I’VE often heard happenings and events referred to as “seminal moments”, and wonder if we’re living through our seminal moment and how long it might last in Scotland? In the latest post-Brexit sell-out, following on from the failure to protect the fishing industry, it’s the turn of farmers and crofters via the proposed trade deal with Australia. How will we respond and when?
On Saturday our FM walked behind the Lord High Commissioner on the way to the opening of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The FM I know of, but when did we get a Lord High Commissioner? OK, he’s a stand-in for the Queen, but was Scotland approached? Was it discussed and agreed? I had imagined that with the collapse of the British Empire the likes of colonial governors and high commissioners were a thing of the past. Perhaps not.
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I had also imagined that the loss of India – the jewel in the crown of Empire, fought over, occupied, incorporated, then gaining its independence in 1947 – was the start of the collapse of the British Empire, completed over a mere generation, and ending in 1980 with the emergence of Zimbabwe. But then maybe not. Maybe there is still an empire. There was Hong Kong. And now there is still Gibraltar and there are possibly even still some tiny islands.
Then there’s Scotland. Their last colony, to rule over, to asset strip, in which to holiday, to plaster over with Jacks, to expand their railways to facilitate the importation of cheap products to sell to the “locals”. No I didn’t lift the latter from a rant about the view in India in the lead up to 1947. But it is similar, with the exception of our devolution, our parliament, our democratic votes, our continual rejection of Westminster, our choosing to remain in the EU. Looking at the current corruption within the rUK government: tenders; lying to parliament; the confirmation of what we’ve know for so long, namely the rot within the BBC – are any of the above our seminal moment or moments on the road to independence? How soon will our next move be? What will it be and what will it lead to? Status quo or the start of the end game?
Selma Rahman
Edinburgh
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