By nmbutler3
With all the political uproar about the government shutdown occupying the news both back home in the States and even here in the UK, I figured it’d be a good time to finally familiarize myself with the current state of political affairs here Scotland, especially since Edinburgh is the capital. I also figured it was about time I find out what all the “Independent Socialist Scotland” and unionist posters that coat telephone booths, news boxes and alley walls throughout the city meant. So, here is what I’ve found out in my week of on-the-ground research:
Basic Set-up of UK v. Scottish Political Structure:
1. Scotland, although its own country, is part of the UK and Great Britain.
1a. Great Britain includes England, Scotland, Whales and Northern Ireland.
1b. British does NOT equate to English, but rather anyone from Great Britain. In fact, a lot of people, especially younger generations, identify as British over a specific country ethnicity, like Scottish or Welsh, because there is so much overlap and movement of people across borders within the UK.
2. Although much of Scottish policy comes from the British parliament in London, Scotland also has its own devolved parliament that operates here in Edinburgh in an iconic building.
2a. The Parliamentary building does not contain a single right angle, interior and exterior structure included.
3. Despite a semi-independent government, Scotland still receives a significant portion of its funding from the British government.
Current Affairs & The Referendum:
1. The message behind the posters, is the coming referendum for independence that Scotland is in the process of deciding upon. This is easily the biggest issue on the political plate here and a topic of heated debate almost anywhere you go.
1a. The referendum would declare Scotland an independent state from the United Kingdom and Great Britain, similar to Ireland.
1b. Talks of the referendum first seriously began in 2007, and the actual vote for independence will take place on September 18, 2014.
1c. The Referendum Bill is possible because “Royal Assent” will be given, meaning essentially that it is the decision of the Scottish Parliament, rather than the British Parliament.
2. In November, the official White Paper, as well as the unionist proposals will be published.
3. The vote is split, but it’s very difficult to determine just how evenly it is split.
3a. The young vote will be key for both sides, similar to the importance of the young vote in the 2008 presidential election.
3b. Because of this, residents need only be 16 to vote.
3c. Not all young Scots want independence. Take my flatmate for example. She is very much against it, both economically and nationalistically, as she considers herself British more than Scottish.
4. You can vote as on the referendum as long as you are a current resident of Scotland, which includes 366, 755 English-born citizens, as well as 32,049 Northern Irish and 15,120 Welsh-born citizens.
4a. If you were born in Scotland, but currently live elsewhere in the UK, you cannot vote. That includes nearly 800,000 Scottish-born individuals.
5. The bill only needs more than 50% of the vote to pass. There is no turnout requirement.
I still haven’t figured out all the details, so I can’t make much of an opinion on the matter, but it is definitely one of the more difficult aspects of everyday Scottish life to relate to. The referendum is a daily conversation for a lot of people here, even if they are not very political, but it is difficult to relate anything similar actually happening in the US; just imagine a state voting to remove itself from the country. Sure, there are petitions and jokes that Texas and other states will succeed, but to take those notions as a serious option is somehow unfathomable.