Against most of my friends' tendencies, in particular those on the political Left, I am hoping for a 'no' vote from Scotland in the referendum on independence. For three reasons:
First, and although I am sensitive to the 'Scotland is more progressive than England and is being held back by England's dominance of the UK', I believe that Scotland is actually a nice leftist counterweight within the UK to neoliberal England, dominated by London with its financial services-heavy economic culture.
Second, because despite a strong unique Scottish identity, there is also a British identity within which this is embedded, and radical changes to national identity of this sort can be incredibly destabilizing - and before all my leftist friends start thinking 'great!' I would like to remind them that the sort of instability I'm thinking of can easily go in directions they would not like at all (think EDL rather than greens or socialists).
Third, I confess that Britishness is a sort of latent identity in myself too, most expressed through a literature that is British rather than specifically English, Scottish, or Irish (yes, I know the Irish have at least partly their own state, but circumstances there are other): think Waugh, Orwell, Swift, Joyce, and Stevenson... But also in many other ways in which the British are generically British (the awful food, the great pop music, the soggy ground and soggy carpets everywhere, driving on the left, loutishness and drunk sex, honesty and outrage, insularity and hipness). Come on guys, please stay together - think of how much effort it would take to change all our stereotypes!
Fourth (seriously, guys...): have you thought this over? What do you really want to do with your institutions? Monarchy, yes or no? And if no, would you allow auntie Lizzie as a foreign sovereign to keep her security arrangements at Balmoral? Pound, yes or no? If yes, would you accept that you wouldn't have any influence over the monetary policy of your own currency (think Eurozone; read Krugman)? And have you anticipated the problems that EU countries like Spain create within the EU for you as new members, or even block your membership (less likely)?
One more hour to go and we'll see. In the meantime, for all you Scots out there, a nail-biter I'm sure. Whatever you decide, please take into account the other side's view, and I love you lads and lassies anyways.
PS Thinking of you with fond memories of a soggy, windy, Glasgow winter 2003-04
