Effie Deans

One of the things that independence grants a country is choice. For example, an independent Scotland could decide to join the Euro. Alternatively, it could decide to set up a Scottish pound. There would rightly be a great deal of indignation in Scotland, if someone else tried to limit our newly won independence by saying …

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Apr 25

Scotland is a part of Britain, but so is Britain a part of Scotland

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A set of quite unlikely historical circumstances led to Scotland becoming part of the United Kingdom. The first of these was that Henry VIII’s sister, Margaret Tudor, married James IV of Scotland, who died fighting the English at Flodden. The second unlikely circumstance was that none of Henry VIII’s legitimate children gave birth to an …

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Apr 16

Could an independent Scotland avoid austerity?

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There have been a lot of complaints recently from Scottish independence supporters about cuts and austerity. Leaving the UK is portrayed as a way of avoiding all of the nasty things that the Conservatives are once again doing to us Scots. Not only would we get rid of the “bedroom tax” and other such horrors, …

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Apr 04

Independence weighed in the balance

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Some Scots support independence come what may and nothing would change their minds. Other Scots want the UK to continue and are just as fixed in their view. But for those people who have not already decided, the debate is really a matter of weighing up the potential advantages and disadvantages of independence. The fact …

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Mar 25

A halfway house would not deliver the benefits of independence

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The economic crisis, which began in 2008, has provided us with a number of lessons. The latest chapter of this evolving story involving Cyprus provides another. One of the most important morals to the story is that there are benefits to a country being independent. Take the example of Iceland. This small country, with a …

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Mar 11

The difference between a compatriot and a foreigner

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In the debate about Scottish independence, there is a great deal of claim and counter-claim. Even those of us who follow the debate closely find it difficult to know for sure what is truth and what is spin. When trying to point out the advantages of independence, nationalists are naturally biased in their arguments by …

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Feb 26

The implications of independence

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Supporters of Scottish independence have often relied on the strategy of portraying secession as something wholly advantageous and with no negative consequences. Nationalists know that there are lots of things that the Scottish people like about being in the UK. They attempt to argue therefore, that these things would continue after separation. They even try …

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Feb 17

Should England have its own parliament?

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The issue of whether England should have its own parliament is mainly a matter for English people. But a Scottish unionist can, of course, be interested in political developments in the rest of Britain. Being both Scottish and British, whatever happens in England is a matter also for me. England, after all, is a part …

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Feb 07

A tale of two referendums

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The news that the UK might finally get an in/out referendum on EU membership by the end of 2017 will clearly have some influence on Scotland’s referendum on membership of the UK. The debate about what would happen to Scotland’s EU membership if we became independent has become a tangled web of claim and counter-claim …

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Feb 01

Is unionism a form of nationalism?

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