Scottish Referendum – Guestpost by Caroline Cowan

It’s not often that one identifies similarities between Brazil and Scotland (although beautiful beaches and a love of delicious deep fried food are 2 things that spring to mind – Scots would love Coxinha and Pão de Queijo, although I’m not sure if Brazilians would take to deep fried Mars Bars or sunbathing at Luskentyre), but both countries are experiencing periods of potentially enormous change – with Scotland having held a referendum on independence last week, and the first round of Brazil’s presidential election taking place next week.

Brazil’s election has already thrown up tragedy and surprise, with the potential for the world’s first ‘green president’ as the Guardian newspaper phrased it. Whilst in Scotland the population voted on whether or not they should become the world’ newest country and separate from the rest of the United Kingdom. In the end the result was a fairly strong No, but that is by no means the end of the story as politicians of all parties agree that more powers should be transferred to the Scottish parliament. At the same time the independence and devolution discussions have opened up debates on the wider UK constitution and how the whole United Kingdom should be governed.

As an English woman of Scottish (Irish, English and Dutch) descent, who normally works for the Scottish Government in Edinburgh, but is currently on secondment to the FCO in Brazil I have a complicated relationship with the issues at stake. But that put me in the same boat as many who voted in last week’s referendum.

Scotland has traditionally been an open country with Scots having origins in almost every country in the world and with many, such as myself, choosing to locate or relocate there – in my case due to a love of the mountains and the glorious countryside. Other Scots have roots extending back generations and strong ties to particular places identifying themselves as Orcadian or Hebridean before Scottish, or, indeed, British.

The question of identity is often fraught with difficulty, and in the UK – a place of multiple identities -the referendum once again brought this question to the forefront. What does it mean to be British, Scottish, English, Welsh, Northern Irish and even European (the EU was a key area of discussion in the referendum debates)? Can these identities be reconciled? Would Scottish Independence have meant losing British identity, or does staying together mean suppressing one’s Scottish identity?

With my complex roots I’m still not sure I can answer these questions and I’m sure I’m not alone. Although Scotland voted No to independence, the issues are still highly relevant as we move the discussions onto how best to enable Scotland to express its own values through having more control over issues such as welfare and tax, whilst reinforcing its important place within the United Kingdom.

One thing that is certain is that, as in Brazil, important social and political questions have been raised that will not go away and that we will see significant changes in the governance of Scotland, and quite probably the wider UK. In Scotland the 3 main UK political parties, who all opposed independence, have promised more powers will be transferred to Scotland  – now they, and the Scottish parties  need to start the hard work of determining what those powers will look like. And the questions of identity and how to articulate it will surely continue to be debated as Scotland looks to express its place anew, both within the UK and the world.