Should Scotland be independent? I’d have thought that only a few people — most of them Scottish — would care enough about the question to come to a debate hosted by a think tank, but the Policy Exchange fight club was packed last night. The sole nationalist was the SNP’s Pete Wishart, allied with Sir Simon Jenkins making his English Nationalist points. Sir Malcolm Rifkind spoke against the motion, with yours truly his support act. As you might expect from a London audience, those opposed won easily. But two things struck me.
The first is Sir Malcolm’s eloquence. He was brilliant, better than Salmond, a reminder of what was cut dead in the 1997 election — perhaps never to grow again. When Wishart spoke of the 31 countries that have become independent in recent years, Malky went wild — they were all former dictatorships, he said, how could you make such a comparison? And is it so outrageous that Scotland doesn’t have its own government when England doesn’t either? If it did, it wouldn’t have to had put up with Gordon Brown.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in