Is this what No voters wanted in 2014?
In the last week or so, I have noticed a pattern. Unionist politicians have been justifying the Westminster power-grab by suggesting that it is a consequence of the 2014 No vote.
The Prime Minister did it this week at PMQs when Iain Blackford MP suggested that the EU(Withdrawal) Bill in its current form is an outrage that puts the devolution settlement in jeopardy. Which it literally does.
She replied to him:
I say to the right honourable gentleman that we want to ensure the integrity of the United Kingdom’s common market, and when he talks about the democratic will he might wish to recall the fact that it was the democratic will of the Scottish people to remain in the United Kingdom.
Lib Dem peer, Lord Bruce of Bennachie, did it last week as the House of Lords talked down amendments that could have fixed the bill.
He was one of many Labour and Lib Dem peers making similar points despite their Scottish branch offices voting against the power-grab.
That is why the sentiment of this House—and I suspect the sentiment of those people in Scotland who think about it—is that the Scottish Government should be very careful that they do not over-push their position, because Scotland has voted to be in the United Kingdom, is part of the United Kingdom, and recognises that there are shared interests, where we will need to make decisions together.
And Scottish Secretary David Mundell also played the same card in this video of him we posted last week explaining how consent can still be consent even when it isn’t.
Now around 50 percent of my friends, family and acquaintances were No voters.
And I can tell you that none of them voted for devolution to be undermined as a consequence of forcing Scotland into a damaging Brexit it doesn’t want. All of them actually voted for the pooling and sharing, better together, as close to federalism family of nations vision that the same people currently misrepresenting their vote sold to them.
And the more they hear that a catastrophic Brexit and an opportunistic power-grab are being greenlit by their No vote, the more disenchanted they will become with the UK they showed faith in.
So, I for one hope this political tactic continues.
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Different people of my acquaintance voted no for various reasons. One fellow voted for the 1950s to come back. Others voted for the SNP to shut up and disappear. Others voted no because they didn’t want racism and division and that’s what they assumed independence was all about. Many voted no because they were quite fine with life and didn’t see any need for things to change, or maybe weren’t fine with life but we’re terrified that independence would change things for the worst. All of them except the guy who voted for the 1950s to come back are disillusioned… Read more »