A Free Scotland...and Ireland?

As I write this from the other side of the world in Vietnam, the people of Scotland are going to the polls to vote on their future. From a country that’s no stranger to the wrath of an imperial power, I’ve been following the Yes campaign with admiration and a growing excitement. All my life I’ve desired an end to the UK state and almost out of the blue, it’s a real possibility. Growing up in the borderlands between the two Irelands, British army checkpoints, patrols, watchtowers and the incessant hum of helicopters were all a constant reminder of what it meant to be ruled by a far-away, unaccountable, illegitimate power. This was the reality of the ‘unity’ of the ‘United Kingdom’; an Orwellian unity enforced militarily to ensure a sectarian statelet remained under her majesty’s rule. Today, the army has gone from the borderlands but political deadlock in the form of the peace process has offered little hope for further progression; entrenched sectarianism has kept both sides stunted, unable to move beyond the narrow parameters of ‘power sharing’. Scottish independence could change all this.

Imagine (not hard at this stage) the result of today’s poll is Yes. Imagine the UK government decides to accept the result on the condition that the Scottish government agrees to key terms including the partition of Scotland. The border counties and wealthy areas of Edinburgh are to remain part of the United Kingdom. This new Southern Scotland will take in as much land as possible while ensuring that the No-ers are the majority of the population. Yes-ers must accept their new status as second-class citizens. Another condition is that the Scottish government has to swear allegiance to the Queen and ensure that Westminster’s key business interests north of the border are not threatened. The large landowner estates are to remain untouched in the new Scottish Free State. And what if the Scottish government refuses to comply with Westminster’s demands? Well, Scotland will be faced with “terrible and immediate war” from the British state if it doesn’t take what’s being offered. If you’re finding it difficult to imagine all this, there’s no need to strain yourself…just think back the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921.

Through the fog of the official narrative (i.e bullshit), the reality of what happened in Ireland is often forgotten now but it has echoes in the behavior of the British crooks politicians over the past few weeks. Like the forces of Mordor, the establishment has rounded on Scotland with a combination of platitudes and thinly-veiled treats, supported by its subservient state and corporate media. If only it was 1921, they wouldn’t have to pretend to be nice…they could just threaten terrible and immediate war. It’s so much harder these days, what with having to rely on the BBC and the rest of the ‘mainstream’ media for propaganda. Plus, they’ve got their hands full causing carnage and plundering the Middle East…it’s no surprise they’ve taken their eyes off the ball when it comes to their own backyard.

The history of the Republic of Ireland offers Scotland a good case-study and warning on how not to run a country.  Although proportional representation is an improvement on first-past-the-post politics, it isn’t the fix-all solution proponents make it out to be and a quick glance at the political situation in the 26 counties proves this. Politicians still lie, cronies still plot and the media still distorts and omits the truth. Unless there is an organized mass movement from the bottom up, which holds those who make decisions to account, there can be no true democracy. The Republic may be the poster-boy of a well-behaved, IMF/EU colony where austerity is the norm, but in the minds of all those who yearn for real freedom, it is a laughing stock. North of the border, needless to say, the situation isn’t any better. A deeply divided land, where the main parties endorse a cruel neo-liberal agenda, the possibility of an independent Scotland has confused politicians as it has done for those south of the border. This new political reality offers a vague threat to their complacency and comfortable position and like the politicians across the water, they’ve been caught napping.

What happened to the real prospect of a United Ireland? Out of all the excellent articles on Scottish independence, I’ve read none suggesting this possibility could be any closer with a Yes vote. There’s been a lot of ‘I wonder what will happen to Wales and Northern Ireland?’ and suggestions of independence for both those ‘countries’, an argument that fails to see that ‘Northern Ireland’ is not and never was a ‘country’. “But what about the Protestants who want to remain part of the UK?” comes the predictable reply to the question of a United Ireland. That’s the thing…there won’t be a UK any longer due to Scotland’s remarkable freeing itself from Westminster’s shackles.  It won’t exist, like Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia no longer exist; cheerio UK! Unionists will face an identity crisis and I wish them all the best adjusting to a more accommodating future and riding themselves of illusions of grandeur. It’s unchartered waters and no one can predict the consequences for the 6 counties and the course of events but it’s clear that a United Ireland will be an inevitable consequence of the break up of the UK. It won’t happen straight away but once the reality sinks in on all sides…the natural momentum will be in this direction. Talk of Northern Ireland as an independent country is absurd, as is touting the longevity of a fUK (former UK) in the form England, Wales and NI. A united, federated Ireland, safeguarding the rights of all should be worked towards if there’s any chance of peace and prosperity on the whole island…and I argue this not from a nationalist perspective, but from an internationalist one. The hope is that England too will throw off its shackles and become a federated, democratic country, as will Wales. An independent Scotland should be a catalyst for a people’s movement. The initiative should be seized now, when the time is ripe for positive change. As contradictory as it sounds, a new Scotland could mark the beginning of a point of no return towards a world where borders are broken down and the people of different geographical locations cooperate, heralding a fairer and more equal planet that collectively steers civilization away from its doom-laden  path to destruction.

Of course, all this depends on a Yes vote. I have no idea how it’s going to go. The polls and the bookies are telling us the No side will narrowly win, while the voices of Scotland who are witnessing the public mood are confident the Yes side will win by a healthy majority. The precedent of Quebec narrowly voting against independence in 1995 provides a note of caution. In the event of a No, the momentum of people’s participation in real politics will either continue or dissipate, depending on how people chose to act. Whatever way it goes, there’s a choice to be made: either sit on your arse and complain or stand up with yer pals and fight for a better world. You aren't going to be offered that better world by those at the top...you have to take it. By tomorrow we could see the beginning of the end of the defunct UK/Republic of Ireland states and the start of a progressive process of radical change for all the peoples of these isles.

Alba gu bràth!