Sovereignty was high on the Brexiteers' priority list. In Scotland we believe sovereignty lies in the hands of the people while in England it is said that Parliament is sovereign. When Professor Michael Dougan, Professor of European Law and the Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law at the University of Liverpool, analysed the Brexiteer campaign, he concluded that its content was based on lies and misinterpretations. In effect this evidence is sufficient to invalidate the results of the referendum and it is the Parliament’s duty in the best interests of the UK to refuse to accept these results.
However, given the mediocrity of the leadership currently in place at Westminster, it is most unlikely that the Government will do so. With typical arrogance the government expects the EU to dance to the British tune and here they will experience a great disappointment. The freedom of movement of people is a basic pillar of the Treaty of Rome and will never be up for negotiation. As the Government is determined to prohibit EU immigrants entering the UK and indeed there is talk of expelling EU citizens currently living there, any hope of access to the single market is just a pipe dream. It has already been made clear by the EU that the UK is not permitted to start bilateral trade negotiations with individual member states until the UK has definitively left the EU. Any attempts to make trade deals with non-EU countries will obviously take years and with such a heavy workload, does the UK have sufficiently trained personnel and diplomats to carry out this Herculean task?
If this was not enough, there will be many difficulties along the road of disengagement from the EU. As the protection of the EU is lost, the Tory regime is likely to impose even more austerity on its population, not to mention reductions in human and workers' rights. A stiff upper British lip will not help the disabled and disadvantaged. It really is time for Scotland to reconsider independence.
If Scotland was independent within the EU before the departure of the rUK, the situation would be considerably different than in 2014. London’s financial institutions would insist on having a presence in Edinburgh or Glasgow in order to protect their investments and activities in the EU. Indeed there is talk of a stock exchange reopening in Edinburgh in the near future. Many of the international firms which settled in England for this very reason including the advantage of the international language English would want to be situated in Scotland also. These activities would not only bring jobs to Scotland but would also increase the amount of tax which the Scottish government could collect. Moreover it would give a big boost to the construction industry as houses, offices and industrial sites not to mention infrastructure would be required.
Many worry that there would have to be an official border between England and Scotland if England was to leave the EU while Scotland remained. However unfortunate this might be, it is still a price worth paying. Knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing is not a code to live by. Recent UK governments have led the country to moral decay, to the detriment of the poor, disabled and disadvantaged. It is time therefore for the Scottish Government to take the bull by the horns and to organise a campaign in order to achieve independence within the EU at the earliest opportunity for the good of Scotland and its peoples.
Hugh H McLean
Newton Mearns
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