Project week- Sottish Independence

Should Scotland be Independent? 

The two articles I have chosen are from two different newspapers discussing their thoughts on Scottish independence. The first article was written by Auslan Cramb in the telegraph and the second written by Simon Heffer in the Daily mail.

The most obvious difference between the two is that one article argues for Scottish independence and the other argues against. However more importantly each article looks out for a different countries interests. The Telegraph article looks at different arguments from the stance “what is best for Scotland” through the use of statistics and percentages he concludes it will effect Scotland negatively because of the loss of jobs. Because of the use of the statistics it becomes a much more grounded article that you would expect from a broadsheet newspaper. The other article is angled differently, it is much more nationalist and supportive of England, arguing whilst Scottish independence may impact negatively on Scotland it will favour the UK, who have been constantly brought down by Scottish attitude and funds therefore it is their chance to be free.  Due to this angle the article is forced to have a more casual almost jokey style to avoid causing insult, but still it uses facts to show despite the jovial appearance the underlying argument is serious.

As a whole the article written by the telegraph is based on a recent statement made by the Defence secretary, however to reinforce the argument that Scotland is best as part of Britain it includes arguments made by Philip Hammond directly comparing the two. Meanwhile Heffer clearly writes the article from his own point of view, presenting his own opinion and then focusing on facts that support this.

I would argue that the articles have put forward a very strong argument why Scotland should remain as part of Britain, but as a British citizen the article by Heffer has made me question whether I would be better off as a English citizen without Scotland in the UK. 

Yalda Tomlinson