Will upheaval turn us off independence?

It is perhaps a particularly British phenomenon, but changes to the traditional things we regard as sacrosanct are not always well received in this country.

So a shake-up of British institutions such as the BBC or Royal Mail as a result of a Yes vote has the potential to cause greater upset than any threat of swapping the Pound for the Groat.

The fate of the BBC, and shows like Strictly Come Dancing, after a Yes vote is one of the biggest “day-to-day” issues dominating the referendum debate.

The Scottish Government claims there’s no danger to the nation’s favourite shows. It says in its White Paper that the full range of BBC and ITV programmes would still be beamed to Scottish sets. After all, they still get the BBC in

neighbouring countries like Ireland and Holland, though they don’t get it for free.

According to the SNP’s blueprint, a new state broadcaster the Scottish Broadcasting Service would be set up and take over the BBC’s responsibilities and facilities in Scotland. The SBS would agree a “joint venture” with the BBC in London and, in return for continuing to provide around 9% of the BBC’s content, Scotland would get to keep 100% of the BBC’s output.

The corporation is keeping schtum about the practicality or possibility of such an arrangement but questions have to be asked about whether London would want to continue Sunday morning repeats of the Beechgrove Garden or base production of flagship politics show Question Time in Glasgow, as it does now, should Glasgow be in a foreign country.

If a joint venture couldn’t be agreed there are other ways of getting the BBC. The SNP are right when they say CBeebies and Eastenders would be available in an independent Scotland it’s just that they might not be received in the way they are now.

For example, there’s always the option of taking the full range of BBC TV and radio channels via a satellite or cable service that carries them. Sky, run by Alex Salmond’s current chum Rupert Murdoch, might step into the void.

Or the BBC puts out international channels for viewers outwith Britain that carry adverts.

The SBS could buy in some BBC hits, but that would leave less money for homegrown productions and the budget would already be limited. Currently, Scotland pays around £350m in licence fees, roughly a tenth of the entire BBC budget or enough to pay for half a BBC2. SBS television output would be no match for the quality or range of BBC1.

The White Paper doesn’t consider other things the BBC does such as its online presence. Even if the proposed joint venture was agreed it’s unlikely the iPlayer service would continue for free, for example.

The BBC fiercely guards its massive internet operation. Europeans, including in Ireland, must pay around £6 per month for the iPlayer.

In an age when viewers, especially the young, watch shows on demand rather than when the schedules dictate, that’s going to be a pain in the neck and the pocket.

The Scottish Government has pledged to reverse the unpopular, and arguably disastrous, privatisation of the Royal Mail but is light on detail as to how this would be achieved without huge expense. The Royal Mail has for now retained the universal service obligation (USO) which means everyone pays the same for a stamp no matter the destination. The Scottish Government says it will maintain the current level of service.

Opponents say that to do so either the cost of postage will have to go up Labour have done research claiming a stamp would need to cost £1.45 to maintain the USO or the difference will have to come from general taxation.

Then there’s the question of whether sending mail to England would be charged at a premium given it would be a foreign country, or vice versa.

The Scottish Government says it wants to keep the cost of posting to the rest of the UK the same as posting within Scotland. But while 1.5 million items are mailed in Scotland each day at least twice as many are delivered to Scottish addresses from elsewhere, so folk on both sides of the Border would be affected more by what the rest of the UK Royal Mail charges to deliver to Scotland than what it costs to mail from Scotland.

The post office network would also be unbalanced by independence. Around two-thirds of post office branches in Scotland are in rural areas compared with around half across the UK. Those country counters make less money and need more subsidy. Yet they are the ones that are the most vital to the people who use them, not just for the services they provide but as a keystone of community cohesion. Many of those branches already face an uncertain future given recent UK Government closures. The economics wouldn’t be any better in an independent Scotland but an Edinburgh government might be more concerned with the social aspects.

The Scottish Government has already set up a Rural Connectivity Commission to consider just those sorts of issues. Many people still pop to the post office to renew their car tax or pay for their TV licence.

A new Scottish TV licencing authority would need to be established.

The Scottish Government says the DVLA would continue to be responsible for administering motoring matters for a few years until a Scottish body could be set up.

Just as posting a letter to England would become an international transaction so would making a phone call. It’s unlikely you’d have to add an international dialling code to phone relatives in the rest of the UK America and Canada share the 001 code, for example and a Westminster claim that mobile phone roaming charges would apply when you crossed the Border was comprehensively demolished.

Finally, there’s the National Lottery played by 70% of Scots. A deal would need to be struck on this to keep it going north of the Border, but perhaps more important is what will happen to the charity and community grants dished out using lottery funds.

The claims and counter claims about disruption are fuelled by the fact nobody knows what would happen. It will all be down to the negotiations a point neither side seems willing to acknowledge at this point.