Secessionists Plow Ahead in Europe; 25% of Americans Ready to Secede
By Ronald L. Ray
AmericanFreePress.net
September 27, 2014
Scotland had an historic opportunity to throw off peacefully the yoke of centuries of English rule. But on September 18, 55% of the largest Scottish electorate in history, which included 16- and 17-year-olds, said “No” to independence from the rest of the United Kingdom. Even so, relationships between the UK’s England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland may have changed forever. And pro-independence movements across Europe and the world have been emboldened to stand up to exploitative political establishments.
The vote to remain in the UK was carried by those 55 and older: 73% of the 65-plus group voted “No,” according to a post-election poll by Lord Michael Ashcroft. The majority of Scotland’s other voters favored independence. And for those who wished to separate, the largest motivating factor was longstanding frustration with the rulers in London. Nearly half of the union supporters were motivated by fear of uncertainties regarding “currency, EU [European Union] membership, the economy, jobs and prices.” Taking a page from Democrats in America, the Conservative Party’s “No” campaign effectively scared women and old people into fearing their healthcare and old-age pensions might be lost.
It is important to understand, however, that UK conservatives tend to be neo-liberal economically and interventionist in foreign policy—most akin, perhaps, to the Trotskyite neoconservatives in America’s Republican Party.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) and other independence supporters, by contrast, want decisions about Scotland to be made by Scots and an end to the economic exploitation of Scottish natural resources by the rest of the UK. Many sought independence in order to break the economic chains imposed on them by the plutocrats, who profit from the impoverishing “austerity” imposed on the working classes. In this sense, the pro-independence movement, which truly came from the “grassroots,” is fundamentally populist. It also embraces the continuation of certain social programs like the National Health Service and free university education, unlike the views of many English.
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