Bring on the bigots

The outcome of next year’s referendum on Scottish independence remains very uncertain, not made any clearer by the plethora of partisan opinion polls from both sides.

Independence would undoubtedly create the opportunity for a radically different future, free from sickening delusions of imperial grandeur, a future with greater ecological, social, and fiscal responsibility than seems otherwise likely if we remain tied to London.

On the other hand, many people in Scotland seem fearful of the unknown, or of the prospect of ending up with a magnified version of the less inspiring aspects of Scottish local authorities. Three hundred years of subjugation have successfully eroded the collective self-confidence. And half of the land remains in the private ownership of fewer than 500 people – most of whom are either Anglo-Scottish aristocracy or foreign investors (ref). Neither group is known for their progressive liberalism.

But nine months is a long time in politics. If, as seems likely, UKIP flourish in the European elections next May, then the prospect of the lovely Nigel Farage joining forces with Cameron, Osborne and Hunt could easily tip the balance for Scotland, as David Gow suggested in the Guardian this week. Even the uncertainties of independence would become attractive in comparison, and Farage might yet go down in history with Mel Gibson as a surreal poster-boy for Scottish independence.