Sound the trumpet, beat the drum, Scotland is saved and with
it the great United Kingdom. Months of agony, of fear, of doubt and of anger
have disappeared in a trice to be replaced with joy unconfined. The agents of
darkness have been dissipated and put to flight; quite rightly the Pandora’s
Box of secession and isolation can now be locked away for a generation.
Watching the BBC this morning as the “No” votes rolled in, I
gave thanks for the solid good sense of my countrymen. From Dumfries to
Shetland, taking in Edinburgh, Stirling and Aberdeen the verdict was the same –
a majority for the Union. Only in Glasgow and Dundee did the contrarian and the
deluded squeeze out a small majority. In the SNP heartlands of Angus,
Aberdeenshire and Clackmannan even their erstwhile supporters held back from
the final folly.
The “No” vote was the province of the middle classes, of
those in employment, of the educated and the creative. The “Yes” vote attracted
those with no stake in the country, the marginalised, the poor, those dependent
on welfare or on government support. On all sides there were maverick
celebrities of various hues. It was alarming that 1.6m Scots voted against the
Union – far too many for the social cohesion we all want. The hand of reconciliation
needs to be extended towards them.
Two weeks ago I felt despair as a rogue opinion poll put the
“Yes” camp two points ahead and secession with all its horrors seemed a real
possibility. The actual 55/45% outcome was still too close for comfort but
settles the question for a generation. The campaigns were unconvincing in many
ways. The hero of the “Yes” camp, epicene Alex Salmond, held no appeal to me. A
snake-oil salesman par excellence, this
one-time Maoist agitator and demagogue was animated by an unworthy visceral hatred
of England and the English. He campaigned on a mendacious false prospectus full
of lies about the revenues from oil and he was economically illiterate with
promises of future unfundable benefits. He has announced his forthcoming
resignation as First Minister and before we all get dewy-eyed, remember his
deafening silence as SNP yobs tried every tactic of intimidation and his mentor
Jim Sillars threatened retribution on companies opposed to secession. Salmond
is in the unholy tradition of Lenin and Putin and I say good riddance to him.
I give full marks for trying to Alistair Darling leading the
“No” camp but he is earnestly uninspiring and in truth rather a dull dog; his
campaign was much too negative. Both sides were short of orators of the calibre
of Gladstone or Maxton; Cameron spoke well about the merits of the United
Kingdom but Scotland is currently not friendly to Tory messages and Gordon
Brown only awoke from his lethargy and expatiated passionately in the last few days.
Labour leader Ed Miliband does not connect with Scots (or anyone else for that
matter) and John Prescott’s intervention was mere buffoonery.
The aftermath is uncertain. In the panic of the last two
weeks. Cameron, Clegg and Miliband seem to have authorised Brown to form policy
on the hoof and make rash further devolution promises and amazingly the
retention of the hopeless Barnett Formula has been enshrined. Westminster MPs
are suitably appalled and political blood may be shed. We will see soon enough.
But today is a time for rejoicing rather than recrimination.
Our Nation will stay whole, better together. For that alone millions will give
thanks.
SMD
19.09.14
Copyright © Sidney Donald 2014
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