17 - 11 - 2019 / Your Story
I FEEL AN IDIOT FOR NOT KNOWING MORE
In 1982 we moved from Scotland to live in London and in 2014 we could not vote in the independence referendum. Most of our friends are from down south and we didn't want to be separated from them. But we were ignorant of what was going on.
There was no news coverage about Scotland the entire time we lived there. A few things around the referendum - but basically we were deliberately kept in the dark. Watching Nicola Sturgeon performing - because things had to be fair - made me realise what was happening - that she was being de-platformed because she was so good at her job!
Looking into the work of the state on the referendum, watching all the 'suits' descend on Scotland the week before the vote and then disappear the day after... we were furious.
When fortune and misfortune collided, our path led us back home to Scotland - best move we've ever made. I cannot forsake my friends outwith Scotland, but we felt we'd properly 'come home' by joining the campaign for an independent Scotland.
Scotland is strong and positive and thriving - London is a golden husk - hollow. I know a few people who voted Brexit - very few. They spend many months out of the country, they have money to get through, or were and still ill-informed. Oh, and a couple merely voted to 'give the finger' to Cameron. Nearly all of our friends voted Remain. If I'd been in Scotland in 2014, I'd probably have voted to remain part of the UK too - totally unaware of that's been going on.
I feel an idiot for not knowing more. I still don't know enough. But I know enough to know that I no longer want the Scottish Parliament to require the goodwill of Westminster to exist and be vulnerable to having its powers removed by a bunch of brexiteering buffoons.