SCOTTISH Secretary Alister Jack displays an ignorance and arrogance which is shocking even for a Tory, which is pretty shocking indeed. Jack's contribution to Scottis Conservative MP Andrew Bowie's little book of British nationalist platitudes was slated by the eminent historian Professor Tom Devine for its appalling lack of understanding of the nature and significance of the Scottish-English border.
Possibly even more shocking however was Jack's declaration that he does not like to refer to the UK as a union of four nations, as he prefers to think of the UK as comprising a single British nation. This means that we actually have, as a Scotland Secretary, a man who by his own admission does not like to acknowledge that Scotland is a nation. Perhaps most shocking of all is the failure of the Scottish media to highlight this fact.
Having decided that the existence of Scotland as a nation is a dirty little secret that's best not talked about in case it gives the Caledonian lower orders ideas and unilaterally erased the Scottish border, the only thing that saved Jack's essay from absolute disgrace is that there were other contributions which were even more laughable. Andrew Bowie's argument against Scottish independence basically boiled down to the assertion that Scottish independence would hurt his feelings because he's unable to form an emotional attachment to a country unless it could have a Conservative government that it didn't necessarily vote for.
The only reason this upper-class fool still has a job is because the Scottish Conservative contingent at Westminster can't collectively constitute a talent moist patch, never mind a talent pool.
This piece is an excerpt from today's REAL Scottish Politics newsletter, which is emailed out at 7pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Wee Ginger Dug.
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