Scottish Nationalism Crunched

Scotland’s national pride has taken a beating in the last few days: from a country thinking itself ready for secession thanks to world class banks and lovely expensive oil, to one very much being propped up by the rest of the UK.

Alex Salmond was mooting Scottish independence by 2017 this time last year, saying that Scotland could be part of an arc of “prosperity” with Ireland and Iceland, and could be the third-wealthiest country in Europe. Now that arc has turned into an “arc of insolvency”, Scotland seems glad of the UK’s cash reserves, and are dismissing ideas of secession, while Brown gently and diplomatically told them to stop being so silly and put the idea away.

Not that Salmond’s being told! “We are going to put forward a very positive case for independence and we are always confident about the strength of that case”, said one of Salmond’s senior advisors on Monday. Salmond has also been pointing at Norway as an example of someone who has got themselves out of the banking crisis with a pot of oil money.

Still, the list of economic strategies for Scotland outlined today by Salmond doesn’t feature ‘quest for oil’ or ‘corporate tax haven’ anywhere. Rather, it contains more sober proposals like ‘keep on with the tourism thing’ and ‘insulate more lofts’.

But what do actual Scots think? We took at wee look at that most informed and sober of forums, the newspaper messageboard! “Broon the man who sold us down the river for English gold will not be treated weel by history”, says one at The Herald, with helpful phonetics. “How is England going to pay back all the money Brown has borrowed once Scotland is independent and the Scottish oil bank is under new ownership?”; “More Unionist crap!!”, and so on.

The Scotsman however is on the whole pretty unionist: “I have to say that it is just wonderful seeing the Nats squirm right now. Oil heading to $50 a barrel. Their Arc of Prosperity now an Arc of Bankruptcy. Could Fat Al have found the billions to rescue Scottish banks? In his dreams perhaps?”; “I know why you’re all as mad as hell because deep in your hearts you realise that your cause of winning an independence referendum bit the dust on Monday. For all of your First Minister’s bluster and empty talk of an independent Scotland bailing out RBS and HBOS – its all so much fantasy”.

Salmond’s saying the referendum will be on St Andrew’s Day 2010. Can the crunched Scottish economy recover in time?

Posted by Ben Beaumont-Thomas in Hot Money | October 15, 2008 12:26PM |