| Topic: | After the No vote, here’s eight steps to an independent Scotland | |
| Posted by: | Phil Andrews | |
| Date/Time: | 21/09/14 22:06:00 |
| Here’s how it might just happen in eight steps, in a destructive and disastrous process which could have started just a week ago… Step one: The Westminster leaders, facing the possible break-up of the 307-year-old union, make a last-minute bid for votes by promising a massive transfer of powers from Westminster to Holyrood in the event of a ‘No’ vote. Step two: After Scotland votes 55-45 in favour of sticking with Britain the entire Conservative party kicks up a stink, complaining that they don’t want to give Scotland more powers without getting more for England too. Step three: Ed Miliband realises this is a not-very-secret bid to try and gives the Tories more power – because Labour has two-thirds of the Scottish MPs who could be excluded from voting on English-only issues in Westminster. Step four: Miliband calls for a constitutional convention, to try and kick the issue into the long grass, while Cameron and the Tories insist that it’s only fair the English get to have their say too. The result is a standoff. Both sides are half-right: while the English do deserve more powers, Miliband was right to assume last week’s rushed deal didn’t commit him to this. This is where we’ve got to right now. It’s far from clear what happens next. One side must back down – but if they don’t, there’s only trouble ahead. I reckon the worst-case scenario might look something like this: Step five: The political impasse deepens into deadlock. Miliband doesn’t budge because doing so would mean sacrificing any chance of a majority at the next general election. Cameron can’t shift his position either, because of the sheer pressure from Tory MPs. Step six: The nationalists are enraged – and justifiably so. Alex Salmond’s claim that the ‘vow’ for more Scottish powers was the only reason he lost the referendum seems a fair one. Mass demonstrations take place across Glasgow, which voted to leave the UK. Pressure grows. Step seven: At May 2016’s Scottish elections, the SNP are elected back into power off the back of a campaign demanding one thing: another referendum. They’re returned with an increased majority, once again setting up the prospect of the end of the union. The 2014 vote was supposed to settle the matter for a generation – but given the broken promise in Westminster, everyone has to accept the Scottish deserve another chance to have their say. Step eight: Scottish voters turn out in droves to back ‘Yes’. Acknowledgements to The Metro at http://metro.co.uk/2014/09/21/after-the-no-vote-heres-eight-steps-to-an-independent-scotland-4876719/ |