Now is not the time for Scotland to sleepwalk into 300 years of
separation, isolation, idealism and insecurity.
Instead now is the time for realism; the time to build on a Union of
over 300 years; the time to ensure Scotland punches above its weight in the
global political and economic landscape of the 21st century.
This is the unique opportunity afforded Scots by voting No in next
week’s independence referendum.
Instead of adopting the negative underdog mantle, where everything
is someone else’s fault and where we relish in glorious failure, now is the
time to exert our confidence as a proud and responsible people within the
framework of a Union that, albeit not perfect, has nevertheless served us well
through thick and thin.
Nationalists have a convenient way of inventing history to argue for
separation and isolation. However, Scots can come together next week as a proud
people, supremely confident in our role within the UK and within the wider
global economy and build a robust future together with our friends south of the
border and beyond.
In an ever more competitive and dangerous world, now is the time to
secure our friends and allies, whether they are in Westminster, Brussels or
Washington. It is not the time to isolate ourselves within the rUK, Europe, the
Commonwealth and internationally.
The spirited idealism and tribalism of the Scottish nationalists is founded
on quick sand. It is nationalism flawed and defenseless in its lack of detail
and in its enormous risks. Who really wants to become the next Spain, with
youth unemployment of over 54% – and that’s without the sun.
Voting No to an ill-conceived and not even negotiated separation
from the UK is the only sensible course of action for those not blinded by the
emotion and unsubstantiated claims of the nationalists.
We are already a proud, confident and successful nation within the Union; a Union that is built
on common decency, trust and integrity and guarded by a monarch descended from
a Union of two Crowns.
We do not need a badly conceived strategy of separation to reinforce
the success of Scots through the ages.
Instead, we can secure a safe, inclusive and prosperous long-term future for a self-confident
Scotland by voting No in next week’s referendum.
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