Dr Aileen McLeod is an SNP candidate in the European elections
I AM proud to have been selected to stand in the forthcoming elections to the European Parliament for the SNP.
As a former MSP and minister in the Scottish Government, I recognise only too well the singular importance to Scotland, and to our people, of remaining in the European Union.
And I want to play an active part in ensuring we stay there as an independent member state.
Like me, most indy supporters are probably very angry right now.
We are rightly furious that we were told in 2014 that the only way to protect EU membership was to vote against independence. Not only was that a lie, we find ourselves only five years later faced with the real threat of being forced out of the EU against the very clear wishes of the Scottish people and by the very people who tricked so many of our fellow Scots.
That deceit must not prevail.
But many people also feel fed up with Brexit – jaded by the truly extraordinary mishandling of this entire process by the Prime Minister that has made the Westminster system an object of international ridicule. Not only has Theresa May played directly to the hard Brexiteers in her own party, but time and again she has put the interests of her fractured and frustrated Tory Party ahead of everything else, including Scotland.
It needn’t have been that way. From the outset our First Minister has been willing to compromise. We didn’t want Brexit at all but our government was willing to negotiate a way forward in order to protect Scotland’s vital interests.
That meant agreeing customs union and single market membership either for the UK as a whole, or for Scotland. Those plans were set out as long ago as December 2016, but they were arrogantly dismissed by the Prime Minister. Since then, her dogmatic inflexibility has bedeviled every attempt at getting a solution.
But, however outraged or jaded some people are, the most important task remains protecting our place in Europe, making this election crucial. We can speak up against Brexit, make our Scottish voice heard and lay down a marker for independent membership of the EU.
My special skill in that is the experience I have built up working in the European Parliament, specialising in European issues when an MSP and negotiating for Scotland in the EU Council of Ministers when a minister, including on such vital issues as climate change.
I know the EU well. It isn’t perfect, but the last half-century of peace and prosperity on our continent has been, in the greatest part, because of the existence of an organisation that puts co-operation ahead of competition between sovereign states.
Many of our jobs and much of the way we live our lives – including the welcome we give to those who come and work with us – relies on membership of the EU single market. The damage of Brexit to our young people who presently have the right to go anywhere to live, study, work and love across the EU will be incalculable. No wonder so few voted for this.
These elections give us the opportunity – if I might reverse the inspirational words of my good friend and former boss Alyn Smith MEP – to keep a light burning for Europe in Scotland, so that we can show our fellow Europeans that we want to continue to work with them.
In 2014 we were promised a Union of equals. The past three years of Brexit has shown just how empty that slogan was. Contrast Scotland’s lack of any influence over the UK Government’s approach to Brexit with the immense influence Ireland has had on the approach taken by the EU27.
Soon Scotland will face a choice – either to be a marginalised part of a marginalised country or to have an independent voice in the EU family of nations, that not only protects our economic and social interests, but allows us to shape our own destiny.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel