Scottish independence referendum should trigger EU vote: New blog

As the EU seeks to centralise powers and stabilise the single currency, the British people should be given a say on where they want ultimate political power over them to lie.

We now know that there will be a referendum on Scotland’s relationship with the rest of Britain by the end of 2014. The three Westminster-based party leaders want to rule out a third, so-called “devo-max” option; believing that a straight ‘in or out’ question will deny Alex Salmond a face-saving result, given the current lack of support for total independence in the opinion polls. Whatever final form the ballot paper takes, a new dimension of debate is beginning to open up in north of the border as some Scots – including former Scottish National Party deputy leader Jim Sillars – argue that a referendum on the relationship with Westminster will also require a say on where Scotland stands concerning the European Union.

With the passing of the Lisbon treaty, it is clear that rightly or wrongly – depending on your point of view – the EU now accounts for a growing percentage of the legislation of the member states and restricts the capacity for action from locally elected politicians. For example, when the Scottish government announced it wanted to charge students from other parts of the United Kingdom full fees, the European Commission ruled it could not apply the same policy to students from other EU countries.

Attention is beginning to focus on whether or not a Scotland separated from the UK, but still inside the EU, would have to sign-up for euro membership as a new applicant country. Given the new rules, giving the commission the right to determine levels of public spending for eurozone members, it is unclear to what extent Scotland would be a truly independent nation in this context. As the European dimension of the independence debate gathers momentum, demand will grow for a second referendum on EU membership in the advent of a vote to quit the UK.

The fact that the Scottish people are being given a say on their collective constitutional future, and the increasing European focus on domestic politics, will increase support throughout the rest of Britain for a referendum on EU membership. As the EU seeks to centralise new powers to try and stabilise the single currency, which will have implications for even non-eurozone countries, the British people should be given a say one way or the other on where they want ultimate political power over them to lie. The People’s Pledge, the UK campaign for an EU referendum is a broad-based organisation drawing support from across the political parties and all shades of opinion.

It already has the support of 70 British MPs and 90,000 people have registered with the campaign. Pressure will build this year as demand for a democratic say for the British people grows. It is ironic that Alex Salmond, together with the leaders of the three major UK-wide parties, supports a referendum on Scottish independence – but opposes one for the UK over EU membership. That contradictory position is going to increasingly difficult for him, or any other party leader, to hold.

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Ian McKenzie is communications director at the People’s Pledge

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