THIS has been an interesting week in the world of politics and the more domestic deliberations of our own Project Fear camp at Westminster, with Theresa May getting all showbiz describing the “clear and present danger” of independence and her guarded admission that England needs Scotland to survive globally outside of the EU.
Global Britain is now central to the Unionist strategy and this was rightly challenged by Alyn Smith, offering independence and reconnection with Europe as a more viable alternative.
Johnson, Gove and others have long subscribed to the populist Trump playbook and it has been cringeworthy to watch their forced media critique of his dying presidency. Scotland’s connection with a new President Biden and his open views on Johnson as a UK version of Trump is a narrative we must exploit. Work carried out by Professor Ronald MacDonald, professor of macroeconomics at Glasgow University, suggests that a solid connection with Biden is possible.
Johnson’s performance at PMQs and the Select Committee this week provided further evidence of his contempt for Scotland. His checklist of attack strategies gave us a useful reminder of how he will manage the No propaganda coming our way in the coming months. Pensions, currency, EU failure etc, and perhaps his most powerful distortion: the need to work together as a nation during a pandemic and vaccine roll-out.
I feel that the old chestnut of a “once in a generation” referendum needs a more cogent response. For example, a 10-year-old in 2014 will have suffered seven years of generational inequality under Tory rule and this generation will suffer from the effects of a Brexit which Scotland rejected.
It is time for a generation of Scots, young and older, to embrace the possibilities offered by independence.
Dr Terry Barber
via email
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