Taking control

I HAVE some Icelandic friends with whom I correspond regularly. I thought I’d try the 
Alexander/Darling “share the risks” proposal on them with the question: “During your financial crash, would it not have been better if you had still been in political union with Denmark so that the risks and damage could have been spread?”

Their answers were consistent: “What, trade our sovereignty for some temporary financial assistance? Don’t be ridiculous. When we have a problem we fix it ourselves, we don’t hand it over to a Danish nanny to fix it for us! Also, we are fixing that problem. We’re doing much better now and we’re paying our creditors.” Now that’s what I call a real nation.

The Alexander/Darling line is predicated on the rather fanciful notion that Labour will win the general election in 2015. Current polls and the recent elections south of the Border would suggest otherwise, with the likelihood that the Conservatives and Ukip would form the majority in Westminster. As well as this, the current Labour leader sorely lacks charisma, statesmanship and judgment. While Labour’s Scottish leader was moaning about universal benefits, her leader was promising a freeze on energy bills. This might put an extra £40 or so into the pockets of the needy but would benefit the better off, the real target of his bribe, by hundreds of pounds. A universal benefit that misses the point. Sure, an independent 
Scotland will face problems, 
as any country does, but we can fix them ourselves – we don’t need a Westminster nanny.

Eric Gillies

Spylaw Street
Edinburgh