On Scotland and the Union

Scotland and the UnionOn Tuesday, the chamber was a quarter-full. The journalists were in the coffee-shops, gathering gossip on the Prime Minister’s forthcoming speech on Europe. And the television was investigating horsemeat in hamburgers.

No-one it seems was listening to the debate in the main chamber.  But the subject – a referendum for Scottish independence – was the most important political decision of our generation. The reason, I think, why no-one was listening is that they either believed independence was inconceivable, or that it was irrelevant. They were complacent or indifferent. And this suits the Scottish Nationalists.

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A CHAIN OF LIGHT TO UNITE BRITAIN

A campaign is being launched to gather one hundred thousand people stretching from coast to coast to show their love for the UK. The campaign which is called ‘Hands Across the Border’ – http://handsacrosstheborder.co.uk/ –  aims to gather people of all ages, from across the country, in a human chain with torches on the evening of Saturday 19th […]

A NEW IDEA OF BRITAIN

Five years ago, walking around Cumbria, I was mesmerised by the echoes of the past. In a section of the Lowther valley, only one new house has emerged since 1700: the white farm-buildings, built into the steep slopes evoked a remote community in the Indian Himalayas. Nature was insistently present: in the ash leaves, slowly […]

March along Hadrian’s Wall – and save the Union

In an interview with Magnus Linklater from The Times, Rory explained his intention to organise a march along the Scottish border, including Hadrian’s Wall, to alert the English to the dangers of next year’s referendum on independence. Rory believes that English indifference or even hostility towards Scotland could be a major factor in boosting support […]

Scotland, England and the Middleland

The idea that there are two things called England and Scotland, is only a late invention forged by ambition, violence, and luck. There is nothing ‘natural’ behind these two names – the division is not based on ‘blood’, or ‘soil’. It first emerged from a straight line, ruled on a map by the Emperor Hadrian, […]

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Walking the Border

Recently, I forded the Solway from Bowness to Annan, hoping to examine the border between England and Scotland. I stopped, two hundred yards beyond the shore, in salt water, up to my waist. The tide had gone out, and the distance to the Scotland was half a mile of sea. What would I find on the […]

Strength in Unity

On Tuesday, the chamber was a quarter-full. The journalists were in the coffee-shops, gathering gossip on the Prime Minister’s forthcoming speech on Europe. And the television was investigating horsemeat in hamburgers. No-one it seems was listening to the debate in the main chamber. But the subject –a referendum for Scottish independence – was the most important political decision of […]