Ihope Scotland and Nicola Sturgeon realise how much they may yet owe Boris Johnson. If I were a Scot, I would vote for independence tomorrow. I would want nothing more to do with the shambles of today’s Westminster parliament, which goes on holiday for a month during the worst political crisis in a generation. Labour’s John McDonnell is entirely correct to reassure the Scots of their right to secede from the United Kingdom. The supreme civil right is that to self-government, and the inferior tier of a federation is entitled to claim it, not the superior one to permit.
Scotland has now voted itself a separatist Scottish National party local government unchallenged for 12 years. The party is 20 points ahead in the polls, while support for independence has topped 52%, the same percentage that voted for Brexit across the UK in 2016.
Johnson’s sidekick Dominic Cummings this week warned politicians that they “don’t get to choose which votes they respect”. That is exactly what Cummings and Johnson are doing. They are choosing to ignore the Brexit referendum pledge of frictionless trade, and Johnson is refusing to allow Sturgeon a referendum on independence. Sauce for the Brexit goose is sauce for the tartan gander. No wonder Johnson was about as welcome in Edinburgh last week as Donald Trump in El Paso. » | Simon Jenkins | Friday, August 9, 2019
