We'd all be losers if the Union fell - by Tony Blair
- From: The Highlander <micheil@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 06:41:17 GMT
We'd all be losers if the Union fell
by Tony Blair
Daily Telegraph, Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 16/03/2007
We celebrate this year the 300th anniversary of what can justifiably
be claimed to be the most successful voluntary union between two
countries.
It's a partnership that has brought the citizens of both Scotland and
England prosperity, stability and an astonishing influence in the
world. We can now see, too, that it was an arrangement well ahead of
its time, enabling the countries of what was to become the United
Kingdom to keep their distinctive identity, but to co-operate to their
greater good.
Over the three centuries that the Union has lasted, the links between
the two countries have grown and deepened. Together, the four nations
in the United Kingdom have overcome many challenges, its people have
taken our common language and values across the world. Britain's
influence then and now depends on this unique partnership.
It's true, of course, that the Union has not stayed the same, nor the
reasons for it. Where once, as Professor Tom Devine says, it was a
shared religion, the monarchy, empire and a fear of France that kept
us together, the links now are less formal but more deep-rooted. The
longest-lasting single market in the world has seen borders disappear
for business. Family connections are stronger than ever. Half the
population of Scotland, for example, have relatives living in England,
with hundreds of thousands of Scots working south of the border.
In recent years, devolution has also altered, modernised and improved
the Union. It gives Scotland, Wales - and, I hope, soon Northern
Ireland - the opportunity to find their own solutions and priorities
while enabling those decisions which are best taken at a United
Kingdom level to remain at Westminster.
Scotland has used these powers to tackle long-standing problems and
there is real pride, for example, in the way it has led Europe on
smoking and public health. Devolution and Labour have delivered for
Scotland - as for Wales - on education, on health, on crime and
countless other areas.
Given this record of achievement, and the now deep links between
business and families, it seems strange that we face a determined
attempt, even if temporarily hidden, to dismantle the United Kingdom.
It's stranger still when you consider that the two traditional
arguments for separation have been answered in recent years.
Devolution, of course, is the answer to those who claimed that
Scotland would never have a voice within the Union. Scotland's
economic success over the past decade has also demolished the argument
that they are somehow poor relations north of the border.
Not, of course, that this picture of a dynamic, confident Scotland is
one that the nationalists ever accept. The Scottish Nationalist Party
may boast of its pride in Scotland, but spends almost all its time
running it down. In its politics of grudge and grievance, Scotland is
always being unfairly treated and held back. But, on this as well, the
Snp is wrong.
Just look at two powerful and linked indicators - unemployment and
migration - which have resonated through Scotland's history. Scots,
for too long, had to leave their homes to find work. That has now
changed. Some 250,000 new jobs have been created in Scotland since
1997. Unemployment is now below, not above, the United Kingdom
average. The latest figures, published this week, show that Scotland's
employment rate is at a record high and confirm it at as one of the
best in all Europe. It explains why Scotland's population is now
actually increasing, as enhanced employment prospects draw people back
to Scotland and enable youngsters educated in its superb universities
to stay.
There are, of course, still deprived communities and problems to
overcome in Scotland as elsewhere in the United Kingdom. But we have
also seen a transformation in Scotland's economy, with sustained
economic growth every year since 1997. This is not just because of the
strength and stability of the British economy that this Labour
Government has delivered. Even when compared with the United Kingdom
as a whole, the economic facts show that Scotland is doing well.
Scotland's standard of living is the highest in the kingdom outside
the expensive south and east of England.
Add an educated workforce, revitalised cities and an admirable quality
of life to the strength and stability of the British economy, and it's
no wonder that firms are increasingly seeing the attractions of
investing in Scotland. Some 20 per cent of all the new jobs created by
inward investment in the United Kingdom now come to Scotland.
The Highlander
Faodaidh nach ionann na beachdan anns
an post seo agus beachdan a' Ghàidheil.
The views expressed in this post are
not necessarily those of The Highlander.
.
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