Analysis: Ignore the excited SNP tweeters - Cameron’s veto will actually make life more difficult for the Nationalists
SCOTLAND and Europe have always been, despite SNP claims to the contrary, uneasy bedfellows. The slogan “independence in Europe” may have neutralised Labour cries of “separatism”, but it also raised questions: could Scotland be truly independent having swapped one union for another?
That said, David Cameron’s “veto” and effective isolation of the UK within the European Union also throws up difficult questions for unionists: what is the status now of frequent claims Scotland could only have a significant and powerful voice at the top tables of the EU as part of the larger, mightier UK?
But does all this necessarily make Scottish independence more likely? This was the scenario first identified by the historian Norman Davies last month, that English insularity and Euroscepticism risked driving the Scots out of the UK. That, however, assumes a little too much: that there will actually be a UK referendum (which the Prime Minister is determined to avoid) and that Scots are necessarily more pro-European than their English counterparts.
The truth is Cameron’s “veto”, or more accurately recent events in general, make life a lot more difficult for the SNP.The First Minister has criticised the Prime Minister for being isolationist. But what, precisely, do the two leaders disagree on? Salmond does not want to be part of a more fiscally integrated EU any more than Cameron does, while the SNP leader’s neo-liberal instincts would surely applaud the PM for seeking to protect the City of London (and, by extension, Edinburgh’s financial sector).
Some SNP tweeters have suggested their party has a golden opportunity to position Scotland in the top tier of Europe while leaving the UK stranded in the second, or even third, tier. It seems more likely Salmond will explore other options. Fiona Hyslop has already hinted that membership of the European Free Trade Association, rather than the EU, ought to be considered, while the SNP’s frequent invocation of the Norwegian model could be taken to its logical conclusion in terms of an independent Scotland’s relationship with its European neighbours.
• David Torrance has written biographies of Alex Salmond and Margaret Thatcher.
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Comments
There are 13 comments to this article
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VOTE YES
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 05:56 PMI'm not sure this really is an article - it doesn't say anything at all really.
DialMforMurdo
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 03:31 PMCouldn't he have said this in 140 characters?
Brit-free
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 03:16 PMit is perfectly possible that Scotland would be quite capable of making its way in the world , either inside or outside the E U , the Norwegians manage it quite well outside , but find their trade with the block means that they are subject to many of ts regulations , and pay subventions ....the reason that this state of affairs is ridiculed when hupothetically applied to Scotland is simple ...people on this thread are as anti Scottish as they are pro britstate ....there is no constitutional situation that would see Scotland free of the union that they would give credence to...
Brit-free
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 03:04 PMthe brit-state used to be in a union with Ireland , there is no clamour in either country to reconstitute their erstwhile union ....this is the normal state of countries that were in unions ( usually unwilling in the case of the smaller entity ) ...there are almost without exception , no countries that have severed their unions , where the populations of either erstwhile member are clambering for re-unification ....to save e-ink i am talking of course of two or more DIFFERENT countries ....it confuses the unionists in that we do not register as a separate country in their chauvinistic britto centric world view
Brit-free
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 02:52 PMSweden is in the E U .....Norway is not .....they used to be in a union ....now they are not ....there is no clamour in either country to reconstitute their erstwhile union .....go figure ....
Heinz Doofensmirtz
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 10:14 AMThe snp's norwegian model...wait till they give a nobel prize to a chinese dissident and then hoover up their salmon trade.
well informed
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 09:57 AM" but it also raised questions: could Scotland be truly independent having swapped one union for another?" And yet again the plain fact that Scotland has no options whatsoever with the EU while it is subjugated within the union seems to escape the most idiotic of unionists! What power does Scotland have with the EU while it is an 8% regional concern of the UK????? More or less than it would have being Independent??? until some moronic idiotic unionist gets around that point then all arguments with regards to the EU are groundless!
well informed
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 09:48 AM4 Scotland within the union cant fight or accept the EU on any terms! Only with Independence can it fight its own corner and deal with its own needs. How many times has that fact to be pointed out to you before you learn to stop posting the same p*sh over and over and over?
well informed
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 09:47 AMYes of course it will in your own unbias objective opinion! Scotland and the EU are not allowed to be bedfellows while it is subjugated within the Union! That point alone makes your worthless headline worthless and idiotic!
grahamski
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 08:23 AM1." Who wants to to fight and win powers from Westminister to simply pass them over to a EU that is demanding more and more sovereignty"Alex Salmond.
Beachdair
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 02:20 AMRe post #2 I apologise for omitting 'EU' after 'incompetent' on line 4..
Beachdair
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 01:52 AMIndependent Scotland has ample opportunities to prosper without having anything to do with the profoundly undemocratic, meddlesomely bureaucratic imperialistic, demonstrably corrupt and often incompetent. ......................................................................... For information about independent Scotland's better alternatives see scottishdemocraticalliance dot org slash International slash Scotland in Europe and download the PDF at the bottom of the page. No charge.
thomas79
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 12:31 AMScotland should, like Norway, be part of the European Free Trade Association only. Who wants to to fight and win powers from Westminister to simply pass them over to a EU that is demanding more and more sovereignty.
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