Many of you have probably already heard about how Scotland had the opportunity to vote “yay” or “nay” on becoming a country independent from the U.K.
On September 18, 55.3 percent of the voters voted against independence. About 4.3 million people voted, (all members of the EU living in Scotland over the age of 16). While the outcome of the referendum has already been widely publicized, many people may not know the reasons why one might vote for, or against, independence.
In the event that Scottish Independence was approved, many things would have to change. One of those includes border control and immigration.
The Scottish government stated that they would negotiate with the EU to allow people to pass through the Anglo-Scottish border without passport checks. Many people disagreed, and thought that if Scotland was going to remove some of its airport security, they should implement passport checks as a precaution to terrorism.
Agriculture was one factor that caused people to vote against independence. People believed that the farmers of Scotland would have more say in the EU if they stayed with the U.K., since the U.K. is one of the most prominent members. And we Iowans know how important agriculture is.
Another change proposed by the Scottish government had to do with adding childcare to the government’s budget. This would cost an estimated 700 million euros, which they proposed to pay for by raising taxes. Anyone could guess that when citizens hear ‘raised taxes’, they are voting against that in a heartbeat, even if it is against being their own country.
Citizenship in an independent Scotland would go through radical changes. On the day of the vote, British citizens born in Scotland would all become Scottish citizens, along with British citizens living in Scotland. Scottish citizens who owned citizenship to another country would be able to opt out of the automatic citizenship.
A component that was the game-changer for many voters was defense of the new nation. Many believed that they would be safer if they remained with the U.K. due to a decreased budget, no warships, reduced airspace, and removal of the protection of NATO. Scotland would also be removed from all U.K. intelligence agencies.That doesn’t exactly scream security.
Another subject under hot debate had to do with the currency. Many said that Scotland would have to get its own currency, or switch to the euro. Either option would cost a lot of money to either mint new money, or go towards transaction fees. This would again mean getting the money through taxes, and no one wants to pay higher taxes.
So why did Scotland choose not to break with the U.K.? In this day and age, who would choose to vote against independence? In this case, the answer is: people who want to save money, be safe, and not hand out citizenship to everyone and their dog. Therefore, Scotland remains a country united with the U.K.
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