FOR those who have spent most of their lives campaigning for Scottish independence it must seem that the journey has recently begun to pick up speed. Now the stations seem to flash by in a blur when once, not so long ago, the train approached each stop wearily and lingered awhile before moving off slowly once more. Elections were won by other parties and their aftermath was about counting the depleted numbers of those still standing. Now, they can’t come quickly enough; winning is almost guaranteed and only the margins of success remain in doubt. Since 2007 Scottish independence has been in the fast lane: Holyrood 2007; Holyrood 2011 and 2015; Westminster 2016 and again the following year. The EU referendum; soft Brexit; hard Brexit; no deal and the DUP. The fight for Glasgow; the fall of Glasgow; all change at Glasgow. For those of us who only recently came to be persuaded by the case for an independent Scotland it’s like being invited into a party where last orders are never called and the bar never runs out of ice.
Some old habits have been relinquished. In the west of Scotland we once deployed little verbal subterfuges to establish which school everyone attended. Now we use them to ascertain everyone’s views on the constitutional question. In mixed company now everyone is either Yes or No. It’s impossible to be neutral and I love it.
READ MORE: Tilda Swinton: Scotland is a naturally independent country
Occasionally, though, it’s good to stop for a breather; to take stock of our situation and perhaps to examine our consciences; to remind ourselves what essentially we stand for. The poisonous nationalism of Donald Trump which proclaims the moral superiority of power and money has begun to contaminate political discourse across the world. In the UK the Brexiteers used fear and hatred of others to secure a No vote and disguised it with talk about taking back control of laws and borders. Vladimir Putin has bent an entire nation to his will by doing the same. In Brazil a politician who is defined solely by the people he hates rather than the qualities he loves has taken control of South America’s biggest economy. All of them have made something toxic out of nationalism and used it to proclaim exceptionalism and the idea that one race or one creed or one tribe is anointed above all others.
In Scotland it has encouraged Labour politicians and activists to paint Scottish nationalism in similar colours. Devoid of any other strategy to unseat the SNP or to damage the cause of independence, they try to say that it is similarly divisive and is fuelled by ideas of superiority; of a sense of Scottish exceptionalism.
Most of them know that this is untrue and that Scottish nationalism, alone in the UK at this moment in its history, is all that stands between a society that welcomes strangers and seeks to include them and one that wants to create a hostile environment around them. They will keep saying it though.
In a recent interview the Scottish actor Tilda Swinton said that she felt that Scotland “is naturally independent”. She added: “I don’t quite believe the word ‘British’. I feel like it’s sort of a strictly-for-export term. I don’t really know what it means. I think it has something to do with a political attitude.”
I think I know what she is getting at here and it probably reflects some of my own feelings about Scottish independence and how “being British” has become a weapon used to mean something exceptionally unyielding and strong; something that will always prevail.
Yet, if we sincerely believe that Scottish nationalism is none of these things and is rather a force for unity and for reaching out instead of shutting out then we must also accept that many in Scotland who feel just as Scottish as the rest of us also choose to define themselves as British.
We can never proclaim that our Scottishness is better than their British/Scottishness. And we need to acknowledge that there are powerful bonds rooted in history, faith and culture which make many Scots proud of being a part of the United Kingdom. If we truly believe our civic nationalism is something positive and peaceful and not something fearful then we must accept that there are many valid reasons for real Scots to feel British too. Only then can we have any hope of bringing them with us on the journey.
Why all is not tickety-boo
IT was reported last weekend that John Bercow, the embattled speaker of the House of Commons, has received free tickets worth around £13,000 to football and tennis matches since last year’s General Election. Mr Speaker doesn’t just have his nose in the trough, he seems to be living in it. Bercow’s slurping was more assiduous than any other MP.
In all, according to research conducted by Gloucestershire Live, MPs have received tickets worth £123,798 since last June. Bercow’s spokeswoman said: “All hospitality is declared in full and on time to the register of members’ interests in accordance with the rules.”
A couple of reflections here: I may be proved wrong but I’d be very surprised if the vast majority of MPs exploiting this largesse weren’t male.
I also feel certain that the majority of the voting public would favour a tightening of the rules.
Rule change number one: No sitting member of the House of Commons or the House of Lords shall be permitted ever to use free hospitality at any sporting, musical or other cultural event for which the general public must pay to attend.
A game of two halfs
I EXPERIENCED a profound change of heart on Sunday while watching Scottish football’s two Scottish League Cup semi-finals. Murrayfield, the home of Scottish rugby, looked great in the autumnal sunshine as it hosted a good game between Hearts and Celtic. It also posted the biggest crowd assembled for a football match since 1990. At 61,108 this is around 10,000 more than the attendance will be for the actual final itself next month at Hampden Park, the home of Scottish football.
Rugby in Scotland is still very much a minority sport. The people who run the game have effectively destroyed club rugby at a local level and deliberately avoided taking it into Scotland’s working-class neighbourhoods. It remains a sport wedded to privilege and public school elites.
The Scottish international rugby team is a foreign country to many of us who feel nothing on those fleeting occasions when they actually win.
Murrayfield exists as part of the Scottish “season” and something that must be “done” in the same way that Winbledon, Henley and Royal Ascot must be “done” by the English upper classes. Sure, there are many rugby fans who visit Murrayfield for authentic sporting reasons but many are only there for show and to enjoy their champagne picnics in the car park beforehand.
I suggest that the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish Rugby Union swap offices and facilities. The big sport gets Murrayfield and the pastime decants to Glasgow’s south side.
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