Scotland needs all the friends it can get in pursuit of independence

I’m talking about Glasgow shipyard union leader Jimmy Reid’s passionate, intimate, but far-reaching oration to workers during the 1971 Upper Clyde Shipbuilder (UCS) work-in that culminated in the five words, “the world is watching us”.

It was not the first and will not be the last time that global attention has been drawn to political events in Scotland.

There will always of course be those who belittle Scotland’s political presence and identity.

Who gives a damn what Scotland thinks or does, detractors ask dismissively.

Jimmy Reid, centre, speaks to the press after his speech (Image: Stock)

Such people are always quick to cast aside our small nation as insignificant, a mere blip on the world stage and at best a political burr under the saddle of Unionism.

But only the most blinkered could fail to notice the extent to which that burr has become a source of serious irritation for those sitting on their backsides at Westminster while Scotland moves doggedly on its journey towards independence.

As Scots go to the polls today, make no mistake about it, both Westminster and the world are watching, knowing full well that events of the coming days could well confirm Scotland’s continuation on its independence journey.

There are those of course – especially among the Tory government – who would like us to think that the whole business of independence is not worth the political candle or taking seriously. But look closely and you will see them beavering away, often out of plain sight, plotting to kick it into oblivion.

No doubt that’s why so much mischief-making has gone on of late, such as the headline in The Times newspaper this week, citing a report that Iran was “peddling” disinformation to influence the outcome of today’s election in the hope of hastening another independence referendum and destabilising the UK.

READ MORE: David Pratt: Conspiracy gets in the way of facts on Iranian election interference

I’ve already addressed the contents of that story here in The National earlier this week but suffice to say it was based on the findings of a report published by the neoconservative think-tank the Henry Jackson Society (HJS).

I say “published” even though it is proving difficult for anyone to see a full copy of the same report written by Dr Paul Stott, an academic who himself in the past was censured by his own university the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), after observations he had made about racism in the UK.

In all, there was something decidedly odd about the story itself and the way it was written. As Alex MacDonald pointed out in his piece in the respected online news portal Middle East Eye, it even misnamed the Scottish Parliament referring to it as the “Scottish Assembly”.

The timing too just before today’s election does set one wondering as to the motive for publication even if the HJS was at pains to stress it was not for a moment suggesting that “Scottish nationalist politicians have encouraged or endorsed Iran’s interference”.

My point is that even if there is precious little evidence of Iran doing the watching, others clearly are –and not necessarily without malign intent.

Which leads me to reiterate another point I’ve often made in this column, that Scots should never dismiss our nation’s footprint in the world’s political landscape and the need to formulate foreign policy thinking for the future.

Put quite simply, should today’s election outcome prove to be the catalyst for another independence referendum that leads in turn to the break-up of the United Kingdom, then by any reckoning that’s a fairly seismic global political event with profound repercussions not just for Scotland but our immediate neighbours and those beyond in Europe and across the Atlantic.

Even the most cursory glance across the global press these past months from the Irish Times to the New York Times, France’s Le Monde, to Germany’s Die Zeit, confirms that Scotland and the existential challenge its independence aspirations pose to the Union, have been and are continuing to be watched closely by our fellow global citizens.

Just this week The New Yorker magazine featured Nicola Sturgeon and a detailed, warts and all account of Scotland’s quest for independence. In the article’s standfirst it pointed out how Scotland’s first minister, “asked voters which kind of society they prefer to live it: Brexit Britain or a social-democratic Scotland?”.

Whatever party-political allegiance one might have, be it SNP, Alba or any other in support of independence it would be churlish not to recognise the importance of such a platform in getting Scotland’s message out to a wider world eager to know which way the political wind is blowing in the UK.

THERE is simply no denying the massive international interest that exists right now not just in the future of the Union and Scottish independence but also in our relations with the EU.

READ MORE: Lesley Riddoch: The neighbours who are coming to Scotland’s rescue in the EU

As my colleague Lesley Riddoch rightly pointed out this week, for many people south of the border, Brexit put the “tin lid’ on the UK’s current political landscape. As a result, some now even look towards Scotland in leading a way towards

re-evaluating or re-engaging in relations with our European neighbours.

Lesley was of course speaking in the wake of an event organised by the Foreign Press Association to discuss these very issues, such is the level of interest in them and the outcome of today’s landmark election.

The bottom line here is that Scotland needs all the friends it can get in its pursuit of sovereignty. The very fact that there is an avid interest overseas in what happens next is something we should embrace.

Back in 1971 when Jimmy Reid made his famous speech, he and his comrades knew how invaluable it was to have friends and allies when campaigning towards a political objective that would resonate far and wide. He understood too the importance of discipline, unity, and solidarity in seeking that objective.

“And there will be no hooliganism, there will be no vandalism, there will be no bevvying because the world is watching us,” Reid warned.

Let’s take a leaf out of that great speech for our own current campaign. That said, here’s hoping too that those of us seeking independence have reason at least to raise a glass after today’s votes are counted.