Even Separation Won't Satisfy the Scottish Nationalists
A Force For Good's 'Thin Red Line' stood up for our unity and solidarity on 5 October 2019 when 11,286 SNP-marchers staggered up the Royal Mile (and not the quarter of a million they lied about).
Sometimes people in England get understandably exasperated with "the Scots" who they see on the Telly – ie the SNP MPs – and they will throw up their hands and say that things would be better if "the Scots" just went their own way and got "their independence".
They seem to imagine Scotland and "the Scots" would just drift off into space and never be heard from again.
Things are not that simple!
The fact is, "the Scots" who complain about the Union and England right now, will forever complain.
Even if Scotland was "independent", they would still complain, because that is what they do. That is the sort of people they are.
They are perpetually aggrieved people!
To paraphrase PG Wodehouse, it's never difficult to distinguish between an SNP supporter and a ray of sunshine.
In the event of separation, they would complain even more!
On 4 June 2014, we gave a speech to the London Swinton Circle at Orange Street Congregational Church entitled, "21 Reasons why England should Care about Scotland Separating". Here is Reason 21. The entire 5,000 word speech can be read on our Legacy Site here.
(Excerpt begins>
Reason 21. Relationships between Scots and English will get Worse.
This is because the divorce proceedings would never be settled to everyone's satisfaction. When couples fall out, divorce proceedings can be painful and bitter.
Imagine Scotland and what remained of the UK arguing over the divorce settlement?
The idea that the remainder of the UK would simply hand over all the oil, and allow Scotland to use the sterling currency, and set up a very agreeable repayment scheme for Scotland's share of the National Debt, and have some hunky dory arrangement with Trident – all without any fuss – is just a dangerous fantasy.
It would be years of constant political arguing and fighting making relations between Scotland and the remainder of the UK – especially between the Scots and the English – much worse with every passing day. It would be years of constant pain and grief. The proceedings would probably become a fixture on the political scene for years.
Whenever you turned on the TV, the radio, opened a newspaper you'd be seeing it. People would get driven up the wall by it. Bitterness rising on all sides with every new daily headline.
And it would never be resolved to everyone's satisfaction.
Consider this: Today Scottish Nationalists are still complaining about matters related to the Treaty of Union...over 300 years ago!
After separation, over 300 years from now, they would still be complaining about matters related to the Treaty of Disunion – and there would be so much more to complain about.
Just imagine them, over 300 years from now...
It would be all about how the terms which were settled today were "so unfair" to Scotland, and how "England cheated us" and "that's why we haven't progressed properly"...and things would be oh so much better if hundreds of years ago...the English hadn't done such and such with their share of the National Debt, or such and such with the currency, or such and such with the gold reserves...and if England had done such and such then Scotland would have been able to "reach its true potential"...which "it was cheated out of by England"...and by those Scottish politicians who "sold out Scotland", and so on and on...and on...until the end of time.
In short, some Scots will become even more irritating to the English than they already are!
Yes, I am being a little light-hearted here, but I am also very serious.
If people in England think that a benefit of separation will be that those "whinging Scots" will just "go away" – then believe me, they have another think coming!
Those Scots who are separation-inclined will still moan about "England" even if Scotland becomes "independent" – and because nobody is going to be 100% satisfied with the divorce settlement, that means they will be guaranteed to forever have something to moan about, and to point to when things do not go according to their plan.
Such people will still come down to England or London to make their lives there – just in as great a number, possibly a greater number, as they have always done – and some of these Scots will still talk about "Scotland".
However, they won't be complaining that Scotland is not independent. This time they'll be complaining about how Scotland didn't get a fair deal in the divorce from England.
They'll be complaining about "that disgraceful independence settlement which was terribly prejudiced against Scotland's best interests".
And if it is not that, then it will be some other pretended grievance, or made-up moan.
They will still be demanding a say over things which they previously had a say in. The only difference will be, after separation, we won't be entitled to do so! But that won't stop us demanding!
So, separation won't stop Scots whinging. The people who are inclined to whinge will only whinge more.
Short story: basically, no good can come of it!
<Excerpt ends)
Separation is Not Going to Solve it!
On 5 October 2019, our Thin Red Line stood up for the United Kingdom, and met the SNP-marchers (aka the Smurfs Annual Outing) on the Royal Mile. At that event we counted 11,286 of the little blue-painted people and not the "250,000" that Joanna Cherry MP lied about; and not even the "200,000" the rest of them were hallucinating about.
In the video above, AFFG Director Alistair McConnachie gives the passing marchers some home truths about how "they'll never be happy" even if they got their way!
(Transcript begins>
I'm going to emphasise a crucial point to you. It's never going to happen but imagine if you guys actually got your way. Imagine the catastrophe of that.
Do you think you'd wake up one morning and you'd suddenly be best friends with England?
Of course not.
I'll tell you exactly what would start to obsess in your minds. It would be the terms of the divorce settlement were not good enough.
Then you'd start to get angry at England. Then you'd start to say "England's done that, or done this."
And you'd never be happy!
This is it. You'd never be happy with anything that came out of the break up of the United Kingdom.
And 300 years from now, people like you would still be complaining about the terms of the divorce settlement. How it was "so unfair back in" whenever, when "England did this, or England did that".
And do you know how I know that?
I know that because I read history and I read The National newspaper. And to this day, people are still writing-in complaining about the terms of the Treaty of Union in...1707!
For crying out loud!
They still haven't got over the terms of the Treaty in 1707. And you think you guys are going to get over the break up with England as if it's just "walking out the door". No way. You're going to go mental because you're not going to be happy with the settlement.
But of course you're going to be angry because of the deal that you tried, but failed, to get with numerous powerful interests in London.
So I've got bad news for you.
Separation is not going to solve it!
OK, separation is not going to solve it!
At the end of the day, you have to look inside your own head, and you have to say, "Do you know what. The United Kingdom is actually a pretty good deal as it is right now."
We can make it better, but we can make it better...together!
<Transcript ends)
Versions of the above were published on our Facebook page UKaForceForGood on 4-12-17 and 5-10-20.
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