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> blog:  How should Scotland vote?

There a further issues with this referendum.

Firstly, if, in a relationship, one person walks out, the other person does have a right to express an opinion.  If the Scots are going to break up the relationship between them and the rest of the United Kingdom, the rest of the United Kingdom is entitled to a vote, too.  Anything else in undemocratic.  Relationships are two way things.

Of course, I am not suggesting we live in a democratic country, but such flagrant denial of basic rights is an injustice.

Secondly, I see today (9 September 2014) that the Queen has caused her press officers to inform us that she has no wish to influence the vote one way or another.  But her stated opinion in, for example, her silver jubilee speech, makes it clear that she does have an opinion.  And, why should she not express it?  Monarchs in the past would not have been so shy.

Dragging in the peace making process in Northern Ireland (and the supposed value of the Queen’s neutrality there) is an interesting point.  Should she have been so above the contest there?  This is not to say that a position above the debate isn’t a valid and desirable one.  But the Queen isn’t a columnist on the Spectator or the Guardian.  She is head of state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and for her not to have an opinion on rifts between member countries of this union is unbelievable;  and, not to state it publicly, is a dereliction of duty.

Thirdly, I have to say I have a lot of sympathy with those Scots who wish to become independent.

The idea that the three “leaders” of the UK (but read English) political parties up sticks and go to Scotland to campaign [on 10 September], when it is well known that they are figures of derision in Scotland;  at the last minute, many postal votes having already been made;  with the promise of “extra powers”, which they haven’t had the courtesy to articulate because they don’t have the basic communication skills to work them out, illustrates a degree of contempt for the Scots which it is hard to get one’s head around.

If you wanted to ensure that the Scots voted for independence, you couldn’t have gone about it in a better way.

Related material:
>  blog:  Are referendums democratic?

by Jeremy Marchant . image:  Free images