I MUST confess that I am exasperated at the talk of a re-run of the EU referendum; the odds are on a repeat performance.
When the SNP decided to modify its position on the EU, quite a long time back, it was not done as a pro-EU campaign but as a form of protection from the UK , which is largely England. As the last Scottish independence referendum approached we were assailed with “You will be thrown out of the EU, and it will take many years to get back in”.
Scotland voted 62% to 38% to Remain, on a turnout of 67%, and I do not think there was a great degree of enthusiasm for the EU referendum at the time. There will be even less enthusiasm for another one.
We must have a Scottish independence referendum at some point, but it is imperative that we see what the “status quo”– currently non-existent – will be before we do so. All the threats and blandishments from England and Wales will be directed at us with even greater intensity than in 2014, and Nicola Sturgeon is right in talking to the EU countries in a positive manner, as this time they will not be siding with rUK. Whether or not we rejoin the EU will be our decision. So far the Yes campaign, under the heading of All Under One Banner, is making the running; the SNP is beavering away getting its membership re-activated –as the battle will be fought on the doorsteps, boosted by the marches.
Jim Lynch
Edinburgh
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