I’VE never believed in government by referenda. Our government, be it Westminster or Holyrood, is elected every four or five years or until it goes to the country of its own account, as May did recently. We have the opportunity to decide on the policies we want to have in government.
A referendum is a convenient way for a government to throw in the towel and say: “You decide. It’s beyond us”.
Since we have no written UK constitution, there is nothing to say referenda are required.
Here in Scotland we are fortunate to have in Nicola Sturgeon someone who has no baggage from previous party allegiances. Her main thrust is independence. I sincerely hope that next time we have a Holyrood election she’ll make independence top of her policy list. She gets a majority and we start negotiations to an independent country.
Unlike May and her current Tory government, an SNP majority government has one aim. We know what we want. We also know the preparations that are necessary so that we have a smooth transition.
Whilst I appreciate the current Bexit negotiations are a reality – though it is hard to belief the UK government views them in this way – they are a totally separate issue from our priority of gaining independence from an undemocratic Union which our predecessors were bribed to accept. Brexit does however admirably demonstrate the incompetence of the Westminster government.
The next Holyrood election will be in May 2020. Let’s use the time left to ensure we get a landslide majority.
Catriona Grigg
Embo
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