- The Observer
34 11.08.19 Focus
Is Scotland fi nally
set to bid farewell
to the union?
W
hen Boris
Johnson, as
editor of the
Spectator, pub-
lished a poem
in 2004 calling
the Scots a “verminous race” that
deserved “comprehensive extermi-
nation”, he may not have imagined
it could come back to haunt him
15 years later in his fi rst weeks as
prime minister.
“The Scotch – what a vermin-
ous race!” begins Friendly Fire by
James Michie. “Canny, pushy, chippy,
they’re all over the place / Battening
off us with false bonhomie /
Polluting our stock, undermining
our economy.”
The purportedly satirical poem
is no longer available on the
Spectator’s website, but it is remem-
bered with cold fury by some in
the fractured, but relatively con-
servative market town of Inveruriein Aberdeenshire. “If you’re at the
receiving end to being likened to
vermin, you’re not impressed,” Rae
Jardine, a local Scottish Nationalist
party member, said with restraint.
Jardine was speaking last week
just after an opinion poll showed
the fi rst lead for an independent
Scotland for more than two years,
and shortly before shadow chan-
cellor John McDonnell triggered
a row by saying his party would
allow a second independence ref-
erendum north of the border if
Labour was in government.
Next weekend , thousands of peo-
ple are expected to join a pro-inde-
pendence march in Aberdeen. The
city voted 58.6% to 41.4% against
independence in 2014 but some say
it is now shifting behind Yes in the
face of a no-deal Brexit – opposed
by a majority north of the border- and an instinctive antipathy to
Johnson. The prime minister, seen
Boris Johnson’s do-or-die Brexit has pushed even
reticent Scots into the pro-independence camp.
Harriet Sherwood reports from bellwether Inverurie
Years of separation
1997
Tony Blair, below,
promises devolution for
Scotland. A referendum
backs a Scottish
parliament with tax-
raising powers. In 1998
the Scottish Act assigns
devolved powers to a
129-member Scottish
parliament, elected in- Labour wins 56
seats, SNP 35 seats,
Conservatives 18, Lib
Dems 17.
1989
Th e introduction of
Margaret Th atcher’s
deeply unpopular
poll tax lead to mass
demonstrations in
Scotland and helps
revive the independence
movement.1979
A referendum on
Scottish devolution is
held but not backed by
the necessary 40% of
the electorate. Donald
Dewar, above, who
would go on to become
the inaugural fi rst
minister, campaigned
for a Yes vote alongside
the Conservative Alick
Buchanan-Smith and
the Liberal Russell
Johnston.2011
Th e SNP wins a
majority in the Scottish
parliament and Alex
Salmond, left, becomes
fi rst minister. Th e
following year, the
Edinburgh Agreement
is signed by Salmond
and UK prime minister
David Cameron,
paving the way
for a referendum
on Scottish
independence.2014
Th e people of Scotland
vote in a referendum
on the question:
Should Scotland be an
independent country?
55% no, 45% yes. Just
before the vote, Alex
Salmond says : “Th is is
a once in a generation
opportunity, perhaps
even a once in a
lifetime opportunity for
Scotland.”ПОДГОТОВИЛА
ГРУППА"What's News"
VK.COM/WSNWS