Better together

I got my renewed passport in the post today. My renewed UK passport. Many people who support the Yes campaign have been quite vocal about why they think you should vote Yes in the referendum in September, but those of us supporting the Better Together campaign have been rather quieter. I don’t usually state my views about politics, but I feel that the time has come to add my opinion.

I will be voting No in September. I don’t want to live in an independent Scotland. When I moved here a decade ago, I didn't want to be in a different country. I'm proud to be British and think there are lots of benefits for Scotland to stay as part of the UK. But we live in a democratic society and if there is a Yes vote, I will have to live with that.

One of the main arguments that I see as part of the Yes campaign is that Scotland didn’t vote for a Tory government. Neither did I and neither did many parts of the UK. Let’s say for arguments sake that the entirety of Yorkshire didn’t either (this is just an example; I have no idea how Yorkshire voted). You don’t see Yorkshire looking to become independent. That’s because in a democratic society, sometimes you don’t always get what you want. Crucially though, when that happens, it’s how you influence things that matters.

What I believe is the main part of the debate that is being overlooked is that even if Scotland does become independent, it doesn’t mean you’ll get what you want, or that anything will be better. Sure the campaigns make it sound like you do, but is anyone actually naïve enough to wholly believe a political party’s manifesto? And when did anyone trust Alex Salmond?

Looking back at my passport, if Scotland becomes independent, there are a lot of things, including (but not exclusively) basic infrastructure such as a passport agency, that will need to be set up. Where will that resource come from? Who will pay for that? Will the people of Scotland actually be any better off?

Scottish Parliament came into existence in 1999. Since then the following has been devolved:

· all health policy – apart from abortion, human fertilisation and embryology, genetics and vivisection
· agriculture, forestry and fishing
· education and training
· environment
· housing
· law and home affairs
· local government
· planning
· police and fire services
· social work
· some aspects of transport, including the Scottish road network and bus policy
· sport and the arts
· tourism and economic development

Parts of the Yes campaign promise improvements in some of these areas, for example education. But it is within Scotland's power to change these things now, and yet they don’t. So why don’t they? Because the leading party is using them politically to try to get people to vote yes. How is that in the interests of the Scottish people? I agree that there are still many functions that aren’t yet devolved that could be, so why aren’t we campaigning for that instead?

If Scotland becomes independent, there is no going back. Let me say that again, there is no going back. You can’t simply change your mind if you discover political campaigns were only that. The best you can do is try and influence things with the leading parties. The same situation that we are in within the UK now, except without the benefits of being part of the UK.

Voting No does not mean that you’re not Scottish; it just means that you can see the bigger picture. If you are voting yes, that is your right, but please take a moment to consider what you will lose and the implications of that.

Rant over.