THE first independence vote was a real awakening for me, but for different reasons to most.
At the time I was studying in England, as pretty much the only Scottish student on campus. The perspective with which I was exploring the referendum was from a different angle than some people back home.
Being in England meant I was constantly faced with No vote arguments – at one point even abused in a bar for being Scottish, just before the vote was due to take place.
It was a very strange time. A number of English students believed we were right to want to leave – a Geordie colleague commented on the fact that she wished Newcastle could get a vote.
But the vast majority thought Scotland was moronic for even considering leaving the Union.
I tried to stay relatively neutral. My friends back home were split, my family was Yes and those who I looked to for guidance were mostly No. It took me a long time, a lot of exploring different arguments and speaking to different people before I arrived at a decision. For the most part I was siding with voting No. The currency issue really hit me, and friends in the financial sector convinced me that it was a tough topic to overlook.
Studying at the UK’s European university in Kent, the EU argument was another big one. I also felt there was a need to show solidarity with other parts of the UK which were staunchly anti-right wing, who we would be leaving behind. England being our largest trading partner raised serious issues for me.
But I have always had a belief in self-determination. The centralisation of power can take away from local areas deciding their own destiny.
I felt Scotland had been denied the right to express our more social democratic identity by being part of the UK. Scotland never voted for Thatcherism or for austerity – yet both left lasting impacts and irreparable scars on Scottish society.
You could say the romantic in me was siding with Yes. Weighing up both options I decided to follow my own thoughts on the subject and ended up voting begrudgingly for Yes. It was not easy and I have to be honest, for a while after the vote, I was relieved Scotland voted No, but then came the Conservative majority and Brexit – not to mention the broken promises of the No campaign for further devolution amongst other things.
Today, I still worry about the economic arguments for independence. I worry that Spain among others would veto our attempts to join the EU to thwart their own independence movements.
I worry that the arguments raised by Remainers during the Brexit vote would be directly transferable to Scotland leaving their largest trading partner.
I worry for working class communities elsewhere in the country, who may have to suffer further neo-liberalist policies.
The perfect result for me would be federalism, where Scotland has as much autonomy as possible. If that is never on offer and a vote was held tomorrow, I reckon I would still vote Yes. The romantic in me still believes that the people of Scotland should have a say over their own destiny.
Jacob Farr, 26, Edinburgh
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