Scotland and the European Union – The battle for the future has just begun

Scots and English: It’s like a dog and a cat. The two just don’t understand each other. Or not anymore. 300 years after their incorporation, many Scots want nothing but to leave England. Out of the UK and back to the European Union. The mistake is Brexit, and the mistake is Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who, unlike any other, is embodied by the Conservative Party, who rules London permanently. In Social Democratic Scotland, the Conservatives have not gained a foothold in 66 years. There is a political conflict between cultures.

(Imago Images / Martin Bertrand)Barley gives Scotland little hope of a quick accession to the European Union
After the National Party won the parliamentary elections, speculation arose about a possible return of Scotland to the European Union. Catarina Parley, a member of the European Parliament for the Social Democrats, said there could be no special role for Scotland.

This week, a few days after the Scottish election, Glasgow could see what that meant. British officials have come to deport two Indian men. The two lived in the UK for ten years. Now they must be gone. After Brexit, it won’t be long. The Minister of Interior ordered deportation whenever possible. Even in Westminster, Priti Patel is a hard-liner and it’s best not to mess with her. But in Glasgow they went to the barricades. Hundreds of Scots surrounded the car in which the Indians were to be transported away. For hours. Until the officers surrendered and released the men.

Scots celebrate their resistance

Then the Prime Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, complained in Westminster about the measure, which was dangerous in the epidemic. And he forbade such a thing for the future. Cosmopolitan Scots are now celebrating their successful resistance against the hated London on social media. But do you really want to get out of the UK?

It’s fifty in the polls. This is better for the nationalists than it was seven years ago, in the recent referendum on the country’s independence. But this is not enough for a guaranteed majority in the second referendum they yearn for. It is clear that the ruling National Party in Scotland won the election, but the Scottish National Party narrowly missed its most important goal, the outright majority. Then Gordon Brown-Scott, a Labor politician and former British Prime Minister, turned his attention to what he calls “Central Scotland”: the midst of society, the citizens who have yet to make a final decision in favor of or against independence. Coronavirus and the Brexit conflict have exhausted them in recent years. Who are not in the mood for a new adventure at all and need time to think. These are the Scots who are most likely to turn the scales for or against independence in a new vote. Those for whom London and Edinburgh are fighting in the tough fight for the future of Scotland, which really began after the election a week ago.

Fury in London

Will Boris Johnson use this position to keep the kingdom he rules together? It doesn’t look like it yet. First of all, the prime minister tries with a carrot and a stick. It is clear that he is saying no to a new referendum. Meanwhile, London’s gates of money are opening up for the infrastructure of Scottish transport. If that was all Boris Johnson could think of, it wouldn’t be enough. The Scots are too cosmopolitan, too liberal, too die-hard – and so angry at London because of this. Downing Street should offer more: more rights for Scotland, more powers, and more participation in national decisions. In short, more federalism.

Exactly what the English did not want. England: This is Boris Johnson’s power base. A difficult situation that needs an intelligent, wise and visionary statesman. Just the opposite of Johnson. Those who do not want the Scots to go, followed by the Northern Irish and maybe one day perhaps even the Welsh, should now hope for advisors on Downing Street who will bring with them what this prime minister does not have. And he listens to them, too.

Christine Heuer (Deutschlandradio / Bettina Fürst-Fastré) Christine Heuer Born in Bonn in 1967, he studied German, philosophy, history and English. She was a freelance reporter for Deutschlandfunk at Bonn and Berlin Studios, state correspondent in North Rhine-Westphalia and chief editor in Cologne. Most recently this year she worked as a news editor and featured “Information am Morgen” on Deutschlandfunk for many years. She has been working as a reporter from Great Britain and Ireland since 2020.