WHAT Kevin McKenna terms “the narrative of British exceptionalism” is indeed under way to deify the disingenuous and indolent Prime Minister as the saviour of the UK and wallow in a parochial, jingoistic illusion of faded grandeur (This rottenness at UK’s core is salutary reminder of why Scotland needs out, February 24). The alarming high death toll, cronyistic corruption and deviousness will be marginalised or conveniently forgotten altogether by a compliant media, followed by some Scottish independence bashing and flag venerating in preparation for the actual festival – a misnomer if there ever was one – of Brexit in 2022.
If there is one single event that will symbolise the deluded and hubristic nature of this Westminster government then look no further than this occasion, which received £29 million of public money at the end of last year and appears still to be taking place despite the economic, social and political carnage caused by the pandemic and the Brexit process. This, as Mr McKenna notes, speaks volumes for the warped priorities and Weltanschauung of Boris Johnson’s Conservative administration.
READ MORE: Kevin McKenna: This rottenness at UK’s core is salutary reminder of why Scotland needs out
It is fitting that this pseudo-triumphalist, anachronistic sophistry originated with the self-congratulatory Rees-Mogg and was originally rubber-stamped by the hapless Theresa May. The festival of Brexit represents an attempt to persuade the public to evade reality, a tired and cheap conjurer’s trick to induce mass acceptance of the big lie, Trump-style. To celebrate the division and chaos that Brexit has visited upon the Scottish people is a tired joke, a patronising attempt to play the bread and circuses card with a nation that has outgrown its place in the United Kingdom.
Mr McKenna is correct to identify the current issues within Scotland’s ruling party at present but also to reiterate that the alternative to independence is too terrible to contemplate. A socially democratic, inclusive Scotland must continue to be the aim of everyone who craves independence and rejects the chauvinistic and unprincipled immorality of Westminster.
Owen Kelly
Stirling
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