11.06.14 | Sarah Shaffi - The BooksellerIn a post on her website, Rowling said there was a “fringe of nationalists” who would probably say she was “’insufficiently Scottish’ to have a valid view” on the issue, being born in the West Country, but, referring to characters from her Harry Potter novels, added: “However, when people try to make this debate about the purity of your lineage, things start getting a little Death Eaterish for my taste.” Rowling said that “by residence, marriage, and out of gratitude for what this country has given me, my allegiance is wholly to Scotland and it is in that spirit that I have been listening to the months of arguments and counter-arguments”.
The author said that the Yes campaign in favour of Scottish independence “promises a fairer, greener, richer and more equal society if Scotland leaves the UK”, and that she is “no fan of the current Westminster government”. But she said: “My hesitance at embracing independence has nothing to do with lack of belief in Scotland’s remarkable people or its achievements. The simple truth is that Scotland is subject to the same 21st century pressures as the rest of the world. It must compete in the same global markets, defend itself from the same threats and navigate what still feels like a fragile economic recovery.
“The more I listen to the Yes campaign, the more I worry about its minimisation and even denial of risks. Whenever the big issues are raised – our heavy reliance on oil revenue if we become independent, what currency we’ll use, whether we’ll get back into the EU - reasonable questions are drowned out by accusations of ‘scaremongering.’
“Meanwhile, dramatically differing figures and predictions are being slapped in front of us by both campaigns, so that it becomes difficult to know what to believe.”
The referendum on independence will be held in September.
2 comments:
I agree with Rowling. Scotland will be a poor back-water without the rest of the UK. It will be trodden under-foot in the hurly burly of international trade. These days big is better and the countries that rise to the top are almost always a federation of former independent states.
I agree with Rowling. Scotland will be reduced to a poor back-water without the rest of the UK. They will be trodden under-foot in the hurly burly of international trade. Countries that rise to the top are almost always a federation of former independent states that were drawn together for strength. The Scots can still be Scots, but they also need to be British and European too.
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