Northern Ireland

How will borders with England be determined?

Stephen Richard — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 21:41:51 +0000

How will borders with England be determined? Stephen Richard Fri, 10/22/2021 - 22:41

Author or Creator

The Ferret

In an analysis published in March, the Institute for Government said it would not be possible to replicate the Northern Ireland protocol arrangement for an independent Scotland, because Scotland would be a full member of the EU, although Nicola Sturgeon has said the protocol could “offer some template” for how an independent Scotland could deal with its land border with England.

It is not known what arrangements the Scottish Government envisages putting in place should the issue of an Anglo-Scottish border ever become a reality. Detailed proposals for how the border would work in practice have not been drawn up as yet.

We cannot say how the border between Scotland and England would work, as there has yet to be a plan developed for trading with the rest of the UK if Scotland became independent.

It is likely that trade friction would be caused if Scotland joined the European Union and the European single market. There would be fewer barriers to trade between Scotland and the EU than in the post-Brexit UK, while trade with the UK nations would be harder.

Keywords

Borders

European Union

Northern Ireland

The meaning of Scottish independence for England

Stephen Richard — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 21:42:25 +0000

The meaning of Scottish independence for England Stephen Richard Mon, 10/18/2021 - 22:42

Author or Creator

Prospect Magazine

There is no doubt that the UK’s international reputation would take a hit. Would other powers, friendly as well as hostile, ask how a diminished UK could keep its permanent seat on the UN Security Council? Once a beacon of stability, a country that had turned its back on its near abroad and then fallen apart would not walk tall in international counsels.

Emotionally, the shock would be profound. The integration of 300 years could not be sawn through without huge pain, on both sides. If leaving the EU was like a parting from an extended family of second cousins, this would feel like the disintegration of the ancestral home. Over 800,000 people who were born in Scotland live in England and close to 500,000 people born in England live in Scotland. For many of them, separation would force a potentially deeply painful reassessment of national belonging.

Those without personal connections to Scotland might shrug this off as the unfortunate consequence of a decision taken by the people of Scotland; that’s where the blame would lie. But surely over that would be a shroud of failure, that something that had endured so long through so much adversity had come apart, that even those so close to England had chosen to walk a different path.

Nor would it necessarily stop there. For Northern Ireland, a UK shorn of Scotland would hardly make continued adherence to the union more attractive. The secession of Scotland would likely accelerate the already evident trend of increasing support for reunification.

Keywords

England

Northern Ireland

The UK’s Brexit mismanagement, Open Minds on Independence #11

Stephen Richard — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 07:06:16 +0000

The UK’s Brexit mismanagement, Open Minds on Independence #11

Primary Author or Creator

The National

Stephen Richard Sun, 10/10/2021 - 08:06

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Believe in Scotland

Alternative Published Date

2021