For nearly two decades now the United Kingdom has been on a steady decline. It sounds like a big claim but arguably it is true, the United Kingdoms collapse is inevitable and it has been staring the British establishment right in face.
The inevitable collapse of the UK arguably started at the onset of devolution. This gave parties such as the SNP a better platform to put forward there prospects on Independence and convince people that Scotland was better off Independent. However time and time again, the British establishment has been in denial that Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland would ever want to leave the UK. Apparently we would all be worse off without the “broad shoulders” of the United Kingdom.
For years now we have been told that we are “too small”, “too poor”. Now the British Right are finally waking up to the reality that the UK is on a path of inevitable collapse. Piers Morgan of all people has begun to come around to the idea, and to a little more extreme end, Peter Hitchens has outright said that England has to become Independent, it sounded more like a little tantrum than an actual idea.
Click on the above image to read his article (It’s a bit of a laugh).
Ironically those of us who support independence have been predicting the collapse of the UK for years now, while constantly being told by the British Right that the UK could never collapse. After Sinn Féin won the Assembly elections in Northern Ireland we’ve have seen many on the right talk of how worried they are of the result, with some Tory MPs even saying that it makes them deeply uncomfortable that Michelle O’Neill is now having meetings with people like Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson. The British elite are finally showing how scared they are at the prospect that the UK may no longer exist in the next 10 years.
In Scotland however, it did not take long before conservatives began to revert to their original tune and shout that the prospect of Independence is dead in the water. An opinion poll conducted by YouGov showed that support for Independence had dropped down to 38%. For days people like Murdo Fraser told us that “this shows the will of the Scottish people”. Anyway, a week later a poll from Ipsos Mori showed support for Independence at 50%, again conservatives reverted to their original tune of “polls don’t mean anything”. Ironic, I know.
This constant flip flopping from the British Right shows just how scared they are of having another referendum on the question of Independence. They know deep down that they cannot use the same old arguments of 2014. That UK does not exist anymore. What arguments are there now for the United Kingdom. Every month there’s a new hollow excuse for why we should not be independent. Scotland shouldn’t be independent because Covid; Scotland shouldn’t be independent because “Ukraine”. These are just two examples, but whatever the hot topic in politics is, the right will use it in some way to say that Scotland would be worse off in a world without the UK. However, whenever the First Minster of Scotland expresses her opinions on these issues, conservatives turn around and tell us “thats reserved” or that she doesn’t have any right to speak on such an issue because “SNPbad”. Its utter contempt for the people of Scotland.
The truth is, as mentioned earlier, the collapse pf the UK is inevitable. As the weeks go on this statement only becomes more relevant. It is only a matter of when, not if the UK collapses, what we do know for sure is that it will be via the ballot box in Scotland, in Wales and in Northern Ireland.
Another harsh truth for the Right in the UK is they only have themselves to blame for the collapse. Why? Because all they have done for decades now is rubbish the idea that anyone would want to leave their precious kingdom. The British ruling elite have treated everyone in all four nations with contempt and now it is coming to bite them on the arse.
As mentioned already, they only have themselves to blame. In 2014 the question of Independence should have been kicked into the long grass, the British right where convinced that people overwhelmingly rejected Independence. They promised more powers for Scotland. However, the beloved smith commission failed to deliver. It remains fully undelivered and watered down. And it really shows. Since 2014, support for independence on average has increased, especially since Brexit. However this, is another fact that the British Right seem to be in denial about. I truly believe that Brexit was the final nail in the coffin for the UK. Scotland overwhelmingly rejected Brexit yet we are dragged out anyway. Whenever this is brought up all the right can do is scream that we voted as one country, as one “United” Kingdom (A massive oxymoron if you ask me).
In 2014 we where told to lead the United Kingdom not leave it. We are one nation in a union of equals. Really? In what world is this a union of equals? When it comes to Brexit, the Scottish Government put forward compromise after compromise to respect the vote in Scotland. Time and time again it was rejected, laughed at and told we are one country and we shall leave as one. Brexit really proved wrong the arguments of the no campaign of 2014.
This Union has never been equal, the idea that this Union is voluntary is simply fiction. With the First Minister confirming that a referendum will take place in October next year, let’s see how the right tackle the vote. Will they put forward a positive case for remaining under the control of Westminster? Or will they continue to try and taint the democratic process and stay in indefinite denial that the Union is broken and heading for collapse. The next 16 months will decide this Unions fate.
Jamie McDiarmid 