by Godfrey Bloom – republished by request of Mr Bloom

Let me flag up immediately I am one sixteenth Scottish, John Bruce came down in the ‘45 and presumably went on to London rather than face the wrath of the Duke of Cumberland in the Glens. An antecedent married a Mills who married a Bloom and bingo here I am.

I was also, to my knowledge, the only sitting British MP or MEP with Native American blood but that is another story. So I understand the deep feeling that the Scots have for independence. It is perfectly natural and I get increasingly annoyed when I hear placemen under instructions from No 10 Downing Street pretending it is somehow impossible.

Of course, Scotland could function perfectly well as an independent state, infinitely better suited, or could be, than Ireland. However there are many caveats, they need examining honestly without hysteria or emotion.

The referendum itself must be extended to all Scotsmen and women, and not just those with a Scottish postal code. Scots in the professions and industry are to be found in all corners of the globe, I would have thought it would be relatively easy to register those born in Scotland for a postal vote. I suspect this has not been done for political reasons, most of my Scottish friends are professional men and women who abhor the very idea of an ‘independent’ Scotland. It must surely be unjustifiable for a newcomer from Latvia or Poland voting and a Scottish doctor practicing in Newcastle disenfranchised.

My English friends in Scotland are voting nationalist as indeed would many other English in the United Kingdom if they were given a say. Incidentally there is a strong case for that option. There is a growing opinion south of the border the Scots are a financial liability and should go their own way.

One of the reasons the Scots as a nation have punched above their weight globally for hundreds of years has been the amicable and voluntary union with its more powerful southern neighbour. Soldiers, engineers and entrepreneurs of Scottish birth are world renowned. This is obvious today as the Scottish state education system has been dumbed down to English standards and most youngsters north of the border think Brave Heart is a documentary.

What of the practicalities? Because politicians do not understand currencies a totally spurious debate has been allowed to develop about Scotland keeping the pound or adopting the Euro. This is irrelevant. Currency is simply a medium of exchange. All a Scottish Parliament needs to do is revoke legal tender, a concept designed solely for the state to steal citizens’ money, and announce either shopkeeper, providers of services or goods or merchant may receive settlement in any currency agreed between the parties under liberty of contract under Scottish Law.

Better still they could adopt a commodity currency of their own, the Scottish pound which would soon become a respected safe haven currency as was the Swiss Franc before it was betrayed, or indeed the Singapore Dollar. Only better because it could be backed by gold or silver. They could outlaw fractional reserve banking, the culprit for the demise of Scottish retail banking, explain to the world that they at least have learned their lesson. Scottish financial services in Edinburgh have enough expertise still to make ‘Charlotte Square’ a world player.

For Scotland to survive as a free nation and not slip into third world status and endure an exodus of their brightest and best they need to bite the bullet on welfare, the greatest enemy of the Scottish people. The nation has prospered on a Presbyterian work ethic and a well educated middle class. Welfarism, social and corporate, is the death of any nation but it is Scotland’s greatest foe. The Scottish Parliament must, if necessary, visit the Iberian Peninsula en masse, or be hosted by Gerhard Schroder, Germany’s former chancellor and understand the appalling damage wind energy has done to their economies. Scots must understand that people come from all over the world to see the most glorious countryside. They do not expect it to be industrialized to no purpose.

The Scottish electorate need to be more discerning in whom they elect. The tram system in Edinburgh could have been designed by the Marx Brothers and costed by the Prince Regent. For those unfamiliar with this debacle any Ould Reekie cabbie will give you chapter and verse.

Lastly, let us have some intellectual honesty. It is simply absurd to want independence and remain part of the European Union as it is currently constructed. Independence means the laws are made in Edinburgh by elected parliamentarians. The final court of appeal is in Edinburgh not medieval cities on the Franco German border.

An independent Scotland could have a very bright future indeed, but not the way it is being put forward at this referendum.

Godfrey Bloom, former MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire