There is I think only one place in the world which in recent times offered a vote on secession. That place is Canada. On two occasions in 1980 and 1995 Quebec had the chance to leave Canada. On the second occasion the result was very close indeed. Canadian unity was maintained because of the slimmest of margins in the vote. Around 60,000 voters made the difference. About one percent of the turnout. But why do we never hear about Quebec separatism now?
There is one reason and one reason alone. Canada passed a Clarity Act in 2000 and it destroyed Quebec separatism forever.
Scotland similarly had a referendum on Scotland leaving the UK in 2014. The SNP lost, but they dusted themselves off and began campaigning for a second chance to leave almost immediately. If there were to be a second referendum it would doubtless be closer. Support for both the SNP and separatism has increased. But if the SNP lost a referendum by less than one percent some time in the years ahead, does anyone seriously think they would give up? No. They would immediately start campaigning for one more battle. The only thing that will stop them is a British Clarity Act.
The main lack of clarity in Canada was the referendum question in 1995. The voters of Quebec were asked:
Do you agree that Quebec should become sovereign, after having made a formal offer to Canada for a new economic and political partnership, within the scope of the bill respecting the future of Quebec and of the agreement signed on June 12, 1995?
The problem in Scotland is not so much that we had a vague and ambiguous referendum question though it was absurdly favourable to the SNP. The problem was that we had an SNP White Paper with all sorts of claims about what Scotland would be like after separation from the UK, but there was no consensus about what it really would be like. There was no agreement about the most important issues such as EU and currency in 2014. Both campaigns differed wildly about what life in Scotland would be like. It is this that we need to change.
[Interesting Read]
See Also:
(1) Casting Hume into the flames
(2) Wales – A Country Divided Part I
(3) Wales – A Country Divided Part II
(4) Nicola Sturgeon could be silenced FOREVER if Westminster imposes Quebec-style Clarity Act
(5) Emmanuel Macron’s ONLY chance to win election exposed by Frexit campaigner
