FALLEN HEROES

i was surprised to lean that Nicola Sturgeon was resigning her high office,   her public support in Scotland is extremely high.   Various reasons have been suggested; that she is exhausted; that her husband’s business affairs may not stand up under close examination;  that she is aware that she is unlikely to be able to deliver Independence for Scotland in the foreseeable future.

Though it pains me to say this, I do not feel that it would serve the best interests of Scotland for it to become an independent nation.    That is NOT to say that we should accept the status quo.   We need to fight for a more just and a better system for all parts of the United  Kingdom and we should start that battle without delay.  I think we should aim for a Federation, under the Crown to start with anyway.    It will not be easy.   The English (especially London and the South) are quite happy with the present arrangement and see no need to change it.   We will need to convince them otherwise. What has caused a rising desire for Independence to freeze?   It had remained constant at about 50/50 for the past  decade.   (NB  I have come to the conclusion that it is not suitable to make significant permanent changes on so flimsy a majority, as with Brexit.)

The fiasco that was Brexit has shown the Scots what can go wrong.   We are by no means better off out of Europe; we are poorer, less safe and less powerful in every way and it is damnably inconvenient.   So I think these results, plus the war in Europe and the dreadful effects of the pandemic has made the Scots consider matters more carefully.

We have always been a Death or Glory Nation and given a full moon and a fair wind, we might well have taken an enormous gambol. given England the fingers  and departed on that journey, however perilous.  But to set out on such a dangerous voyage on a wild and unpredictable ocean in our viking longship, you need a charismatic leader, part poet and prophet, part practical commander;  a man of experience and cunning, whom you can rely on.  Nicola is good but she is for settled times,  she is not for this role.

Many of us thought we had such a leader in Alex Salmon.  In a decade or more he never put a foot wrong.  With his wit, cleverness and oratory he could see off condescending English politicians with consummate ease.   As it turned out, with his unscrupulous cleverness he was able to evade all charges in the legal court.     He was neither an officer nor a gentleman.  But even though he was able to resist being found guilty in a court of law,  I do not think he got off so lightly in the court of public opinion.   I’m glad we found him out in time.   Nicola should not be sad.  She did well, and we will remember her kindly.

Stands Scotland where it did?   Not precisely.    We must proceed with both urgency and caution.  Scots must acknowledge that we have also profited from the union.  The English must acknowledge the other three nations as equal partners in the enterprise.

In short, we must love one another.