Presentation by Dr Nicola McEwen at the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey event.

1. A partnership of equals?
Exploring prospects for Scottish-UK
relations after independence
Dr Nicola McEwen
ESRC Senior Scotland Fellow
Associate Director
ESRC Scottish Centre on Constitutional Change

2. Independence and inter-dependence
“with independence… Scotland and the rest of the UK would both
stand on our own two feet – taking our own decisions, and working
together on issues of common interest. Our relationship would be
what it should always have been – a partnership of equals.”
Nicola Sturgeon MSP, Deputy First Minister
June 2013
“Scotland will continue to have a close and special relationship with
the other nations of these isles. This will be a new, updated
partnership of equals between the people of Scotland and the rest
of the UK”
Independence White Paper

3. Key Questions
What form is a new partnership envisaged to
take? What would be shared?
Are these partnership arrangements feasible?
Are they desirable?
Is this ‘new partnership’ likely in the event of a
Yes vote?

4. ‘Embedded Independence’
Shared monarchy
Sterling currency union
Common Travel Area/labour
market
Cross-border agreements in
specialist health care
services/transplant
Common research area in
higher education
Strategic energy partnership,
GB market, Green Investment
Bank
BBC/SBC Joint venture
UK-wide National Lottery/Big
Lottery Fund
Functional cross-border
bodies, e.g. Office of Rail
Regulation, Civil Aviation
Authority
Informal partnership - as
‘equals’ and ‘allies’ - within
NATO/the European Union

5. Feasibility?
Many examples of cross-border
arrangements in other countries
European Union:
 Currency union, labour market integration, Schengen, deepening
integration, growth of cross-border regions
Nordic countries:
 Post-war co-operation – passport union, labour market agreement, Nordic
Council, etc
 Ongoing intergovernmental partnerships in energy, defence
procurement, labour mobility
Ireland:
 Extensive north-south and east-west collaborations with NI/UK

6. UK-Irish Relations
North/South
North-South Implementation
Bodies/NSMC:
 tourism, trade, food safety, etc
Single Electricity Market
 joint regulation through the SEM
committee & regular cooperation between governments
Shared service where mutual
interest overcomes political
barriers
 e.g. paediatric cardiac surgery;
cancer care centre; transport
 focus on border region
East/West
 Long-standing common labour
market/travel area
 Recent decades – shaped by
Ireland’s EU membership & NI
peace process
 From 2012 – step-change in UK-Irish
relations:
 10 year programme of collaboration
 Annual leader summits and joint
working groups
 MoU on Energy co-ordination
 Co-operation on visa waiver scheme

7. PM/Taoiseach Joint Statement
“Our citizens, uniquely linked by geography
and history, are connected today as never
before... Our two economies benefit from a
flow of people, goods, investment, capital
and ideas on a scale that is rare even in this
era of global economic integration…
“We intend that this Joint Statement will
be the starting point for realising the
potential over the next decade of even
stronger relations for current and future
generations living on these islands.”

8. Desirability?
For Scottish Government:
 “The independence we propose reflects the realities of an
increasingly interdependent world”
 Implicit acceptance of less sovereignty masked as free choice
For the public:
 Very strong support for independent Scotland to share head of
state, currency, BBC, defence, etc, with rUK, even among many
declared YES voters
UK government perspective:
 “formal independence is likely to mean greater dependence on
larger states, such as the continuing UK, and through alliances
with other countries”

9. Likelihood?
“we will continue to work
together constructively in
the light of the outcome,
whatever it is, in the best
interests of the people of
Scotland and of the rest of
the United Kingdom”
Edinburgh Agreement
2012
Edinburgh agreement on process of
referendum suggests loser’s
consent/goodwill
Size of majority/nature of campaign
may affect tone/outcome of
negotiations/partnership prospects
Expect calculation of
national/political interests to be
paramount
Concessions, where they come, will
imply constraints

10. Further info
Dr Nicola McEwen, University of Edinburgh
Email: N.McEwen@ed.ac.uk
ESRC Future of the UK and Scotland Programme website:
http://www.futureukandscotland.ac.uk
University of Edinburgh Referendum Blog, Scotland’s Referendum:
Informing the Debate, available at:
http://www.referendum.ed.ac.uk/