September 16, 2014

As Thursday’s historic referendum looms, Scotland continues to grapple with questions on what a split from the United Kingdom would mean. The National takes a look at the 12 key issued about Scotland’s future that need to be addressed.

Currency

The future currency of Scotland has been at the heart of the referendum debate. Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Alex Salmond wants to keep the pound but the British government has said that would not happen if Scotland breaks away. The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney has said a currency union was not compatible with an independent Scotland.

The Queen

The SNP has said it wants the new Scotland to be a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its sovereign — much like Australia or Canada — and has said it would join the Commonwealth. The queen herself is staying neutral in the debate.

Energy resources

The North Sea oilfields have for decades been the Scottish nationalists most powerful weapon. They would probably be divided up geographically if Scotland were to become independent. Eighty-five per cent of known reserves would fall under Scottish territory and the sector would make up around 15 per cent of the new Scotland’s economy. The ‘Yes’ campaign says the oil revenues would bring Scotland prosperity similar to Norway. The ‘No’ parties, backed by several senior oil company executives say they are painting an overly optimistic picture.

Defence

The UK’s nuclear deterrent is based at Faslane near Glasgow. The Scottish nationalists have campaigned for years to have the four submarines carrying the nuclear missiles removed from Scotland. They say they would write into Scotland’s new constitution a ban on nuclear weapons and plans to have them removed by 2020. This would form a key part of negotiations if there were ‘Yes’ victory.

Debt

If Scotland votes to break away it would probably need to take with it some of the UK’s debt — which is forecast to hit £1.5 trillion (Dh8.9 trillion) by 2016/17. The nationalists say the amount that Scotland takes on should reflect its contributions over the years to Britain’s public finances which include huge tax revenues from North Sea oil. The British government would prefer a method based on the size of Scotland’s population. Alex Salmond has, however, threatened that an independent Scotland would not take on any of the debt if it is not allowed to share the pound in a formal currency union. The UK government has reassured markets, saying that if this were to happen it would stand behind all UK debt.

Scottish MPs

If Scotland becomes independent, the 59 Scottish MPs sitting in parliament would lose their seats. The effect on politics south of the border would be substantial. The opposition Labour party has traditionally drawn strong support from north of the border. Of the 59 Scottish seats, 41 are currently held by Labour MPs, including the former prime minister Gordon Brown. Losing these seats would leave the Conservative Party, the main partner in the current ruling coalition, with a 21 seat majority, based on the 2010 election results.

EU, Nato and the UN

The SNP says it believes an independent Scotland would negotiate its entry into the European Union quickly, given it is has long observed EU rules as part of the UK. Top officials from the EU have suggested the process will not be so straightforward.

Alex Salmond says that Scotland also wants to remain in the United Nations and Nato. Opponents to independence fear that the UK could endanger its place in the G7 group of wealthy industrialised nations and its seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Citizenship

The Scottish government proposes that people born in Scotland or British citizens who are “habitually resident” at the date of independence should automatically become citizens. People with a Scottish parent would be able to request citizenship and other nationals can apply for naturalised citizenship. The nationalists note that British citizenship laws allow for dual citizenship but the UK has not said whether that will happen automatically or not.

Constitution

The Scottish government wants a convention bringing together businesses, civil society and trade unions to come up with a written constitution along European lines, something that Britain lacks. It has said this should include a constitutional ban on nuclear weapons being based in Scotland and a guarantee that its health service will continue to be publicly owned, free and available to everyone.

Border

The pro-independence camp have said the existing border would remain only on paper but the issue is a complex one as Scotland’s plan to ease immigration rules might prompt the rest of Britain to set up barriers and checks. The SNP also says that no passports should be required for visitors from the rest of the UK to Scotland and vice versa — much like the current arrangement with Ireland — although that will depend on whether Scotland is in the European Union.

Universities

Scotland’s education system has always been distinct from that of the rest of the UK with the Scottish parliament already fully in control of policy. But there is a big question mark over what will happen to the students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland who attend Scottish universities. Current rules mean these students from other parts of the UK have to pay tuition fees while Scottish students and students from other parts of the European Union do not. The SNP says this will continue, but if Scotland becomes independent the EU may force it to remove tuition fees on students from other parts of the UK.

BBC

The Scottish government wants to take the assets and staff from BBC Scotland and create a Scottish Broadcasting Service. The ‘SBS’ would have a partnership agreement so that Scots would still have access to their favourite BBC television shows and radio stations but claims the new broadcaster would better represent the Scottish people. But the Better Together campaign says dividing the BBC Scotland assets away from the rest of the UK would be difficult and lead to a worse service for Scotland.

* The National staff, Agence France-Presse and Reuters

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