British PM Wants Referendum On Scottish Independence As Soon As Possible

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The Scottish referendum for independence from the United Kingdom came into question again on Monday as the Scottish nationalist government reacted with fury to the attempt made by Prime Minister David Cameron to convince First Minister Alex Salmond to set a timetable for the referendum.

The Scottish National Party accused Cameron that he attempted to set the Scotts conditions for their referendum, which would only increase their support for dissolving the United Kingdom.

In an attempt to avert the breaking up of the United Kingdom, which has lasted for three hundred years, prime minister Cameron is said to have fostered the idea of organizing a referendum on the theme as soon as possible, most likely in 2013.

The idea is cherished by some Conservatories, and the Labourists, while other Conservatories and Liberal-Democrats dismiss the idea of setting a timetable for fear that it would alienate the voters.

On Monday the government ended its meeting with the agreement that the referendum in Scotland should be held “as soon as possible,” although a timetable has not been set for it.

Governmental legal advisers are expected on Tuesday to explain that the referendum cal legally be valid only if the two parliaments, in England and Scotland, decide to hold it.

The Scottish nationalists want to hold it in 2014, when the country celebrates 700 years since the Battle of Bannockburn, when Scotland had its most renowned victory.

According to Daily Mail, the central government is expected to demand the Scottish authorities to observe four key requirements: a clause that would ensure that the referendum is held as soon as possible; a simple “yes/no” referendum type, without other supplemental questions that would bias the voter’s choice; that the elections be supervised by the Independent Electoral Commission; and that the young people between 16 and 17 be denied the right to vote on it.

There is also possible that the UK government may order a referendum on the matter itself if the Scottish National Party will procrastinate. Polls indicate that Scottish nationalists need some time to build a case for independence, since at the present moment only four out of 10 Scotts favor independence.

David Cameron explained he had no intention of interfering in Scottish affairs but demanded the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to determine how is this uncertainty over independence affecting the economy of Scotland.

Scottish secretary Michael Moore said that the constitutional affairs are still the prerogative of the UK parliament, meaning that any referendum organized by first minister Alex Salmond alone would not be valid.

A very interesting question is raised by the possible future of the newly Scottish state within the European Union. While some say that Scotland’s breakaway means that the new state would have to renounce the British pound and adopt the euro, professors at the London School of Economics agree that if Scotland breaks away, it will have to be admitted to the European Union like all the countries, by a vote of the 27 existing members of the EU.

Members of the Scottish National Party have supported the idea of Scottish independence since the 1970s, when in the United Kingdom began a process called “devolution,” referring to the transfer of powers from the central government to Scotland.

A Claim of Right was signed in 1989, by which the sovereignty of the Scottish people was declared, and a Parliament of Scotland was established to observe it. The Claim never took legal effect, and remained a statement of popular opinion. A devolved Scottish Parliament was established by the Scotland Act 1998, by which the British Parliament offers it some domains in which to make laws.

A very important factor is what kind of form of government Scotland would have, if it were to gain independence. There are many who favor the idea of establishing a republic, but the SNP is more in favor of a Commonwealth realm the way Australia and Canada are.

This would take Scotland to a dynastic union that was in force between 1603 and 1707, when the countries were separated but had one monarch.