The Edinburgh Reporter

Scots must have a choice

- By DEIDRE BROCK MP

WITH THE Tory leadership contest now down to the final two, the candidates vying for Number 10 have been offering us their case for the union. When asked about his commitment to Scotland, Rishi Sunak boasted that as Chancellor he set up an economic campus in Darlington and even graced the town with a personal visit. The fact that Darlington, is 85 miles south of the Scottish border was apparently lost on Rishi, despite it being barely ten miles from his own constituen­cy.

The multi-millionair­e, former hedge fund boss has promised to run the country like Thatcher, which is sure to endear him further to Scots. Sunak’s only challenger,

Liz Truss, despite her childhood in Paisley, views the ‘Iron Lady’ as a personal hero, and has flatly refused to agree to a second independen­ce referendum if she becomes Prime Minister.

Whatever your view on the constituti­on, it is simply not acceptable to deny Scotland a right to choose its own future, especially when conditions have changed so much since 2014. The significan­t and increasing democratic deficit that Scotland faces in the UK is the topic of the latest in the “Building a New Scotland” (www.gov.scot/ newscotlan­d) collection of papers, published by the Scottish Government. “Democracy through Independen­ce” outlines how Westminste­r controls the key levers of power that can address our most pressing challenges.

It’s worth reminding ourselves that the Tories have not won an election in Scotland since 1955. Perhaps that goes some way to explaining their candidates’ ignorance of Scottish geography and their lack of respect for our democracy. Irrespecti­ve of who is chosen as the new Prime Minister, the need for Scotland to be given the opportunit­y to make a different choice has never been more urgent.

 ?? ??
 ?? ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom