Compelled to march becauseofToryPM

At the ripe old age of 70 years and one month, last Saturday I embarked on something I have never done before, to take part in a political march.

I’m not a member of any political party, now or in the past, but I felt it was something I wanted to do, at the very least to express solidarity with those on the march. It was peaceful, and as good natured as I hoped it would be.

I used to support Labour or the Lib Dems as a sort of floating voter, but more recently, have come to the conclusion that independence has to be the way ahead.

This is particularly so as the Tory party lurches ever further and further to the right. We have leading us now in the UK (a union we are still part of, and thus governed by the UK Parliament), a person of questionable ethics and morals, uttering promises he has no intentions of keeping and no ability or wherewithal to do so.

We have a PM who prorogues parliament, not just for a few days, but five weeks, the sole purpose of which is to deviously hide what shennanigans he gets up to, and even worse, apparently intends to defy the law of the land, or explore loopholes to get round that law.

It matters not one jot what particular subject this or any other law relates to; if a prime minister cannot or will not abide by the law, or actively seeks to find a way to circumvent it, why should Joe Public not follow suit, on any law or subject they disagree with? The current prime minister is pointing the way to lawless anarchy.

The slogan of the unionists is or at least used to be, ‘Better Together’. How is this so? Better together to get even more food banks, a growth industry under the Tories, while they show that in the words of one of their own, they are indeed “The Nasty Party”, shutting down projects such as Remploy, and introducing their bedroom tax, and the farce that is Universal Credit, condemned by representatives of no less an august body than the United Nations.

I confess I voted remain as far as Brexit is concerned, but it really makes me laugh that those for a no deal Brexit go on about bringing back democracy to England. What about democracy here in Scotland? From the period 1979 to 1997, Scotland was governed by Westminster Tories.

Even now in the most recent Westminster election of two years ago, the Tories gained 13 out of 59 Scottish seats. A mini recovery I grant you, but they are still in the minority elected in our country.

I want to be able to say that the party winning the most seats in a Scottish election becomes the party to govern, and if that ever turns out to be the Tories, then indeed democracy has spoken.

I cannot say how many turned out in Perth in the independence march. It certainly was in the thousands, as opposed to maybe 50 in the Force For Good unionist presence. A challenge for the unionists? Organise your own march, let’s see how many turn out.

Finally, I take issue with their title. Not much of a force based on numbers seen last Saturday, and just what good exactly does a madcap Tory prime minister in Boris do, a person who once described Scots as “verminous”?

Finally, something for all to ponder as our new PM threatens to run amok. Eighty-five years ago another egotistical maniac suspended the parliament of his country. That country was Germany, the parliament The Reichstag, and the person in question who did this? None other than one Adolph Hitler.

Allister Band Hermitage Drive Perth