4 Responses

1. Pilgrim Slight Return says:

   September 30 2022 at 10:44 am

   A very robust article and totally justified.
2. Alex C says:

   September 30 2022 at 3:42 pm

   Fear politics, wholly disingenuous statements from the pro-union parties (over decades) and political chicanery (requiring a majority of the eligible voting public, not simply the majority of people who chose to vote) are largely why Scotland is not already independent. As you say, either Scotland is a burden – in which case break-up the union – or Scotland contributes positively – in which case why wouldn’t it go independent? The result is the same!

   I find it hard to believe that anyone in the UK could vote for the Tories. I am absolutely staggered that anyone in Scotland would not wish to be independent if only to escape the chaos and carnage created by Tory mismanagement for the past 12 years…particularly when Truss has launched the most ill-conceived – and frankly plain stupid – economic policies on us all.
3. Roy S Grey says:

   October 2 2022 at 10:30 am

   Well said Richard.

   On a simplistic level I think the Conservative (& Unionist) attachment to Scotland is to a large degree related to energy. Since the 1970s North Sea Oil was probably the main attraction that the Union has had for Scotland, and now it is shifting towards renewables. I saw somewhere recently (sorry can’t remember where) that Scotland generates much more electricity from renewable sources than it needs, and that obviously goes to the rest of the UK.

   We thrawn Scots simply won’t accept that English affection for union with Scotland is altruistic!
   • Richard Murphy says:

     October 2 2022 at 5:55 pm

     Scotland is the one part of the country with a guaranteed surplus on its trade current account because of its energy surplus