Last week has marked a significant moment in the history of Britain. The referendum for the Scottish independence is an unprecedented step forward in the democratic development of Europe in the opinion of some people and a totally unnecessary example of the frenzy that has been going around the world in the past several years, according to others.
And last week was a total frenzy for England for sure. It was not an unusual sight to go around London and see people headed for the Heathrow or a man with a van on the street, loading all his friends and family in order to drive them to Edinburgh in order to give their answer to the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” Voters have been very active, and the referendum caused tons of discussions, protests and even conspiracy theories, as well as mocking from media outlets throughout the world. The information websites, only a couple of days before the vote released “secret documents” of the Russian ministry of Foreign affairs for attracting Scotland to Russia in case the independence from England became a fact – and many people bought the joke, which only comes to show how hectic and insecure the world we live in has become, since such absurd statements sound believable.
But the referendum for the Scottish independence have had a far deeper impact on the economy and the way of life throughout the UK, an impact that would have become far more serious in case the independence had been won and Scotland separated.
Months before the referendum the London stock market has been experiencing serious crashes due to the uncertainty of the outcome of the vote – as you may very well remember, studies showed that the opinions of the Scots have been equally divided on the question of the independence. We can only sigh with relieve from the fact that in end, it turned out that slightly more people were for the staying within the borders and political influence of the UK. Otherwise, the stock market would have crashed, which would have let to a real economic catastrophe – for England, for Scotland and the world as a whole, because the London Stock Market shares the role of the largest stock market in the world with New York.
The Scottish independence would have brought other serious problems on a local level as well. Changes in the administrative structure and the rise of far right nationalistic parties on the political scene are only the most obvious among those changes. It goes without saying that would have had a very negative impact on the way of life of the Scottish people, an impact from which it would have been decades until they have recovered. So, a man driving a van loaded with friends to the voting boots is good. Deciding such important questions in the way they have been decided – by inquiring for the opinion of the people themselves, is the right way to do such things. But the eventual outcome, the answer the people of Scotland gave to the historical question, is also good news.