Great Britain is a country in Europe. It consists of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. But, what if Scotland wasn’t part of this country? The thought of an independant nation and the freedom to make their own laws has been debated for centuries. This growing nationalism led to some devolution of power from the UK parliament to establish the Scottish Parliament in 1998. This gave some lawmaking powers to Scotland. For example, legislation on education. The majority party in the Scottish parliament, the Scottish Nationalist Party, has taken this one step further and has fought and won for a vote to be taken on full Scottish independence in September, 2014.
This is an interesting dilemma. I was born in Scotland and the majority of my family lives there. I didn’t live there for very long after I was born, in fact, it was only a year. I don’t know what my family over there is thinking, but I do know that one of my parents is voting yes and the other is voting no.
The United Kingdom became a sovereign state in 1707 with the political union of England and Scotland to become Great Britain. For many people in Scotland it was a hostile merger and during the 18th century there were many battles where Scotland fought for independence. For example, the battle of Culloden in 1746 - a Scottish defeat. Scottish people are very patriotic and proud of their traditions and culture. They take pride in the poetry of Robert Burns, the gorgeous landscapes, the popularity of golf to name just a few.
There are two campaigns, the “Yes” and the “No”. The Yes campaign has several arguments for why is is the ideal choice for Scotland. If Scotland was it’s own country, the economy would be much better. Scotland owns a large share in oil. It wouldn't have to be divided between the rest of the UK(which it currently is) if Scotland gained independence. If Scotland had independence, as a country, it could integrate itself more into Europe. It could set up ties with Nordic countries such as Norway and Denmark.
But, there are also many arguments for the No campaign. Britain owes many debts to various countries in Europe. If Scotland gained independence, Britain wouldn’t be able to pay of his debts. Also, Scotland would still part of EU. But, as part of a smaller country, there would be a smaller voice of Scotland in the world.
So, in conclusion, I don’t know if the Yes campaign or the No campaign is going to win. I don’t live there so I don’t really have an opinion. I think that Scotland has been part of Great Britain for so long, it would be hard to split. On the other hand, there are many new horizons that could happen if the results ended up as being no.
