Alex Salmond is so misunderstood by the English!

I will make the point that I would prefer Scotland to reject the Scottish First Minister's vision of an independent Scotland.  

The main reason I take this position is to echo the views expressed by the former British Conservative Premier Sir John Major.  Sir John has spoken of the prospect of a much diminished UK losing global influence, and maybe even losing it's permanent seat on the UN Security Council!  I would like to think that Scotland as a whole would recognise that a weaker UK with less global influence would not be spiffing for them also.  Plus Scottish Devolution has delivered more decision making closer to the Scottish citizen, and that distinct Scottish identity continues to thrive on the international stage through Scotland's various sporting teams.

Despite my preference for the Scots to say No, I would warn against jumping on an anti-Salmond bandwagon.  Just because someone feels Scotland is better outside the framework of the Union, it does not necessarily mean they are intrinsically anti-English!  In fact I personally don't think that either the man himself nor Nicola Sturgeon (his Scottish Nationalist Party Deputy) are anti-English at all.  In the event of a Yes vote it would almost certainly be in the rest of the UK's interest to have cordial relations with whoever forms the first Government of an independent Scotland.

As much as some English Politicians like UKIP's Nigel Farage are quick to make the point of how Salmond is good at goading the English, Salmond is correct when he speaks of how Britain is imbalanced economically due to London dominance.  One point in support of this imbalance is the transport spending per head for London residents being far superior to the spending per head in the north of England.  Whether an independent Scotland is the answer to this imbalance is debatable.

I personally favour Regional Devolution in the English Regions as a means to correct this imbalance.  The people of the North East had the opportunity to bring more powers closer to the people in the 2004 devolution referendum.  I am not saying the rejected North East Assembly could have assumed powers to give the people in that region free prescriptions, as Salmond has been able to.  But it is important to realise that the decision of the North East electorate (had it been to embrace devolution) could have gone some way to challenge the dominance of London and the South-East.

In getting to the unbalanced point some people try to make about Salmond being anti-English, it is important to remember that this particular referendum in the North-East was not one in which Mr Salmond had any influence over.  Salmond is also correct when he refers to an independent Scotland being no more a foreign country to the remainder of the UK than the Republic of Ireland is.  Is anybody seriously saying that the current Irish Premier Enda Kenny and his Government are anti-British?  But perhaps more crucially, do the majority of Brits see the Irish as foreigners?  Of course not!

When arguments were made recently made along the lines of how absurd it would be for an independent Scotland to share the pound, Salmond looked on the back foot.  His fightback in terms of suggesting how high the currency exchange costs would be on English Business, has perhaps turned this fascinating debate on it's head.  That is not to say Salmond may be exaggerating the extent to which English industry would be at a loss.  But let's face it- exaggeration of the facts is something all politicians of all colours engage in, for better or for worse!