Goodbye Tony....

So then, Blair says he'll go on the 27th June.

I'm no fan of any British PM, let alone Blair. All have either advocated big government, or have been imperialistic. Still, I suppose there have been a few plus points of Blair's ten years as PM. The economy has remained healthy, even though New Labour have only inherited a strong economic position from the Major Conservative government. Devolution in Scotland & Wales has worked well, plus the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland.

A Labour government led by Brown wouldn't, I imagine, have any major differences in policy. Both Blair and Brown of course created the New Labour ethos. And a Brown government would still deliver big government, so no surprise there then...

This week's elections

So the SNP won more seats in Holyrood than Labour did and probably would be the primary party in a coalition.

I'm not sure if this denotes a greater desire for independence. Nonetheless, I'm indifferent to the notion of Scottish independence. If Scots really want to become a sovereign country, then Westminster shouldn't stop them.

An independent Scotland would probably be quite a statist place though. Scotland's political culture is quite left of centre, after all. Supposedly the Republic of Ireland is a model for a potentially sovereign Scotland. Ireland reduced its corporation taxes, became more business friendly and has blossomed into the "Celtic Tiger". Could Scotland emulate that and become a "Tartan Tiger"? Only time will tell.

So what's the market anarchist/voluntaryist perspective on this? Well to reiterate, I fear Scotland would be very statist if it ever became independent. I feel Scotland needs some kind of free market voice, so an alternative to statism can be aired. Because of the socialist political culture, Scotland cannot be that favourable a place for the average libertarian.