Will the UK commentators fall into line and back unionism once a timetable for a vote has been agreed, or is a more permanent split developing?
Scotland’s inclusive “civic nationalism” with its loosely social democratic values is now viewed as something to aspire to, particularly after its resounding vote 62%-38% to remain in the EU. It stands in stark contrast to the right-wing populism that has produced the Trump presidency and its “America First” nationalism; Marine Le Pen and the other nationalist movements in mainland Europe; and UKIP, which has effectively infected the soul of Tory party.
Added to this is the prospect of a decade of Tory government due to the enfeeblement of the Labour party. This has been particularly grave in Scotland, where the party that once saw the country as its back yard now has a solitary MP – no better than the Tories or Lib Dems. Sturgeon’s SNP holds the rest, having won 56 of Scotland’s 59 constituencies in 2015.
Polly Toynbee of the Guardian made a passionate plea in August 2014 at the Edinburgh Festival for solidarity and Scots to stay in the union. By the general election of 2015 she was conceding: “No wonder SNP are confident – the Tories behave as if they want Scotland gone”.
Of course, the majority of the UK press – the most “right wing” and “biased” in Europe according to a recent YouGov poll of seven European countries – has been in full “enemies of the people” mode against the Scottish nationalists.
ll the same, the shift in written opinion coming out of London has been discernible. The battles lines between Edinburgh and London have been realigned. Will the UK commentators fall into line and back unionism once a timetable for a vote has been agreed, or is a more permanent split developing? The signals will be fascinating to watch in the coming months.