COMEDIAN Eddie Izzard is behind a campaign aimed at persuading the people of Scotland to vote No in the independence referendum. In a column in The Scottish Sun last week he urged those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to send the message the UK is better with all nations together. And next Friday he’ll host a special fundraising gig for the campaign at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh. But his showbiz mate — Scots actor Brian Cox — believes Izzard has missed the mark. Today, in a direct response, he politely tells his pal where he’s gone wrong... COMEDIAN Eddie Izzard is behind a campaign aimed at persuading the people of Scotland to vote No in the independence referendum. In a column in The Scottish Sun last week he urged those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to send the message the UK is better with all nations together. And next Friday he’ll host a special fundraising gig for the campaign at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh. But his showbiz mate — Scots actor Brian Cox — believes Izzard has missed the mark. Today, in a direct response, he politely tells his pal where he’s gone wrong... EDDIE Izzard is a fantastic chap and a friend of mine, but his latest intervention over Scotland’s independence referendum has gone awry. Eddie cites economical and practical reasons for us being better together as part of the UK, that only the UK pays the pensions of older people, that only as part of the UK can we cheer on Mo Farah. Leaving aside the fact that it’s just nonsense that Scots wouldn’t cheer on great athletes such as Mo because Scotland had its own government and of course we can more than afford to pay pensions, he has missed the whole point about togetherness. The fact is we can’t be better together when one in five Scots kids are in poverty, and thanks to UK austerity the Red Cross is providing food relief for the first time across the UK since WWII. As part of the UK, we are the fourth most unequal country in the developed world, and on track to becoming the most unequal. This is simply not good enough. The real question we should be asking is not can Scotland be independent, but rather, should Scotland be an independent country? Did you know for every one of the last 30 years we’ve generated more tax revenues per person than the other parts of the UK? That we have more top 200 universities per head of population than any other country in the planet. As rector of Dundee University, I am proud to say that research from Scottish universities tops global leagues for quality. Few, if any, of the 200 or so other countries in the world can have been as well prepared for independence as Scotland is with our in-depth white paper. We have thriving sectors in energy, food and drink, life sciences, engineering, creative industries, financial services and tourism. And, according to the Financial Times, would be among the top 30 exporters the world. I think we are more than capable of being independent and very well equipped to prosper. But I also care about the other countries in these islands. And I truly believe that independence will not only be good for Scotland — it will also be good for the rest of the UK by helping to rebalance an economy that is totally dominated by the city of London. And perhaps when Eddie is elected Mayor of London he can do something to address the excesses of the banking institutions. We haven’t been better together as there has been a complete failure of the democratic process. The poll tax, the dissolution of Scottish industry and public services of the Thatcher Government. The collusion in the illegal war in Iraq of the Blair Administration. The bedroom tax. The list goes on. We need a new relationship — Westminster isn’t working for Scotland. The root for the desire for Scottish independence is to establish a truly egalitarian society. Adam Smith, Frances Hutchison, David Hume — egalitarianism is part of who we are as Scots. It’s time to establish a more democratic process where the people of Scotland make the decisions for Scotland. It’s time to hit the reset button on our relationship with the UK. Yes Eddie, it’s time to be together but as equal, independent nations — standing side by side.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 07:48:24 +0000
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