Showing posts with label Scotland's independence. Show all posts
Wednesday 24 September 2014
Scottish nationalist Sturgeon says to run for leadership of independence party
(Reuters) - Scottish nationalist Nicola Sturgeon said on Wednesday she would run for the leadership of the Scottish National Party (SNP), a job that would make her Scotland's most powerful politician.
After failing to secure Scotland's backing for independence in a referendum last week, current SNP leader Alex Salmond said he would step down as First Minister and party leader.
"I am announcing today my candidacy to be the next leader of the SNP and the next First Minister of Scotland," Sturgeon, the 44-year-old deputy leader, told reporters in Glasgow, Scotland's biggest city.
"Independence is the best future for Scotland. And I am more convinced than ever that we will one day become an independent country," she said. "But that will happen only when the people of Scotland choose that course in the polling booth."
Last Thursday, Scots voted by 55 to 45 percent to reject secession, prompting British Prime Minister David Cameron to declare that the question of Scottish independence had been settled "for a generation".
Sturgeon, a solicitor before entering politics, made clear that while the long-term goal was independence, she would focus on holding London politicians to their promise of more powers to Scotland while building what she said was a fairer society.
"The process of strengthening and empowering the Scottish Parliament must now get under way in earnest," said Sturgeon, who spoke from behind a podium at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall that bore the slogan "Moving Scotland Forward".
"The people of Scotland have made clear that the need for new powers is urgent and irresistible. But as First Minister, my responsibility will also be to use those powers we already have to make life better - now - for those we serve."
Sunday 21 September 2014
SCOTLAND'S LEADER: VOTERS 'TRICKED' IN REFERENDUM
(AP) — The debate over Scotland's future fizzled amid a bitter war of words Sunday, with the Scottish leader claiming his countrymen were "tricked" into rejecting independence in a referendum and Britain's three main political parties bickering over how to take political reform forward.
Alex Salmond, Scotland's outgoing independence leader, accused politicians in London of reneging on their promises to hand more power to Scots in a rare cross-party pact that he said played a crucial role in swinging the votes in favor of union in Thursday's vote.
His comments came after Prime Minister David Cameron stressed that plans to empower Scots should be linked to constitutional reform in England — a stance that fractured the fragile political consensus and drew attacks from across the spectrum.
Just days earlier, Cameron and his political rivals had joined together in a vow to quickly pass laws to transfer key decision-making powers from London to Scotland's capital, Edinburgh. All three party leaders signed off on the pledge, which promised Scots new powers to decide on their tax, budget and welfare policies.
Since then, Cameron said those changes must be made "in tandem" with reform in the House of Commons to bar Scottish lawmakers from having a say on bills that only apply to England and Wales — a longstanding grievance that has come to the fore amid the debate.
He also said it won't be fair to devolve powers to Scotland without considering similar changes in the rest of the kingdom — England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
"Millions of people in the rest of the U.K. have been listening to these debates, watching this campaign and rightly asking: 'What will change for us? Why can't we have the same powers and the same rights as those in Scotland?'" Cameron wrote in the Mail on Sunday newspaper.
Critics say that throwing all those questions into one basket dilutes the three leaders' joint pledge, and will inevitably delay the timetable of the promised return of powers to Scotland.
"It's the people who voted No because they believed these commitments from the Westminster leadership — these are the people who are feeling most angry, most hurt, most disappointed in Scotland today," Salmond told the BBC. The politician has said he will step down as Scotland's first minister in November, after the failure of his pro-independence campaign.
All three British parties insisted they would fulfill their vow, though they clearly differed on the English reform question.
Nick Clegg, Cameron's deputy and leader of the coalition's junior party, the Liberal Democrats, said the promise to Scots "cannot be made contingent on other constitutional reforms." The opposition Labour Party's leader Ed Miliband similarly said that there could be "no ifs, no buts" about delivering new powers to Scotland.
Vernon Bogdanor, a leading constitutional expert who used to teach Cameron at Oxford University, joined others in questioning the prime minister's ability to deliver reform on time. Cameron had set a rapid timetable, calling for legislation to be published by January and passed before he calls elections.
"Constitutional changes should not be made in a rush or for party advantage," said Bogdanor, now at King's College London. "To try and get this through by January or February is absurd."
"He (Cameron) is normally laid back, thoughtful and consensual. He made the concessions without consulting Parliament, and, it appears, without consulting the Cabinet. This appears rushed and panicky," he added.
Tuesday 16 September 2014
NEXT TITLE: ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF SCOTS?
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Scotland
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Scotland's independence
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LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II can keep her magnificent Scottish castle at Balmoral should Scots vote for independence — and chances are she will be able to keep her role as well.
As Thursday's referendum nears, questions are being been raised about Scotland's future relationship with the monarchy if its people opt for independence. Although many details remain up in the air — Will the queen's title change? Will Scotland keep funding the monarchy? — it seems likely that the Scots will keep Elizabeth as their queen.
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QUEEN OF SCOTS?
Should the Yes campaign succeed, the signs are that the queen would remain the head of state of an independent Scotland — much in the same way she is the monarch of 15 countries from Jamaica to Canada to the Solomon Islands known as "Commonwealth Realms."
Elizabeth does not interfere in the governments of those countries but is regularly briefed on their affairs and plays an important ceremonial and symbolic role.
"She's queen of Australia, Canada — she could be Queen of Scots if the Scots wanted," said Vernon Bogdanor, a politics professor and constitutional expert at Oxford University.
"The Scots have said they will produce a written constitution, with the queen as head of state. These things work," he added.
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has been consistent in saying that he wanted to keep the queen — and her successors — in that role. This week he said he looked forward to her being "Queen of Scots," and said there is "substantial" goodwill in Scotland to support that prospect.
Polls have backed that view, though not everyone in the Yes camp agrees. Some politicians, including members of Salmond's Scottish National Party, have said they prefer to create a republic.
The constitutional details of how an independent Scotland can keep the monarchy — or in a less-likely scenario become a republic — are not yet clear.
Bogdanor said the British government would likely appoint a "governor general' to represent the queen in an independent Scotland, as has been done in Commonwealth countries. The person in that role would be appointed by the queen on the advice of the British prime minister, he said.
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SCOTTISH BLOOD
The queen has more Scottish blood than many other British monarchs — her mother came from an ancient aristocratic Scottish family. In addition, her affection for Scotland is well known.
Elizabeth traditionally spends three months each summer at Balmoral Castle, the private Scottish home for the royals since the 1850s. She also spends a week every year at Holyrood Palace, the monarch's official residence in Edinburgh.
"The queen most definitely has an affinity with Scotland. She has known it from a very early age and it's very much in her blood," said Joe Little, managing editor at Majesty magazine.
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WHAT DOES THE QUEEN THINK?
The queen is prohibited from taking sides in political debates and rarely makes her personal views public. Her official position, according to royal officials, is strictly impartial and "above politics."
Accordingly, she has stayed mum on Scotland — though she surprised many when she told well-wishers Sunday that Scots should think "very carefully about the future" before voting.
Those were her first — and only — comments on the issue.
The last time she spoke out in support of the U.K. was in 1977, when she used her Silver Jubilee speech to address calls for power to be devolved to Scotland and Wales. At the time, Elizabeth reminded audiences of the "benefits of union" for all U.K. residents.
Little, at Majesty magazine, believes the queen still holds that view.
"She would very much want the United Kingdom — her kingdom — to stay united," he said. "She's very much a traditionalist and would want things to remain as they are."
Chevron will stay in Scotland regardless of referendum, CEO says
(Reuters) - Chevron Corp will continue to extract oil and natural gas from the North Sea regardless of whether Scotland votes to stay or leave the United Kingdom, Chief Executive John Watson said on Tuesday.
"It's a choice for the Scottish people and the people of the U.K.," Watson said during an interview. "We've seen where countries and states have chosen to change, and we work to get along with the government in power."
Chevron is the tenth-largest oil and natural gas producer in the United Kingdom. Scotland will vote on Thursday whether to leave the nation and become independent.
Scottish 'don't knows' hold key to historic vote
(Reuters) - Scotland's independence campaign has stoked strong passions on both sides but with just two days until Thursday's historic referendum, it is the quiet waverers who may hold the balance of power.
Scotland decides on Sept 18. whether to sever centuries-old ties with the rest of the United Kingdom. Recent polls have narrowed dramatically and show the vote is too close to call.
The United Kingdom's fate may rest on a group of undecideds which could constitute as few as 500,000 people out of an electorate of more than four million. They are weighing up the economic uncertainties against the pull of sovereign statehood.
With claims and counter-claims made by both sides over how the economy, welfare and health care will be affected, some voters who are most in need of persuading feel little the wiser.
"My heart says yes but my head says no. I guess it will come down to how I feel on the day," said Anne from the town of Lochgelly, north of the capital Edinburgh.
She declined to give her full name.
"It's such a risk, and you can't know what's going to happen. When even businessmen disagree over the impact it's going to have, how are we meant to know?"
As the campaign enters its final stretch, two factors will decide the country's future: whether those who have expressed a firm preference think again and whether the undecideds come off the fence and if so which way.
Opinion polls show the elderly will swing heavily towards the "No" camp and will turn out in high numbers. But previous strongholds for the pro-unionists - the female vote and opposition Labour party supporters - have wavered.
Ben Page, chief executive of polling group Ipsos MORI, said the undecideds tended to be women and young people.
Polls suggest 10 percent or more of the electorate has yet to make up its mind but Page told BBC Radio most of them had essentially decided and that only about four percent who were certain to vote were genuinely unsure about how to.
If true, that leaves a small pool for each side to target. The problem could be finding them.
Many Scottish residents declined to talk to Reuters about their intentions in recent days, a reticence that makes it difficult for pollsters and campaigners to divine their intentions.
At Edinburgh's International Airport, where Scottish nationalist leader Alex Salmond was campaigning with pro-independence businessmen on Monday, public displays of support for either side were in short supply.
"I'm undecided. I've been working a lot, so I missed the TV debates. I haven't had a lot of time to think about it," Geoff, who works at the airport, said.
"The economic side of it is important to me, and I'm leaning towards no. These politicians always promise you the sun, the moon and the earth, but I don't trust them."
Simon, 24, works in an Edinburgh bookshop and also declined to give his surname. He is one of the genuinely torn.
"I'm leaning towards yes. I'm very much in favour of self government. A lot of risks seem to be scare stories," he said. "But my doubt is whether we can afford it. I need to do more research. It's only a few more days so it's going to be a lot of online reading into the early hours of the morning."
WHICH WAY?
The reluctance to speak up is emblematic of what some academics say may be a "shy no" vote - people who won't admit in public that they are put off by the risks of independence but will vote against in the privacy of the ballot box.
In Glasgow, William Andrews, who will vote for independence, was unconcerned. "They say there's a silent majority voting No. I really don't see any evidence of that," he said.
Glasgow has proved to be fertile ground for the independence campaign and which way traditional Labour party voters swing, especially in Scotland's biggest city, could be decisive.
Overall, while still too close to call, the poll of polls puts the "No" campaign on 51 percent, "Yes" on 49. If accurate, that means the independence camp has to swing more support its way with time running out.
"Unless something dramatic happens in the next three days, a No victory is now the more likely outcome," said Peter Kellner, president of YouGov, the polling organisation who's survey a week ago putting the "Yes" camp briefly ahead sent panic rippling through the British establishment.
"Note the word 'likely': it’s not certain ... But the momentum favouring Yes, which caused such consternation last weekend, seems to have gone into reverse," Kellner said.
With the momentum clearly with the independence campaign in recent weeks as polls narrowed sharply, it hoped the "don't knows" would eventually break in their direction in disproportionate numbers.
Polling experts say historic parallels, including the 1995 Quebec referendum, suggest otherwise.
Stephen Fisher, Associate Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Oxford, looked at 16 constitutional referendums held worldwide over the past 40 years and found that in 12 of them, the average "Yes" vote reflected in opinion polls was not delivered in the voting booths.
"Research from Canadian electoral reform referendums suggests that Don’t Knows split disproportionately towards the status quo," Fisher said in a blog posted on the non-partisan website "What Scotland Thinks".
"This does seem more likely than a split in the other direction, though an especially big movement from Don’t Know to No in the last hours of the campaign also seems unlikely."
With two days to go, the basic equations of hope versus fear, heart versus head continue to hold sway.
For Salmond, Thursday's vote is a "once in a lifetime opportunity". Some on the other side of the debate are also urging voters to look at the big picture.
"Shrinking a nation’s relative size and setting it adrift in the global economy is a bad decision," former Bank of England policymaker Adam Posen wrote in the Scotsman newspaper.
"Any gains from supposed independence would come with deep losses in actual autonomy. Those losses would heighten insecurity and vulnerability of households across Scottish society."
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