I’m inclined to agree with you Shandy. Brexit was the best possible news for the independence movement, but just as the utter stupidity of the Brexit debacle begins to dawn on even its most ardent supporters, so would the grim reality of independence pall after a very few years.
I have a lot of sympathy for the truths of the SNP’s message, especially the one that the 2014 referendum was based on the lie that we would always be a member of the EU. No one can argue that the result would probably have been very different if the Scots had known in advance what the result of the 2016 referendum was going to be.
But it comes down to an essential, fundamental, truth about humanity. We are all better off when we work together, united rather than divided. It’s hard work sometimes, but it’s worth putting a lot of collective energy into remaining united, because the benefits outweigh the disadvantages overwhelmingly. Europe had not seen a major war for nearly 80 years, the Balkan conflict aside, until Putin’s invasion, because of the existence of the EU. There has been peace in Northern Ireland for 25 years because of the existence of the EU, but now there is a very real possibility of that conflict being reignited because of a border issue. The SNP want to turn the clock back hundreds of years to reinstate a hard border from the Solway Firth to Berwick. Surely only conflict in one form or another is the inevitable outcome if that happens?
The ultimate alternative to unity is that we all end up sat on our own little hill throwing rocks at each other. Call me an idealist, but if only we could find a way to rejoin the EU, which itself could in time include all the former Soviet republics in Europe including Russia, that would be a far better future for everyone.
