UK’s big question: Independence for Scots?

Britain is debating its greatest constitutional issue for years: Should Scotland split from the United Kingdom and become an independent nation?

The question received wide attention last week at a heated televised debate in Glasgow between Alex Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the secession movement, and Alistair Darling, former Labour Finance minister, also a Scot but campaigner for the Better Together group.

In a shouty and often bad-tempered clash, oil revenues, currency and the future of nuclear weapons were among the subjects of noisy discussion.

After a previous debate, Darling was informally adjudged to be the winner. Last week, a snap poll gave victory to Salmond by 71 per cent to 29. The event generated 255,559 tweets and the BBC recorded 1,053 online comments within 12 hours.

Darling’s big question was: What will you do if the rest of the United Kingdom refuses to share the pound sterling with an independent Scotland?

Salmond said the alternatives included the Euro, a separate Scottish currency or using the pound anyway.

What he was seeking, he said, was a mandate from the people of Scotland to negotiate to share sterling.

“We are a rich nation, a resourceful people,” he said. “We can create a prosperous nation and a fairer society, a real vision for the people of Scotland. This is our time, let’s do it now.”

Scotland was an independent kingdom from the Middle Ages until 1707 when it agreed a political union with England.

A referendum in 1997 approved a devolved Parliament for Scotland with authority over many areas of home affairs, and this happened in 1999.

In 2011, the Scottish National Party won a majority and decreed a referendum on independence for September 18. If approved, the change would take place March 24, 2016.

However, most polls regularly demonstrate a majority for the status quo, with concerns about Scotland’s economic viability, despites its oil, as a single entity.

As for the TV debates, experts say voters rarely change their minds as a result of the arguments, whoever wins.

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The craze went viral through social media and hundreds of thousands have endured it. That includes James Kiriamati, a Kenyan resident in Britain.

The clip shows James wriggling nervously on a chair, nominating President Kenyatta, Senator Mike Sonko and his brother David Kiriamati to do the same thing, then howling in horror as a tub of iced water is dumped over his head.

This is the Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Challenge, a craze which is sweeping the world. The aim is to fund research into Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a disease which affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, for which there is, as yet, no cure.

The way it works is: Someone is nominated by a previous sufferer; he undergoes the icy deluge or pays a forfeit; he in turn nominates others.

At the time of writing, it is not known if the Kenyan President has accepted the challenge. President Obama was nominated but declined and paid $100 (Sh8,870) instead. British Prime Minister David Cameron was nominated by Alex Salmond, but the PM also ducked out and donated instead.

Salmond himself was nominated, along with his opponent Darling. The latter went through the ordeal and Salmond promised he would do so in due course.

Other celebrities who took the bucket include US ex-Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, multi-billionaire Bill Gates, David, Victoria and Brooklyn Beckham and Justin Bieber.

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From a Kenya reader, a further tip for the stiff-neck sufferers: Wear a scarf in bed at night. Plus keep the neck warm during the day with a cravat or light muffler.

I tried it. It works. Keep away from iced water.

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A RETIREE is out driving when his wife calls to warn him that a car is going the wrong way down the motorway. “One car!” said the old man. “There are hundreds of them.”

AN AIRLINE introduced a special package for business men: Buy a ticket and you get a free flight for your wife. It was a great success and the company sent letters to all the wives asking how they enjoyed their trips. All gave the same reply: “What trip?”

CUSTOMER: “I’ve been ringing 0800 2100 for two days and I can’t get through.” Operator: “Where did you get that number, sir?” Customer: “It was on the door to the travel centre.” “Sir, they are our opening hours.”

A MAN is making heavy breathing sounds from a phone box and the operator asks if he is all right. “I haven’t got a pen,” he says, “so I am steaming up the window to write the number on.”

A CALLER in Britain asks about driving in France. “Do I have to change the steering wheel to the other side of the car?”

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