September 20, 2014

Dear Sir,

Watching and listening to the buildup to Scotland’s referendum on independence was very interesting!

The pros and cons were not as well articulated as could have been but nevertheless the “No” campaign won. The “Yes” supporters must be disappointed as the nationalists were driven by emotion and it must have been very draining. The unionists won the day and now Great Britain will be settled as the push for independence by any member will probably be put to the side for at least another generation. However England, through the Westminster system, must fairly distribute the monies obtained through the alliance of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England. The campaign did highlight some of the challenges and lets hope lessons were learned.

On the local front, here in Bermuda, this writer hopes the same result in Scotland we witnessed, would be obtained here, if we had a referendum on Independence. Scotland is in a better position than us to go Independent yet still chose not to. Perhaps because of the financial and economic uncertainties. We in Bermuda have little to fall back on if we went the Independence route. No manufacturing, no natural resources or exports to bring in the much-needed foreign exchange. As the world becomes more and more reliant on each other, we must be doing everything to encourage relationships together. Independence could do the opposite, and therefore may Bermuda remain a dependent nation for at least another generation!

CHANGER