ON the morning of June 24, 2016, I was woken not by my usual series of alarms, but by my mum, with an expression on her face that I wasn’t used to seeing. “We’ve left,” she said, stunned. “We’ve voted to leave.”

Coming from an Irish family, feeling at least some affinity with Europe is something I’ve always taken for granted. I don’t remember much of the referendum campaign, mainly because I didn’t pay close attention – I foolishly assumed we’d remain. I grew up in England and so would’ve been in sixth form college at the time. I didn’t even have a vote.

By the height of the Brexit years – those long, arduous years which put normal politics on hold – I was living in Scotland and loving every second of life in busy, cosmopolitan Glasgow. In some ways, it reminded me of being back home in Manchester – another lively, bustling city which embraced its European workers and recognised the importance of EU membership in regards to its local economy.

The National: The agreement seeks to reduce the volume of Brexit red tape on the movement of GB goods bound for Northern Ireland (Yui Mok/PA)

The contrast between Scotland and England was stark. There was genuine resentment among my Scottish friends, even among Unionists, at what was happening in London. The fever which had gripped Westminster and corrupted our MPs was completely alien in Scotland, a country which, like Manchester, had whole industries built on healthy relations with Europe and cherished the contribution of EU nationals to its hospitality, health and financial sectors.

And yet for all that confusion, shock and dismay that followed the referendum result, it seemed to unleash something new in British politics. Countless young people across the UK, myself included, were suddenly aware that politics mattered – our future was being decided for us, largely by Westminster politicians who didn’t know what they were doing. They frequently had little understanding of Scotland’s economy, and it became clear to Scottish voters that they had been misled in 2014 – they had voted no to independence, believing that their place in Europe, their family finances and their children’s futures would be secure.

The Brexit dream – a return to the glory days of sought-after exports and industries like engineering, steel and shipbuilding – becomes a nightmare for Scotland, a country where services now account for 75% of our economy and manufacturing a meagre 11%. In 2018, trade between Scotland and Europe was worth a cool £33.8 billion – a figure that represented countless jobs, industries and livelihoods.

How Brexit hit Scotland

The Scottish economy has since been hit by an exodus of European workers, a shrinking financial services sector and spiralling prices. Far from the abundance of jobs and houses we were promised by the likes of Johnson and Farage, the UK’s economic outlook looks dire. The Scottish government can only do so much with a limited budget in the face of stagnating wages and a housing crisis which Westminster has little appetite to counter. Why would they, when a wealthy elite benefits from both? In some ways, we have never been more polarised – but at least Labour and the Conservatives have settled on a consensus in favour of trickle-down economics and impotent financial policies.

At the time of writing, the UK economy is set to be at the back of the G7 countries, shrinking by 0.3%. The really depressing news is that the UK is behind even Russia, which is looking at a 0.7% growth figure for its sanctions-hit, creaking economy.

If the argument for independence was lost on the crux of economics in 2014, it has never been clearer than now that Europe is at the centre of winning that argument next time. Aside from providing the freedom of movement of goods, services, people and capital, Scotland in the EU is part of a trading bloc of 440 million people, a unique partnership with far greater clout on the world stage than a decrepit UK, staggering around with its begging bowl and unable to remember its lines.

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A union worth being part of?

There will be those who claim that the UK is the only union Scotland should be interested in. And while it is true that trade with the rest of the UK dwarfs trade with Europe, the same could be said of Ireland, India and countless Commonwealth nations before their independence. Scotland accounts for more than 22% of the UK’s renewable energy generation, 61% of its timber production, 82% of its oil and gas and research found that whisky was the UK’s largest food and drink export in 2021, 22% of the UK total. A belligerent UK would be beyond foolish to inflict even more damage on its economy by complicating independence for Scotland.

If voters in England were persuaded by Vote Leave’s criticism of the European project, Scotland has built its identity on the best Europe has to offer; a social democratic economy, a compassionate welfare state and a commitment to free trade. This is a far cry from the protectionist populism championed by Westminster and further emphasises the crossroads the UK is facing.

Scotland is the only UK nation with a consistent international trade surplus. Its food and drink exports have risen by more than 80% since 2007, while international exports of goods and services have risen by 64% since 2002.

With the powers of independence, there is no reason why a European, internationalist Scotland cannot succeed. The UK is indeed at a crossroads, and it’s time Scotland should be allowed to choose which path it wants to take.

This article is part of the YSI's international conference supplement