{"id":4232,"date":"2014-09-30T12:12:58","date_gmt":"2014-09-30T12:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/?p=4232"},"modified":"2020-07-15T16:44:03","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T15:44:03","slug":"in-unity-lies-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/?p=4232","title":{"rendered":"In Unity Lies Strength"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>\u2018In Unity Lies Strength \u2018<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A phrase often heard of by many, but how can we take apply this proverb to the recent Scottish referendum?<\/p>\n<p>On the 18th September 2014 Scotland took to the polls in an eagerly awaited referendum, with fierce campaigning on both sides lasting for almost two years. The referendum was followed around the world, with even the President of the United States appealing to the Scottish Nation and all parties within the UK to come together to maintain a unified, United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>Scotland&#8217;s independence would\u2019ve meant that it would gain independence from the daily bustle of Westminster, with Holyrood forming its own government. Secession would mean that over the coming years they would face huge changes, both political and economic,&nbsp; from the formation of independent military bases and foreign offices to the restructuring of financial commitments, membership of the EU and potential creation of a an independent currency.<\/p>\n<p>Amidst this, the underlying feature and core concern of the population was not just the material, political and economic impact of the breaking up of the United Kingdom, but the impact on the international diaspora and shared culture, values and interaction between the rest of the UK and Scotland.<\/p>\n<p>However, with one of the largest percentage in eligible voting turnouts ever, (over 90% in many areas) Scotland firmly rejected independence. The Scottish people emphatically made their voice heard, with both sides accepting the result.<\/p>\n<p>The Scottish nation believed in the united culture of the United Kingdom. It appreciated the reputation we have on an international stage. Although Glasgow voted against remaining part of the union, Scotland understood the shared value, ethos and identity of the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>United we stand stronger, and can continue to share and benefit from the unison of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n<p>The leaders of the three UK parties are now promising significant constitutional change, not just for Scotland but for England, Wales and Northern Ireland as well. NHSF applauds Britain\u2019s commitment to democracy and reform, wholly believing in the ideals of a United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018In Unity Lies Strength. \u2018<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018In Unity Lies Strength \u2018 A phrase often heard of by many, but how can we take apply this proverb to the recent Scottish referendum? On the 18th September 2014 Scotland took to the polls in an eagerly awaited referendum, with fierce campaigning on both sides lasting for almost two years. The referendum was followed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":4233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[736],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}