Anti-independence jibes over Brexit deal for Northern Ireland insult Scotland

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Scottish Secretary David Mundell, who hasn’t resigned yet, said just a few days ago that the Scottish Government was making “crass demands” to be equated with Northern Ireland in the Brexit deal. Assorted anti-independence journalists have gone on social media to insist that Scotland shouldn’t expect a special deal because no-one in Scotland is blowing anyone up. They support Mundell’s view, that Scotland has no right to expect any consideration from the British Government. Shut up Scotland, and get back into your shortbread tin with its Union flag branding.

According to this anti-independence view, Northern Ireland deserves a special Brexit deal because there is a long history there of communal violence, bombing campaigns, riots, and families being burned out of their homes because they had the misfortune to live in a district where their constitutional views were unwelcome. Scotland has no such history, they say, and so we have no right to expect that the British Government should negotiate a Brexit deal for Scotland that is specifically tailored to Scotland’s needs.

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This is quite possibly one of the most insulting and potentially dangerous arguments against independence that British nationalists in Scotland have ever come out with. They are in effect saying that Scotland doesn’t merit any special consideration from the British Government because the Scottish independence movement has always been peaceful and respectful of the rule of law. They are implying, in other words, that violence pays.

That’s grossly offensive, not just to an independence movement that has always been scrupulously peaceful and dedicated to achieving independence legally and through the ballot box, it’s offensive to the people of Scotland. It’s telling us that we don’t deserve any consideration from the British Government because we play by the rules. It’s telling us that we shouldn’t expect to be listened to, because we respect human rights and the rule of law. It’s telling Scotland that because this country is peaceful and has a political culture that abhors violence and illegality that we should expect to be treated more poorly.

In Scotland we are very good at beating ourselves up over all the many and varied things about Scotland that we are dissatisfied with. British nationalists in Scotland are especially prone to this. You know that whenever an opponent of independence tells you that they are a proud Scot, that a "but" is immediately following. I’m a proud Scot but ... it’s as predictable as a Scottish Conservative saying that Scotland doesn’t want another referendum.

I’m a proud Scot but ... what we’re not good at in Scotland is patting ourselves on the back when we’ve done something to be proud of. We’re not good in Scotland at acknowledging those things we do well. We’re not great at recognising the things that we’re good at.

One of the things that we are extremely good at in Scotland is democracy. When you look at independence movements around the world, they are all too often characterised by violent uprisings, by campaigns of bombing and assassinations, by states of emergency and disappearances, by outright civil war. The Scottish independence campaign is dedicated to peace, to the rule of law, and to achieving independence through debate and discussion.

The Scottish independence movement is defined by a belief that the independent state which a nation wins is defined by the campaign fought to achieve it. If we want a peaceful, democratic independent Scotland which respects diversity and abides by the law, then that’s the kind of independence campaign we need in order to win that independent Scotland.

All of Scotland, not just those of us who support independence, should celebrate the peaceful and law-abiding nature of the independence debate, on both sides of the argument. The only convictions for political violence in Scotland have been a far right extremist who opposes indepenence, or for threats made on social media, again largely from opponents of independence. The mainstream campaign to oppose independence is, like the campaign to achieve it, defined by a peaceful respect for the rule of law.

There is absolutely no reason why the British Government cannot negotiate a separate Brexit deal for Scotland. Theresa May has already established the principle that one part of the UK can be treated differently in order to take into account its needs and the will of its people. There is nothing preventing them doing the same for Scotland. It’s just that they don’t want to, because they believe that they can continue to marginalise and ignore Scotland. Those anti-independence journalists who’ve been tweeting that Scotland doesn’t deserve special treatment because Scotland’s indy movement is peaceful are doing the Tories’ job for them. They are aiding and abetting in ensuring that Scotland continues to be marginalised and ignored within the UK, and they are weakening that so-called Union that they claim to defend. Because if this so-called Union isn’t responsive to Scotland’s needs, then what’s the point of it?

Politicians and journalists who oppose independence should be citing Scotland’s peaceful and law-abiding independence movement as a reason why Scotland merits special treatment from the UK Government, not as a reason why it doesn’t. It’s incumbent upon all of us, whether we support independence or oppose it, to demonstrate to Scotland, to the UK, and to the world, that peacefulness pays, that respect for the rule of law is rewarding. Scotland is a peaceful country, and all of us have a moral duty, as well as a legal one, to do all that we can to ensure that it stays that way. Opponents of independence are treating Scotland with contempt.