A Voice for Scotland's Anti-Nationalist Majority
A few months ago, a little-noticed poll by Wings over Scotland caught my attention. The headline result of the poll was that there was a 50-50 split in support for the question ‘Should Scotland be an independent country’. In fact, the results were:
Yes: 46% No: 46% Don’t Know 8%
While I’m sure many of you will take issue with the question wording, the fun starts when the following question is asked:
Nationalists love to point to Scandinavia as their vision of sunny, snow-capped uplands, and of joining their dream team of small economies as part of a ‘Northern Arc of Prosperity,’ as Salmond used to call it.
However, we are never told how the journey will happen. Everything is sunny. There’s never any possibility of long detours, dangerous events, and dreich weather. Comparing Scotland to Nordic countries is simply a cheap trick that deflects from the reality of where we are now.
I hate Nationalism. The damage it wrought in Europe in the twentieth century should have inoculated us all against it, but, once again, it has raised its ugly head. In Scotland, it has become a virulent force and made many converts in the last ten years.
I do not hate Scottish Nationalists on principle. Those who want Scotland to leave the UK are entitled to their opinion, and I respect those who say that that is what they want, no matter the consequences. If they would accept living at a singularly lower standard of living than we currently enjoy – which is what would happen – in order to leave the UK, then that is their choice.
The SNP is certainly not a party in the conventional sense.
It is a post-national movement that defines itself by creating enemies and enmities. It tears through Scottish society, because it sees Scotland very differently from the rest of us. It is an ugly, frightening imagination of our country that is created through collective narcissism.
Narcissism is the inability to distinguish self from an internalised ideal. It is pathological, unhealthy and dangerous. You could describe it as an eggshell personality, that rapidly fractures under pressure of criticism. So how do these poor narcissistic souls manage their lives?
I have never, under any leader, felt more positive about our chances of winning the next Holyrood Election.
I believe Douglas Ross is a political nuclear weapon that can not only strike fear into the Scottish National Party, but can stabilise this country financially and restore the power to the people, from a centralist Government in Edinburgh.
Living in South Lanarkshire, for me, Edinburgh often feels 550 miles away from home, while London feels 30 miles away. Holyrood and the devolution settlement, to this day, has been a complete failure. Tony Blair destroyed our United Kingdom’s unity by handing the Scottish Nationalists a parliament to breed dissent and grievance in.
When the history of the last decade in Scotland is written, the role played by the Scottish Green Party will come in for special criticism. I had never really thought much about the Green Party. While serving around the world in the Army, I had formed a hazy impression of them as well-meaning eco-eccentrics, the recipients of the none-of-the-above vote at elections and recently led by Caroline Lucas, who seemed to punch above her weight, and occasionally say something sensible on Question Time.
How much does it cost to change a lightbulb at Holyrood?
A few quid perhaps? Maybe ten or twenty quid at a stretch? No… in fact it turns out it costs £357 to change a lightbulb at the Scottish parliament building. Some £1.75 Million was spent on upgrading lights in the devolved assemblies’ debating chamber in 2016-7, working out at an astonishing £357 apiece.
That same year, costs ranged from £25.6 Million in staff salaries, to £15.8 Million in parliamentary expenses. All in all, the total bill for the devolved assembly came in at a whopping £95,600,000. Perhaps such largesse should not be surprising; after all the ugly carbuncle that is this Scottish parliament building famously came in at a total cost of £414,000,000 to construct; roughly ten times over budget and three years late, to boot.
The heart-breaking stories flooding social media yesterday, demonstrated a scandalous truth: that the life chances of many Scottish children are doomed, regardless of individual effort and ability. They evaporated the illusion of free will, the idea that through grit and determination you can transcend the disadvantages of multiple deprivation and poor schooling.
The outcry has been predictable, from individual pupils and parents, politicians on all sides, and educationalists. The latter group warned months ago that the SQA moderation process was dodgy. Unlike the equivalent examining body in England, the SQA was allowed to hide its methodology from scrutiny, despite suggesting to the Scottish parliament that they would explain their methods and discuss adjustments with teachers.
This morning, like many parents in Scotland, I was up early for results day. A few minutes after 8am, my daughter appeared to relay the news. But, something didn’t seem right. Instead of As, two of her results, for Physics and Computing Science, were Bs.
My mind went back to her last parent-teacher conference, just as the Coronavirus crisis was starting. Her Computing Science teacher was effusive in praise. ‘I’ll be recommending an A,’ he said.
There's something awry in Scotland. The mood is changing, and nasty bigotry is becoming more mainstream. I love it here, but recently, based purely on the way I sound, I have felt judged and not welcome in the country I call home. And it breaks my heart.
I have lived in Scotland for four years, and before that I worked here for a few months of the year for four years. I represent a mix of nations that is modern Britain. My family history and name are Welsh and I represented Wales at rugby when I was 17. But I grew up in England, and was lucky enough to get a scholarship and bursary to go to a private school. So I have what some people think is a “posh” English accent.