Retired doctor and researcher John Richard King, 73, provides a view from over the Border on the independence debate.
BEFORE 2016, I took little interest in politics. If you had asked me five years ago if I thought Scotland should be a separate country I would have said no, of course not. Scotland was a great place if you wanted to escape the hurly burly of medicine for a breath of fresh air and some spectacular scenery, but otherwise I gave the matter little thought, and rather took the country for granted.
All that changed with the Brexit referendum. Like many of my colleagues I was profoundly shocked by the vote to leave the European Union, after a referendum which nobody asked for, in which civilised values and rational thinking were pitted against lies, prejudice and ignorance, and the lies won.
I joined a campaigning group against what I saw was the madness of Brexit, and for a while it looked like the disaster might be averted. I went on the marches, I wrote articles and letters to newspapers. Even when a notorious scoundrel called Boris Johnson was appointed PM, and proceeded to trash the country’s international reputation, I was undaunted. And when we finally left the EU, I was all for campaigning to rejoin.
But gradually it dawned on me that the chances of the UK as a whole doing that are zero. The close collusion of the Johnson government and the mainstream media ensures a lack of meaningful protest, because the continuing damage to business and trade is concealed from the public eye. They have taken back control – to themselves. They spin the news as they see fit. When even a respected figure like Sir Keir Starmer throws in the towel and announces that the Brexit debate is over and there is no case for rejoining, you know the game is up.
READ MORE: No to Yes: I couldn't bring myself to back independence ... until Brexit
For a while I toyed with the idea of emigrating across the channel, but here’s the catch-22. Brexit at a stroke stripped away the human rights of each and every person on these islands. Freedom of movement has gone. The majority of us are trapped.
But in Scotland on May 6, an escape route is opening up. Scots are within sight of reversing the damage inflicted in 2016, elevating their country to the EU’s top table and restoring the powerful alliance of 28 nations. They must seize the day.
Following independence, the value of a Scottish passport will rocket. Millions in England will be scrutinising their family histories, hoping to find evidence of Scottish ancestry. But independence will not only benefit the Scots. It will also expose the folly of Brexit, so that one day England can perhaps follow in Scotland’s footsteps.
That’s why I raise my glass to you folks north of the Border and wish you all the best for the coming election. A large scotch will suit me fine.
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