Local Scots say no to referendum

By Morgan Davy

BELLEVILE – Today Scotland heads to the polls to decide if it will separate from the United Kingdom and become an independent country.

Although they don’t have the chance to cast a vote, local scots are still weighing in on the issue.

Ian Batt, a retired real estate agent from Wellington, Ont, says this debate is nothing new for the people of his home country.

“Roughly 30 percent of scots have been agitating for a independence for many years, driven sometimes by enthusiasm for national causes and sometimes by the great stupidity of the London government,” he says.

Batt, originally from Edinburgh, says that he considered both sides and finds pros and cons for both.

“I probably would still vote no, primarily because in the past couple of weeks the people who are promoting the ‘no’ vote have added ideas and commitments to improving the Scottish lot; more ability to tax, a bigger share of the tax pie, etc. If this had been on the table earlier I doubt they would have had the momentum to have a referendum,” he says.

Bill Cunningham, secretary for the Scottish Country Dance Society of Belleville, says many people are seeing this as an economic issue.

“The economy of Scotland is such that it ties in very well with the UK and there seems to be a big push to make use of the North Sea oil as one of the factors in considering the separation, but you know that’s not going to last forever,” says Cunningham.

Cunningham says he has noticed age seems to be playing a role in the dispute.

“The vote has been given to the 16 and 17 year olds who are coming out in favour of separation. But do they have the experience of the cultures of Scotland at that age? It’s very troubling and I’m hoping that we’re going to have a no vote,” he says.

If a separation does happen, both men feel it will not affect Scottish culture in Canada, or their personal ties to their homeland.

“I’m still a Scot. It wouldn’t make a lot of difference for me and the way I feel, on the other hand visiting Scotland may just be a different experience,” says Cunningham.