Scottish Independence: A UK-wide referendum would be required

Below is the text of a post of mine published on the OurKingdom site last week. It stimulated a lively debate, which has led me to think further about the fundamental issues involved. I discuss these below after the copy of the OurKingdom post:
Giving only Scotland a say on independence negates the existence of Britain
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Exit the West Lothian Question; Enter the Ulster Question

The Tories look set to establish their own version of the West Lothian Question in the next Westminster parliament. News reports today suggest that David Cameron is trying to forge an alliance or merger with the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), with which it was connected in the past. The advantages of this are described in [...]

The Cynic’s Guide To Devolution

Here’s how I see the asymmetric devolution settlement brought in by New Labour in 1998. This may not be terribly original; but it could serve as a useful guide to the cynical politics that has brought us to our present pass.
Scotland-side, there’s the view that devolution, rather than being merely a nationalistic movement for greater [...]

The Tory Answer To the West Lothian Question: Compromise And Fudge

Yesterday, the Tories finally published the recommendations of their Democracy Task Force on how to ‘resolve’ the West Lothian Question. Their report contained no surprises, as it was virtually as leaked two weeks ago. There was, however, one clarification. In the leaked account of the Tories’ proposals, it was stated that: “At the third and [...]

EU: Where Next?

Ireland’s ‘no’ vote to the Lisbon Treaty (aka the EU constitution) is a victory for democracy over the political class and the supporters of ever-greater integration of the EU member states. It’s also a victory for Britain, and for England, which was unjustly denied the referendum it had been promised by an arrogant and unrepresentative [...]

English pauses for English clauses begs more questions than it answers

Yesterday, the Daily Telegraph leaked news about the Conservatives’ supposed answer to the West Lothian Question: the fact that Scottish- (and Welsh- and Northern Irish-) elected MPs can vote on legislation affecting England only whereas MPs for English constituencies can no longer do the same for much of the corresponding legislation for Scotland, Wales and [...]

Campaign For a National Referendum (4): Frank Field again on the record in favour of a referendum

The Sunday Times reported yesterday that Frank Field has urged Gordon Brown to hold an immediate UK-wide referendum on the future of the Union. The Labour MP is quoted as saying, “Unless Gordon Brown wrongfoots [Alex Salmond] by addressing the English question and by holding a UK-wide referendum before he has the chance to build [...]

Campaign For a National Referendum (3): Frank Field backs a UK-wide referendum

In his speech to the University of Hertfordshire on Tuesday of this week, Labour MP Frank Field made out a strong case for the right of all UK citizens, not just Scottish voters, to determine the future shape of the UK: “Wendy Alexander . . . recently called for an early referendum on independence. Yet [...]

Campaign For a National Referendum (2): Downing Street Referendum Petition

Just signed the Downing Street petition for a referendum on English independence I came across today. This actually calls for a referendum on English independence irrespective of whether the Scots are offered a referendum on independence for Scotland, or if they go ahead and have one anyway whether the British government, or the Scottish First Minister for England, [...]

No way back for Britain: federation or independence are the only options

Another way to address the question of the constitutional options that should be put to all the nations of the UK at the same time as a Scottish referendum on independence for Scotland (see previous post) is to say that we should all have a vote, not just on independence for our respective countries, but [...]