Interesting article by Martin Kettle about the possibility of a Yes vote in the Scottish referendum: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/16/scottish-referendum-woefully-unprepared-yes-vote-impact
As a Conservative I am ambivalent about Scottish independence. On the one hand I want the United Kingdom to remain united. On the other hand it would no be a bad thing for the Labour representation at Westminster to be dramatically reduced (which will happen if they lose the Scottish constituencies).
But on the whole I want the United Kingdom to remain united - that's the conservative option (and if Scotland votes No, we will be seeing a conservative majority in the vote whether it is acknowledged or not).
The effect on the rest of the United Kingdom is difficult to predict. I think Alex Salmond and his SNP misunderstand the nature of nationalism. Nationalism means every country for itself.
A Yes vote will mean a nationalist Scotland will be faced with a nationalist England - and as England is considerably bigger than Scotland (economically, demographically, diplomatically) there can be no doubt about who is going to win each contest.
One small point about Martin Kettle's article. He refers to "...a Scotland where it is so completely not cool to be a unionist". What is uncool one season is likely (almost certainly likely) to be cool the next - which is why I want the Conservative Party to resume using the full name Conservative & Unionist.
As a Conservative I am ambivalent about Scottish independence. On the one hand I want the United Kingdom to remain united. On the other hand it would no be a bad thing for the Labour representation at Westminster to be dramatically reduced (which will happen if they lose the Scottish constituencies).
But on the whole I want the United Kingdom to remain united - that's the conservative option (and if Scotland votes No, we will be seeing a conservative majority in the vote whether it is acknowledged or not).
The effect on the rest of the United Kingdom is difficult to predict. I think Alex Salmond and his SNP misunderstand the nature of nationalism. Nationalism means every country for itself.
A Yes vote will mean a nationalist Scotland will be faced with a nationalist England - and as England is considerably bigger than Scotland (economically, demographically, diplomatically) there can be no doubt about who is going to win each contest.
One small point about Martin Kettle's article. He refers to "...a Scotland where it is so completely not cool to be a unionist". What is uncool one season is likely (almost certainly likely) to be cool the next - which is why I want the Conservative Party to resume using the full name Conservative & Unionist.
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