FREEDOM

What is this concept of “freedom” so fervently proclaimed by supporters of scottish nationalism?  We HAVE our freedom.  We HAVE our Scotland, with its own unique culture, traditions and, for those few who are interested in maintaining it, our own Gaelic tongue.

At the same time, we share a common island in which our ancestors have intermingled for centuries, have shared and traded, and have built the stable unified nation that we enjoy today with its open borders and its continuous lines of steel and tarmacadam linking our great cities.

So we really do have the best of both worlds!  Why give up on the freedom of owning our own country, while at the same time being part of a larger unity with all the benefits, cultural and economic,  that our unity brings us? The alternative is not freedom, it is quite the opposite –  it is constraint and isolation.

Would it not be so much better to preserve and build on the unity of our island nation rather than split ourselves asunder?  Why do so many of us feel the need to spread hatred towards our nearest neighbours, the English?  Friendly rivalry in sporting activities between adjoining countries is healthy and natural, but when that rivalry turns to hatred, surely something has gone very far wrong.  What is the reason for this?  In this troubled world, would it not be so much better and productive to extend the hand of friendship towards our nearest neighbours, among whom large numbers of us count family members?

We do not have a perfect political structure in the United Kingdom.  It can be improved upon.  There is excess wealth in the south-east of England, but, like it or not, the London area is the powerhouse of wealth creation in our land and we cut ourselves off from that source of wealth at our peril!  The poorest people in Scotland would be the very first to suffer if our economy were to collapse – and there is ample and irrefutable evidence that it would have done just that if we had become independent on 24th March 2016.

In the past, the Scots people have enjoyed a worldwide reputation for canny common sense.  Sadly, many Scots have lost that common sense in the last few years as a tidal wave of nationalist fervour has threatened to destroy our United Kingdom, our way of life and our peace.

As well as a reputation for common sense, the Scots people also have a  less enviable reputation for meanness.  Those who consider the oil below the North Sea to be “Scotland’s oil”, rather than Britain’s oil, are demonstrating that meanness.  The resources in the North Sea will not last much longer, but for as long as the oil continues to flow, the benefits of that oil should be shared equally among all the citizens of the United Kingdom -  there are foodbanks in Liverpool and Cardiff, just as there are in Glasgow or Dundee. And if that oil had chanced to lie off the English coast, rather than the Scottish coast, would we not expect the English to share that wealth with those of us here in Scotland?

On the 4th of May, lets work for the preservation of Scotland's freedom within the United Kingdom.