Do we stay or do we go?

THE people of Scotland will vote tomorrow on whether to break their ties or stay in the United Kingdom … as Scots living and working in Bahrain watch from afar unable to cast a vote to influence the outcome.

The results of the referendum will decide if the 307-year-old relationship with England, Wales and Northern Ireland endures or if the north will have independence, or as Braveheart said … ‘freedom’.

Bahrain-based Scot Jackie Beedie, Caledonian Society committee member and former chieftain, has been in favour of independence all of his life.

He said: “I’m not so much frustrated that I’m not there to vote because I chose to live in Bahrain now, I’m frustrated I’m not back in Scotland to be out canvasing, to be out there putting the message across.

“It’s a pity I’m not there to help and join in the fun because this is a huge political moment for Scotland.

“It’s not up to us Scots living abroad to make the choice, it’s up to the people who live there and have their homes there, who pay taxes, they’re the ones entitled to vote. People who live overseas, no matter how strongly you feel, you’re simply not entitled to vote and that’s the way it should be.”

Meanwhile, the referendum has been such a matter of contention for many of the kingdom’s Scottish societies; some members are simply refusing to voice their opinions, and the debate has said to have split families and frayed long-term friendships.

Scottish National party leader Alex Salmond, says the union is no longer fit for purpose and that an independent Scotland, aided by its North Sea oil wealth, would be one of the world’s richest countries.

On the opposite side of the debate, the UK government, led by Prime Minister David Cameron, says Britain is one of the world’s most successful social and political unions.

Both sides are keen to persuade undecided voters who could swing the vote either way.

Jackie’s sister, sales executive Janet, 52, originally from Bannockburn and now living in Amwaj Islands, said: “We have known for quite some time about the referendum and in the beginning I was all for the ‘no’ vote, I thought ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, and Scotland seemed to be doing fine.

“This summer was 700 years since the battle of Bannockburn and I went home for the celebration, which did instil some national pride, the excitement was palpable and most of my friends and family are very much in the ‘yes’ camp.

“I suppose just being home soaking up the atmosphere and listening to various opinions and reading more into the whole thing, was bringing me round, but the clincher for me was all the bias reporting, in my opnion, on all TV channels for the ‘better together’ campaign, and all the warning tales of doom and gloom. I am very much Scottish in the respect if someone tells us we can’t do something, we want to do it anyway.”

Among a number of others, two major issues have emerged during the campaign – oil and currency.

Under independence, the Scottish government wants to keep the British Pound as part of a formal currency union with the rest of the UK and has argued that this is in everyone’s ‘best interests’.

However, the three main UK parties – the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats – disagree and say that whoever’s in power after the next UK election will not agree to such a move.

The Westminster parties say there will be no currency union. Scotland could use the pound as Panama uses the US dollar or it could set up a new currency. Otherwise, it might have to attempt to join the Euro.

Meanwhile, there are wide-ranging figures on North Sea oil and gas reserves, which are vital to the Scottish government’s case for independence.

Mr Salmond says earmarking a tenth of revenues – about £1bn a year – could form an oil fund similar to the one operated in Norway, creating a £30bn sovereign wealth pot over a generation.

However, Mr Cameron says, the oil and gas is getting harder to recover, it’s more important than ever to back the industry with the ‘broad shoulders’ of the UK.

Finally, making public her feelings on the matter, the Queen issued an extraordinary call for caution in the Scottish independence referendum, urging Scots to consider ‘carefully’ whether they want to leave the UK.

She was quoted in the press as saying: “I hope everybody thinks very carefully about the referendum this week.”

Her controversial remark came after she made an appearance at a final church service in Scotland before tomorrow’s poll.

However, one person who is keeping firmly tight-lipped about the referendum is British Ambassador to Bahrain, Scot Iain Lindsay. GulfWeekly was told the ambassador was ‘legally unable’ to comment on the matter.