SCOTLAND has run its own parliament, with its limited powers, since 1997. In fact, ever since the Union of the Parliaments 1707, Scotland has been run by some kind of Scottish government (or over lord oppressor). At that time only the landowners, or less than 5% of the population had a vote, so this takeover was never democratically voted on and there were troops at the border and in Northern Ireland. This has never been a real Union – it began as a trading treaty and ended as colonisation and that’s what we should call it.

A majority of Scots want home rule or devolved government. But the question might be how much should Scotland be run by those in London on defence (trident in Scottish lochs); on welfare (bedroom tax), on foreign affairs (Brexit, Windrush); and pensions (lowest in the OECD)? Less than 10% of the media represents these views and our newspapers are London-centric. Westminster may not imprison Scottish independence supporters, instead they tie our hands with limited free press or media. Scotland’s stories have always been different – Scotland kept its church, law and education and today runs its separate health service. The difficulty is England dominates to such an extent the “other nations” are not given room to breathe and address their own unique concerns.

Language, however, makes us who we are and there is renewed interest in both Scots and Gaelic. Today, Scots music is flourishing at home and abroad and musicians are proud to sing and play with a Scottish accent and indigenous style. Scotland has long been a trading and proud European nation. The Scots language has been protected within the EU by a European charter. One-third of today’s population speak a modern version of the same language used by our bard Burns. Will old Scotia’s heritage, laws, rights, language, culture and arts be protected once we leave the EU? Will our environment or wildlife be protected? Or will we be consumed in a bland, artificial and meaningless “global Britishness”?

Indeed, as we look to the future, we should remember the value of our own history and culture. At the museum at Stromness Orkney, there are relics from far flung places and at the prehistoric Brodgar of Ness Orkney, excavations are revealing an ancient settlement which brought travellers from far and wide. Some say, why should we get smaller? But we need balance between being global and outward-looking and also knowing our place in the world, our own heritage and stories. How many countries are forced to have dual national identities anyway? We must be both national and international.

Scots should also remember that it is possible to have prosperity, equal rights and opportunities for all – this begins with a co-operative and fair education system. Equality means we all deserve equal rights, but it does not mean we are all the same. Humans have succeeded because of their diversity and also from co-operation. I believe in capitalism for business (as in Sweden) but also far more social programmes to benefit all. Norway, for instance, has a huge oil fund because they insisted that 51% of profits were kept.

For Scotland, the key to this prosperous future lies both within and outwith our borders. Edinburgh runs one of the world’s original and most significant international arts festivals. Yet, growing up in Edinburgh I had no idea how major it was, or of the city’s historical significance. I studied there, but it was all English imperialist history, art and literature. I’m teaching myself Scots history and literature now and I am sad for not knowing it when I once walked down Edina’s cobbled high street to college.

P Keightley

Glasgow