Scotland to ask for another independence referendum
Nicola Sturgeon says it's necessary to protect Scotland's interests.
Scottish independence: Nicola Sturgeon to seek second referendum
Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed she will ask for permission to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence.
Ms Sturgeon said she wanted a vote to be held between the autumn of 2018 and the spring of the following year.
The Scottish first minister said the move was needed to protect Scottish interests in the wake of the UK voting to leave the EU.
She said she would ask the Scottish Parliament next week to request a Section 30 order from Westminster.
The order would be needed to allow a fresh legally-binding referendum on independence to be held.
Prime Minister Theresa May has so far avoided saying whether or not she would grant permission…
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Labels: EU, politics, Scotland, UK
ScotExit
The divisions in the UK remain and might be getting more serious.
Anger as Michael Fallon dismisses second referendum
Scottish nationalist politicians have reacted angrily after a senior British minister said the UK would not support a second independence referendum.
 |
| Fallon |
In an interview with Scottish newspaper The Herald on Wednesday, Britain's Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said nationalists could "forget" about UK help for another vote.
Calls for a second referendum over Scottish independence have increased since Scotland, unlike England, voted to remain in the European Union by a margin of 62 percent to 38…
The SNP has made continued membership of the EU, particularly its single market, one of their flagship policies. Its leaders have threatened another independence vote to ensure that Scotland remains.
Fallon's comments drew angry rebukes from senior Scottish politicians, including Sturgeon…
"Not content with trying to drag us out of EU against our will, with the support of just one MP out of 59 in Scotland, they are now suggesting they might try to block the nation's right to choose a different path.
"Any Tory bid to block a referendum would be a democratic outrage, but would only succeed in boosting support for both a referendum and for independence itself" [a spokesperson for Sturgeon said].
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Labels: Brexit, leadership, politics, Scotland, UK
Rival loyalties in Scotland
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has made it clear that she prefers Scotland to be part of the EU, but it could remain in the UK if given the power to be in the single market.
SNP's Nicola Sturgeon announces new independence referendum bill
A consultation gets under way next week on plans for a second Scottish independence referendum, the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.
She told the party's Glasgow conference that an Independence Referendum Bill would be published next week.
It marks the first step to holding a second vote…
However, Scottish Secretary David Mundell called on Ms Sturgeon to "commit her government to working constructively with the UK government to seize the opportunities that will bring, not taking Scotland back to the divisive constitutional debates of the past"…
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The Comparative Government and Politics Review Checklist.
Two pages summarizing the course requirements to help you review and study for the final and for the big exam in May. . It contains a description of comparative methods, a list of commonly used theories
, a list of vital concepts, thumbnail descriptions of the AP6,
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Labels: economics, leadership, Scotland, UK
Another analysis Scotland's independence movement
Mark Porubcansky, Foreign Editor of the
Los Angeles Times, offers this bit of analysis.
How Scotland's independence movement is changing the UK
This isn’t exactly the solid, stable old Britain that Americans love.
After throwing a scare into the country’s political elite, Scots voted in September against independence. So a political union that predates the American revolution will stay in place — at least a while longer.
But by seriously considering breaking up the country, Scotland has helped launch a debate that may fundamentally change how America’s closest ally functions.
Think of the issue as a British version of the U.S. struggle to define where Washington’s power ends and state authority takes over…
Many Scots have felt increasingly at odds with the UK’s national government for decades. While “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher was popular enough to become Britain’s longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century, her policies were widely detested in Scotland. And Scots see little more than a continuation of them in the quarter of a century since she left office…
In late November, the so-called Smith Commission return its report on Scottish autonomy. Among its recommendations: that Scots be given the power to set income tax rates and retain the money raised by it; that they be able to decide whether to extend the right to vote to 16-year-olds; and that the Scottish parliament be free to create new benefits.
Cameron said he was “delighted” with it. The Scottish National Party was disappointed, saying that the authority over the vast majority of revenue and spending would remain in London…
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said, “If you think today’s constitutional changes are only about Scotland, think again,” he said. “If you think they will end the debate about Scottish independence, think again. If you think they mark the end of a process of change, think again.”
Now, mayors of major cities across England said they should be given the same powers as the Scots…
The Scottish National Party's, former First Minister Alex Salmond, widely recognized as one of Britain’s wiliest politicians, resigned as the head of Scotland’s government… But he hasn’t left the scene. He stirred the pot on Sunday by announcing that he would run for a seat in parliament in London.
With his party gaining in the polls, Salmond is setting himself up to be a national power broker. Cameron’s foes in the Labor Party can’t beat him outright without a strong showing in Scotland. The Scottish National Party says it will never support the Conservatives. But it might be willing to back a Labor government, for a price. And that price would be likely to take Britain back to the future — an intensified debate over autonomy (for Scots and others, as well) and possibly another vote on Scottish independence.
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Labels: devolution, politics, Scotland, UK
Devolution proposal in the UK
UK leaders promised. Scotland did not approve independence. Now come the promised reforms.
Panel Details Plan to Give Scotland More Powers
Scotland was promised sweeping powers over taxation and welfare spending…
The groundbreaking proposals have the backing of major political leaders in both England and Scotland, but a final vote on legislation to enact the changes is not expected until next year…
Under [these] proposals, the Scottish Parliament would have the power to set income tax rates, and some of the revenues from sales taxes raised in Scotland would go toward the Scottish budget. The Scottish government would also be able to control the duties imposed on passengers traveling through Scottish airports.
In addition, Scotland would gain significant control over welfare spending. Scotland generally leans more to the left than England and one of the main goals of many of those who pushed for secession was to be able to spend more liberally on social programs…
Legislation on the recommendations is expected to be drafted early next year and put in place by the government that will be formed after a general election in May…
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Labels: devolution, regime, rule of law, Scotland, UK
Scotland votes NO
(AP Comparative Government teachers breathe a sigh of relief.)
Well, and many other people celebrate while others sob. Can Scotland pull itself back together after such a close vote?
Scottish referendum: Scotland votes 'No' to independence
Scotland has voted to stay in the United Kingdom after voters decisively rejected independence.
With the results in from all 32 council areas, the "No" side won with 2,001,926 votes over 1,617,989 for "Yes"…
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Labels: devolution, Scotland, UK
Details on referendum results
Scottish referendum results won't be available until Friday morning in Edinburgh. Scotland is 5 hours ahead of EDT, so if you're up at 3:00AM in Boston or midnight in Seattle, look for the first results.
How will the Scottish referendum result be decided?
Polling stations close later this evening with the result expected Friday morning.
The BBC's Jeremy Vine explains how the votes will be counted.
[See video at BBC]
Labels: devolution, Scotland, UK
The last arguments
Everybody gets one last chance to change voters' minds.
Scottish independence: Campaigns seize on Scotland powers pledge
Both sides in the Scottish independence referendum debate have seized on a pledge by the three main Westminster parties to devolve more powers.
The pledge, signed by David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg, also promises equitable sharing of resources and preserving the Barnett funding formula.
The "Yes" campaign described it as an "insult" to voters and asked why it had taken so long to offer.
Better Together said it was "a vision around which Scotland can unite"…
The pledge signed by the Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem leaders appears on the front of the Daily Record newspaper.
The first part of the agreement promises "extensive new powers" for the Scottish Parliament…
The pledges were first outlined by the former prime minister, Gordon Brown, and endorsed by the three main unionist parties in Scotland.
On the penultimate day of campaigning ahead of Thursday's referendum, the "Yes" side is focusing on jobs and the NHS, while the "No" side is promising change and a "better Britain"…
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Labels: devolution, politics, Scotland, UK
Nation, state, country
This op-ed essay about the vote for Scottish independence is worth the time it takes to sort out the analysis (that includes references to Thomas Hobbes).
BTW, does writer Neil Irwin properly use the terms nation, state, country, government, and regime?
Why Does Scotland Want Independence? It’s Culture vs. Economics
It’s been a good three centuries, but now Scotland may want out of the United Kingdom.
The stakes are enormous for Scotland, and quite high for the rest of Britain. But the debate over Scottish independence also sheds important light on how debates over the nature of the state that are as old as Hobbes and Locke apply in a modern world of instant communication and cryptocurrency.
 |
| Alex Salmond, Scottish leader |
The latest polling on the referendum, to be held Sept. 18, points to a narrow edge for Scots who wish to pull out of the state that they have been part of since 1707 and go it as a nation of their own. Previous polls, by contrast, had given the edge to those who wish for Scotland to remain part of Britain. Both betting markets and forecasting groups are now putting the odds that Scotland will pull away and form its own state at something like 30 percent.
What’s all the more remarkable about this possible secession is that major, specific grievances over public policy between Scotland and the rest of Britain are hard to identify…
Many Scots feel as if they have more to gain from governing alongside people who look like them and talk like them than they have to lose from no longer being part of a bigger, more powerful nation…
One could point out that Britain as it exists today is the very model of a liberal democracy, that Scots are amply represented in Parliament, and that they have a great deal of control over day-to-day governance within their borders. The government has offered to expand those rights of local control over taxes and public administration if Scotland sticks with Britain. But it may not be enough…
In the 18th century, it was the creation of what is now the United Kingdom out of England, Scotland and Wales (and, presently, Northern Ireland). In the 19th century, it was the expansion of the United States to span a continent and the centralization of smaller states into what are now the nations of Germany and Italy. In the 20th century, it was the creation of the European Union, in which people from Finland to Portugal share a common market and common currency…
Among democracies, the march has been toward greater scale and reach, at the cost of less distinct national identity. There have been flare-ups of resentment in these large democracies… But none have come as close to getting their wish as the Scots will in just over a week…
If Scotland chooses to go independent, it will shed the advantages that come from being part of a relatively large global power (Britain’s population: about 64 million. Scotland’s population: about 5 million) for the chance to be governed by people with whom they share a deeper cultural affinity.
Paradoxically, pro-independence Scots have argued that they will recapture some of the advantages of size by joining the European Union. It seems slightly bonkers for Scots to get so frustrated about ceding power to bureaucrats in London and turn immediately to bureaucrats in Brussels, but there it is…
The Scottish referendum isn’t just about whether a few million Scots will govern themselves. It is a fight over the world of multicultural modernity that makes today’s global economy possible, but also leaves many people with a deep hunger for the sense of national identity it obliterates.
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Labels: culture, nation, politics, Scotland, state, UK
Panic time in London?
The latest poll shows Scottish independence likely to approved by voters. Leaders of all major parties in the UK are headed to Scotland to campaign against independence.
How would the regime in the UK change with Scottish independence? How would government change? How would sovereignty be affected? And the state?
Scottish independence: UK party leaders in No vote trip to Scotland
The leaders of the main UK parties are heading to Scotland to campaign against independence, ahead of the referendum.
Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband will abandon their weekly Prime Minister's Questions clash to head north on Wednesday.
It came as the Scottish pro-Union party leaders announced their backing for more powers for Scotland.
First Minister Alex Salmond said the campaign to keep the Union was now in "absolute panic".
Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will also be campaigning in Scotland, ahead of the 18 September referendum, although the three leaders will not travel or appear together.
In a joint statement they said: "There is a lot that divides us - but there's one thing on which we agree passionately: the United Kingdom is better together."…
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Labels: devolution, leadership, politics, Scotland, UK
Campaigning for Scotland's future
The campaign for "Better Together" (keeping Scotland part of the UK) is a campaign. "Yes Scotland," the independence theme describes something more like a social movement. Will the differences determine the outcome?
Aye’ll be back
DAVID CAMERON reckons people should think jolly hard before they vote in Scotland’s upcoming referendum on independence. As he and other unionist leaders often argue, the result on September 18th will be irreversible and binding…. Such entreaties seem to be working: the “no” to independence campaign has a comfortable poll lead.
 |
| Scottish nationalist |
A second warning lurks between the lines: if they vote “no”, Scots had better accept that outcome, too. There should be no “neverendum”; the term applied to Quebec’s decades-long deliberations over breaking from Canada. Whether or not this message will go heeded is less certain. The reason can be found in the comparison between the “yes” and “no” campaigns.
In Bathgate… Harry Cartmill, [is] counting out leaflets. Like many [in the Better Together campaign], he is also active in the unionist Labour Party. The drill here is as in election years: canvass swing voters by phone or in person, constantly refine the database and hit targets set by headquarters. They may not be terribly impassioned, but unionists are disciplined, dutiful and experienced.
If the “no” campaign is a machine, “yes” is a carnival… es Scotland, the official campaign, provides local groups with materials but otherwise lets them do what they want. Many canvass, but others prefer street stalls, film screenings and pop-up “independence cafes”… This is understandable: most Scots say they do not support independence; Yes Scotland has to win people over, not just induce them to vote.
Several larger nationalist initiatives have developed lives of their own. National Collective, a gathering of creative types, has toured Scotland putting on pro-independence arts and music festivals collectively known as “Yestival”. Other bodies, like Common Weal and Radical Independence, are marshalling idealistic ideas for an independent Scotland and connecting the “yes” campaign to other causes, like nuclear disarmament…
But raucousness can also alarm the undecided. Yes Scotland may have a larger online presence (including many more Facebook and Twitter followers), but this is polluted by “cyber-nationalists”: bloggers who harass unionists, peddle conspiracy theories and generally undermine the cause…
This spirited chaos may be making it harder to turn fizz into votes… Blair McDougall, director of Better Together, offers a related explanation: his side is more focused and better at using its canvassing to direct the campaign’s messages effectively. Nevertheless, his opponents are confident that energy and numbers will boost nationalist turnout on polling day. Canvassing consistently shows that “yes” voters are more passionate in their views than “no” ones, claims Blair Jenkins, who runs Yes Scotland.
The distinction between the campaigns has a second, bigger implication… Successful or not, that campaign will fold after September 18th. But the “yes” campaign is a movement… A group of them will meet in late August to discuss next steps after the referendum.
“If we lose, our anger will turn into determination,” predicts Robin McAlpine, director of Common Weal. He expects another referendum within five years if Scotland votes “no”. “Whether people move on is up to the nationalists,” adds Mr McDougall at Better Together. Thus looms the prospect of a “neverendum”. If unsuccessful, “yes” campaigners could import that decades-long limbo to Britain.
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Labels: devolution, politics, Scotland, UK
Dis-United Kingdom?
Next month's vote on independence for Scotland will be close. And debates have not persuaded many people to change their minds.
No Clear Winner as Scots Debate Independence
Despite fierce, sometimes angry, exchanges, a televised debate on Scottish independence from the rest of Britain failed to produce a decisive victor… a little more than six weeks before Scots vote.
Opinion polls indicate that Scots will reject independence on Sept. 18, making the two-hour confrontation particularly important for the leader of the campaign for independence, Scotland’s first minister, Alex Salmond, who has a reputation as a talented debater. Most commentators suggested, however, that he had not produced a knockout punch during the exchange with the leader of the campaign to keep the union, Alistair Darling. A Scottish newspaper, The Scotsman, declared online that a “fiery debate” had produced “no clear winner.” Each side proclaimed itself happy with the outcome…
 |
| Salmond (l) and Darling (r) |
In several exchanges, Mr. Salmond argued that Scotland was being run by political parties in London that Scots did not support. Mr. Darling focused on the uncertainty surrounding independence, including the issue of which currency it would use…
There were also impassioned exchanges over the issue of Scotland’s representation within Britain, with Mr. Salmond arguing that “for more than half of my life, Scotland has been governed by parties that we didn’t elect at Westminster,” referring to the government in London.
Mr. Darling responded that this was the outcome of democracy and that he had never voted for Mr. Salmond…
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Labels: devolution, leadership, politics, Scotland, UK
When, not if
Neal Ascherson, a Scottish journalist writing in
The New York Times, says he'll vote for independence, but even if the coming referendum fails, Scotland is on the road to independence.
Scottish Independence Is Inevitable
ONE thing is certain: Whatever the outcome, this referendum campaign is changing Scotland irrevocably. Whether the Scots vote yes or no to independence on Sept. 18, their sense of what is possible for this small nation will have been transformed…
This referendum… dares the Scots to go the last mile: proposing an independent Scottish state within the European Union, sharing a monarch… and possibly a currency, with the rump of the old United Kingdom.
At this moment, a majority for independence looks unlikely…
But it’s the smell, taste and sound of this campaign that should warn us that, this time, a no vote will not be the end of the story. Scotland is changing as we watch…
 |
| Flag of Scotland |
Where does this come from? In part, from economic confidence. Twenty years ago, postindustrial Scotland was dismissed as an economy shattered beyond repair. Now, even the British government and the “no” campaign admit that Scotland could survive and prosper and be a stable democracy on its own, given wise management of its North Sea oil wealth. The question is no longer “Can we?” It’s “Should we?”
The motives driving “yes” supporters are straightforward. Devolution… needs to be completed. The situation in which a Scottish government’s revenue comes as a block grant from London is irresponsible. The Edinburgh Parliament should be allowed to set and raise its own taxes.
British elections must no longer trample the will of the Scottish people: The Scots are solidly anti-Tory, returning just one Conservative M.P. to Westminster in the last three general elections, yet they are outweighed by southern English voters and regularly have to endure Conservative governments. Scotland should also be allowed to become a full member of the European Union, not a bolt-on to English interests.
 |
| Scottish currency |
Add social welfare to those motives. In Britain, it’s not only Conservative-led governments but “New Labour” ones as well that now seem committed to Thatcherite economics, to the steady privatization of health, education and welfare. Most Scots hate this…
If Scottish “yes” reasoning is not hard to grasp, neither is Scottish “no” reasoning. Some of it is material: People are not convinced that their living standards would survive independence, and would like firmer promises about pensions and interest rates. Some of it is fear for the economic safety of Scotland, turned loose among the giant predators stalking a globalized world.
Some of it is emotional: a feeling that Scottish and English societies are so closely integrated now that separation (a word the S.N.P. never uses) would be absurd, even anachronistic…
The English media and many politicians explain the independence movement by claiming that the Scots are obsessed by “anti-English racism.” My own experiences tell me the exact opposite. Scots, these days, have almost forgotten about England, so fascinated are they by their own country. (This is sour news for the English, who can bear being hated but not being overlooked.)…
I shall vote yes this September. The campaign has already taught me that if we don’t make it with this third referendum, there will be a fourth. It’s time to rejoin the world on our own terms.
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Labels: devolution, political culture, politics, Scotland, UK
Just The Facts! 2nd edition is a concise guide to concepts, terminology, and examples that will appear on May's exam.
