WHILE Britain’s mainstream media focuses on the Proms and Rule Brittania and various other nonsense, the world’s press is paying attention to what’s going on here in Scotland.
Since June opinion polls have put support for independence between 53% and 55% - and backing for Yes has steadily risen since Boris Johnson won the 2019 General Election.
The respected Los Angeles Times has noticed this, and published a story yesterday headlined “Scotland’s handling of the coronavirus puts independence back on the agenda”.
The article states that there is “wide agreement that Britain’s devastating coronavirus outbreak has been met by strong, effective political leadership. Just not from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.”
The story says the Tory leader “seemed to flounder and flip-flop his way through the biggest national crisis in decades”, while Scotland’s First Minister has been praised for her “sober, straight-talking response”.
They argue that independence has been pushed back up the political agenda due to the “gulf between the neat, concise Sturgeon and the rumpled rambling Johnson”.
Referring to the latest polling showing up to 55% support for Yes, a reversal of the 2014 independence referendum result, Tom Devine tells the newspaper “there are signs that the anchors of the Union are beginning to shift”.
The article cites Sturgeon’s near-daily coronavirus briefings and cautious approach to leaving lockdown as areas where, businesswoman Pamela McGregor says, she has done a “great job”.
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Polling expert John Curtice also spoke to the LA Times for the story. He said: “The UK Government is very defensive, very reluctant to admit mistakes.
“And Boris has been much more, ‘We think you need to go back to work because it’s good for the economy.’”
As examples of the UK Government’s shambolic handling of the crisis, the story makes reference to its U-turns on masks and quarantine, as well as the Dominic Cummings scandal.
Tory ministers may believe all it will take to win back support for the Union is a few trips for photo-ops north of the Border, but the rest of the world can see the situation for what it really is.
Scotland is done with the UK, and the Union’s days are now numbered.
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