Tag: Scottish

Categories
World News

Of Brexit and Boris: What’s Driving the Name for Scottish Independence

Of Brexit and Boris: What’s Driving the Call for Scottish Independence

The millions of votes counted across Scotland on Saturday could be some of the most momentous of recent times, and not because of their impact on things like health, education and fisheries. The biggest problem the country faced and was really at stake was nowhere on the ballot and that is the future of its 314 year old union with England.

While the final votes were still being counted in Saturday’s general election, it seemed almost certain that the Scottish Independent National Party would miss the majority it had hoped would provide an irresistible impetus for a new referendum to break off the elections would give United Kingdom. But it will keep power in Edinburgh, probably with the support of the Scottish Greens, to guarantee that the issue will continue to dominate Scottish politics, as it has for the past few years.

Much. A second referendum on independence after a referendum in 2014 could break the UK. If Scotland were to become independent, Britain would lose eight percent of its population, a third of its land mass and a considerable amount of international prestige.

Some say the loss of Scotland would be the greatest blow to a British Prime Minister since Lord North lost the colonies in America in the 18th century. Understandably, current Prime Minister Boris Johnson is not a fan of this idea.

In the 2014 referendum, the Scots rejected independence with a decisive lead of 55 to 45 percent. That should solve the problem for a generation, but two years later came the Brexit vote and that changed the landscape radically.

While England voted to leave the European Union, 62 percent of Scottish voters wanted to stay. With only about a tenth the population of England, Scotland outnumbered and its preference was simply ignored. Resentment about this has helped revive the urge for what is commonly known as “Indyref2”.

Then there is the person of Mr. Johnson. Already largely unpopular in Scotland, he did nothing to inspire himself, steadfastly advocating a hardline version of Brexit and finally “finishing it”, as he liked to say when 2021 arrived.

The resulting disruption to exporters, and particularly to the important Scottish fish and shellfish industry, which relied heavily on smooth trade with the European Union, has further angered Scots.

The main proponent is the Scottish National Party, led by Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister. Her party has led the Scottish Government for 14 years and she has earned praise for her steadfast handling of the coronavirus pandemic, especially when compared to Mr. Johnson’s early appearances.

There are smaller parties who also want another vote, such as the Greens, who are close to the SNP. Another party for independence, Alba, is led by Alex Salmond, who is not an ally of Ms. Sturgeon – at least not anymore. As a former first minister, Mr. Salmond was once Ms. Sturgeon’s mentor, but the two have recently been embroiled in a bitter feud and his campaign has stalled.

The Scottish Parliament, newly established in 1999, was supposed to satisfy the demand for Scottish independence, but it did not work out that way. The independent SNP has become the dominant force and in 2011 won a rare overall majority in a parliament in which the voting system is designed to avoid the rule of one party. Following that outcome, Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron reluctantly approved the 2014 independence referendum.

Ms. Sturgeon had hoped that an overwhelming victory for the independence parties in these elections would give her the moral authority to call for another referendum. They stayed behind, but Mrs Sturgeon will keep pressure on a referendum claiming that she has a mandate along with the vote for the Greens.

They show a divided Scotland that is split in the middle over independence. This is in line with the results of opinion polls, which showed last year that a majority are in favor of independence, only to fall behind marginally in recent months. The Scottish Conservatives, the opposition Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats are all against independence.

The issue is so dominant that some anti-independence voters appear to have switched loyalty from their normal parties to support the party most likely to defeat the SNP in their area. Ms. Sturgeon is on track to remain first minister, which is an impressive achievement, but with her path to an overall majority likely cut off, her moral case for a second referendum has been weakened.

For a second independence referendum to be legal would almost certainly require London’s approval, and Mr Johnson has repeatedly said no. This is a big problem for Mrs Sturgeon because she wants the result of a second referendum to be accepted internationally and for Scotland to be allowed to return to the European Union.

Far from it. Even if she has to rely on the Greens, Ms. Sturgeon will likely have enough votes to get indyref2 legislation through the Scottish Parliament and then ask Mr. Johnson or his allies to stop them in court.

That could cause a constitutional crisis. After all, Scotland’s union with England was voluntary in 1707, which made it difficult for London to say no to another referendum forever. And Mrs Sturgeon can calculate that support for independence will only increase when the Scots see popular will being blocked by a government in England.

Categories
World News

Scottish College Attracts Ire for Dismissing Feminine Gender Research Lead

Scottish University Draws Ire for Dismissing Female Gender Studies Lead

Arantza Asali, currently a graduate student, said she never thought St. Andrews would graduate, get the praise and tuition money she deserved, and then do so.

“The neglect of our education and the well-being of our employees is unacceptable,” she wrote on Twitter.

In the past, concerns have been raised about the global under-representation of women in philosophy. And those who drew attention to the university’s decision not to renew Ms. Kerr’s contract point to the broader questions in her philosophy department.

According to the letter in their support, as of this month, of the department’s 35 members of the academic and scientific staff, only 12 were women, while of these 12 women only five have permanent positions (one of which is part-time), two are visiting scholars , three are professorial fellows who are not primarily employed by the university, and two have fixed-term contracts, including Dr. Kerr.

The department’s 19 full-time employees include only four women, and one woman does not hold a permanent junior position. Of the 57 Ph.D. of the student division, only 13 are women.

Scientists around the world have expressed their support for Dr. Kerr voiced on social media.

“Absolutely shameful and part of a long list of layoffs by women and BAME scientists in recent years,” wrote Dr. Camilla Mork Rostvik, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Leeds, on Twitter under an acronym for black commonly used in the UK. Asian and “ethnic minorities”.

“This is a profound injustice and just an incredible mistake,” wrote Jonathan Ichikawa, associate professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia. “Your work is exemplary and there is no one with adequate expertise willing to replace it.”

Categories
Business

For Some Scottish Seafood Exporters, Brexit Might Be a Loss of life Knell

For Some Scottish Seafood Exporters, Brexit Could Be a Death Knell

LONDON – The trucks loaded with tons of live crabs, lobsters and prawns headed south from the Scottish town of Oban had to reach their destination in Spain within 72 hours to make sure the cargo would survive the trip.

With the UK complying with new trade rules following Brexit, a trip that used to be routine is now a gamble for exporter Paul Knight, managing director of PDK Shellfish.

“It’s like roulette,” said Mr. Knight as he waved off two huge trucks, adding that despite spending tens of thousands of pounds on Brexit preparations, he continued to fear that raids in French ports would be causing a large part of his broadcast could perish.

“We are as ready for Brexit as possible and we are still facing failure,” he said.

“I’m exhausted, the pressure is so strong – it’s like being on a knife edge,” he added.

Since the UK completed the final phase of Brexit on January 1st and left the European Union’s internal market and customs union, the world has changed and not in a good way for UK exporters to the continent.

Despite a trade deal signed by the UK and the European Union on Christmas Eve, promises by Brexit activists that leaving the bloc would free companies of unnecessary red tape now sound like a macabre joke. Shipments that previously moved with minimal effort now require extensive documentation, including customs declarations and, for food products, health certificates.

Various problems have hit UK companies, some of which have ceased sales to continental Europe and even Northern Ireland which is part of the UK. Due to its land border with Ireland, a member state of the European Union, it now has a special customs status.

The complications pose a particular threat to Scottish seafood exporters, many of whom rely on the European market because there is no similar demand at home.

Before shipping a truckload of live crabs, Colin Anderson and three colleagues devoted a full day to completing the new records. Even that led him to secure one final document required to bring more than three tons of crabs to the Netherlands.

“We thought we were on top, but we still don’t have all the records,” said Anderson, executive director of the Crab Company, Scotland, based in Peterhead, as he pondered which route to take for his broadcast.

Jimmy Buchan, executive director of the Scottish Seafood Association, a trade organization, said the new system “went insane”. He added that “so many certificates are required and if they are not all 100 percent aligned, the system will reject them, even if it is a typo.”

For companies already hit by the coronavirus and falling demand from the hospitality industry, the introduction of new trade rules was a sucker.

In a video posted on Twitter, Lochfyne Langoustines and Lochfyne Seafarms said their inventory was stuck in ports, that exports to mainland Europe had become impossible and that the company could be put out of business.

“Welcome to the modern world of Brexit and the disorder associated with it,” it said. “It’s unbelievable that we’re in this position.”

According to Victoria Leigh-Pearson, sales director for John Ross Jr., an Aberdeen-based smoked salmon manufacturer, French customs apparently reject entire truck loads without explanation.

“It feels like our own government has thrown us into the cold Atlantic waters without a life jacket,” she wrote in a letter to the government.

To make matters worse, IT outages in France and the UK exacerbated the problems, said Donna Fordyce, managing director of Seafood Scotland, another trading group.

The changes have created layer-by-shift administrative problems that have resulted in delays, border denials and confusion, she said in a statement.

“These companies don’t transport toilet rolls or widgets. They export the highest quality perishable seafood that has a limited window of time to get to market in tip-top condition, ”said Ms. Fordyce.

Customers turned down some shipments, and even products that made it through sometimes lost value due to the extra travel time.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this were the death knell for some companies,” said Mr. Buchan. “Some lose tens of thousands of pounds, and in some cases run into the hundreds of thousands.”

Instead of minimal bureaucracy, exporting fish to France is now a 25-step process. In addition to customs declarations, every consignment of fish and seafood must receive a health certificate after the inspection.

Traffic still moves freely across the canal in the ports, but this is partly due to the fact that the raids are elsewhere.

DFDS, a Danish logistics company that also offers ferry services, plays a key role in moving Scottish fish to markets in France. It has set up inspections at Larkhall, near Glasgow, where seafood is shipped before it is driven into ports and then onto the continent.

However, the integration with government tax and customs systems did not go smoothly, forcing the company to implement slower manual workarounds. In Larkhall, there have been delays in signing health certificates and other raids by exporters who did not send the correct documentation.

“Our employees who are supposed to enter the information have been overwhelmed by delays.” said Torben Carlsen, managing director of DFDS.

As a result, the company is currently not taking new orders from smaller companies whose goods need to be grouped in a truck with many different papers.

Since every shipment needs the correct certification, a problem with one shipment can stop the entire truckload.

“We were very strict,” said Mr. Carlsen. “I think everyone else has to make sure that you cannot enter the ports if you don’t have your records. Because if you do this and can’t move, you risk much bigger operational and supply chain problems. “

In terms of additional costs, the Scottish Government estimates that new delays at the border, including new customs formalities, will amount to £ 7 billion, approximately $ 9.5 billion, annually for UK business.

Many Scottish exporters are saddened that France implemented the new rules from day one, while the British decided to wave through many European trucks for several months while the kinks are worked out of the system.

They want the government to negotiate concessions with the French authorities and with opinion polls showing a majority support for Scottish independence, the problems of the fishing industry are likely to fuel resentment against London. A majority of Scots who voted in the 2016 Brexit referendum wanted to stay in the European Union, but they were numerically among the English and Welsh voters.

Although the system could become more efficient in the coming months as the teething troubles are resolved, it is unlikely that it will become significantly less bureaucratic after the UK leaves the customs union and the European Union’s internal market.

Inevitably, this means billions of more forms will be required from exporters, and the government, which has urged exporters to broaden their horizons and look for non-European markets, has warned them for months to prepare for post-Brexit trading conditions.

But for Mr. Knight of Oban, no preparation can assure the possibility that his perishable product will be waiting in line for hours behind other vehicles waiting for inspection upon arrival at a French port.

French officials are doing their best, he says, and two of his trucks have made it successfully. But they were traveling during the holiday season when traffic was unusually light, a situation that is inevitably about to change.

With little market for its premium shellfish in the UK, Mr Knight said the only way to keep his business going is to keep playing with the cross-channel export trade, even if the odds are against him.

“At some point we will tap the wrong key on the computer or the wrong date will appear on a document,” he said. “It’s not about if they catch me, but when.”