I Want What You Want

YES March & Rally for Scottish Independence.  Image by Ivon Bart

By Lesley Docksey

When I first became engaged in the debate about independence for Scotland it was because of anger and embarrassment at the slant presented by the Better Together campaign.  But as I talked to friends, acquaintances and strangers, all of us English, in the run-up to the Referendum, I found I wasn’t alone in cheering on the independently-minded Scots.

Despite the blanket of accepted opinion that implied the English were totally pro-Union, it seemed that there were many such supporters south of the border, hidden allies that the Scots didn’t know they had.  And still have, because we go on following the debate post-referendum, still follow your journey.  But why does it matter so much to us?

Personally, it seemed to me that most of Scotland’s talents and contributions to the greater world were being ignored while Westminster kept insisting that poor Scotland could not exist without us.  Except I didn’t feel I was part of that ‘us’ in the same way I have never been one of the ‘we’ in David Cameron’s “We’re all in it together”.

With some trepidation, and having done a crash course on the push for independence I wrote an article or two about it, one so popular it convinced me I truly wasn’t alone in my opinion – and all this from the viewpoint of a very English woman living in rural Dorset.  How dare I?

I dared because I believe in true democracy.  If, as it seemed at the time, the majority of Scots wanted independence then they should have it.  What Scotland then made of it was entirely up to Scotland.  But I also wanted it because I thought if Scotland voted for independence it just might wake up the English from the comfortable non-think prison we live in.

Looking back over all the campaigning and reading what I can of the political conversations still being conducted in Scotland, I’ve come to see how great a gap had been falsely engineered between the English and the Scots, largely due to media misinformation fed by Westminster.  For instance:

As almost all Scots will know, but not many on my side of the border will, the independence campaign was not just about the SNP.  We didn’t know how many independence groups/campaigns there were.  We didn’t know how diverse the views, how intelligent the arguments and how far-seeing much of the debate was.  It never got on to national media and we remained supremely ignorant of the political wonder that was happening up north.

The media campaign denied us English the chance to gain that deeper knowledge of who our neighbours are.  And having been conned over the years into being incurious about everything except celebrities’ lives, we remained largely ignorant.  Otherwise we might have found common cause.  An editorial on the National Collective website said:

“Regardless of who I’m speaking to about the referendum; Yes voters, No voters, undecideds, non-voters; the one thing everyone is without fail in agreement on is that Westminster and those who work there mean absolutely nothing to us.  And when I say ‘us’, this is composed of all sorts of people from all sorts of different backgrounds.  It’s all of us. It’s all of us who have had apathy instilled in us from an early age and, if the UK establishment has its way, this apathy is used as a means of non-participation.”

How true that is.  But maybe some Scots don’t appreciate that it is just as true for us English. Reading David Younger’s article Can Scottish MPs Make a Difference in Westminster? I came across this:

“The only path that the SNP could take is the most difficult of all.  They could negotiate a withdrawal of Scottish MPs from Westminster.  We could call it DevoMax to make everyone comfortable, but even if it comes out as complete independence, this is not so outlandish as it may first appear.  The Conservatives, for one, would identify advantages in that they would probably be able to continue their coalition in a reduced parliament while being free of the stigma of being the party which oversaw the break-up of the UK.  Labour, after their meltdown in Scotland, would be desperate to avoid a repeat in England and the English electorate would at last feel that they had a legislature that was for them and not influenced by others.” (My emphasis)

Would we?  We are not Westminster and many of us really do not want a legislature that is for and run by Westminster.  The political elite, the Westminster bubble, the rich and the corporate, they have one glaring fault: they simply don’t understand people.  They don’t ‘get’ us, you and me.  It is why they got their campaign over Scottish independence so wrong, and why, although they technically won the referendum, they have lost the argument.

Because of Westminster politics, people in both cities and villages, wherever they are in the UK, are being reduced to living a contradiction.  As consumers they are expected to keep the economy going (for which read making the rich richer), yet at the same time Westminster is allowing them less and less money with which to buy, and fewer and fewer public services which they have done their best to pay for by way of taxes and National Insurance.

Dorset is a ‘rich’ county but even small Dorset towns have food banks.  Westminster is damaging the English as much as the Scots.  And I for one am tired of being talked down to; of being told that it is the fault of the electorate that so few turn out to vote; of being told that the electorate is ‘apathetic’; and “we need to talk to the voters more”.

Does Westminster ever listen?  Does Westminster care about low turn-out or our anger?  No and no.  Not when the ‘first-past-the-post system’ can deliver them the power they want, regardless of how low the percentage is that has given a politician a seat in Westminster.

And does that tiny rant from an Englishwoman sound familiar to you Scots?  Because it should.  We English really are not represented by the voices of the rich, the powerful and the large land owners (or, come to that, the English Defence League).  I don’t want to be controlled by the voices of people like Owen Paterson, our embarrassingly useless ex-Environment Secretary, claiming that “we understand how the countryside works.”  There’s that ‘we’ again.

Let me tell you about the village where I live.  It’s not big but it also has 5 outlying hamlets.  The parish has a total of 400-plus houses, some of them large.  We also have an increasing amount of land devoted to pheasant shoots – sporting estates rather than 100 per cent farms.

But of those 400 households, well over 80 are running businesses from home.  The lack of affordable housing is a real problem, and people are living on shrinking incomes.  They can’t always afford the call-out fees charged by tradesmen from the towns, all some miles away.  So, like any true village, there is an electrician, a plumber, a builder or two, a handyman and all the other necessary people that help a community to be as self-sufficient as possible.

That is the way it works for communities either side of the border – at a human level; not a political, rich, land-owning, David Cameron/Chipping-Norton-set and Westminster level.  I’m English and you’re Scottish but the soil beneath our feet is where we come from, and we want it back.

The major landowners’ reaction to Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to start stripping sporting estates of their tax breaks was to be expected, although few if any mentioned how many millions they are paid in farm subsidies.  And the Tory rural affairs spokesman Alex Fergusson said it all:

“Big Brother is about to be legislated for by a government that said it would govern for all Scotland’s people.  It would appear that that is not the case if you own land.”  But when around 400 people own half of Scotland’s rural land, I would say that Sturgeon is perhaps thinking of the remaining 5,327,300 citizens of Scotland and moving to finally implement the land reforms decided upon some years ago.

While the case is not so extreme in England its sporting estates and large landowners also do well out of tax breaks and subsidies and far too much land is still in the hands of a privileged few, the few who expect Westminster to govern for them.  They are, so they believe, ‘the people’, the ‘us’ and ‘we’ who have more powerful voices than the rest.  Indeed, quite a number of them are in government and I fail to understand why so many who are struggling to make ends meet should vote millionaires into power.  But that is how asleep we are in England.

I want Scotland to be independent because I want it to reclaim its land and its self-sufficiency.  And I want the same for England, indeed, for all of the UK.  I want all of us to experience the political engagement that the debate over independence produced for the Scots.  With the effects of climate change and global insecurity looming, I want us all to live lives not governed by Westminster, or power, or money – lives that are locally sustainable communities; lives that are based on real inclusive democracy; lives that are independent but gladly sharing what we have with our equally independent neighbours.

I want what you want.

 

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  1. John Page says:

    Thank you so much, Lesley, for such a thoughtful and encouraging article.
    John

  2. Neil Anderson says:

    An excellent article Lesley. The people of these islands have much in common with each other, not least our desire to live peaceful and fulfilling lives. It is time I think, for those here in Scotland who campaigned for independence, to create strong bonds with those in England who are struggling with the same beast. I am still of the opinion that Scotland should be an independent country but also that Wales and the regions of England should be assisted in gaining their own autonomy from the voracious black hole that is Westminster.

  3. Laura Martin says:

    Thank you for your support, I am so glad that some people in England understand what we want in Scotland. It was never, for most supporters of independence, anti-English but anti-Westminster, despite how the media and Unionists like to portray us. Despite narrowly losing the referendum vote, the fight goes on.

  4. John says:

    Superb!!!

  5. Barbara McKenzie says:

    Great article, Lesley, thank you. I was particularly interested in what you had to say about sporting estates in Dorset, a county that I have always been fond of.

    An independent Scotland will be able to punch above its weight in several ways that will affect and benefit England and Wales. It will set an example to England, right on its doorstep, in such matters as democracy, land reform, public services. On the other hand it will be scrutinising Westminster’s actions on the international front. Criticism of Westminster’s actions will have more weight if if comes from a bordering independent state, especially one that used to form part of the UK.

  6. Douglas Chirnside says:

    I feel and understand what you say. We must all engage in the May general election and tip the rotting cart of apples once and for all. We must have people in power that want what we the people what. Red and Blue just won’t do no more.

  7. heather anderson says:

    Well said, Lesley.

  8. davidmccann24 says:

    Brilliant article, which encapsulates just why we who support independence for Scotland, need someone outside of Scotland to explain just what we stand for.
    WE need to address the completely biased view as articulated in the recent ‘Question Time’ programme https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84503534&x-yt-ts=1421914688&v=SKYT6Sj-eCQ which was as grotesque a view of Scottish independence as it is possible to be.
    I just hope that when Nicola appears in a future QT she quotes those who choose to divide us by showing how much we have in common with people like Lesley

  9. Big Jock says:

    I think we all want a government that we elect. One that reflects the needs and aspirations of a nation. Not one that tries to hold a nation back and betray it for its blind loyalty at every chance. I think the referendum and the aftermath has opened our eyes to how hostile and greedy Westminster is . Scotland is more alive than ever despite them thinking they beat us. We will be independent and it is just around the corner.

    Let’s hope that you can reclaim your nation from the right wingers and narrow minded bigots.That want to stop immigration and continue maintaining the corrupt 5% with all the wealth as masters to the less fortunate. Westminster and the Blair/CameronBrown model is bust. Greed isn not good its bad for everyone. Good luck in fighting for your nation Lesley, we are with you in spirit.

  10. Gordie McRobert says:

    Excellent writing and info. Thanks for that . I had a strong idea that Westminster politics didn’t represent the general population in any part of the UK and that folk felt it. The referendum in Scotland provided a target for people and helped folk come forward, unite and advance causes. England and Wales don’t have an event like that to turn to their advantage yet. Often felt sorry for the people in England in particular on that score as they will find it more difficult I think to recover their sovereignty, British state, in order to cement itself, adopted the symbols of English nationhood back in the day. The state would use these symbols of identity and divide and rule be even easier in England than elsewhere on that basis. I’ll keep an eye our for your name, best of luck

  11. Optimistic Till I Die says:

    If you can’t vote SNP, SSP, or Scottish Green Party, then vote Green Party. It might seem like a protest vote given the First Past the Post system, but representation will come in due course with recognition once people realise there is a potentially strong opposition to Labour south of the border, one that won’t compromise on the matters that really matter to ordinary citizens.. .

    1. Just to say good idea vote Green Party and invest in more wave power e’t’c.

  12. Jan Cowan says:

    Wonderful article. Thank you for a very comforting read.

  13. liz g says:

    Well said, thank you so much
    It broke my heart to see/read all the bigoted stuff in the MSM about how we were just doing this because we hated the English.
    Nothing could have been farther from the truth.
    Have never met anyone yet during the campaign who wished any harm on the people of England.
    When I imagine an independent Scotland, I see a place who’s politicians would not dare hurt our southern cousins or they would pay a heavy price at the ballot box.
    That was the beauty of it “,we get to direct them ,do what we want ,do it now or we will find someone else who will ,you are Fired
    Oh and by the way you can’t just move over to the lords ..there isn’t one”
    Now that may seem like dreaming but !!!!!
    And if ,as I ,and, I think maybe you too think ,a country like that could also be successful well !!! What an lsland of equals we could build.

  14. Darien says:

    Good to see somebody in England gets it.

    1. gralloched says:

      I am English. I live in the N/E. I can assure you that Lesley is not the only one in England who gets it.
      We are trapped inside a polity which has been degraded to the level of a pack of crazed, diseased dogs fighting over the contents of a burst bin-bag.
      Our England has been stolen from us, and reduced to a squalid racket.
      Seize your independence at the very earliest opportunity, and provide us a beacon of hope and civilisation.

  15. albawoman says:

    Thank you Lesley for a civilised excellently written article.

  16. kurikat says:

    Lots of people in ENGLAND Get it! They are suffering just as much down South as we are here in SCOTLAND, Infact they are worse off, they do not have a party like the SNP to vote for, or a NICOLA Sturgeon to lead them. great article by the way Lesley.

  17. Fay Kennedy. says:

    Uplifting to read this especially on this day our Bard’s birthday. It’s comin yet for a that. A truly international poet whose words resonate more than ever in this ill divided world.

  18. Clootie says:

    Excellent article.
    I truly admire someone who makes the effort to seek their own understanding of a situation instead of soaking up the media spin (regardless of issue – Independence,Europe, Immigration, Middle East etc).

    I am sure many people in the UK and wider seek the fairer society discussed. However the YES campaigners did not feel this could ever be achieved under a Westminster/Union system (especially with a Labour Party moving ever right)

    As an offshore worker I engage daily with people from the NE of England, Wales, Hull, Manchester, Liverpool etc and I have little doubt most seek the same path. My only concern being that they see UKIP as the alternative vote as opposed to the Greens (media again!).

    At the moment we have 4 nations ruined by one City. Even though we “lost” the vote in September I am confinced that the movement helped to end the 2 party monoply at Westminster.

    Thank you once again for such a well written and thoughtful article.

  19. ScottieDog says:

    I would certainly imagine that there are more than 1.6 million in England who would break away from Westminster if they could. It’s crying out for a new alternative party.

  20. Reblogged this on Bampots Utd and commented:
    Keep the faith the 45 is growing if we live healthy and keep focused then we will Scotland as a free country !
    Health and education will see us free !

  21. Flower of Scotland says:

    Thanks for a great article. I’m half English and most of my English relatives think like you. However where I live in N E Fife I have lots of English friends who definitely voted NO and will never change their minds!
    I’ve always looked forward to the day when ALL these countries in the British Isles will be Independent and will happily live along side each other. I’m sure the day will come.

    1. Sounds like fear still reigns over the NO’s as opposed to reason

    2. Dean Richardson says:

      I second that emotion. I just hope I live long enough to have a passport that describes me as a citizen of the Republic of England, and to see bairns who are simply too young to remember the nations of this kingdom being shackled together in the stinking pit of Britishness.

  22. Dave says:

    Excellent Lesley.

  23. AnnaJ says:

    Meanwhile, in Wales we sleep on and paint grey with grey. It’s what we do whilst we wait for our not so great and anything but good of ALL parties to select this season’s constitutional wallpaper. A nation now more deferential than its sheep. Comatose Cymru Ltd.

    Plaid? In your dreams.

  24. Tremendous account of the true feelings of a normal everyday person in England ,
    Just like us,surprise,surprise!
    Totally refreshing to hear and so far from the attack drivel we’re fed relentlessly from the State Propaganda Machine.
    Start a party called Change-like Greece and Spain- Lesley and in a very short time you could give the disillusioned a choice,something sadly that England doesn’t have but which they sorely need to slay the Westminster Hydra.
    And run England properly.
    Positive and enlightening,

    Many thanks

  25. velofello says:

    Excellent article. Whilst campaigning for Scotland’s Independence my view, expressed to Scot and English alike, was that Independence will lead to breaking the power of Westminster over all living on these islands.

    1. Heather says:

      And indeed that is the very reason the london elite are so keen to ensure Scotland remains shackled to the so called union, the chains will eventually be broken. Sad thing is, most people do want an equal and fair, modern forward society, country and world, it’s just looking like a fight to the death for it at the moment, I fear for our kids.

  26. Tarisgal says:

    Wonderful article! Thank you so much for your insightful thoughts of what ‘Independence’ really means to Scotland from an English perspective. As many others have said, not one Independence supporter/SNP member I know is an ‘English hater’. It is just sooo far from the truth. (And those people voiced that negative opinion in the recent QT program should be totally ashamed of their parts in spreading such malicious nonsense! But they simply pander to the needs of their WM counterparts to perpetuate this myth) I have many English friends that I hold in very high regard.

    As you have said so eloquently, this issue is simply about attaining control over our needs for Scotland and our ability to pay for those needs. It’s simply about self-determination and wanting to extricate ourselves from a political model that benefits only a very few while to making it hard for the oh so many. I do believe the strong engagement of the Scottish voters has encouraged English voters and now England too has decided that it’s time for a re-think of the current style of politics. The new membership figures for the English Green Party are evidence that English people understand they no longer have to accept a political party they do not agree with and that it is possible to introduce parties that are closer to their own way of thinking regards running their country.

    I soo agree that the media has a lot to answer for as they exploit their positions to reinforce the spin that emanates from the Houses of Parliament. So much damaging information, so many lies, perpetuating what were total myths, and spreading hate were the tools used by them during the Independence Referendum designed purely to set one nation against another and to divide the country that was Britain. To continually spread that rumours that Scotland was fighting for more than their fair share of resources was designed exclusively to spread envy throughout England and thus hatred for their ‘greedy’ neighbours. Your article makes me feel so much better, Lesley, to know that many English saw through these obvious ploys and understood that Independence meant simply employing a democratic process to achieve self governance and the right to stand (or fall) through our own political actions. Thank you for that great article.

  27. rosestrang says:

    Great article and very welcome. I know people in England who support Scottish Independence, and they’re all pretty much left wing and interested or involved enough in politics to see through the mainstream messages.

    It’s frustrating to see the development of English devolution hijacked by Cameron as a political tool. Not once have I heard them mention the issues you raise in terms of local issues, they just haver on about the West Lothian question and encourage resentment towards Scotland. Utter manipulation.

    And as you say, that’s the problem – if we rely on mainstream media we simply don’t hear the voices of ordinary people, or the parties who oppose Westminster

    The message we heard repeated again and again was that the indyref was all about identity and sense of nation. It was partly that, but not in the ‘we’re better than other nations’ sense at all. It was partly because I think Scotland’s more recent history as being the ‘poor man of Europe’ has given many people here something of a negative identity crisis, but it’s overwhelmingly more about fair representation and the deeply held wish to vote for issues to do with equality, environment and aggressive foreign policy. It felt, and feels, more than uplifting to be able to have an effect on those issues with a vote. It feels like..freedom (to use a cliche!)

    I want that for everyone in the UK and beyond and agree that Westminster isn’t going to represent ordinary people in the UK, Scottish Independence has merely made the establishment dig its heels in. That rigidity will be their downfall I think. I also think that the message is starting to get through and Nicola Sturgeon is going to do a great job of communicating it! If I were in England this year I’d be voting for the Greens. I really hope they continue to grow in strength and voter numbers.

  28. IAB says:

    Thank you Lesley

    Opportunities in Scotland were few and far between for me some years ago and I have been working abroad. The best part of my year is when I come home each summer.

    Last year, I felt Scotland was back. I helped with campaigning and I enjoyed the camaraderie. I even met people I haven’t seen since the ’80’s.

    We are all interconnected in this small part of the world and I loved the whole tone of the Yes campaign – it was never anti-English but anti-Westminster. what I didn’t anticipate was Project Fear and its effect, that and the accursed Vow. I was appalled at the lies and manipulations of the main stream media.

    When the result was announced, I was back abroad. I had sat up all night watching on the net. I cried for two hours but then I got angry. I had, for good or ill, decided I would come back for good on the day of the formal announcement of independence and my plans were scuppered.

    It took me a few days to realise that I was not alone. We lost a skirmish but we’ve won the war. The majority of people in the present UK want the same – transparency, fairness and compassion. Scotland may have to lead the way but the rest of you can join us.

    Saor Alba

  29. jimnarlene says:

    “I’m English and you’re Scottish but the soil beneath our feet is where we come from, and we want it back.”
    Great line and a great post.

  30. Craig P says:

    Bravo Lesley. The Wings Over Scotland website last week published a poll of attitudes on both sides of the border. What came out was that what the Scots electorate and the English electorate want is not that different. However, there is no party in Westminster offering what either electorate actually want.

    http://wingsoverscotland.com/keeping-on-keeping-on/

  31. MBC says:

    Melvin Bragg made the point that there never has been a popular revolution in England. There is an English radical tradition (Tom Paine) but it has never unseated the militarised toffs who have been running the place since 1066. England has likewise been betrayed by London Labour and really needs a radical party of the left that will abolish the House of Lords and tackle corporate privilege. Maybe the victory of the Syriza party in Greece will inspire a new party of the left to form in England like Commonweal and RIC in Scotland.

    How could we possibly do worse than those who currently run the country?

    Maybe the Scots and the Greeks will inspire the English radicals to stand up to the Tory establishment?

  32. annelawrie says:

    Thank you for this inspiring article Lesley. It’s good to know that many south of the border disregard the lies & misinformation presented by the MSM. I was born in England but have wanted Independence for Scotland all my adult life. I become incensed when politicians & celebrities perpetuate the myth that we are all subsidy junkies who keep wanting more from “their” pot. Some I have met (ordinary folk) just REFUSE to believe that we ALWAYS subsidise rUK. Yes, there are huge areas in Scotland where people have been left without hope or prospects, thanks to the decimation of Scottish industry during the Thatcher years, and the cover-up of the true value of Scottish oil, as revealed in the McCrone report, which was squandered on vanity projects by successive WM governments. Even a cursory glance at Scottish history (never taught in Scottish schools) shows how privilege & wealth has reduced the Scottish people to misery and poverty. We will be better prepared at the next referendum and can be an example to all others on these islands that equality, fairness and compassion can be the norm. People are waking up all over the world! Good.

  33. “And I for one am tired of being talked down to…”

    Amen to that. Tom Paine’s bones are not yet quite done

  34. I am both humbled and inspired by the wonderful response to my article – thank you all! I feel I have suddenly acquired a whole community of new friends.
    I shall do my best to address many of the points you have raised in future articles, and I am sure the debate will become even more interesting as we get nearer to the General Election. At the moment I think the result will either be something we can all carry forward (a new political landscape) or a cause for despair (Westminster as usual), hopefully the former. In this instance we really are “all in it together”!
    And for those of you who are interested in my writing Google my name along with Global Research or The Ecologist

    1. bellacaledonia says:

      ‘I feel I have suddenly acquired a whole community of new friends’.

      You have.

  35. Sylvia jardine says:

    Great article, having a grandfather from Dorset, I have had an affinity with the region most of my life. While visiting Dorset during the referendum, I had a discussion with an in-law who had listened to most of the UK media about the referendum and was strongly against independence but after the talk he realised the people of Scotland were suffering from the same problems as himself. He then agreed that we were right to fight for independence and wished Dorset could too. I suggested that maybe we were all needing independence from Westminster and make the city of London a separate country!

  36. Maggie Myles says:

    How I enjoyed your article. Continue spreading the word.

  37. I think you should have an English equivalent of SNP. You would have massive and immediate support I am sure. Surely SNP could help you get an ENP started. Most people that I know think English folk want the same things as Scots; a fairer society with a healthy NHS. ENP standing with SNP could change the political system.

  38. tom forbes says:

    a wonderful article lesley and great comments.was i the only person to wipe away a tear? why dont we join forces and create a new party called the SENP.we would wipe the floor with them.

    1. I have thought long and hard about this.

      Some people have suggested following the SNP example and having an ENP. No way – too many people would connect that to the BNP and the English Defence League. And having an SENP would not do either – it would rightly anger many Scots to have the English riding on the back of their campaign.

      Inspiring the English is another matter entirely.

      But then I wondered – why aren’t we English calling for independence when many of us appear to want it? I discussed it with a friend of mine in the hope I could sort out my muddled thoughts and I came up with this:

      Mainly, I think, our history would get in the way. It was after all England who happily attached other countries to itself, by invading and building lots of castles to oversee the unruly natives and… Well, you all know that. But how could we English, in all seriousness, demand independence of and from ourselves?

      Scotland was once a nation (not the same as a country), and proud and independent too. Perhaps, and here’s that pesky history again, Scots should note that their loss of independence was down to James VI, who became England’s James I, and who formed the United Kingdom.

      Wales was never a nation, but a country of principalities that often fought each other but happily united in defiance of England. Perhaps for this reason it has never viewed or called for the full independence that Scotland claims, although it has fought hard for its culture and language, and its essential difference in being Welsh.

      Northern Ireland is a much more complicated case. There is no way the Unionists would allow independence from the rest of the United Kingdom. Being part of the Union is what, they believe, keeps them safe. And Sinn Fein doesn’t want independence; it wants to return to being a part of Eire, except, an Irish friend assures me, Eire doesn’t really want N. Ireland. I think they’d regard it as a financial liability, and they have enough problems of their own on that front!

      I do believe that most people want freedom from Westminster, from a centralised political system that only serves itself and its interests, but never the people.

      What do I not want? There have been too many US-led invasions and interventions on the promise of bringing ‘freedom and democracy’ for me to trust any party or movement that has those words in its title. In fact I can’t think of any possible name for a new party that doesn’t include a word that has been degraded and dirtied by failed political systems.

      I also worry that, in getting away from Westminster, we end up with smaller but equally centralised systems that are nothing but mini-Westminsters run on the same lines.

      There is a movement happening, and not just in these islands, that wants to retrieve local character and culture; that puts earth and people first; that puts individuality and sharing in the same basket; that wants the uncommon as much as the common good.

      We need, and this is the BIG ASK, a whole new political system, a whole new way of seeing ourselves and each other. As Hindus put it – So Hum – You are, therefore I am.

  39. Mary White says:

    As a Scot who voted yes, I feel your anguish Lesley.
    But I know that now, we’re on our way there, I can feel it in my bones.
    If you’ve ever seen the movie “The Matrix”, that’s what the indyref was like for me. IT WOKE ME UP!!
    I saw how much of a sham the union has been made into by The Establishment (Westminster) who seek to control us. Sadly not all of Scotland saw through their scare tactics of last year, and I think that was partly why we ended up with the No result. WM lie to us and parade it as fact, but a good thing is that it has never been so blatant, or so apparent as in this election.
    I also think that for England to achieve her own independence may be harder, as WMHQ lies within your country, as it were. And that kind of corruption never relinquishes control easily – it will hang on till the very last.
    I’ve been watching David Cameron on TV all week, giving his speeches to people and I’m confounded by the apathy in the crowds eyes! They don’t move, don’t cheer, don’t even question!! Seeing that more than anything makes me realise that England needs help with this and I hope to god that with the MPs we send down to WM, we can, if not reform it, than at least we can SHOW the whole of the UK exactly how corrupt this “government” is.
    Much love and well wishes xx

    1. ldocksey says:

      Thank you and bless you, Mary!
      I’m beginning to wonder if Cameron et al are deliberately trying to break up the Union and it feels as if folk like me are wading around in treacle at the moment. And like many English people, I am becoming truly mortified and embarrassed by the filth and nastiness being directed at Scotland, the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon. If she was as tiny-minded as the people flinging insults at her, she’d have had them in court for slander. Instead she shows us all how an adult politician behaves. She has quite a fan club down here. That doesn’t mean I don’t meet people who have believed all the read in the right-wing press and rant about what a threat she poses to us all.

      The only threat is the falling to pieces of the old order. You can tell from the language and the manic campaigning that Westminster is terrified. Good! And at last some kind of real political conversation is beginning among the English – also a threat to Westminster. It’s a start and we really need an issue like independence to get people inspired. But I think this is the last election of its kind, the old order is starting to unravel.

      The other night there was a really good wide-ranging debate between two of our candidates and residents of our village in the local pub. Regardless of differences on policy, there was a common overwhelming desire to get rid of our Tory MP – Oliver Letwin. As their policy guru, I am sure it was he who came up with the stupid ‘law to stop taxes being raised’. And none of the media have said ‘hang on, that benefits the rich more than the poor!’ And if taxes can’t go up then surely spending has to be cut even further. Except for the money for Trident of course.
      A dirty world, and one long overdue for a good scrubbing.
      A neighbour put into words what more and more are thinking: forget the stupid English votes for English laws. England needs its own parliament, and Wales a full parliament. Then, he said, we get rid of Westminster and have a federation composed of the little countries of the British Isles!

      All I ask of Scotland is keep on inspiring us!

      1. bellacaledonia says:

        Thanks for the comment!

  40. YESGUY says:

    What an inspirational read Lesley.

    Sometimes we forget the troubles elsewhere when we’re too wrapped up in things at home. You gave a reminder of the people we share thes islands with and how much we have in common and in friendship.

    Interesting times are coming i believe and maybe an awakening for the English too i hope. We know you suffer the same and some of us despair that you have any real alternatives. We had grassroots campaigns everywhere during the referendum. The SNP became the focus after the vote. Something to rally too. It has been unstoppable .

    What would kickstart the Englishj elctorate ?? I wish i knew the answer to that. Voter apathy is part of the tactics of WM and they have the MSM with them always.

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us Lesley. There is hope yet when there are people like you willing to stand up and speak out.

    Thanks again.

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