by Rab Bruce’s Spider

Tory MSP Murdo Fraser recently gave an interview on GB News. I’m not going to post a link to it as I wouldn’t inflict GB News on anyone for the sake of their mental health. However, a short clip from that interview is currently all over pro-Indy Twitter, and it makes for incredible viewing as Mr Fraser lays out the case for Scotland to become a normal, self-governing country. Of course, that wasn’t his intention, but his comments are probably among the best arguments for independence that any Tory is likely to make.

For readers who haven’t seen it, or who don’t wish to watch, I note below the quotations from Mr Fraser. You should pay close attention to them.

He said that, if Scotland leaves the UK:

"We lose roughly a third of the land mass of Great Britain, probably around half of our territorial waters."

"We lose the magnificent resource that is Scottish fishing waters."

"We lose opportunities from North Sea oil and gas which is still there despite Nicola Sturgeon’s best efforts."

"We lose the potential from renewable energy from Scotland’s coasts in the North Sea and the Atlantic."

"We lose access to barrier free trade to Scotch whisky and Scotch salmon; all those great exports."

"The opportunity to study at some of the world’s greatest universities in Scotland."

"And the joy of having Scots as part of the British nation."

Now, there is quite a lot to unpack here, so bear with me. Let’s take the last point first as it is easy to deal with. Britain is not a nation. It is a geographical area, like Europe. The UK is not a nation either; it is a sovereign state comprised of three nations and a province. And anyone who regularly views Unionist comments on social media might take issue with Mr Fraser thinking his supporters view Scots (both the people and the language) as a joy.

Naturally, he could not resist having a dig at Nicola Sturgeon about North Sea oil and gas. It’s an odd comment since even the most casual observer knows that the Scottish Government wants to move away from fossil fuels and focus on renewable energy. Winding down the oil and gas sector is a climate issue. It’s also worth noting that the Tories have cut taxation on North Sea oil extractors to prevent them having to admit that Scotland could make money from those companies if they were taxed the way other countries tax them.

Now let’s look at his constant use of the pronoun, "We". Who does he mean? He is Scottish, elected to the Scottish Parliament, yet it is absolutely clear that he is not talking as a representative of Scotland. Instead, he seems to be very much siding with the people who rule Scotland via the Westminster Government. I suppose that should come as no surprise, but any self-respecting Scot should surely cringe at the Cringe he is displaying.

And then there is the main point; the one which really ought to ensure that this video clip forms the basis of the Scottish Government’s next pro-Indy political broadcast. In quite some detail, he lists all the things he and his Westminster masters will lose control of if Scotland decides to become a normal country. In other words, they don’t want to trade for any of these things like normal countries do, they want absolute control to exploit Scotland’s resources. And you only need to look at the difference between Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and the one the UK doesn’t have to see how Westminster manages Scottish resources. Whoever is going to benefit from that control, it certainly isn’t going to be the ordinary people of Scotland.

The conclusion most pro-Indy Scots have taken from this is that Mr Fraser is happy for Scotland’s resources to be exploited and used for the benefit of those "we" he identifies with. His words are those of a colonial master who refuses to relinquish control of a colonised state. You can argue all you like about whether Scotland truly has been colonised, but the things he said could easily be put in the mouth of a 19th Century plantation owner listing all the things he would lose if his slaves were freed.

Mr Fraser’s interview should reveal to every Scot the true feelings of Westminster. That is who he was speaking for, and we really should accept his words at face value. They want our resources, but they don’t want to pay for them. And if Scotland was a normal country, all of those resources would be ours to use for our nation’s benefit.

So, well done to Murdo Fraser. He’s stated the positive case for independence. I’ll bet he can’t state the positive case for the union with anything like such clarity.