Be safe not sorry

Born and brought up in ­Scotland, where generations of my family have lived in ­Edinburgh and given uncles to die for King and country in the Royal Scots’ charge at Gallipoli, I have watched the referendum debate with disenfranchised and growing horror.

A Pied Piper entices my country to leap in the dark into an enchanted pool. Is the water too hot? Are there rocks – or sharks? Can everyone swim, or who will rescue them? We do not know.

I, from afar, do not even know whether an ­independent Scotland would seek to join the Commonwealth, with our Queen as Sovereign, or elect a president.

The genie of nationalism, rampant in Ukraine, is tearing my country apart, enflaming opinion within families and communities, pitting half of Scotland against the other. Whichever the outcome, bitterness will now linger for a generation.

The world beyond is fraught with challenge and danger. The Act of Union has made Britain Great. The only safe choice is to preserve it.

(Dr) TB Mitford

Petersfield

Hampshire