Last week, I spoke with some reluctance in a debate called by the SNP in the House of Commons
The motion, as usual, was on their only real priority – breaking up our United Kingdom.
I was reluctant because this was time that could have been spent discussing far more important issues to the people of Scotland.
I don’t believe Scotland should be separated from the rest of The United Kingdom.
I also don’t believe there should be another referendum on the matter.
Not because I fear the result – I am sure that if the question were to be put again, the Yes campaign would fail again.
But I also remember how socially and economically damaging such a campaign would be.
And it is clear that there is certainly no majority in Scotland for such a referendum – particularly in these challenging times.
People and businesses in Banff and Buchan, Scotland and across the whole United Kingdom, are facing very real pressures.
But these pressures are not faced ONLY here in the United Kingdom.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and Putin’s illegal war in Russia has been felt around the whole world.
The SNP’s were suggesting that the economic pressures experienced around Scotland are somehow caused by being part of the United Kingdom.
Of course, I expressed a contrary view to this.
The UK Government have repeatedly taken action to support domestic and business customers, particularly the most vulnerable and the hardest hit.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK Government provided billions of pounds in additional funding to the Scottish Government – £8.6 billion in 2020-21 and a further £7.1 billion in 2021-22.
This was on top of the £400 billion package of UK-wide support including the Furlough Scheme which has supported more than 910,000 jobs.
More recently, the UK Government announced a range of support schemes that I doubt would be possible in an ‘independent’ Scotland:
The Energy Price Guarantee is expected to save a typical household in Great Britain at least £700 a year.
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will discount energy bills to protect businesses and other non-domestic energy users – with typical bills being roughly a third of what they could otherwise have been without this intervention
And the Energy Bill Support Scheme provides at least £400 to every household with a domestic electricity supply.
On top of this, there is a £650 cost of living payment to every household on means-tested benefits, paid out to more than 8 million households; £300 to those in receipt of the winter fuel payment; and £150 to the 6 million people in receipt of disability payments.
Meanwhile – on the very same day as this debate – the SNP Scottish Government announceda further £600 million in cuts including to the rollout of decent broadband and funding promised for carbon capture and storage.
Breaking up of our 300-year-old Union is not the answer to today’s challenges.
The Scottish people want BOTH of our governments to work together on delivering economic stability and quality public services – not a cynical and divisive second independence referendum.