Where does Scotland stand after Brexit? A Liberal argument

I may be somewhat preaching to the choir with this article, but reaffirming both the Scottish and the liberal argument for rejoining the European Union is indisputably important. Scottish and liberal support for the EU is a fundamental political truth. So, in the face of insurmountable opposition to the idea of re-joining the EU from Westminster, what choice do Europhile Scots have except to support independence?

The unfortunate truth of Scotland’s position is that it is stuck in a political relationship that is not working for us. In 2016 a massive 62% of voters in Scotland backed membership of the EU- a figure that has only risen since. There was no clean split along constitutional lines for Leave and Remain. What have we seen since that vote? An abandonment of European support by every single major unionist political party. The Labour Party, especially, have spectacularly flip-flopped, having ditched their noble Europeanism of the Blair years in favour of ‘Making Brexit Work’ with Starmer.

There is no Brexit successes forthcoming. To give just one example, the Scottish fishing industry now has less access to fish in the North Sea than it did under the Common Fisheries Policy. There is no ‘full control’ of Scottish waters as promised by the Scottish Tories. What we have got are more and more layers of bureaucracy, delay and unprofitability to a critical industry, one that is a significant exporter to the EU. The failures of Brexit are now manifest- from allowing companies to dump sewage on British beaches, to Scottish exports falling by 13% (£2.2 bn) since Brexit. Plain and simple, Brexit has been a shot in the foot- peddled by shameless career politicians among the Conservative ranks and far-right demagogues who now rightly languish in political obscurity. They do not speak for Scotland, so why should their decisions impact us?

Economically, the EU is an essential partner to Scotland. Rejoining post-independence could see migration of EU nationals to our country once again flourish after being dented by Brexit. Our workforce would grow, opportunities would expand, and our culture would certainly be enriched by a vibrant EU national population in our borders. Scotland’s already world-beating universities would also benefit from re-enrollment into the Erasmus scheme. Furthermore, as an independent nation free to set its own foreign policy, Scotland could play its role as a key contributor to the European sphere, helping set policy that affects hundreds of millions of people on the continent. Economically too, a stable, European, Liberal country such as Scotland is more attractive to investors than a devolved region playing a bit-part in Westminster’s comedy of errors. If recent weeks have taught us anything, it’s that revolving-door executive branches do not inspire confidence in markets, and economic tinkering in favour of the already massively wealthy does not make a currency strong or stable.

We have a natural home in Europe. The EU’s self-proclaimed aims include promoting social justice, technological progress, environmentalism and competitive market economies. You would be hard pressed to find any modern liberal who has qualms with these principles. Recently, the French President Emmanuel Macron proclaimed on Twitter that “The European Union is a treasure of peace. There is no hegemony, no strongest. Only similar people, equals”. This is, in essence, what the European project means to me- a community of friends, of neighbours, of equals, working together to promote peace, sustainable development and social justice. There is perhaps no more noble objective than this moral egalitarianism, the desire to see all people prosper, not just a certain group of people born in a certain piece of land. Scottish independence is of course fully compatible with this viewpoint. All you need to do is compare the Scottish Government’s unabashed internationalism to the ever-growing hegemonic acceptance in Westminster of cruel deportations, foreign aid budget butcherings and withdrawal from international organisations.

14% of 2014 ‘No’ voters would support independence if offered a route to Scotland rejoining the EU. And, with the Scottish Government’s economic white paper on independence outlining “an independent Scotland should apply to re-join the European Union”, it is quite clear that we are keen to reclaim our European star. But do they want us? Have they kept a light on? Well, in February 2020, the former European Council president Donald Tusk told the BBC that Brussels “would be enthusiastic” if an independent Scotland sought to rejoin the EU. What’s more, Mr Tusk’s predecessor Herman Van Rompuy has confirmed what most British observers have suspected- that Brexit has changed European leaders’ minds about Scottish independence. In 2019, he revealed that there is now "much more sympathy" for regions seeking European alignment in light of Brexit. This is also seen with the EU’s Foreign Policy chief, David McAllister saying he is ready to support Scotland with EU matters, and further adding that “sometimes I am so often in contact with representatives from (the Scottish) Government that I’ve got a feeling that I have a new constituency in the European Parliament”.

I don’t want to give the impression that Scottish independence inside the EU is an inevitability. While it is the cause that so many activists have spent so much time and effort campaigning for, it is by no means a given. Europhilic, mostly middle-class Liberals do not uniformly line up behind the independence cause- so it is up to us to make the case that separating from the decaying Westminster is the best chance for our country to rejoin the EU and to have a successful, sustainable society. We are carrying on the cause started by the Liberals of old, who argued for home rule. Now we argue for the logical conclusion of their mission. Independence within a community of nations that support and respect us. Putting Europe front and centre of this campaign is essential to victory and must guide the post-independence government’s thinking. It would after all be wasteful not to utilise the goodwill that is waiting for us on the continent.