A New Scotland: Building an Equal, Fair and Sustainable Society

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The Scottish Government’s proposals for the economy of an independent Scotland Why choose independence a b c "Scottish referend

With independence, decisions about all these things would be for the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government, elected by the people of Scotland, to make. Decisions would be made based only on what is best for Scotland. The Scottish Government has a plan for becoming independent Scottish independence ( Scottish Gaelic: Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; Scots: Scots unthirldom [1]) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about. [2] [3] [4] [5] In 2014, the Scottish Government wrote that "[Scotland's] approach [to culture] has been, and will continue to be, distinct from that of Westminster". The Scottish Government position was that Scottish independence would give the Scottish Government more powers to encourage culture and creative sectors. In the event of independence, the Scottish Government planned to increase domestic creative production opportunities, such as by setting up a new national broadcaster, while maintaining access to current TV channels and with no additional cost to viewers and listeners. [116] Democracy [ edit ] The Highest Risk List – previously known as the Shielding List - has ended. However, there are still people whose weakened immune system means they are at higher risk from infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

The concept of a democratic deficit is the most frequently invoked argument in favour of independence. England has a majority (84%) of the UK population. Thus, constituency results for Scotland rarely affect the outcome of general elections. From the 1960s onwards, average voting patterns in Scotland and England have diverged. [117] Scotland has only elected a majority of governing MPs in three of the 11 UK general elections since 1979. [118] Devolution was intended to close this deficit, [119] but Brexit, which happened despite 62% of voters in Scotland voting against it, [120] has highlighted this concern. [121] The Conservative Party, which often forms the UK Government by winning general elections, has not won a plurality of seats in Scotland since 1955. The Labour Party won the 1997 general election in a landslide, and Donald Dewar as Secretary of State for Scotland agreed to the proposals for a Scottish Parliament. A referendum was held in September and 74.3% of those who voted approved the devolution plan (44.87% of the electorate). [33] The Parliament of the United Kingdom subsequently approved the Scotland Act 1998 which created an elected Scottish Parliament with control over most domestic policy. [22] In May 1999, Scotland held its first election for a devolved parliament, and in July 1999, the Scottish Parliament held session for the first time since the previous parliament had been adjourned in 1707, after a gap of 292 years. Donald Dewar of the Labour Party subsequently became the First Minister of Scotland, while the Scottish National Party became the main opposition party. The egalitarian song " A Man's A Man for A' That", by Robert Burns, was performed at the opening ceremony. [34] The legality of any UK constituent country attaining de facto independence or declaring unilateral independence outside the framework of British constitutional convention is debatable. Under international law, a unilateral declaration might satisfy the principle of the " declarative theory of statehood", but not the " constitutive theory of statehood". Some legal opinion following the Supreme Court of Canada's decision on what steps Quebec would need to take to secede is that Scotland would be unable to unilaterally declare independence under international law if the UK Government permitted a referendum on an unambiguous question on secession. [106] [107] The SNP have not sought a unilateral act, but rather state that a positive vote for independence in a referendum would have "enormous moral and political force... impossible for a future [Westminster] government to ignore", [108] and hence would give the Scottish Government a mandate to negotiate for the passage of an act of the UK Parliament providing for Scotland's secession, in which Westminster renounces its sovereignty over Scotland. [109] The campaign called "Scotland in Union" emerged after the 2014 independence referendum. [208] It has encouraged a positive outlook on unionism, tactical voting in elections and promoted the Union more generally. [208] [209] [210]'Scotland in Union' has been subject to criticism after records of it's donor base were leaked, including many of the UK’s wealthy elite, with major landowners, Lords, aristocrats and CEOs of companies all listed. Scotland in Union claims to be a “grassroots” campaign. [211] [212] In late 2017, a new group called "Unity UK" was formed. [213] Its supporters said that Unionists needed to be more supportive of Brexit and were critical of Scotland in Union's "agnostic" stance on the issue. [213]

A week later, Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected the request for a Section 30 transfer of powers. [89] The Scottish Government lodged a case with the Supreme Court to determine whether the powers to hold a referendum are within the competence of the Scottish Parliament. A hearing took place on 11 and 12 October 2022, [90] [91] and a month later the Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate for an independence referendum. [92] Supporters of Scottish independence continued to hold mixed views on the Home Rule movement, which included many supporters of union who wanted devolution within the framework of the United Kingdom. Some saw it as a stepping stone to independence, while others wanted to go straight for independence. [30]An independent Scotland can seek to replicate the success of these countries, with improved approaches to investment, entrepreneurship, corporate governance, family- friendly policy and co-operatives. A more open and welcoming immigration system with independence

It would also contain measures on other issues which people see as being of fundamental significance and importance.live in a country where decisions about how we use our assets, talents and resources reflect our values and democratic choices, allowing Scotland to develop the kind of inclusive, consensus-driven economic policies that serve other European countries so well. Since six weeks after the 2014 referendum, opinion polls have asked how people would vote in a proposed second referendum. [230] Twenty-five polls were conducted in the year after the referendum, with seventeen of them having "No" as the predominant answer, seven having "Yes", and one having an equal proportion of respondents for each opinion. [231] Under the Scottish Government's 2014 plans for independence, Scotland would have applied to become a full and equal member of the United Nations, NATO and the European Union and many other international organisations. [116] With an autonomous voice in international politics, Scottish independence campaigners believe the nation's global influence would increase in regard to the defence of its national interests and the promotion of its values. Furthermore, Scottish embassies could be established globally to promote Scotland internationally, and to lobby other governments on the nation's behalf. [116]

The Scottish Government’s plan for doing this is as follows. As soon as practicable, Scotland would move to a new currency, the Scottish pound we have the world’s leading wave and tidal test centre and the world’s most powerful tidal stream turbine Under an arrangement called the Common Travel Area (CTA), people in Scotland would also be able to move freely within the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.The United Nations Charter enshrines the right of peoples to self-determination, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also guarantees peoples' right to change nationality; the UK is a signatory to both documents. Politicians in both the Scottish and UK parliaments have endorsed the right of the Scottish people to self-determination, including former UK Prime Ministers John Major and Margaret Thatcher. [110] Power to hold an independence referendum [ edit ] And the people of Scotland would be able to move freely within these islands as well, including in the UK and Ireland. escape the UK’s Brexit-based economic future, which is predicted to result in a long-term reduction in productivity of 4% compared with remaining in the EU