Iain Macwhirter’s column has crystallised a train of thought which has been brewing for a while (Brexit: a very British act of self-harm, Comment, August 27). Will Theresa May be judged by history as the British politician who caused the most damage to the people of the four nations of the United Kingdom in the early 21st century? Given the competition from Blair, Brown, Cameron, Osborne, Johnson, Gove and Farage, this is quite an achievement.
Her fixation on reducing immigration numbers using bogus figures is doing massive harm across the UK, and to our international reputation. Angela Merkel may be the target of brickbats for insisting Germany take in a million-plus refugees, but she will be shown to be on the right side of history. Compare her stance the PM, halting our token programme to take in unaccompanied children.
The latest example is the case of Chennan Fei, who, after living in Scotland for 15 years and graduating from Edinburgh University, is threatened with deportation to China. I can categorically state this is not being done in my name, and I doubt many of my fellow citizens approve either. I call on our elected representatives in councils, at Holyrood, Westminster and Brussels to stand against the reprehensible actions being carried out against innocent people.
One way to do this would be to vote at Holyrood for all people resident in Scotland to be given the protection of Scottish citizenship and that Scotland decides who may reside here. Scotland is a sovereign nation with its own Parliament and judiciary, so reserved powers be damned. The other nations of the UK may think that they are full to bursting, but Scotland isn’t, and we should be proud to shout out that we both need and want new blood in our beautifully multifaceted country.
Jonathan Southerington
Deerness, Orkney
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