An hour ago the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the European Union. In a flurry of flag-waving flummery the country I was born in, grew up in, live in, has turned its back on a relationship with the nations of Europe that has brought peace and prosperity; which has allowed its peoples to travel freely across a whole continent and which has reminded me in countless ways that I am a European every bit as much as I am a Briton and a Scot. Speaking of those last two, we are, I believe, approaching a point where Scotland will sunder its current relationship with our neighbours in the South. I support Scottish independence, but let me make one thing clear.

I am not a nationalist.

I am not interested in a sense of national identity that drapes itself in a flag - be it a Saltire, a Union Jack or circle of stars - and claims superiority, by culture or blood, over all others. I am not interested in peddling myths of manifest destiny or national exceptionalism. I am not interested in investing in shibboleths like ‘sovereignty’ and ‘control’. If that is what it means to be a nationalist then I am not a nationalist.

Especially not tonight. Tonight I am painfully aware that the country I grew up in - England - seems to have turned inward on itself. It has bought into all the myths of nationalism. At least by a majority. Increasingly, over the last few years, when I have travelled in England, I have felt uncomfortable with the attitudes displayed toward other countries and their peoples. That’s not to say that racism doesn’t exist in Scotland - of course it does, humanity is as sinful north of the border as it is to the South - but I can only go on my own experience as someone whose accent is scarcely pure-blood Doric but who has never once, in 35 years of living in Scotland, experienced antipathy toward me on that basis. My wife, who has a clearly Mancunian accent has had the same experience and now regards herself as Scottish as she has always felt welcome. 

I am not a nationalist. I do not believe that my nation - Scotland - is some kind of restored Eden or Utopia. I’m smart enough to know that nowhere is Utopia. Literally. I know fine well that Scotland has issues. The levels of poverty in parts of Glasgow, in particular, are a disgrace. Drug addiction has spiralled in many of our communities. There are far too many people living rough on our streets. That there is a need for food banks in one of the wealthiest countries in the world should be a matter of shame. 

Or so one would think. According to the UK Home Secretary and according to the Leader of the House of Commons food banks are a sign of national virtue. I don’t think that’s the commonly held view in Scotland. Scotland has, at least, laws that insist that if a homeless person identifies himself as such to the local authority the authority is obliged to find him shelter. I could go on and list other good things that are happening in Scotland. Do they make Scotland a Utopia? No. Of course they don’t, but they mark, for me a decent direction of travel.

And that’s the point. I believe that England and Scotland are on divergent political trajectories. While England has repeatedly elected governments that cater to an individualistic, dog-eat-dog, devil-take-the-hindmost economic doctrine, Scotland has elected governments that have adopted a more communitarian outlook. In saying that I am not claiming that either is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ but, as I think my language may suggest, I’m kind of keen on the latter. I think it offers the best hope for the future of our people, whether ‘our people’ are the people of Scotland, of the UK, of Europe or of the world.

I’ve reached an age where hope is important. I’d like to think that the world my generation leaves to my son and his generation will be a better one than I inherited from my parents but tonight I am not sure it will be. Tonight hope is difficult and I take it where I can. I take it in the fact that Scotland’s people rejected Brexit in 2016. we rejected it again at the last general election. The evidence is that the people of Scotland see themselves as part of Europe. That is why I support independence. I want to live in an outward looking, confident nation that is ready to cede sovereignty when it will benefit its people. I want to live in a progressive nation that welcomes people of all races and nationalities to its shores. I want to live in a nation that sees co-operation with other nations as more beneficial than competition. Tonight, for me, the United Kingdom is not that nation. Scotland could be.

I am not a nationalist. I am an internationalist.