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| US the latest battleground in Scottish referendum debate | US the latest battleground in Scottish referendum debate |
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| The United States may not have a say in Scotland's forthcoming independence referendum but that has not prevented leaders from both sides of the debate from seeking to sway opinion and enlist support in Washington and New York. | The United States may not have a say in Scotland's forthcoming independence referendum but that has not prevented leaders from both sides of the debate from seeking to sway opinion and enlist support in Washington and New York. |
| The nationalist first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, and the head of the pro-union group Better Together, Alistair Darling, both gave speeches in the US this week outlining why what to many Americans remains an obscure constitutional battle should matter outside the United Kingdom | |
| Though the White House has so far stayed resolutely neutral, Darling dropped hints he believes there is concern in the administration that a split would damage US interests by weakening Britain's role as an international ally. | Though the White House has so far stayed resolutely neutral, Darling dropped hints he believes there is concern in the administration that a split would damage US interests by weakening Britain's role as an international ally. |
| “People are asking questions privately,” he told a briefing of reporters in Washington ahead of a private speech at Johns Hopkins university. | “People are asking questions privately,” he told a briefing of reporters in Washington ahead of a private speech at Johns Hopkins university. |
| “The US government has understandably taken the view that this is a matter for Scotland and it won't be intervening,” added Darling. “Their private views are their private views, but I have yet to find anybody who thinks it's a good idea.” | “The US government has understandably taken the view that this is a matter for Scotland and it won't be intervening,” added Darling. “Their private views are their private views, but I have yet to find anybody who thinks it's a good idea.” |
| Opinion polls in Scotland have consistently predicted defeat for Salmond's Scottish National Party in the 18 September referendum, which arose from a campaign pledge when the party took control of the Edinburgh parliament, first created under more limited devolution from London in 1999. Two polls out on Thursday put support for the yes vote at around 40%, although a large number of undecided voters could be decisive either way. | Opinion polls in Scotland have consistently predicted defeat for Salmond's Scottish National Party in the 18 September referendum, which arose from a campaign pledge when the party took control of the Edinburgh parliament, first created under more limited devolution from London in 1999. Two polls out on Thursday put support for the yes vote at around 40%, although a large number of undecided voters could be decisive either way. |
| The pro-union campaign has been struggling to make a positive case for the status quo – in particular because it is associated with the rightwing Conservative-led government in London, which is widely opposed in Scotland, which has returned only one Conservative MP to London since 2005. The nationalists have responded to the scare tactics of the 'no' campaign – known as Project Fear – with a sunnier, positive message. Debates have raged about whether an independent Scotland would keep the pound, retain the Queen as head of state, and stay in the European Union. Over the course of the campaign, support for a yes vote has risen steadily, if slowly. | |
| The independence referendum is based on residency, not place of birth – the New York-based actor Alan Cumming, an ardent supporter of independence – bought a property in Edinburgh last year in an attempt to secure a vote. But international support for a permanent break in the 307-year-old union between Scotland and the rest of the UK remains a factor, and both camps are quick to acknowledge that American hearts are stirred by Hollywood movies such as Braveheart. | The independence referendum is based on residency, not place of birth – the New York-based actor Alan Cumming, an ardent supporter of independence – bought a property in Edinburgh last year in an attempt to secure a vote. But international support for a permanent break in the 307-year-old union between Scotland and the rest of the UK remains a factor, and both camps are quick to acknowledge that American hearts are stirred by Hollywood movies such as Braveheart. |
| Though primarily “appealing to the head”, Darling warned this week of “complacency” in assuming that the quarter of Scotland's four million undecided voters will be not be swung by emotional arguments at the last minute and said it was important for the future strength of the union for nationalists to lose by a convincing margin. | Though primarily “appealing to the head”, Darling warned this week of “complacency” in assuming that the quarter of Scotland's four million undecided voters will be not be swung by emotional arguments at the last minute and said it was important for the future strength of the union for nationalists to lose by a convincing margin. |
| George Robertson, another Scot and former cabinet minister in the UK in the Labour government, who is campaigning against independence, was blunter, claiming it would be “cataclysmic” for the western alliance and urging Washington's defence establishment to speak up on the subject. | George Robertson, another Scot and former cabinet minister in the UK in the Labour government, who is campaigning against independence, was blunter, claiming it would be “cataclysmic” for the western alliance and urging Washington's defence establishment to speak up on the subject. |
| “The loudest cheers for the break-up of Britain would be from our adversaries and from our enemies,”Robertson, a former Nato secretary general, told the Brookings Institution on Monday. | “The loudest cheers for the break-up of Britain would be from our adversaries and from our enemies,”Robertson, a former Nato secretary general, told the Brookings Institution on Monday. |
| A White House intervention last year during debates about a potential British referendum on withdrawal from the European Union is raising hopes that Obama may choose to intervene again as September's Scottish referendum draws closer, especially if the repeated polling leads against independence begin to narrow. | A White House intervention last year during debates about a potential British referendum on withdrawal from the European Union is raising hopes that Obama may choose to intervene again as September's Scottish referendum draws closer, especially if the repeated polling leads against independence begin to narrow. |
| “I can't rule out the American administration saying something in the next six months,” said Darling when asked about its previous waring about the dangers of Britain leaving the EU. “If you believe there is an advantage to the UK remaining part of the European Union there is a certain [similar] logic in relation to Scotland and the UK.” | “I can't rule out the American administration saying something in the next six months,” said Darling when asked about its previous waring about the dangers of Britain leaving the EU. “If you believe there is an advantage to the UK remaining part of the European Union there is a certain [similar] logic in relation to Scotland and the UK.” |
| But Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party, was equally emphatic during two speeches in New York that an independent Scotland would thrive internationally and rejected the notion that only a large country can be a reliable ally of the US. “You can aspire to be a great nation, without desiring to be a great power,” he said. “The USA is both. But most nations can’t be. And they reduce their chance to be a great nation, if they pretend to be a great power.” | But Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party, was equally emphatic during two speeches in New York that an independent Scotland would thrive internationally and rejected the notion that only a large country can be a reliable ally of the US. “You can aspire to be a great nation, without desiring to be a great power,” he said. “The USA is both. But most nations can’t be. And they reduce their chance to be a great nation, if they pretend to be a great power.” |
| Salmond was also unabashed in playing to America's own experience of independence from London. “One of the first and most exciting tasks of an independent Scotland will be to devise a constitution for our new nation, and in doing that we will undoubtedly look for inspiration to the US constitution,” he said. | Salmond was also unabashed in playing to America's own experience of independence from London. “One of the first and most exciting tasks of an independent Scotland will be to devise a constitution for our new nation, and in doing that we will undoubtedly look for inspiration to the US constitution,” he said. |
| “The military significance of Scots and Scots-Irish Americans such as John Paul Jones, Ulysess S Grant and George S Patton has been immense, but Scotland’s most cherished contributions to the USA relate to values and ideas – the constitutional thinking of James Wilson, the philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie, the environmentalism of John Muir.” | “The military significance of Scots and Scots-Irish Americans such as John Paul Jones, Ulysess S Grant and George S Patton has been immense, but Scotland’s most cherished contributions to the USA relate to values and ideas – the constitutional thinking of James Wilson, the philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie, the environmentalism of John Muir.” |
| Darling is opting mainly for drier but hard-headed arguments, claiming his experience working with the International Monetary Fund, where he was also speaking this week in Washington on economic stability, proves that bigger countries carry more influence and less financial risk. | Darling is opting mainly for drier but hard-headed arguments, claiming his experience working with the International Monetary Fund, where he was also speaking this week in Washington on economic stability, proves that bigger countries carry more influence and less financial risk. |
| “The UK has clout in the IMF, the World Bank, the United Nations,” he said. “Scotland through that can be far more influential in things that people in Scotland care about. | “The UK has clout in the IMF, the World Bank, the United Nations,” he said. “Scotland through that can be far more influential in things that people in Scotland care about. |
| “The people I was talking to yesterday [at the IMF], their instinct is that at a time when the world is facing all these problems, it makes sense to come together rather than come apart. That's what the IMF is about.” | “The people I was talking to yesterday [at the IMF], their instinct is that at a time when the world is facing all these problems, it makes sense to come together rather than come apart. That's what the IMF is about.” |
| Darling, who was accompanied during his meeting with reporters in Washington by a British diplomat, is also unafraid to play the economic card, claiming support from the American oil industry and Wall Street. | Darling, who was accompanied during his meeting with reporters in Washington by a British diplomat, is also unafraid to play the economic card, claiming support from the American oil industry and Wall Street. |
| “What we are seeing is more and more businesses are speaking out, despite the fact that they are coming under very great pressure in Scotland from the cyber Nats to shut up,” said Darling. “The first voice out of the traps was from BP's chief executive Bob Dudley, who is American … also last week Blackrock, American hedge fund, said this doesn't make any sense to us.” | “What we are seeing is more and more businesses are speaking out, despite the fact that they are coming under very great pressure in Scotland from the cyber Nats to shut up,” said Darling. “The first voice out of the traps was from BP's chief executive Bob Dudley, who is American … also last week Blackrock, American hedge fund, said this doesn't make any sense to us.” |
| Salmond responded to such arguments with a speech at Bloomberg's energy summit New York stressing an independent Scotland's future as a thriving petro-state. | Salmond responded to such arguments with a speech at Bloomberg's energy summit New York stressing an independent Scotland's future as a thriving petro-state. |
| Neither side wants to be seen to be encouraging others to tell Scotland what to do, but both leaders recognise American endorsement – if it comes – could be vital. “What the rest of the world thinks does matter,” concludes Darling. | Neither side wants to be seen to be encouraging others to tell Scotland what to do, but both leaders recognise American endorsement – if it comes – could be vital. “What the rest of the world thinks does matter,” concludes Darling. |