“Should I stay or should I go?” will be the question on the minds of many Scots over the next few weeks.
Scotland’s Referendum will be decided one way or another on September 18th. I must admit I was very disheartened and felt slightly betrayed when I first heard this was going to a vote. I don’t want to imagine a United Kingdom without our compatriots to the North, nor a Union Jack without the blue of the Saint Andrews Cross. I have a fond love for Scotland. Edinburgh being the city where I chose to spend my last New Year’s Eve a few days before I left to live in America.
Naively I wondered how Scotland was going to manage without us, but on closer inspection it may well be more how are we going to manage without them…..I have spoken to many Scottish members of Brits in LA to see what their views are, in the hope of getting a clearer picture. It seems the majority are truly on the fence, or perhaps just not interested either way. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and explore this topic further. This is such an important decision that affects all of us in one way or another, therefore we need to make an informed vote.
Westminster is encouraging people to vote No on independence. Of course, my first thought was that they are terrified of losing the revenue from North Sea oil. No surprise there, as the coveted black gold has made Aberdeen the second wealthiest city in the UK behind London. As it turns out Scotland has plenty of other reasons why it might be tired of sharing the wealth and England more fearful of losing it. For starters, (pardon the pun), Scottish salmon is in high demand all around the world, and Scotch whisky has recently been touted as a better investment than wine; that’s probably where Sir Alex Ferguson reinvested his profits from the sale of his £2m wine collection!
The hugely successful video game series, Grand Theft Auto is a product of Dundee. In fact, the list of Scottish innovations and exports are almost endless. Their contribution to the British economy is huge and in my opinion vital to the United Kingdom, making it the sixth largest national economy in the world. Scotland’s independence is a bit of a gamble, and in the current financial climate, voters may want to take heed of HSBC’s Scottish born chairman Douglas Flint, who says: ‘splitting it would be a tragedy’ and is planning to vote No in September. However, if I had a vote I may well be inclined to vote Yes. A complete turn around from my initial impulse, I know but that was based on romanticism and nostalgia. Looking at the state of the Westminster government, who currently have a Prime Minister that no one voted into power, I am starting to understand the appeal of independent control, especially when it comes to making decisions on how to spend their hard-earned money. Either way, the Scots will still be part of the British Isles (and always welcome as part of Brits in LA!) whether they are residents of the United Kingdom or not. One question to ponder is whether they will reinstate the currency of the Unicorn…?
Would love to hear your views on this, so feel free to share your thoughts on our Facebook page or email us at info@britsin.la
To participate in this referendum you must be registered to vote in Scotland and also be a resident, but not necessarily Scottish. Deadline to register to vote is midnight on September 2nd. There is an option for those of you who are out of the country but are anxious to have your say. You can nominate a trusted person to vote for you by proxy. You can find all the information at www.ScotReferendum.com. I will also post the website information on our blog The Anglo Files (britsinla.blogspot.com) but feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions. eileen@britsin.la
Craig and I are the quizmasters for our Tuesday Trivia/Pub Quiz at the Pikey next week. So come and join us if you can. All info can be found on our website www.britsin.la
Yours aye (as they say north of the border)…
Eileen
