Ken Keller's 2013 NCGE presentation on political geography in the APHG strand

1. Scottish Devolution and Nationalism
The 2014 Referendum
Keller
NCGE 2013
Denver, CO

2. APHG Course Outline
Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces
Nationalism, Devolution
Centripetal – Forces that unite
Centrifugal – Forces that break apart
Nationalism - Ideology based on the premise that the individual’s
loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or
group interests.
How do the impacts of this potential devolution reflect the above
forces?
Use 2006 FRQ as a sample of this type of APHG exam question
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/_ap06_frq_humang
Use 2005 FRQ as a sample of this type of APHG exam question
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/_ap05_frq_human

3. An Introduction
The Acts of Union of 1707 united the parliaments of
Scotland and England and resulted in the formation of a
single parliament of Great Britain and a single, unified
United Kingdom (UK) state. Although smaller in
population and geography than England, Scotland has
played a large role in the development of the multi-nation
UK, from the contributions its citizens have made to
establishing democracy and the rule of law, to the
development of modern industrial and financial systems,
to philosophy, culture, sport and the arts.
The 2014 referendum's question: Should Scotland be
an Independent Country?
Essential Question for students:
What impact will the devolution of Scotland have?

4. So How do Scots
see themselves?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/oct/06/survey-uk-identity
Compared to hose who live in England, three times as many Scots
define themselves as Scottish rather than British.

5. Impacts of referendum?
In the independence referendum on September 18, 2014,
Scotland will be faced with a choice between two futures.
•A Yes vote will mean endorsing the view that people who
live here - equipped with the powers that other countries
take for granted - will do a better job of running Scotland
than politicians in London.
If a majority vote Yes, Scotland’s future will be in Scotland’s
hands.
•A No vote will mean Westminster/UK retaining control over
key decisions that affect life in Scotland.

6. What does independence
mean?
• being separate from the rest of the UK
• “separate from England”
• “separate from England, Wales and
Northern Ireland”
• “running their own affairs”
• Scotland “managing on its own”

7. Unanswered questions after
the vote?
•Will the result of the referendum be decisive? (Or will it just
be “taken into account” with the final decision being made
by government?)
• In the event of a ‘Yes’ vote, could the government still
decide not to go ahead?
• Would a particular threshold of ‘Yes’ votes need to be
reached?
• What would happen if the next government was not in
favor of independence? Could they overturn the result?
• Who would be Prime Minister (or equivalent) the day after
the referendum?
• Would there be an election for the Scottish Parliament
immediately after the referendum?

8. Devolution of Scotland -
The Basicshttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/first_time_voter/8589835.stm
• Since 1999, the way the United Kingdom
is run has been transformed by
devolution - a process designed to
decentralize government and give more
powers to the three nations which,
together with England, make up the UK.
• Devolution essentially means the
transfer of powers from the UK
parliament in London to assemblies in
Cardiff and Belfast, and the Scottish
Parliament in Edinburgh.

9. The Origins of
Scottish Devolution
• Public votes were held in 1997 in Scotland
and Wales, and a year later in both parts
of Ireland.
• This resulted in the creation of the
Scottish Parliament, the National
Assembly for Wales and the Northern
Ireland Assembly.
• Devolution applied in different ways in
each nation due to historical and
administrative differences.

10. Article courtesy of
D. Ziegler’s never
ending files 

11. MAJOR DEVOLVED POWERS
SCOTLAND WALES N. IRELAND
Agriculture, forestry &
fishing
Agriculture, forestry &
fishing
Agriculture
Education Education Education
Environment Environment Environment
Health Health & social welfare Health
Housing Housing
Enterprise, trade &
investment
Justice, policing &
courts*
Local government Social services
Local government Fire & rescue services Justice & policing
Fire service Highways & transport
Economic development Economic development
Some transport
*Scotland has always had its own legal system
Centripetal or Centrifugal?
Students need to identify/discuss

12. What Powers Are Not
Devolved?
• The UK government is responsible for
national policy on all powers which have
not been devolved.
• These are known usually as "reserved
powers" and include foreign affairs, defense,
international relations and economic policy.

13. MAJOR NON-DEVOLVED POWERS
SCOTLAND WALES N. IRELAND
Constitution
Defense & national
security
Defense & national
security
Defense & national
security
Economic policy Foreign policy
Foreign policy Foreign policy Nationality
Energy Energy Energy**
Immigration &
nationality
Immigration &
nationality
Trade & industry [see footnote +]
Some transport
Social security
** - specified as "nuclear energy & installations"
+ - Non-devolved powers in Wales are by implication all those not set out in
the 2006 Government of Wales Act
Centripetal or Centrifugal?
Students need to identify/discuss

14. Current Devolution
in Scotland
• Scotland has a "parliament" as opposed to an "assembly" -
the crucial difference being that Holyrood (Edinburgh) is a
legislation-making body, passing bills in various areas of its
many devolved responsibilities.
• The Scottish parliament also has the power to raise or lower
the basic rate of income tax by 3p in the pound - although
this so-called "Tartan Tax" has never been used.
• In addition to the main devolved powers shown in the table,
the parliament can legislate on tourism, economic
development, planning, natural and built heritage, sport and
the arts, as well as statistics, public registers and records.
• The primary powers retained by Westminster include foreign
policy, defense and trade and industry.

15. Problems With Devolution?
• Devolution has caused some tensions, particularly over public
spending.
• The new powers of the Scottish Parliament have allowed it to
abolish university tuition fees and prescription charges. These
services are not free in England.
• However Scotland's public services are still paid for by all UK
taxpayers under the which allocates funding around different parts
of the country.
• Some in England are increasingly unhappy, seeing this as English
taxpayers subsidizing free services in Scotland.
• A 2010 survey of 980 people by the liberal leaning think tank the
Institute for Public Policy Research suggested 40% of those
questioned believe this situation unfair, compared with 22% in
2003.

16. Implications of devolution
•In the event of independence, there
would be a new state in the
international community called
Scotland. The question is then: what
happens to the state known as the
UK? The UK could carry on legally as
before, but without Scotland.
•Alternatively, the UK could cease to
exist and two new states could come
into being – Scotland, and one
comprising England, Wales and
Northern Ireland that has not
previously existed.

17. Implications of devolution
•There is no prospect that an independent Scottish state would
automatically become a new member of the EU upon
independence because there is no explicit provision for this
process in the EU’s own membership rules.
•Unpicking the UK’s institutional and governmental framework
would be an enormous task. As an indication of the scale and
complexity involved, in order to perform the same functions that
are currently provided by the UK, the government of an
independent Scottish state may need to create up to four times
as many Scottish public organizations as currently exist.
•Likewise, membership in the UN, NATO, G7, G8, G20 and the
IMF would also have to be discussed at length.

18. Implications of devolution
•The UK is a highly integrated and well-established multi-nation
state. Under devolution, responsibility for governing Scotland is
shared between the UK Government and the Scottish Government.
All of the powers and responsibilities of the UK in Scotland would
therefore become the responsibility of a new independent Scottish
state in the event of independence.
•That would include: security, defense and intelligence; tax
administration and welfare expenditure; foreign policy; key parts of
energy and transport policy; and a range of other areas including,
crucially, macroeconomic policy and monetary policy.
•Proposals for a formal currency union or for an independent
Scottish state to have recourse to the Bank of England’s functions
could form part of independence negotiations should
representatives of an independent Scottish state want to table
them, but they would require the agreement of the continuing UK
and would be on the condition that they satisfied the economic
interests of both parties.

19. Implications of devolution
•An independent Scottish state would be
responsible for deciding on the best
arrangements to put in place for the control
and protection of its borders. It would need
to take decisions on how to manage the
flow of both people and goods across
those borders, and then implement those
decisions.

20. England’s Resentment over
Scotland’s devolution?
52% of the good people of England believe Scotland gets
“more than its fair share” of UK public spending, with only
19% thinking the distribution of cash was “pretty much fair”.
Almost as many (49%) think Scotland benefits the most
financially from the Union, compared to just 23% who say
both nations do equally well and therefore, at most, 28% who
think England gets the best deal.

22. Never interrupt the enemy
when they are making a
mistake--Napoleon.
DAVID CAMERON'S Government believes it has already
won the battle over Scottish independence 14 months
before the referendum.
"We have won the argument on
independence," declared a
Government minister.
"Ordinary people on the doorsteps
have made their mind up about this
issue. But they may vote Yes next
September for other reasons. We
are now fighting to ensure we've got
a big enough majority to determine
what happens after the referendum."

23. Where they stand
on the EU?
Attitudes to the EU are almost exactly opposite
in England and Scotland, a groundbreaking
study by the IPPR, University of Edinburgh and
University of Cardiff has found. Fully 50% of
English voters would vote to leave the EU, with
33% voting to remain, with the figure in
Scotland almost exactly inverted with 53 per
cent of Scots would vote in a referendum to
stay in the EU and 34 per cent to leave.
The study focuses on the growth of English
identity, and some evidence of an increasing
discontent with the way the UK is governed
amongst English voters.

24. Polling on Scotland's
Referendum 2014
Referendum date set in steel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9QOvKs0KVU
• Scottish Ministers support independence, believing a
sovereign nation can prosper by choosing its own policies
for social and economic growth and having its own
distinctive voice in Europe and the wider world.
• The Scottish Parliament has been granted the powers to
organize the referendum and both UK and Scottish
Governments have agreed they will respect the result.
• The main Scottish Independence Referendum Bill was
introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 21 March 2013. It
sets out arrangements for the conduct of the referendum,
including the date of the vote and campaign spending
limits.

25. Recent Poll

26. What issues are most
Important to Scots?

31. The Trident Issue
Despite recent promises that the anti-
independence campaign would present a
positive message, the UK Government is
now threatening that if Scotland votes for
independence Westminster could annex
the Faslane and Coulport bases on the
Clyde.
Although officially the Minister of Defense
claims that it is not making contingency
plans for Scottish independence, it has
been reported that Westminster is
considering "sovereign base" status for the
Trident bases, similar to that of the UK
bases in Cyprus.
The SNP have condemned the plan as an
"extraordinary attempt to bully Scotland"
into voting against independence.

32. Scottish Government
Promotes Independence
• Use of the Internet:
Blogs
• Social Media
Facebook (Referendum 2014)
Twitter
http://www.scotreferendum.com/

33. Alex Salmond:
'independence and
expectations'
"We have a social union which is about
much, much more than Westminster. It's
about family and emotional ties. We will not
become a foreign country, that's simply
ridiculous. Does anyone think Ireland is a
foreign country? And as for the currency –
well, Scotland has as much of a claim on
the Bank of England as anyone else; it was
a Scot who founded it, after all."
"Independence will come to Scotland on a tide of rising
expectations, not out of desperation," he says. "People are
entitled to have rising expectations and not simply for
themselves. They can have expectations for decency, and the
reasonably secure belief that the country will be all right
economically. This, coupled with a belief that we will be better
socially, is an irresistible combination. We can be in a position
not simply to do better for ourselves but for each other."

34. Dividing Issues –
Centrifugal Forces?
OIL
The SNP claims that Scotland produces two-thirds of Europe's oil, and
has more than 40 years of reserves, and it says that oil tax revenue
could fund a third of current government spending.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
The bedroom tax – a cut to housing benefit for working-age council or
housing-association tenants with "spare" bedrooms – encapsulates
what nationalists believe separates Scotland from England: a
commitment to social justice in all its forms.
TRIDENT
A non-nuclear Scotland is one of the SNP's flagship and non-negotiable
policies. Last week it emerged that the government is examining plans
to designate the Scottish military base that houses the Trident nuclear
deterrent as sovereign UK territory if Scotland votes for independence.
EUROPE
The Scottish First Minister has ruled out a referendum on this issue
post-independence. As far as he is concerned, Scotland will remain in
Europe even if England opts to leave.

35. Tennis anyone?
Centripetal Forces
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2013/0708/Does-Andy-Murray-s-W

36. Waving the Saltire

37. Impact on Gender Equality
Gender politics is an area that is often neglected by the
media in terms of the independence debate, and one that
remains relatively untouched by either side. But the Yes
campaign has much to gain by addressing gender
inequality head on: an independent Scotland could offer a
new approach to the issue of female representation.
It is clear that women across the UK are faced with deep
inequalities in many walks of life – from their treatment in
the media to employment and everyday sexism. But
sexism is particularly palpable in British politics. The
percentage of women MPs and government ministers, a
mere 22.5% and 17.5% respectively, is the best indicator
with which to observe women’s participation in political life.

38. Scottish Independence:
Key questions answered

39. Scottish Independence:
Key questions answered
What would happen to the oil?
In 2011/12 alone, about 94% of
the UK’s North Sea revenues -
about £10.6 billion – were
generated in Scottish Waters. It
is widely expected that Scotland
would take a geographical share
based on a “median line” split
curving eastwards from Berwick
if it leaves the UK.

40. Scottish Independence:
Key questions answered
What currency would an
independent Scotland
have?
Scotland could create its
own currency, enter the
euro, adopt Sterling or
keep the pound.

41. Scottish Independence:
Key questions answered
Would Scotland be
allowed in the EU?
Scotland would become a
member of the EU; the
question is over the timing
and the terms.

42. Scottish Independence:
Key questions answered
What would happen to the
Trident nuclear deterrent?
The SNP has said it would not
tolerate Britain’s nuclear
weapons in an independent
Scotland. However defense
analysts have pointed out that to
transfer the subs, warheads and
the huge infrastructure out of
the country could take up to 30
years.

43. Scottish Independence:
Key questions answered
Would Scotland have its own
constitution?
A new constitutional convention
would be set up after the first
elections of an independent
Scotland in 2016 to draft the
document, which alongside the
Scottish Government would include
contributions from politicians, civic
society, organizations, business
interests, trade unions and others.

44. Scottish Independence:
Key questions answered
What would happen to a Scots’
British passport?
It is possible that a Yes vote in
Scotland will be interpreted as an
anti-English vote which will mean
that options like keeping a British
passport will be withdrawn from
Scots.

45. Scottish Independence:
Key questions answered
What would happen to the Union
Jack/Union flag?
A state can have whatever flag it likes and
it is up to its government so therefore if the
rest of the UK government wishes to keep
the flag there is nothing Scotland can do
about it.

46. Scottish Independence:
Key questions answered
What would happen to the monarchy?
The SNP has developed an official policy that
would see an independent Scotland retain
Queen Elizabeth as head of state and the
country remaining within the Commonwealth.

47. Scottish Independence:
Key questions answered
Would higher education remain free?
The SNP insists that it would continue to
fund free tuition for Scottish students
under independence, if the party remains
in power. There is no guarantee that free
tuition would remain in place if the Labour
Party was to take power at Holyrood
under independence.

48. Lighter Side of the Debate 
Comedians give their views on the Scottish independence
referendum and through in a few jokes along the way.
• Comedian Pete Cain’s take on Scottish independence
“If you’re a Scot and unsure which way to vote why not hold a
séance in your kitchen and summon-up your ancestors to get their
take on it. I’m pretty certain that long before you’ve finished
explaining your concerns about economic stability they’ll have
smashed all the crockery and blown-up the toaster. Probably best
not to mention that all you have to do to regain independence is put
a cross on a piece of paper rather than invade England and kill the
monarch.”
• Comic Keith Farnan’s take on Scottish independence
“Having never studied Geography, it seems the SNP are under the
illusion that fossil fuels are made by the magical infinite pixies and
such revenues will last forever. The plan smacks of a country in mid-
life crisis where they’ve won the lotto and, instead of buying a house
for the wife and family who they’ve been attached to for centuries,
they get a fake tan, fix their teeth and leave to take up with a young
hussy called self-determination.”

49. Essential question for
students: Which aspects of
Scottish independence elicit
centripetal or centrifugal forces?

50. Works Cited
1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/first_t
ime_voter/8589835.stm
2. http://www.scotreferendum.com/
3. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/oct/06/survey-
uk-identity
4. http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-
news/coalition-claims-it-has-won-battle-for-no-vote-in-
referendum.21607716
5. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jul/13/alexsalmond-
scottish-independence
6. http://www.slideshare.net/sa/d5792b15ef05605f50ee977c10039b
5f

51. Works Cited
7. http://newsnetscotland.com/index.php/scot ish-news/7714-
westminster-threatens-annexation-of-clyde-nuclear-bases
8. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/joan-mcalpine-alex-
salmond-every-2039211#.UdvO_le9eic.twitter
9.http://www.alynsmith.eu/scotland_and_england_poles_apart_o
n_the_eu
10. http://nationalcollective.com/2013/07/08/independence-new-
chance-for-womens-representation/
11. http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/scottish-
independence-key-questions-answered-1-2980422