Well in a couple of days’ time we will go to the polls to cast our vote in what is probably the worst referendum in living memory .It will long be remembered for the lies, bigotry xenophobia displayed on both sides but mainly from the leave side. It has thrown up distasteful people like Boris Johnston and Nigel Farage in circus of deceit.
It has brought out the worst in society in the form of the organisation Britain First through the horrible terrorist act on Joe Cox by one of their members.
It is difficult to say how it will go on Thursday but as I have been saying for a while now I have a feeling we will stay in by a narrow margins and there will be a larger majority in Scotland for remaining in the EU.
This brings me to the independence question. I do not think (regardless of whether we are in or out) there will be a large enough majority in Scotland to warrant another independence referendum and in any case it would be too difficult to know just what the proportion of stay voters were also independence supporters , so I feel as I have felt for a long time that this was always a bit of an SNP red hearing. However, regardless of how slim the chance is of this, in, out vote of leading to some form of push for another go at independence it is certainly a good reason to vote to stay. Because if nothing else this referendum campaign has brought out the low life that would seek to govern us from under their stones.
Because of my support for the remain camp I have been accused in recent postings of being a Unionist. This mainly from people who cannot understand the difference between the union as in the UK and the European Union.
Scotland is in the UK Union not through the choice but through the greed and desperation of the nobility who held power in 1707 and the ordinary Scottish people had no hand in the formation of that union. The European Union on the other hand was entered voluntary, through the democratically elected government of the day under Ted Heath who negotiated entry on our behalf, then two years later under Harold Wilson there was a referendum in which the people voted by something like 68% to stay in. So there is a World of difference between the two unions as far as Scotland is concerned.
So as far as I am concerned there is only one vote on Thursday and that is a vote to stay in the EU. It isn’t perfect by far but without it Scotland would not have had the referendum on devolution in 1997. We would not have the Human Rights act and without it we will see a rapid deterioration of basic working rights under an extreme right wing government led by a xenophobic Circus Clown and bourgeoning of hate sponsored neo Nazi groups like British first. I sincerely hope the SNP will keep to their word of addressing the independence question once again after their period of muddle and we will before long have no need of this UK Union but until such time, I prefer the calming hand of the EU to be in the background.
I wrote this high above the Atlantic Ocean on the way back from another country that at present is also at risk of being governed by a xenophobic racist. Tonight before posting this, I watched the big debate. A couple of weeks ago I gave my concerns that it was unwise for Nicola Sturgeon to have went down to London to involve herself in a debate, sharing a platform with the Tories and Labour who themselves shared many platforms together to thwart our attempts to gain independence.
Tonight my concerns were realised as Ruth Davidson was by far the most effective combatant on the stage and way out shone Nicola who basically called Boris Johnston a few names.
With the shambles of the way the SNP fought the Scottish election allowing the Tories to double their seats (and I am in no way a fan of the Tories and cannot ever see the situation under which I would vote for them ) and being a realist i can foresee the SNP’s lack of attention to what is after all their function in life, independence, coming back to bite them.
They had better get their fingers out and get on with it.
In the mean time I will be voting for common sense I will be voting to remain in the European Union.
Bob Costello 