Alex Salmond's offensive comparison of
Scots voting for independence to the ending of apartheid and blacks being given
the vote in South Africa took the rank dishonesty of the nationalists’ campaign
to a new low yesterday.
Mandela went to prison for his beliefs,
something that doesn’t appear to have happened to any Scottish Nationalists.
And, far from being victims of a cruel
and unjust system, they have been encouraged to participate in the political
process, and to live in a Union replete with opportunities — unlike millions in
South Africa who were excluded from politics and advancement simply because
they were the wrong race.
It was equally offensive to see Mr
Salmond embracing immigrants from Eastern Europe and telling them that their
intention to vote ‘Yes’ would be the culmination of their own long walk to
freedom.
They chose to come to Scotland not
because independence promises an extra layer of liberty, but because of the
hard won, wide-ranging freedoms already available throughout the UK, and
bestowed upon the Scots as they are bestowed upon every other Briton.
Enough, frankly, is enough. We have
long tolerated Mr Salmond’s mendacity, and his twisted loathing of the English,
largely because many felt he would be the loser of this fight and should be
indulged.
So when he dropped hints that the NHS would be privatised if there wasn’t a ‘Yes’ vote, or made up the rules about Scotland’s continuing membership of the EU as he went along, or exaggerated the wealth from Scottish oil revenues, we felt slightly patronising towards the old rogue, assuring ourselves of his inevitable humiliation in the September 18 vote.
Now that humiliation appears less
certain, and the arrogant dishonesty is so overwhelming, it is time to tell him
what some of us really think.
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