A funny idea of ‘progressive nationalism’ in Scotland, Wales and Irish Republic
Always entertaining, Joyce Mcmillan’s latest column (Perspective, 5 April) surpassed itself. Gleefully lambasting UK nationalism and Brexit, the article enthused over “progressive” nationalist movements in Scotland, Wales and the Irish Republic as attractive alternatives.
In Scotland, we can assume that “progressive” means enfranchising prison inmates, criminalising parents who give naughty children a slap on the wrist and introducing the failed 1970s policy of stinging even middle-income earners with higher tax .
Given the Scottish Government’s own recent Scottish Surveys Core Questions statistics on the deteriorating health of native-born Scots, along with an ongoing crisis in public services and infrastructure, there must be doubt over this administration’s ability to deliver “progress” of any kind.
As for Welsh nationalism, Plaid Cymru (the SNP’S sister party) is so progressive that it now commands only 17 per cent of seats in the country’s assembly.
Finally, to describe Ireland as a paragon of social justice and environmentalism is questionable. Unique among EU countries in having no NHS, treatment requires either health insurance or a Medical Card, a means-tested document available only (in theory at least) to the most needy.
And green credentials? The Emerald Isle’s government pays lip service to recycling, greenhouse gas reduction etc. but the Republic’s annual per capita carbon footprint is currently 11.54 tons (and rising) compared to the more industrialised UK’S figure of 9.66.
When poachers bagged the Celtic Tiger (so beloved by Alex Salmond) in 2008, the Irish Government took vast sums from public sector pension funds to pay back the German financiers and European Central Bank who had bailed the country out. The incompetant Fianna Fáil politicians responsible for much of this mess walked away from the wreckage virtually unscathed.
If these sorry tales are Ms Mcmillan’s definition of “progressive” governance, the Scottish electorate may beg to differ.
MARTIN O’GORMAN Littlejohn Road, Edinburgh