A referendum on Scottish independence; how would the English vote?

The Scots will be holding a referendum in which the Scottish people will be asked whether they want to break away from the rest of the United Kingdom and become an independent nation again, after three hundred years of Union with England, Wales and Ireland.

I will not be voting in the referendum, because I do not have a vote; I live in England and only Scottish electors will be entitled to vote. It takes more than one to tango and holding the referendum only in Scotland prevents the English, Welsh and Northern Irish in having their say on whether they wish to continue to be united with the Scots. Surely it is reasonable to consult all relevant votes, not just those that occupy one part of the Union.

If I had such a vote I would cast my mark in favour of Scottish independence. What are my reasons? I could say that it is time to stop subsiding the Scots. I might argue that it is time to get rid of the dominance of the nation that brought us Mr Blair, Mr Brown and Alistair Darling; we would have been better off if they practised their dark arts within smaller confines. I should point out that it is unfair for Scots to be able to pass laws affecting the rest of the kingdom, but retain jurisdiction over many of their laws. I might well show that a Scot has a more valuable vote than an Englishman, because the constituencies are smaller in Scotland.

I will not argue any of these points. Within every nation some part of it must be better off than other parts, and the better off have to help the less well off. Politicians can be good or bad (usually bad) and can come from every part of the nation. Unfair laws and failing democracy happens from time to time even in well regulated states.

The reason why I would vote for Scottish Independence is that I believe that smaller nations are better than bigger nations. Small is, as E. E. Schumacher pointed out, beautiful. It is not perfect but smaller things are usually less imperfect than bigger things. An independent Scotland would still be with the European Union and could flourish under that umbrella. And, after all, England and Scotland were independent nations for seven hundred years or more, before they united.