The Year is 2030

Inspired by the Daily Gael, and channeling Without Day and The Book of Scotlands – give us your model for 2030 (300 words max)

The Daily Gael

The year is 2030. Kate Forbes is President and has been for 9 years. English has been banned for being too hard to spell. Everyone speaks Gaelic, everyone is happy. Dingwall is the capital. 400k people live there and all of them are in the Mallard.

Mackenzie

The year is 2030. Robin McAlpine is President. His weekly address to the nation is broadcast by Independence Live, the public broadcaster and can last for six hours at any one time. Commonweal’s policy programme has been adopted in full by the Scottish Senate.

Dalriada

The year is 2030. Glasgow and Edinburgh have been merged and are known simply as ‘Harthill’. After a second insolvency event in 2021 Rangers merged with Heart of Midlothian and play at an enlarged Falkirk stadium in the Northern Division of the European League 2.

Schiehallion

The year is 2030. Scotland has been independent since 2022. Little has changed because the new state and economy mimicked all of the attributes of the British regime and so the country remains riven with poverty, inequality and hierarchy, but a Saltire flies over Edinburgh Castle.

The Tweed

The year is 2030. Jim Monaghan is Culture Secretary and opens the Peoples Palace in Princes Street Gardens funded by the Edinburgh Festival Cultural Fund in front of a crowd of 200,000.

Shang-a-Lang

The year is 2030. After Irish reunification in 2022 and Scottish independence shortly after a pan-Celtic alliance is formed and Ireland, Scotland and Wales share diplomatic and cultural links and a renewable energy network.

In the Bunker

The year is 2030. No-one is president because politics has been restructured into a series of confederated regional assemblies and citizens govern by rotating lot. The Dissolution of Hierarchy Act was passed by the Peoples Council in 2025. The consequences of the Bioregional Revolution of 2028 are still being felt, in which all golf courses have been sequestrated as part of an urban agricultural programme and Scotland has become the soft-fruit capital of Europe.

Hit the North

The year is 2030. Ruth Davidson is President but rules from the House of Lords which has been expanded to have a northern chamber in Manchester. The Scottish Parliament was abolished in 2025. Military training is compulsory for under 18s. First Minister Carlaw attends the British Cabinet meetings on Tuesdays.

Skinflats

The year is 2030. JK Rowling is President after her conversion to Scottish independence. She has led a literary revival in the country and opened 500 new libraries.

Solaris

The year is 2030. The highlands have become the centre of a major European Space Port. Thurso to the lunar outpost of Mare Tranquilitatis takes three hours.

 

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  1. Mark Bevis says:

    The year is 2030. At the border crossing posts the Scottish Constabulary are hard pressed to register the English refugees fleeing the dystopian hell that is New Englande. Most are foot-sore having walked, and processing with paper and pen is now de rigour. Anti-aircraft batteries ward off GS4 and Virgin Media drone gunships trying to intercept the refugee columns. The fast track gates marked Agriculture have pitifully few people queuing.

    The resettlement programme is going well, all things considered. With energy intermittent island-wide but more common in Scotland, there is a constant draw to the border. Those with food-growing skills are fast tracked through customs, and medical and electrical engineering experts are given priority in what graffitti otherwise labels the “useless mouths” entraces. With the pandemics of the previous decade halving the island’s population, there is land a plenty for everyone, and one of the last acts of the late 2020s before international travel collapsed was the re-introduction of beavers, lynx and wolves, primarily in land previously owned by grouse hunting landowners, enacted by the 2026 Rewilding Act. New entrants have no easy ride, as working for the collective good is essential for everyone’s survival and well-being, and un-educating neo-liberal principles involves a week-long compulsory course in co-operative living, in what are not much more than prison camps. After that, new entrants are guided into useful occupations in preferred districts as required. Hard-core neo-liberals that fail the course are given the choice of expulsion back over the border or conscription in cleaning up the nuclear mess at Faslane.

    Moving coastal population centres inland has been a major task for the Scottish government, as sea-level rise and Atlantic storms wreck continued havoc. Seabed methane blowouts off the Norwegian coast have rendered NE Scottish coastal areas uninhabitable with constant tsunamis.

    1. Me Bungo Pony says:

      I’m more optimistic 🙂

  2. Stuart Clark says:

    Thats very pleasant to read.
    Thanks.

  3. Jo says:

    “Glasgow and Edinburgh have been merged and are known simply as ‘Harthill’.”

    Love it!

  4. Graham Ennis says:

    it is 2030. Peace has at last returned after the internationally brokered Irish type ceasefire and “Dublin agreement”, following a three year long insurrection in Scotland after the closure of the Holyrood parliament and closure of the devolved administration. This happened in 2023. The ex-military veterans in Scotland had rapidly organised, after the shut down of the Govermnent, and had fought a ruthless Irish type war that finally made it clear that the Scots would never accept what had been done to them. Some thousands were killed, and the Border is now sealed, partly for national security reasons, and partly as negotiations for Scotland to rejoin the EU are almost complete. The border will reamin as an EU land border. South of the border, England is sliding into disorder, as the sanctions applied by the EU when the war started, plus international pressure, plus the severe disruption caused by BREXIT, have led to England being on the edge of economic collapse. There is huge social and political tension and disturbances south of the border. American troops have been sent to try and stabilise the situation, and restore order and peace. Scots are still very angry, and have demanded an embargo on all oil from scotland to the south. England is essentially bankrupt, internationally isolated because of the war, and the Welsh are now determined to leave the remnent UK. They are being supported in this by the EU. But finally, peace, freedom, and democracy have returned to Scotland.

  5. Gashty McGonnard says:

    The year is 2030. The dream of Global Britain becomes reality, as the United Kingdom (of Wessex , Mercia and Northumbria) concludes negotiations on its first post-Brexit treaty, a Mutual Non-Interference Pact with the Sentinelese.

  6. Mark Bevis says:

    That was the optimistic version. Here’s an alternative.

    It is 35 moon cycles since the Event. Not that the pack leader could count that far, nor was he interested in counting that far. He stirred from the settee and padded out of the two-foot’s box. He could never fathom the two-foots, everything they touched ended up in un-natural straight lines. But their empty boxes made great ready-to-use caves.
    Outside, he raised his head and sniffed the air. An overlay of metallic tang drifted across the valley on a light breeze. Two-foot smells, from their big boxes that belched black smoke in former times. Disecting the smells hitting his senses, the far off sweetness of deer sweat promised a good day’s hunting. A slight movement caught his eye, and gazing with sharp vision he could see rabbits grazing in the fields amongst the recent tree saplings that were spreading now that the two-foots had gone.

    The two-foots were gone! The pack leader smiled inwardly. Not missed at all, although he remembered one at the cage with a little fondness, who’se last act was to leave the cages open. The dogs coming to gorge on her corpse made great meals for the new pack, and were easy to catch.

    The pack leader’s contented mood switched when a twinge at the back of his right rear leg reminded him of the bald patch and swelling there. The curse of a two-foot’s disease in all probability. Not everyone in the pack had it, but a couple had died unexpectedly in recent moon cycles. This left a nagging doubt at the back of his mind.
    The pack leader sniffed the air again. May be it was time to move the pack. North was his instinct, as the sun’s warmth penetrated his fur, heralding another hot day. Or over-hot day he thought, given recent moon-cycles.

  7. Joneb says:

    Rising
    Scotland 2030. The UK PM is Nigel Farage in second term. After a bitter referendum resulting in independence Scotland finds unionists trying to sabotage its government. As Scotland under Mhairi Black join the EU the UK creates a hard border falling out of favour with the EU. Talks to remove it are underway.
    As the UK drives towards being a tax haven many business move there but poverty gap is huge and poverty is a big killer so many move to Scotland as refugees.
    Scotland struggles but the EU bolster our social care system which uses a fair and kind means testing, actually listening to GPs and such professionals. Technology actually allows more sickly people to work to their ability as choice.
    A tale of two countries unfolds.

  8. Wanda Lust says:

    It’s 2030 and Baroness Sturgeon is opening Edinburgh’s Christmas Market in the former Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood.

    1. Delta says:

      OOOh Wanda you’ll have the Nats after you and you’ll loose your Scottish card!

  9. SleepingDog says:

    The year is 2030. Bellacaledonia finally publishes its first review of Scottish science fiction, in a round-up which surprisingly manages to find that many things existing today were predicted many years ago, if not all by the same author.

  10. Al. says:

    The year is 2030.
    Brexit will be done by December 31st.

      1. Jim Bennett says:

        Hahaha, best comment!

  11. Richard Easson says:

    It’s 2030 and Fifeshire is a kingdom once again under His Majesty Gordon.

  12. Delta says:

    The year is 2020 despite pleading to be freed Nicola Sturgeon is elected yet again as First Minister because there is no one else up to the job. Kate Forbes was offered a job with the world bank which she took because “It will give me a platform to extol the virtues of Scotland to the EU and the world wide bussiness community” John Swinney is still wrecking education, those to can are sending their kids south to decent schools.

    Because of the policy of no tuition fees for and EU nationals in our ancient universities have had to take more foreign students. Edinburgh and Glasgow are full of jaunty, bibulous hooray’s from Eton and Malborough and the rest are Chinese. We no longer have google and BBC Alba runs puff pieces for the People’s Republic, although there are rumours of depopulation in some places because corona killed more people than was realised.

    Everyone who can has a place in Berwick and a stash of good old fashioned Bank of England money since the Euro crashed and the Germans voted in AfD who stopped bailing people out.

    Oh and the New Sick Kids in Edinburgh is still “experiencing teething problems, but we expect all childrens services to be relocated there ….er….next spring”

  13. Graham Ennis says:

    The year is 2030. The Scottish Parliament has been abolished, and the country is ruled by a London appointed secretary of state. In 2010, the SNP collapsed in internal infighting, and with good cause. The revelations in the Salmond book were a disaster. With no parliament, and a totally collapsed UK labour party in Scotland, the scottish parties are restricted to local and regional councils. Plus some seats in the London parliament, where the nationalists refuse to take their seats, like Irish parties did. There has been a significant collapse of the economy, caused by the Two major epidemics that swept Scotland, and the BREXIT disaster, which has caused a lot of harm. The anglo-american trade treaty has been imposed on Scotland. it is a disaster. A large part of the Scots are in revolt. Irish style resistance and violence are regular events. A significant uk military presence north of the border struggles to keep order and suppress the growing violence. Irish republicans totally support Scottish freedom. The secretary of state struggles to run a pseudo-Goverment, amidst it all. The situation is clearly deteriorating. The london Goverment imposes increasingly severe rule. There is a great deal of condemnation internationally. A stalemate prevails. It could all have been stopped if the ruling clique of the SNP had acted with some backbone, and travelled the Catalan route.

    1. The Catalan Route you say? (!)

  14. Graham Ennis says:

    It is 2030. The matter of the freedom of the Scottish people is still very uncertain.
    In 2022, there was an attempt to declare UDI, (Unilateral Declaration of Independence)
    Immediately after the 2021 elections, a conclusive vote for the SNP and Greens resulted in a a vote by the Scottish parliament for UDI.
    The Scottish Labour Party Split. The unionist wing walked out of the Parliament, denouncing it as treasonous and illegal.
    The Conservative party also split, along the same lines. They also walked out.
    The leaders of the Unionists demanded intervention by the London Government.
    The London Regime found its own parliament split over the issue.
    The London regime then acted unilaterally and sent armed police and infantry regiments to Scotland, and tried to seize the Holyrood parliament, which had barricaded itself inside, and surrounded it with Nationalists in a giant peace camp. The parliament continued to meet inside. The first Minister/independence leader and her cabinet were arrested by special forces troops who forced their way into Holyrood. There was considerable violence, although the parliamentary party was being guarded by ex-service Scots guards, with shotguns and illegal weapons obtained from Northern Ireland. The arrested Government were taken to military barracks. A large part of the Scots Guards and other Scottish units then mutinied, and nationalist officers pledged allegiance to the Government and people of Scotland. After some hours of intense fighting, with heavy casualties, they ran out of ammunition. The parliament surrendered, the peace camp was rounded up and arrested by UK Forces, and massive riots started in Glasgow against all visible signs of the London Government. More troops were flown up from London, and armoured cars appeared on the streets. After several days of violent but outgunned opposition, and with hundreds of casualties, the uprising was suppressed. Many people were arrested by UK armed police. A section of the Scottish forces forced their way out of Edinburgh, and up into the Scottish mountains. it was winter. They disappeared, took weapons and ammunition, and fought a guerrilla war from the wilds. A number of Irish Republicans made their way over by various routes, and joined forces. Also some other expatriate scots formed an emergency council of state in Dublin. Some Scottish nationalist politicians escaped arrest in the violence and confusion. They made their way to Dublin. The Irish Government denounced the UK Government, and declared refuge for any Scot who could get to Ireland. Scots political refugees escaped to Norway. An external resistance then formed. The long struggle had started. Events in Scotland then became like the previous Irish struggle in Northern Ireland, still under UK control. The war restarted there. The EU and the USA, and the UN, all demanded a cease fire and a Plebiscite. Then until 2029, there was a long struggle, very much like that in the North Of Ireland. The EU blockaded the UK until they agreed to withdraw. There was huge international opposition and many supported the Scots. Eventually under USA and EU pressure and sanctions, a cease fire and peace keeping troops were arranged. The London regime realised that they could not win against a nation of five million who wanted to be free. In 2030, there is going to be a plebiscite to ratify the international peace treaty forced on the London regime by international pressure. Everyone awaits the outcome. 2031. Scotland is free. (If anyone thinks this is not going to happen, I have one single comment: OIL.

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