What becomes of the broken union?

Tauranga Scotsman Doug Hendry hopes his homeland will remain part of the United Kingdom. Photo / George Novak

Expat Scots living in the Bay have mixed views on whether or not their home nation should sever ties with the United Kingdom.

Tomorrow, Scottish voters go to the polls to decide whether to vote for independence.

Recent polls in the country suggest that the vote could go either way.

Views among expats living in Tauranga are also mixed.

Scottish expat Doug Hendry returned from his homeland two weeks ago and was supportive of voting "no".

Scotland had more to lose than to gain from voting "yes", he said.

"If you don't have much it's easy to think 'what's the worst that could happen?' But if you had your own business over there you would think there's plenty of bad things that could happen," he said.

"I've spoken to several people who live here but still have money in Scottish banks over there and they are talking about getting it out. But if everyone thought like that there would be [big problems] for banks."

The Edinburgh Agreement was signed in 2012 and paved the way for a once-in-a-generation referendum on Scottish independence, which will take effect tomorrow (NZ time).

Mr Hendry said he understood the passion behind Scotland standing on its own two feet as an independent country.

"The thing is people are saying they want freedom but Scotland already has it," he said.

"We have our own Parliament, our own justice, education and health systems."

Mr Hendry said he felt the final results would be close and if "yes" voters were successful, it would be expensive.

"I'm so happy I don't have property over there or any investments. I'd be very worried. I probably would have sold them."

Fellow Tauranga Scotsman Neil Martin said if he was back in his motherland, he would be inclined to vote "yes".

"If they say 'yes', it's a completely new country. There's so many natural resources in Scotland. It would be a rich country," he said.

"It's just a chance to do something for ourselves. A chance to give it a kick-start. But I'm too far removed to really know the negative impacts."

Mr Martin has not lived in Scotland for 20 years but still has family there.

"My mother, she's against it. She's an older person and she's a bit worried about the pension. My brother, he's for it. And I live here, so it's hard to get involved but a lot of my friends, some are for it or against it."

A guide to Scotland's vote

• The devolved government for Scotland is responsible for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of Scotland, including health, education, justice, rural affairs, and transport.

• The Scottish Parliament with 129 representatives now sits at Holyrood in Edinburgh. It was reconvened in 1999 almost 300 years after it was adjourned as a result of the Act of Union in 1707.

• The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the Parliament.

• On October 15, 2012, the Edinburgh Agreement was signed by First Minister Alex Salmond and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. It paved the way for a once-in-a-generation referendum on Scottish independence in 2014.

• The question to be asked is: should Scotland be an independent country.
Yes or No.

- www.scotland.org