Financialadvice.co.uk watches as Scotland decides
18/09/2014
Voters in Scotland will today answer “Yes” or “No” to the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
The opposing sides, the Yes campaign favoring independence called “Yes Scotland”, and the No campaign, called “Better Together” who wants to keep the union intact, have been fiercely campaigning about the 307 year old union with England over the past few months.
David Cameron signed an agreement in October 2012 ensuring Scottish parliament could hold a referendum on independence, called the Edinburgh agreement. This followed a majority win by the Scottish National Party in the 2011 parliamentary elections, indicating a growing desire for independence.
If Scotland vote No today, then the UK will carry on as they have for the past 300 years, yet some more power may be given to Scottish parliament. If Scotland votes Yes to independence today, Scottish parliament with then have full control over Scottish defence, tax revenue, fiscal and foreign policies, and immigration.
The “Yes Scotland” campaign believes Scotland will be richer per head if they become independent. Figures produced by the Scottish government suggest an independent Scotland would be in better financial shape than the U.K. as a whole, with a 2017 budget deficit of between 1.6% and 2.4% of annual GDP, compared with a forecast deficit of 3.4% for the U.K. as a whole, according to the Wall Street Journal. On the other hand, the UK treasury has said "each Scot will be £1,400 ($2,400) richer per year if Scotland stays in the union", so the contradicting figures do not give a real insight into how Scotland would cope on their own, economically.
With 97% of the electorate in Scotland have registered to vote, this has been one of the most passionate and engaging political events to ever happen in the UK. If Scotland vote No today, then it is likely we won’t see another referendum on independence for another generation. If they vote Yes, only time will tell if Scotland will succeed as an independent country.
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