Scottish National Flag

The latest survey by pollsters YouGov may show the YES vote now in front and clearly Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond has done an excellent job in heading his independence campaign. However, UK PM David Cameron’s ‘hands-off’ disinterested approach could be disastrous for his person political future if the Scots do go for independence, don’t you think?

Only ten days to go, and certainly the poll, though too close to call & NOT including the ‘Don’t Knows’, showing a disastrous turn around against the NO – Better Together camp, now in a state of panic, with their opponents a couple of points ahead (from being a mile behind only weeks ago!), has certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons hasn’t it? Cameron’s blatant refusal to get deeply involved in the debate, or even take on Salmond, is typical of his lazyitis which has applied throughout to his style of Premiership. The worrying problem is that he doesn’t seem to even care about the infamy of going down in history as the man who lost us Scotland. [The SNP say they are in fact eight points ahead now!]

The Queen ‘will not be amused’ at losing a large part of her kingdom, will she? Gone will be her favourite retreat at Balmoral, Highland Games, and the hunting fishing lifestyle beloved by the Royal family. Cameron’s rich cohorts will be equally displeased as their lording it over the Scots and their grouse shooting, salmon fishing, deer stalking & killing and the like with be a bit more curtailed.

Make no mistake, Scottish Independence will hurt the UK and England in particular, constitutionally, economically, culturally, sportingly, and politically.

Scotland has become a political nightmare for the Tories (without a single MP in 1997 and only ever one since 2001), but a stronghold for Labour and its representation in Parliament. Ed Miliband will see his chances of being the next Prime Minister going down the plughole if the Scots vote for Independence (his 41 sitting MPs will remain in post, but will NOT be in the full next Parliament after next year’s general election). The prediction is that, as things stand, without the Scottish MPs Labour will NOT be the largest UK party after the election and independence.

From the Scots point of view voting YES should be a no brainer – the chance of self determination without the normal bloodshed associated with achieving that. Opportunities to regain their national identity again, benefit from their own skills & hard work, gain from the country’s assets & resources, paddle their own canoe, and sink or swim, as they say.

Some sixty countries and territories formerly ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, or part of the British Empire, have previously gained their independence (not always without bloodshed).

However, the Scots will probably balk it at the twelth hour won’t they? The ‘uncertainties’ are the Achilles heel of the YES campaign surely? The Scots have long ago lost their tradition guts after 350 years being ruled from London, and when ultimately massacred at the Inverness battle of Culloden two hundred and fifty years ago. Many of the still ‘undecided’ voters have been frightened silly and ‘put-down’ as incapable of running their country, by the anglised Scots fighting the English corner. Instead of thinking of voting for their ‘freedom’, they will be voting for ‘will they be better-off’!

There is an analogous situation between Scotland and Quebec Canada perhaps? There, they have had two independence referendums in thirty five years (both lost!) with the last one twenty years ago – a close call that, with only a two point difference (unbelievably voters having to interpret a ‘forty three word’ question!). The Yes vote had a late spurt, was expected to win, but fell at the last hurdle – a last minute offer of ‘further power devolvement’ trumped the Yes cards (déjà vu, exactly what offered TODAY by the NOs to the ‘undecided’s’ in Scotland!) – Scots be warned, eh?

[NO country has been under England’s control longer than Scotland, has it?]

INDEPENDENT already