Independence day

Should Bermuda go it alone? The pro-independence movement in Britain's oldest colony is growing. The most obvious drawback of independence would be that the country would have to pay for its own external security. But considering it has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world - as a result of its tourism and financial service industries - that would surely not be too much of a problem.

Should Bermuda go it alone? The pro-independence movement in Britain's oldest colony is growing. The most obvious drawback of independence would be that the country would have to pay for its own external security. But considering it has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world - as a result of its tourism and financial service industries - that would surely not be too much of a problem.

All things considered, it is difficult to see what Bermuda has to gain from remaining a British "possession". But this is, of course, a decision that only Bermuda's 65,000 inhabitants are qualified to make. We wish them luck.