I’m not an SNPite, nor is Scots independence at the top of my policy list (not least becuase I’m likely to live in England for some time to come, and an independent Scotland would banish us into the wastes of near permanent Tory government), but I really do like the Declaration of Calton Hill. It encapsulates my politics quite well, and spells out the kind of Scottish Republic I’d want to live in.
The bit that stands out today, in light of Gordon Brown’s speech on immigration, is this line.
“We vow to fight for the power to turn our depopulated land into a haven for those fleeing famine and persecution”
For some reason, this line moves me deeply. I feel very strongly about Immigration. I simply find it hard to comprehend the idea that a person should be allowed to be on one side of an imaginary line, but not on the other. I wish, I really do wish we had the guts, the vision and the will to stand up and say to the British people “We believe in Immigration. We believe that a civilised country is open to all comers, and that overall, they make our land a better place.”
Let us open our arms and cry out, as the poem says in what is now something of a cliche, “Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. We’ll be better off for it.
