Scottish threat to a strong UK
THE result of the UK general election and in particular who will be making up the next Government, has always been of interest to Guernsey and the other Crown Dependencies. What the new government's policies are in respect of tax avoidance and how any future policies may affect our financial sector, as well as their approaches on other issues, are important to us. This is one of the reasons why our Policy Council has representation at the main UK party conferences, and why they recently announced they would work with whoever is the governing party.
Traditionally, we have officially stood back from taking sides in the UK election, but that does not mean that we are not potentially affected by the results.
This election is seemingly very different to previous ones and difficult to call. There are some key constituencies which will determine the outcome. However, the main battleground is likely to be Scotland. The reason is that despite the overwhelming pro-UK majority, as evidenced by the Referendum result, the first past the post system is likely to divide that vote between the main parties, and enable the secessionist SNP to obtain more MPs by default. This will mean more division and disruption, and an ongoing threat to the strength and security of the United Kingdom.
In recognition of this danger, various pressure groups have sprung up recently, such as Scotland In Union, United Against Separation, Forward Together, A Force For Good, Scotland's Big Voice, Better Together 2015, to name a few. They are working for the long- term union of the UK, but in the short term are advocating tactical voting to ensure the pro-UK parties defeat the SNP. It is probably too late in the day to have a major effect on the outcome, but it is very possible to influence the results in a number of key seats.
Should anyone want to assist the constituencies that would welcome help, in person or financially, I am in touch with the organisations and the candidates concerned and they can contact me as below. Support can be specifically for a particular political party, (i.e. Conservative, Labour or Liberal Democrat), where that candidate is the favoured pro-UK one, or more generally for any of the pro-UK parties who have the most chance of winning.
On this occasion, despite having a number of candidates in Scotland, Ukip are not high enough in the opinion polls to merit any support this time around, which may seem unfair on this occasion, but it is no more unfair than it is on the many candidates of the other parties who electors are going to be advised not to vote for.
There are 59 UK Parliamentary constituencies in Scotland, out of 650 seats, so the results are very important.
A strong and secure United Kingdom is good for Guernsey and our long-standing relationship as part of what is legally termed 'The British Islands' (Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom ).
As I learned from assisting the Better Together campaign last September, you get a great welcome from the Scots.
TONY WEBBER,
anthonywebber@cwgsy.net
