Good morning John, it's Friday.
As I'm sure you're aware, Nerdfighteria and its constituent parts span a lot, if not most of the world with members from Afghanistan to Venezuela, but since 2007 and the start of our community there have been only two countries with possible Nerdfighters who have decided to split away from their previous homes to go it alone. The first was Kosovo in 2008, a tiny nation in Serbia, and the other was South Sudan which split from Sudan in 2011 [Show outlines/flags of countries on screen]
Now it's safe to say that neither of these declarations of independence have gone exceptionally well, with Sudan currently embroiled in a civil war and the UN refusing to recognise Kosovo at all, but, as I’m sure most of our UK Nerdfighters know, this September may see a brand new independent country join the ranks, meaning we could add another country to our list of WORLD DOMINATION.
As CGP Grey explains in his usual not-forgetting-to-be-awesome way, the United Kingdom is exactly that, a group of ancient Kingdoms united under one London-based political roof. On the 18th of September however, the people of Scotland, home to Edinburgh, Groundskeeper Willie and Haggis, gets to decide whether or not they want to leave the UK, taking it [show graphic of UK] looking less like it's United, and more like it's lost its torso. [show graphic with Scotland removed].
This is a big deal for the UK. Historically, the governments of the UK have not been very good at letting countries go without a bit of a fight [show pictures of Indian war of independence and IRA mural], with both Ireland and India's independence coming at an unfortunately bloody price for both sides.
But in September Scotland are having a referendum, where every resident gets to vote on whether or not to become independent. Scotland has been part of the UK since 1707, while they shared Kings for 100 years before that. However, in 1999 following a referendum the Scots got their own parliament, with the power to change taxes, control healthcare and policing among other things, not so different from State government in the US.
Since then the Scottish National Party or SNP have gained popularity and in 2011 gained a majority in the parliament, setting up the process for a referendum to be help in September on the issue of Independence.
Unlike the cases of South Sudan and Kosovo, where much of the reasoning behind independence was based on race or a clash of religion, there is no real tension, be it religious or racial in Scotland. It is simply a question of politics and national identity.
Many people in Scotland feel that they are Scottish and nothing more and certainly not British, while there are others that feel that they are Scottish and British, and some who think of themselves just as British! What this has means is that there is a debate where the actual politics in question are under scrutiny, not the people with the policies.
But there are 5 questions that are creating the biggest debates, and today I’ll be taking you through them all.
Firstly there is the question of currency. In the US we use the dollar, as many smaller US-owned territories do to in what is known as a ‘Currency Union’. In the UK, unlike the majority of Europe, they use the pound, or more formally ‘sterling’. Economically speaking, the pound is one of the world’s strongest currencies, and stronger currency usually leads to a stronger economy, so an independent Scotland would need a strong currency.
