Love Letter to Scotland from England

Right I really must call it a night.  I had hoped to do a Love Letter from England to Scotland, and maybe a letter to my erudite Friend Simon Gray answering his tweets (albeit no doubt in a very lazy way) but this will have to do.  So this will have to serve.

I am a British Citizen, by the Grace of God an Englishman.  I am I think by inclination a moderate Unionist, have never professed to be a Nationalist of any description and never supported the SNP.  However.  The UK is dysfunctional.  We needed a fully equal federal UK but this hasn't happened.  London is overheating as it has continued to dominate, and economic development of the Great Northern Cities is sorely neglected.

It is for Scotland to decide tomorrow to stay or go.  While many of my compatriots of varying political and other persuasions have pleaded to Scotland to stay in the UK, to me as a die-hard progressive, it seems a no brainer.  I love Scotland and if they so choose to leave the UK, they will be doing England a favour.  Think of it as a grant of Independence.

Of course we will still be in the peculiar Empire that is the European Union, there will be no Ed Milliband borders.  Unless somebody really wants them.  Goes without saying we need a very different European Union to the one we have, a people's Europe not a Bosses and Bankers Europe.  Need to Reform the EU.  Need to address the democratic deficit.

Throughout the UK we currently face a relentless onslaught of an utterly immoral Government hell bent on creating as much unemployment, poverty, destitution and homelessness as possible, driving down wages and conditions of hard working families, destroying the NHS, Social Security, the Public Sector and other things that they see as bad things.  An Independent Scotland would be a massive change and heading into uncharted territory.  But far better than Business as Usual.

Scotland Voting Yes would not in itself be an end to the tide of Rampant Thatcherism, either in Scotland, England or elsewhere.  It would however open up possibilities.  Scotland could preserve it's NHS and Social Security while the ConDems or Labour continued with their relentless onslaught in England and Wales.  But again, there will at least be opportunities to wake up England.    Not least a free and Independent Scotland has the potential to serve as a good example.

An Independent Scotland will have fair votes, proportional representation, equal votes, at all levels of government.  Alas the deeply democratic traditions and passions of England are currently dormant and deep underground.  Again, a realisation that something has to give, and something has, is highly preferable to this continued carnival of reaction.

So to conclude.  Dearest Scotland.  Please Vote Yes for the sake of your wonderful friends to the South.  At this moment in history our interests are one and the same.  If you think our interests are in the NHS, social security, jobs, peace, prosperity, democracy, rule of law and everything we have always considered to be civilization.  Independence within a European Union of Human Rights and Democracy is the best route for strengthening the ties of friendship, common heritage, and everything else that binds us together.  Go for it Scotland!!!!!