Over the last 24 hours the people of Scotland, over five million of them voted 6 to 4 to stay within the United Kingdom. It was an extraordinary outpouring reflecting a conflict between nationalism and pragmatism. Family was divided against family. The Scottish National Party headed by Alex Salmond led the charge. Speaking with sincerity and enthusiasm he outlined the reasons why he believed Scotland would be better off on its own . Many of the reasons were related to the feeling the Scots have, that being a long way from Westminster means that they have been forgotten by successive governments. Always voting Labour they resented the power of the Conservative Government under David Cameron.
But when the result was announced Salmond was the first to gracefully accept defeat. His speech was a model of maturity and integrity. What struck me as I watched the drama unfold was not the result which I believe is a sensible one (provided the UK Government honours its pledges to the Scottish people )but the manner in which this highly contentious subject was handled. The people came to the polling stations in their millions, peacefully, happily jostling with those who voted the opposite way, There was no rancour , no anger, no cries of foul. They showed themselves to be a peace-loving caring and tolerant people. Tolerant to the views of others in a way that the rest of the world could emulate. Compare that with the fighting and slanging that goes on in most other countries after an election.
I hope the leaders of those countries will learn that peaceful voting and acceptance of the decision is the only way to unify a country and is the hallmark of a civilised society.
19th September 2014
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