should be as one big country, not independent. I don’t think we can stand alone: “United we stand, divided we fall.” I do support Scottish National, but I really feel that we need England as well. Ireland, Wales, everything, we all need to be together.

SELF-DETERMINATION

Many young Scots feel that the British Parliament in Westminster has too much power and is based towards England; and towards the south-east in particular. They want Scotland to have control over its own destiny. Hamairi Ali a law student:

Hamairi Ali

(Glaswegian Accent)

Yeah, it should, why not? We should do. We should have our own parliament, as we’ve got now, but we should be able to make our own decisions.

Margaret Kerr is a lecturer in fine arts. Does she believe that the Scots are ready for independence?

Margaret Kerr

(Glaswegian accent)

I think people need to make an effort and take responsibility, And I think might help them to realize that they’ve got a place that they can actually shape what happens here now and in the future. I think, at the moment, Scottish people tend to sit back and be a bit lazy and lethargic!

AN ENGLISH POINT OF VIEW

So what do the English think? Sean Carr is a bank clerk:

(Northern English accent)

As an English person, I think Scottish people should have the right to consider themselves to be Scottish and be independent.

ECONOMICS

Some people wonder whether Scottish economy is strong enough. Pro-independence campaigners simply point to the successful economies of similar small nations like Norway. The Republic of Ireland and Iceland. Interestingly enough, Derek Sigurdsson is Icelandic, but has lived in Scotland for over a decade. He works as a sales assistant in Glasgow:

Derek Sigurdsson

(Scottish accent)

If Scotland can support itself in a stable economy, then I’d like to see Scotland go independent, yes.

Steve Perry is a distribution assessor. Does he have any doubts about Scotland economy?

Steve Perry

(Glaswegian accent)

Yeah, absolutely, yeah. Reasons behind that, I think, if we grow as a kind of nation, I think that England and Wales and Northern Ireland and Scotland together, as a whole, would generally benefit the…the Scots more than…than becoming independent. Possibly in the future, you know, 30,40,50 years, for my children, then yeah. But just now, I would say for the…now and the next 10 years, definitely not.

An Uneasy Alliance? (no audio available)

Scotland has been part of Great Britain since the first Act of Union was signed between England and Scotland back in 1707. The act dissolved the individual parliaments of both countries and transferred powers to a new Parliament of Great Britain, based in London.

The Celtic connection

Cultural differences remain – Scotland’s Celtic heritage, Gaelic and Scots languages, tribal and clan structures, and history of emigration align it more closely with Ireland and Wales than with England. When the Labour Part won the 1997 general election, it promised devolution.

The Scotland Act 1998 saw the formation of a new Scottish Parliament and historic parliamentary elections the following year. From their extravagant new home at Holyrood, Edinburgh, the 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) can pass laws of education and prisons MSPs may also vote to vary the basic income tax by up to three pence in the pound. Yet overall control of  finance, taxation, public policy, health, Europe and international affairs remains firmly with Westminster.

Oil and water (no audio)

North Sea oil is vital for Scotland’s economic security. The main oil fields are found off the east coast of Scotland.

Currently 90 percent of the UK’s oil revenues, worth around 200 billion pounds in the past 30 years, come from the Scotland. With oil production set to fall in the coming decades, however, economic success will also depend on Scotland’s wealth of other natural resources, including wind power, water and hydroelectric power.