“This is fine and absolutely democratic …” Your words … which sum it up perfectly.
Not only have you misquoted, but you have completely ignored the rest of that statement which lends context. I'm not saying what you appear to think I'm saying, or at least, what you are implying I'm saying.
It's a perfectly democratic way to decide the parliament of an individual state or nation, but not when that parliament then dominates and controls the affairs of other nations which did not elect the vast majority of its members, and often fundamentally oppose the politics and policies of the presiding government.
If you took away the borders then the fact the majority vote differently to those in Scotland is irrelevant and something you’d just have to suck up. There are a minority in Scotland who are as reform supporting etc as those in the South - many of them voted for Independence (analysis of Brexit voters). People in London vote differently to those in rural England. Too bad too sad
if you took away the borders
Well that isn't going to happen, because the borders mark the boundaries of Sovereign States, States whose Sovereignty is not diminished or invalidated by dint of being part of a political union.
But borders plus nationalism creates this idea that a small sector of a large group of people on a small island are entitled to something different to the rest
It's not merely an "idea", it's reality. We have Devolved government because people recognised the democratic deficit without them, i.e., we are absolutely entitled to "something different". Again, it's not just a disparate "large group of people" you are referring to, it's the citizenry of Sovereign States.
Scottish people, as a group, are not unique special humans because they live in the North. If you believe this then you’re going to have to explain ‘why’ they’re unique, and that will inevitably drift towards red hair, porridge, whiskey, history and culture. (I do suspect this is what most believe - and I think it’s a kind of parochial racism)
Nobody has made any claim Scots are "unique and special humans", and certainly not because they "live in the North". The fact remains though, Scotland is a Sovereign State in the same way as any other, and this is not diminished by being part of a non-incorporating union. It might suit some other people's purposes to contend otherwise, but they're wrong.
This excludes everyone who does not conform to this (including me and my children). The SNP are aware of this, which is why they tried to brand their nationalism as ‘civic nationalism’ - which ostensibly accommodates everyone
Well this is just nonsense. You are choosing to self-exclude. Nobody is telling you you can not participate, or that you are unwelcome, or that they do not wish to also include you in the event Scotland becomes an independent country.
But if it accommodates everyone, it should be capable of accommodating the differences England, Wales and NI bring to the mix too. It can’t cope with the politics of the rest of the UK because But if it accommodates everyone, it should be capable of accommodating the differences England, Wales and NI bring to the mix too. It can’t cope with the politics of the rest of the UK
More rubbish.
"It can't cope with the politics of the rest of the UK"
This is a curious way of referring to the fact that different people have different outlooks, and different political groups disagree. Once again, typical of the nonsense that leads to pro-Independence being tabbed as "divisive" but unionism not so, when opinion on the matter is often close to a 50/50 split.
deep down the SNP are classic nationalists - the type that history shows are ugly and always damaging
If you are going to make claims like this, it would be helpful if you could substantiate them somehow, otherwise I'll just dismiss it with the contempt it deserves.
My opposition to Independence has really grown after seeing how a small country with a small pool of talent can get such a stranglehold on politics and dominate and control a population
The electorate decide their government, including in Scotland. If Scotland is "dominated" by pro-Independence political groups, that is because of the democratic will of the Scots electorate. You are peddling a narrative which implies there has been some sort of undemocratic seizure of power in order to "dominate and control a population", complete and utter guff.
Thank god for the diversity of Westminster and the checks and balances. Because the fucking SNP fought bitterly, using tax payers money, to strip women of their rights and dignity. This was a stonking unforgivable attack on human rights
Yes, how dare a governmental party pursue a policy that was a manifesto pledge for nearly 10 years, through two elections, and was almost universally the position of the other political parties, not just in Scotland, but throughout the entirety of the UK. You are free, of course, to disagree with the aims of the policy, but there is no justifying Westminster intervention in entirely Devolved matters. Interestingly enough, the SC ruling completely dismantles the logic behind the stated reasons for the S35.
That was a pivotal moment for me in profoundly realising that having a ‘sanity check’ from a parliament which represents a wide diversity of views - strong because it stems from a wide diversity of people - is important
You say "sanity check", I say yet another egregious example of total disregard for Democracy, one which just serves to emphasise yet again that the UK is in no recognisable way a "union of equals".