Independence
supporters often argue that Scotland ought to vote for independence because
there is a democratic deficit. What they mean by this is that Scotland usually
votes Labour, but sometimes gets a UK Government that does not reflect this
choice. Sometimes we are governed by a party that Scotland as a whole did not
vote for. This is undoubtedly true. But is it a good argument for seeking
independence?
One problem
with the argument is that this situation is pretty much universal. In every
democratic country there are parts that sometimes don’t get the government of
their choice. Texas usually votes Republican, but sometimes ends up with the
Democrats in power. Moreover, if Scotland became independent the same scenario
would recur. Shetland and Orkney usually vote for the Lib Dems, but would most
likely end up with a Labour or an SNP Government in Holyrood. These islanders
could legitimately say that it hardly matters how they vote as the Central Belt
will always decide who rules Scotland.
When
nationalists say that there is a democratic deficit do they mean that there is
always a democratic deficit? Well there was no democratic deficit when Scottish
voters voted for the Labour Government in 1997, 2005 and 2010 and got just
that. The SNP did not cease campaigning for independence during those years. So what would satisfy them with regard to this
democratic deficit? Would they be satisfied if the other parts of the UK always
voted the same way as Scotland? Does anyone seriously think that nationalists
would give up their goal of independence under these circumstances? Of course
they would not. The SNP want independence not because of a democratic deficit.
That’s just an argument the SNP use to try to persuade gullible Labour voters
to vote for a party and policies that are contrary to the traditions and ethos
of the Labour party.
What’s the
best way to deal with the fact that parts of a country don’t always get the
government that they want? Secession isn’t the answer for this would lead
logically to endless fragmentation. Every constituency that doesn’t win could
declare itself an independent country. If you go back far enough many of them
once were. The best way to deal with the fact that central government does not
always reflect local wishes is devolution. If central government controls only
macroeconomic policy, foreign affairs and those issues that the whole
population has in common, the wishes of the parts of the country, like
Scotland, that did not vote for it can still be reflected in devolved
parliaments.
The
democratic deficit in Scotland is therefore alleviated by the fact that we have
our own parliament. We may sometimes lose an election in Westminster, but this
is compensated for by Holyrood controlling the issues that affect only Scotland. Our views are represented in Westminster at
the UK level, so we have a say in issues that affect everyone. We would, of
course, lose this say if we voted for independence and have no influence over
economic that would still affect us.
Frequently
the Westminster Government is exactly the one we voted for. But we have
influence even when it isn’t. Without Scottish MPs, David Cameron would have won
an absolute majority and would not have needed to form a coalition with the Lib
Dems. But the most important thing to realise is that even if the Government in
Westminster does not reflect Scotland’s wishes, it hardly matters. Devolution
means that the UK government does not decide the issues that only affect
Scotland, Holyrood does. There are whole swathes of Scottish life on which MPs
from other parts of the UK have no say whatsoever. At the moment these include,
health, education, law and order, agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Moreover,
the powers of the Scottish Parliament are going to massively increased.
This
situation means that while English representatives have no say in vast areas of
Scottish life, the reverse situation does not obtain. Scottish representatives influence not only
Scottish matters in Holyrood, but also English matters at Westminster. Far then
from Scotland having a democratic deficit, we actually have a democratic
surplus. Imagine if England narrowly voted for the Conservatives, but because
of Welsh and Scottish MPs got a Labour Government. That Government would in effect
rule England for they don’t have their own parliament. But the reverse
situation does not obtain precisely because we have our own parliament. It’s
not therefore Scotland that has a democratic deficit, but England.
The major
democratic deficit that exists in the UK at present is the lack of devolution
in England. We can vote on their issues, but they can’t vote on ours. A further
democratic deficit is that devolution doesn’t extend far enough. Someone from
Shetland is still ruled by a distant power that will always outvote him,
whether Scotland is independent or not. What Shetland needs is local democracy
that brings real power to local communities. The same can be said for
everywhere in the UK, whether it is Aberdeenshire, Hampshire, Gwent or Antrim.
Of course, none of this will persuade nationalists. They are not interested in
local power, but in creating a new nation state. But for people, like me, who
live far from Edinburgh and Glasgow being outnumbered by the Central Belt is no
different from being outnumbered by England. The solution to the democratic
deficit in the UK is to devolve power to all four parts of Britain then to
devolve it still further to all of the parts of those parts.
Democracy is
neither about always getting the government that I voted for, nor about always
getting the government which the place where I live voted for. Democracy is just as much about losing as it
is about winning and accepting graciously that sometimes my views are not the
views of the majority. The most
important ability an electorate has is the ability to kick out a government. Imagine if Scotland had always got the
Westminster Government of our choice in recent times. That would have meant
permanent Labour Government. There would have been no change. We would be
living in something like a one party state. Whichever party you usually support
be very grateful that sometimes it loses and gets kicked out. If this did not
happen we really would have a democratic deficit.
