How Scotland took the high road in 1994

'GOOD morning madam - may I see your passports please? Ah, you're from Bonn. How long do you plan to be in Scotland?'

'Two weeks,' replied Ulrike, and with that the official waved Ulrike and Hans across the border.

The next car, with English plates, drew up alongside the booth. 'Passport please,' said the unsmiling official to the lone occupant.

'How long do you intend to be in Scotland?'

'Two days,' replied James.

'Business or pleasure?' the official asked curtly. 'Business.'

'What kind of business?' The official sounded menacing.

James mused on the sea change that had taken place since his last visit to Scotland seven months earlier - before Independence Day, and four months before the deadline for the Oslo Accord had expired.

'Medical supplies,' James blurted out, rather defensively.

'You're no doubt aware of the penalties for evading customs duty on goods imported from England,' said the official. 'Are you importing any dutiable products in this vehicle?'

'No.' By now James was becoming exasperated. After what seemed like an eternity, the official stamped his new 'Sassenach' passport with a St George's Cross.

The official blasted him with a final admonishment: 'You must not exceed the two-day stay permitted without getting an extension from an English Alien Office.'

Meanwhile, Hans and Ulrike drove through the Southern Uplands towards their first night's destination, a small country house hotel by Loch Inch.

Although James had been warned about what to expect, he had dismissed it as exaggeration; now he continued his journey in a mood of subdued foreboding.

How, he wondered, had England managed to get itself into the ignominious position of being expelled from the European Community, even though the 1991-94 Major government had eventually won, by late 1993, the acrimonious battle to ratify the Maastricht treaty?

First, Major's goodwill dried up because of the debacle caused by the (then) United Kingdom's unceremonious and hasty exit from the ERM. James recalled how the Commons voted to accept the Social Chapter in the early hours of 23 July, despite Major's last-minute attempts to cobble deals together with the Ulstermen, and pleas from John Hunt and others to the Conservative rebels - all to no avail.

After that, Major's last chance to retain his premiership - a sustained economic recovery - came unstuck as a European recession killed off the export-led growth he had depended on.

The spiralling deficit had forced Kenneth Clarke to raise interest rates sharply - he had indeed, it was said at the time, been handed a 'poisoned chalice' when he agreed to become Chancellor of the Exchequer.

A number of Tories, their knives drawn, voiced concerns that even changing the leader would do no good, as Clarke was tarnished and Hurd a 'Europhile'.

And then, with the government majority down to 13 after more by-election failures, and calls for a 'government of national unity' going unheeded, seven Tories (all with safe seats, James recalled) voted with the Opposition in the February 1994 no confidence motion.

James glanced at a huge billboard proclaiming 'Scottish European Party - we gave you freedom after 200 years]' and recalled how the Union had crashed in a surge of Scottish nationalism after the Rosyth closure.

Hans and Ulrike were nearing their destination as the late afternoon sun trickled through the leaves of the majestic stand of beeches lining the road leading to the Inchmaree Hotel, just visible in the distance by the waters of the loch.

A feature of the election following the 'no confidence' vote had not only been the growth of the SNP, but the unprecedented support for the new Scottish European Party, which drew voters from a wide Scottish political spectrum, including disillusioned Labour voters who had not forgotten their betrayal in the 1992 election.

In the hung parliament that ensued, the first coalition soon fell apart and Labour attempted to form a second, to include the SNP and the SEP. However, as the price for their support, the canny Scots extracted an agreement for an immediate referendum on independence. Labour agreed to this in the misplaced belief that it would fail, but the Scots had gained the sense of purpose and destiny that had eluded them for so long, and the 200-year-old union was dissolved.

Scotland joined the EC, signing the Maastricht treaty - with the social chapter. However, Maastricht was already redundant. Its principal aim - monetary union - had been overtaken by the financial crisis in Europe, and James recalled how the Oslo Accord was formulated to provide urgent collective measures to restore stability.

Why, oh why, James thought, had England been the only member nation not to have met the Oslo Accord's ratification deadline of June 1994, which members had decided on because of the dire need to deal with the crisis promptly, and in order to avoid a repeat of the absurd procrastination by Britain over ratifying Maastricht?

Anyway, the English coalition government - the third since the dissolution of the union - ended in disarray before the accord could be ratified. England was therefore expelled from the community, with application for readmission not to be considered for five years.

James finally reached his hotel, recently taken over by a French group after it became unprofitable for its former English proprietors because of new tax provisions for non-EC owners.

'Good evening, sir,' said the receptionist. James started to respond, but was interrupted: 'Oh, you're English. Your passport, please,' she said tersely.

James wearily handed her the document. 'It will be returned when you check out,' she said. 'May I have your credit card for an imprint?' James handed it to her.

The receptionist narrowed her eyes: 'Do you have another? We don't accept this one.'

'Why not?' snapped James. 'Because we don't accept cards issued by English banks.'

James suddenly remembered the furore caused by the Bank of England's closure of a German - or was it Belgian? - bank in London, and the subsequent threat of retaliation by the new European Central Bank, flexing its young muscles after being infuriated that it had not been consulted.

'No, I don't have another on me.'

'In that case, sir, I am unable to check you in.' James suddenly felt ill.

At the Inchmaree Hotel, Hans and Ulrike relaxed by the blazing log fire. As Hans gently swirled a large 12-year-old Macallan in a handsome crystal glass, Ulrike said: 'Darling, I'm so happy to be here in this wonderful country. Aren't the people so friendly and welcoming?'