Indyref2

Stop the Neverendum: Ban secession now.

Stop the Neverendum: Ban secession now.

The UK Government should stop gambling with its territorial, economic, cultural and social integrity.

A couple of weeks ago, Alister Jack, the Secretary of State for Scotland, said that Scots could have a second ‘independence’ referendum if polls showed a consistent majority of 60% of Scots in favour of it. Gambling your country's future on the basis of opinion polls is certainly an interesting strategy, but, as I was getting ready to publish this article, the UK Government finally pushed back on Jack’s comments, saying, ‘We’ve never set a position on that. We haven’t said any sort of target. Our view, as set out, is that now is simply not the time to be dealing with this.’ 

Oh, Canada!

Oh, Canada!

Nationalists, the world over, love to think of themselves and their causes as unique, special and a product of their own "glorious" history. Still, as always, reality is far from their fevered imaginations.

For example, Separatist claims that "independence is normal" are easily dismissed by pointing out that many of the countries they claim to admire are, in fact, political unions, often far more recent than the UK.

As time goes on, and their desperate cries for secession are revealed as a gargantuan political squirrel, I am reminded more and more of other Separatist movements that have done exactly what the SNP have done and got just about as far as the SNP will. 

The uncomfortable power of precedent

The uncomfortable power of precedent

In a recent speech to the Irish Dáil (parliament), Heather Humphreys, TD of the Fine Gael party, reproached Sinn Fein, saying that with Sinn Fein "it is always a case of do as we say and not do as we do". The masterful speech echoes in the current debate on nationalism within Scotland, for with the SNP it is also always a case of "do as we say and not as we do" and that is most obviously visible in their demands for a second independence referendum.