Referendum

4 thoughts on “Referendum”

1. 

   Carrie Sandeman September 15, 2014 — 6:50 pm

   In the last Scottish parliamentary election the SNP gained an additional 23 seats taking them to approximately 45% of the constituency voting for them with 69 seats. Labour is Scotland’s 2nd party currently with 37 seats, although that was a decrease of 7. Although labour in the UK opposes Scottish independence, the labour voters in Scotland are moving away from this to vote ‘yes’. To be granted a mandate to govern if the vote is yes, then surely the SNP can gather a legitimate mandate based on the constituency votes in comparison with the parliamentary elections. If it is a no, then I am unsure. However it is also worth thinking about if future governments who do not declare policies publicly during election campaigns do not technically have a legitimate mandate to govern: then surely the current UK coalition or any previous government in the UK in the last generation did not have a legitimate mandate from the constituency?

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   1. (Post author)

      paolop1966 September 15, 2014 — 7:45 pm

      Some good points, your final point is technically correct but in practice not very practice, for one thing how many voters read the manifesto cover to cover and therefore can claim to be fully informed prior to voting? My question was not about a mandate as clearly 50.1% of the vote would give them a mandate, my wider point is that an irreversible position is possibly going to be entered into with close to half the population rejecting the idea. This is very different to voting in a government for a term. Finally, the “white paper” is an SNP socialist manifesto not a long term plan for Scotland. What happens if labour wins the next Scottish election on a platform of reversing the decision on Trident? Best of luck to the Scots in their vote, i look forward to settling the Lothian question once and for all. One last thought, you had better hope that the Shetland and Orkney isles don’t ask for a vote then remain in the UK!

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2. 

   Carrie September 16, 2014 — 3:28 pm

   Labour needs to re-address their ideological position given the fact that their last UK government was more right than left leading to the SNP majority in the first place. My main concern for Scotland is that regardless of who ‘wins’ the referendum the politics will be lost and sectarianism will take over. Over all I think it will take a long time for the UK nations to recover from this regardless of outcome, given England now is wondering why additional funding is being promised to continue in Scotland in the event of a ‘NO’ as well as granting some form of ‘deco max’ where Scotland gains greats decision making powers economically. I that for the benefit of all nations we need to sit around a table (yes or no) and re-
   write the way in which we run a ‘westminster style’ system.

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   1. (Post author)

      paolop1966 September 16, 2014 — 4:18 pm

      Totally with your comments!

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