Bill Cook: Brave hearts know it’s best to keep kingdom united

By Bill Cook
Published on Tuesday 17 January 2012 12:01

It is time to bust some myths about our national identity, says proud Scot and Labour councillor Bill Cook

A few years ago now, whilst debating with a Scottish nationalist, she suddenly asked whether I had seen Braveheart. Bemused, I answered “yes”. I couldn’t quite understand why a brilliant but largely fictional film had anything at all to do with an argument about what was best for modern Scotland.“Having seen it do you feel more or less Scottish? ”she asked. I spluttered that this was a movie, it was a fairy tale, it was as historically accurate as the tales of Sinbad The Sailor. What possible bearing could a Mel Gibson adventure story have on my sense of identity?

The reality, of course, is that a society’s myths do contribute to a community’s sense of identity. That sense of identity can contribute to the political outcomes in the here and now. It’s perhaps no coincidence that, as the traditional Scottish working class identity wanes, the force of national identity appears to be in the ascendency. Perhaps no wonder that the Scottish National Party invests public money in loss leaders like The Gathering. They see the political advantage in fostering a strong nationalist identity no matter how spurious the basis.

As a working class boy, no different from any of my mates, alongside my class identity I developed a very strong sense of my Scottish identity, fuelled by tales of Robert the Bruce’s heroism, of Bonnie Prince Charlie raising the standard, of the Highlanders’ charge. I was inspired by Scots Wha Hae – some 47 years later I can still recite a couple of verses.

Of course, what these gallant tales and poems omitted was that proud Robert was a Norman despot who murdered his rivals and usurped the throne. No one mentioned that the Bruces and England’s Plantagenet rulers were bosom buddies. Their families fought in the Crusades together. Bruce actually helped Edward Longshanks invade Scotland in the first place. No-one ever mentioned that The Bruce attempted to exterminate his Scottish enemies with the upmost brutality.

Likewise, with Bonnie Prince Charlie. No one mentioned he was a blatant opportunist whose primary dream was the throne of England. No one mentioned that the Royal Scots helped defeat him at Culloden.

No-one ever mentioned that both these supposed struggles for independence were in fact largely civil wars between nobles who quarrelled amongst themselves about who could best exploit the wealth created by the ordinary peasantry of this country.

There is an almost endless list of myths and mistruths that have embedded themselves in Scotland’s historical narrative. This wouldn’t matter a dot if it wasn’t influencing today’s political debate. But sadly it is. Why else would Alex Salmond even think about having a referendum on the anniversary of Bannockburn? Doesn’t he know that Scots were also on the losing side that day.

In considering the future of our country we shouldn’t indulge these myths. Let’s look to the future with objectivity and reason. Let’s not allow misplaced sentimentality to influence the stability and future welfare of our country. Let’s not take a regressive backwards step.

However, if we are to look at history let’s be impassioned and go beyond the myths in understanding our identity. In the past 300 years there have been massive population movements across the British Isles.

Statistics show that the majority of Scotland’s central belt population are descendants of people arriving here over the past 200 years or so.

The largest single group entering Scotland in the 50 years before the Great War actually emigrated from England and Wales.

Take a look at the London telephone directory. The number of Macdonalds listed is a testament to just how far Scots have embedded themselves south of the Border.

In considering the future we should also reflect on Scotland’s industrial development since we and England joined forces. This has contributed strongly to the development of our identity and values.

There are countless comparisons to be made right across Scotland – whether it be the massive increase in Dundee’s jute trade or the development of Edinburgh’s financial sector. The combination of our countries has brought untold opportunities. We experienced the Enlightenment and Scotland’s influence has reached far beyond our shores. This simply would not have happened had we not joined forces with our southern neighbour.

When Alex Salmond waxes lyrical about our country, see it for what it is – a blatant appeal to sentimentality. He wants emotion to trump reason.

Let’s not ignore the benefits that unity brings. We’ve achieved much more through the strength of our common endeavour than we could ever achieve alone.

• Bill Cook is a Labour city councillor for Liberton/Gilmerton

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shug57

Monday, January 30, 2012 at 03:55 PM

A very good article which dares to puncture some of the myths the SNP have tried to foster .How did I feel after seeing Braveheart? Very annoyed by that piece of tosh and it's Holywood version of Scottish history, made by a very right--wing actor who is prone to anti-semitic outbursts. I grew up in the shadow of the Wallace Monument, I crossed Stirling Bridge every day to go to school,yet there is no mention of the bridge,just the inaccurately named "Battle of Stirling".As the article says,Salmond wants emotion to trump reason.Let's hope the people of Scotland can see through that.

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DanielJohnson

Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 01:28 PM

My Great Grandfather came to Scotland because of the opportunities in Glasgow in the first decades of the 20th Century. Opportunities created by the fantastically successful trading partnership that Scotland and England created when they united in 1707. I see myself as a product of Britain as much as Scotland and so I was therefore pleased to see Bill paint a this much more nuanced picture of the internal migration that makes modern Scotland. It is a view often obscured by more romantic notions of misty glens and Australians with blue face paint [sic]. Britain as a concept is powerful and encompassing of a great number of people and traditions and one that we dispose of with great caution. It is interesting for me that minority communities quite often are more comfortable describing themselves as British rather than English or Scottish. Britain stands for our shared heritage and our combined strengths. Thank you for your timely and insightful piece, Bill.

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Sister Wendy

Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 11:19 AM

Councillor Cook's column is not only simplistic but contains many historical inaccuracies and omissions. I am not sure what school he went to but certainly when I was taught about the Jacobite uprisings the topic of Scottish independence was not raised. The purpose of these uprisings was to remove the Hanoverians from the United Kingdom throne and restore the Stuart monarchy. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised by a member of Scottish Labour attempting to rewrite history. He also fails to mention those episodes in the UK's less illustrious past e.g. the oppression of countries around the world in the name of the empire, slavery, the establishment of concentration camps in southern Africa during the Boer Wars, the havoc reaped on Scotland during the Thatcher years, the decimation of the Scottish fishing fleet and the economic catastrophe brought on the country by the policies of Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling. Are these "the benefits that unity brings"? In raising the subject of Scotland's future Councillor Cook seems to dwell entirely on Scotland's past. Perhaps that is why Scottish Labour were resoundingly defeated by the SNP in the May 2011 elections

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douglas-home rule

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 12:59 PM

We want independence to advance our country and make our people more prosperous. To bring in ethnicity and ancient battles and kings shows the paucity of the Britnat argument. The battle of bannockburn date was brought into the discussion, not by the SNP but by Lord Forsyth and has been used by every Britnat jounalist since. Where are your positive arguments?

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