Well, of course a Scot running the UK would not be in favour of Scottish independence.
Montreal was once the financial capital of Canada. But even though
the people of Quebec have turned their back on independence, the
uncertainty of the future was enough to see it lose its position to
Toronto. Scotland’s prospering financial sector, for example,
could suffer the same fate when future investment decisions are made.
Possibly. It might also thrive, as those of Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, the Caymans, Jersey etc. have done. Depends what the tax rates are really, doesn’t it?
Our age is being shaped by the twin forces of globalisation and
interdependence. In such an era, our Union is not a relic of a
bygone age, but a quintessentially modern expression of how we find
common bridges between diverse peoples and hold shared values while
retaining distinctive identities. What a dismal message it would
send to the rest of the world that we, on these small islands,
cannot live together in a political, social and economic union.
The logic of that is that we can only deal with the consequences of globalisation and interdependence by being part of a political, social and economic union. So roll on the EU and one world government then.
Or, to be more realistic, we could say that globalisation and interdependence mean that we actually need less governance, more power devolved to the smaller political units. Even, as we no longer need regulation makers at the higher levels, abolishing those larger political units altogether.
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