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The Kingdom of Great Britain was formed over 300 years ago with the two Acts of Union, in 1706 for England and 1707 for Scotland, following this in 1801, with two further Acts of Union, this time with Ireland, the United Kingdom was born.
Over the course of those 300 years, the nation expanded to become the largest empire in all of history at its peak, it fought two world wars, with assistance, against Germany and won both, its language spread across the globe to the US, to Canada, to Australia, to New Zealand. It is certainly a rich history and makes for fascinating reading.
The European Union, by comparison, at earliest, could be considered to have formed in 1958 with the Treaty of Rome, at the time known as the European Economic Community. With only 50 odd years of history behind it, and much less if you only count from the UK’s entrance.
Why do I bring these points up you might ask, well it is very simple, with the EU referendum resulting in a vote to leave at 52%, followed by the emotional outpouring, protests and complaints by those in the 48%, it is easy to see the degree to which attachment to what is, effectively a damaging union, has grown in such a short time. So when compared to the union with Scotland, it is to be expected that there is a great deal of attachment to the union, especially when you consider that unlike the EU, the UK has fought wars and influenced culture the world over.
History however, does not justify future action, a history of communism in Russia for example, would have been certainly no justification to continue with it and so, to determine whether Scotland, and indeed any other nation, should leave a union, we have to look at it without historical sentimentality.
The population of Scotland is around 5 to 6 million people, England on the other hand, contains over 50 million people. For daily life, this means little, but when it comes to democracy and in turn, the way in which a population is ruled, this is extremely important.
Scotland historically has voted for, at the very least, left of centre parties, be it the Liberal Democrats, Labour, or more recently, the SNP. This contrasts England, which, while containing many left wing areas, votes far more to the right, hence the Conservatives holding power despite near unanimous election of the SNP in Scotland.
This parallels an argument I made in the past when talking of the EU, the political climate in these two locations is quite difference, and due to massive population disparity, one, in this case England, will always determine the future of the other, Scotland.
The same can be seen in the EU referendum results, with the English vote effectively overruling a not insignificant remain majority in Scotland, by virtue of population alone. The flaw of a democratic system in circumstances such as these is quite apparent.
This will always lead to discontent within one of the two, if a close election in England is swung by the Scottish vote, those in England will suffer for it, and if the election is not close in England, the Scots may as well not bother voting at all, as it would merely be ceremonial.
There are of course many arguments presented for maintaining the union, outside of the sentimental ones of course, the UKs nuclear deterrent is based in Scotland and would have to be moved, there is Oil in Scotland, which is of course added income, London, one of the most economically powerful cities in the world is in England, and easy access to it is always going to be helpful to the Scots.
But when it comes down to it, what is more important, is it convenience, provided by the union and ease of access to the various resources it provides, or is the important thing the ability to remove, replace or hold accountable those who manage the lives of every citizen?
Those within Scotland, despite my great disagreement with their voting choices, are not able to live and act in the manner that suits them and that is because of the union, indeed, in the last referendum, they voted to remain in the UK, but as was said, a big part of that was access to the EU.
They of course, as it has been stated by Spain, would be blocked from attempting to join the EU, lest their independence sets precedence for others to do the same. This however, is just another reason why I would argue that Scotland should claim independence, as they would not be bound to a similar situation, but with the EU instead of the UK.
Indeed, I ignored Northern Ireland and Wales while making this case and their populations are far smaller than that of Scotland, but the same argument also applies. At the end of the day, a one in 6 million vote, is worth much more than a one in 60 million vote and for that reason, I would say that Scotland should, if given the opportunity again, leave the United Kingdom.