MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - Ron Davies, former Secretary of State for Wales and leader of the Welsh autonomy movement, said that he would vote yes in the upcoming Scottish referendum if he could, and that independence supporters in the upcoming Scottish referendum have a “fighting chance”, according to the BBC.
“I’ve kept out of it, but if I lived in Scotland I would certainly be voting yes,” Davies told the BBC in an interview.
Speaking of the recent move by British political leaders to travel to Scotland to try and convince people to vote ‘no’ to secession, Davies said that “if I were in Scotland, and I were undecided, the prospect of [people] from England coming up and telling me as a proud Scot what I would have to do would pretty solidly determine that I would be voting yes.”
Davies, a former member of the British parliament, was the leader of the successful Welsh devolution referendum of 1997, which saw various government powers such as health care, schools and fire services handed over to Welsh authorities.
Speaking of the future of Wales and Northern Ireland in a post-referendum future, Davies said that if it succeeds, “the status of Wales would go up several notches and we would be a senior partner in the rump government.” Even if the referendum fails, Davies noted that “the present government and any future Liberal or Labor government have said that there was more devolution on offer for the Scots, and quite rightly…we in Wales will say ‘what’s in it for us please?’”
According to most experts, there is little chance of a Welsh attempt at emulate the Scottish bid for independence. A Guardian poll has shown that only about 1 in 10 residents of Wales support independence, most being generally disinterested at its prospects. Some analysts are more afraid of the impact Scottish independence would have on the status of Wales within Great Britain, with fears of marginalization in British politics via the departure of Scottish MPs from British parliament, along with the strengthening of anti-European nationalism among the English.
BBC reported that the “No” campaign is leading 52% to 48% ahead of the poll to take place next week.
