The end of the UK, has consequences for us all (even the English)

The idea that Scottish separation would be "business as usual" for the rest of the UK is just nonsense; it is the start of something much bleaker. 

The rest of the United Kingdom, or “r-UK”, as it now commonly being termed as; has as much to lose out of a possible vote for separation as Scotland. There are many people within England- mainly in the south who are oblivious to the consequences of separation, and what that would truly mean for the remainder of the United Kingdom; especially on the international stage.

I understand why many in England may think that if Scotland left, then it would be more or less business as usual; yet it wouldn't be. The United Kingdom would lose 10% of its population and a considerable amount of its landmass overnight- a laughingstock to our foes, known only as a pathetic weak rump state; with a government that couldn't tame a separatist movement.

The breakup of the United Kingdom may not even end at Scotland- but could overtime lead to the entire British Isles being plunged back into the dark ages. The rise of separatist identities, along with the bitter taste of Scottish independence; could well lead to the English asking why they should continue to subsidise Wales and Northern Ireland; what do they get out of this new rump disunited kingdom?

This inner constitutional debate within the new rump state would be a hot political topic- the question of identity would certainly be at the forefront of politics in the r-UK. What does this new state identify with? A British identity; only associated with a former unified Britain, or does it slowly start to accept a more separatist tune; something that can only possibly lead to a more divided Britain- that pushes Wales and Northern Ireland away, and accepting that the once United Kingdom, is simply no more.

This idea that Scottish separation has no consequences for the rest of the UK is of course complete nonsense. Nationalism and separatism is a virus, once it has achieved to divide Scotland; it will then latch onto England- putting greed and identity at the heart of this new separatist movement. This would be at the fault of the Scots; who would have so blindly and naively voted for separation- yet not realising that this vote didn't just mark the start of Scottish secession, but Welsh and English too- kick-starting the balkanisation of the British Isles, with serious knock-on consequences for us all.

This unstable situation and weakening of the former United Kingdom would have global powers in uproar. The UK has a duty as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to uphold peace and security- while at the same time our peace and security would be compromised by a nationalist government in Edinburgh. Threatening to remove UK nuclear deterrent from what would have been British waters- this instability and uncertainty would raise serious questions over the UK’s permanent seat- especially at a time when the growing force of India is quietly waiting to replace the UK as the 5th permanent member.

The decline of the UK would certainly pave way for the rebalancing of Western dominance over international affairs. India being used as a perfect example- advocating that it would be perfectly legitimate for the r-UK to step-down as a permanent member, it has diminished in size and in strength- it has a balkanising situation taking place with the Scottish government pressing for the disarmament of UK nuclear weapons from its waters. There is also the matter of a new separatist crisis; the rise of English separatism, leading to the slow and painful split of what is left of the former UK. This is not a member worthy of a permanent seat; it is a member in crisis- and would inevitably lead to the end of British dominance on the world stage.

A “Yes” in September doesn't just end at Scotland- it has profound consequences for us all within the UK and most definitely around the world. It would weaken our influence on the global stage; it would lead to the inevitable end of the r-UK rump state- and would put the British Isles back into a divided time- with no way back to what was once a remarkable feat in history.

How do you explain to future generations of children around the British Isles- that there was a point in time when these nations were united, that we had powerful influence over global affairs and that we worked together to achieve much more- to only to submit to nationalism and separatism- an inward thinking ideology that promotes hate and division. We shouldn't, that is why all of us within the UK need to realise the importance of this vote, and the consequences it holds not only for Scotland but also for the rest of the UK and the world.

Scottish Nationalism, an Infantile disease

Scottish nationalism has become more or less accepted within Scottish politics, but it is much more sinister than we're led to believe.

Nationalism was said to be an “infantile disease” by Albert Einstein, and those words have never been more distinguished now in Scotland- than at any other time, especially after more than 7 years of nationalist leadership within the Scottish Parliament.

There is an argument within the nationalist community; that what is representative in Scotland is a more “civic nationalism”, nonetheless this ideology has flag waving and identity at its core, yet it doesn't seem to end in flag waving and national pride.

The nationalism that is put forward by Alex Salmond and his government, and what is seen on our TV screens is certainly portrayed as “civilised”- but this has taken decades of work by SNP propagandist machines to move from the vile and bitter anti-English based nationalism, to what we have now; which is nothing but a cloak to cover the reality of what nationalism really is; in modern day Scotland.

Facebook and Twitter are the places where true nationalism within Scotland is shown- where nationalists put up their feet, take off their kilts, and unleash the true bitterness of what Scottish nationalism really represents. The nationalism we have in Scotland is the same nationalism of what has been reminiscence of every nation that has ever been gripped by this horrid, filthy and utterly shameful plague.

It won’t take you long before you get a taste of the real Scottish nationalism; the anti-Englishness hatred that is put across on social media platforms- many people say these individuals are “cybernats”; these people are sadly mistaken, they are simply “Scottish nationalists” venting their true sentiment, and allowing us all to realise that “civic nationalism” does not exist in Scotland.

This was never more evident than just a few days ago when JK Rowling raised perfectly legitimate concerns over separation, and was then targeted by a number of what seemed like the SNP’s very own “brownshirts”. This isn’t anything new, it has happened to every business, celebrity, public figure and more concerning, an ordinary mum from Glasgow, who all opposed the idea of breaking up Britain- to only receive death threats and vile abuse from these nationalists.

If you want proof that these nationalists are in their masses, then look no further than any Scottish orientated political article on the web- where at least one will be sticking up for their beloved SNP government and Alex Salmond, making sure nobody says anything out of SNP and pro separation tune.

This idea that people feel so emotionally connected to a specific leader, government and identity, is foreign to many outwith Scotland. In the nationalists’ eyes, the SNP government and Alex Salmond can do no wrong; because they have what the other Scottish political parties don’t have- a one issue reason to exist, a dream based on assertions and a unifying hatred against the United Kingdom.

The referendum will be over in less than 100 days; in which we could finally see the start of a more civilised political agenda in Scotland- with parties that actually put the fabric of society at the heart of their existence and not geopolitics. How the SNP can claim Scotland as “progressive”, while they quietly support their followers to attack individuals who oppose their views, is utterly disgraceful.

Those within the SNP, joined the SNP to end the United Kingdom- their nationalist followers have given their complete loyalty to our dear First Minister; this is what is terrifying, and I hope that on September 19^th the hate from these nationalists ends- if not, we could be faced within an even bleaker prospect that this doesn't end, and the politics of Scotland will forever continue to be plagued by this infantile disease. 

A settlement that should be based on devolution, not identity

The current settlement is based on national identity, opposed to a devolved body working to decentralise power and spread to local authorities. 

We are in the last few months of finding out whether Scotland remains part of the United Kingdom or separates; a separation that would be costly, aggressive and uncertain.  The stakes have never been higher and we who oppose separation have everything to lose, we have our country, identity and our currency all on the line- as well as much more.

 The nationalists however can win either way, they can still remain Scottish within the UK, and they can have an even larger platform to spread their nationalist-separatist agenda whichever way this referendum goes. After the referendum their platform which enables them to wage war on British unification and peace will inevitably gain more powers, with all three unionist parties agreeing to some new degree of autonomy.

New powers for the Scottish Parliament isn’t a bad thing- I agree that it needs more responsibility; it has to raise the money that it would like to spend. The blame game that the SNP continually put across has to stop, there can be no blaming Westminster when the Scottish Parliament is by large responsible for what it raises and spends in revenue.

All this talk of new powers does not address a fundamental flaw in the devolved settlement. The Scottish Parliament gaining more control over specific areas allows it to assert its influence more, and with a nationalist government this of course means that a very patriotic or nationalistic Scottish tune is implemented into new areas of Scottish executive control.

 This undermines the United Kingdom as a country, imagine a new Scottish customs and revenue, or the abandonment of British Transport Police- being phased out or replaced with something very Scottish- this in return over a long period of time will have Scots questioning the need for union- when the UK government has little or no importance to them in daily life.

The Answer is simple, we must not allow every ounce of power given to the Scottish Parliament to be ultimately centralised and painted with a nationalistic brush. The SNP government (if handed full control over welfare and benefits) would have every job centre in Scotland painted white and blue- with portraits of our dear leader Alex Salmond insight for all to see.  The evidence is already there, greener Scotland, healthier Scotland and all the other Scottish government nationalistic tainted programs for promoting Scotland as a nation, making sure we have the trademarks of separatism and nationalism in our faces at every opportunity.

There is a new consensus, in that the Scotland office should be given the ultimate responsibility over promoting Scotland within the UK all year round- yes it has being doing so at a satisfying rate since the start of the referendum; this shouldn’t end on the 19^th of September.

The Scotland office should have a core responsibility of promoting Scotland as a major part of the United Kingdom, to not only counter a heavy Scottish nationalist government, but for the sake of the future of our country, so that there is always a presence of UK unity in Scotland, and why it is worth staying part of our United Kingdom.

The UK government should being doing much more in assuring that the Scottish government does not exploit powers for separatist means. Devolution can work for unionism, only if it works with unionism- this is what the UK government and unionist parties need to understand.

The proposals by Scottish Labour to weaken the centralised Scottish Parliament and devolve more powers locally to residents are a prime example of what devolution should be used for. Devolution shouldn’t be a tool for separatism, or to promote nationalism. It should be used to deliver powers from central government and for the established body in Scotland to then deliver the powers equally between local authorities.

What has happened with devolution in Scotland thus far has been a failure; Scotland does not have devolution in a real sense. It has a centralised Scottish Parliament with a thriving nationalistic identity, with a government that does not share powers, but retains them- and exploits powers to disunite Scotland from the UK.

If Scotland had devolution, then the emergency services, educational establishments and other controlled responsibilities would have stayed in constituent parts, and not grouped into larger bodies such as Police Scotland and the merging of Scotland’s colleges. These bodies in question have also been branded largely Scottish- there is a clear political motive in regards to these mergers, and the SNP should be held accountable for them.

The problem we have in Scotland is clear, in 1997 Scotland was mistakenly given a devolved settlement primarily based on identity, and not based on the idea of real devolution. Scotland was given a parliament to serve national identity; not to serve local people, education, health or emergency services, yes the Scottish Parliament has control over these matters- but that is the problem- the Scottish Parliament has and always could have too much control being centralised in Holyrood over the powers that it receives from an equally as large UK centralised parliament- meaning devolution never really happens.

Scots have effectively been given a new Parliament, which does not recognise itself as a devolved piece of legislation, but as a national parliament that serves the people of Scotland, and in that you will find it very difficult for this symbolic body to transfer powers further to local authorities, especially with a nationalist separatist government in power.

If anything this referendum will open up the new debate on devolution; not how we can just give the Scottish Parliament new powers, but how we can make the powers go further down the chain of hierarchy and work for Scotland locally, ensuring Scotland has a devolved settlement that works for everybody in Scotland and not just the minority of separatists.