Llewellyn
King
Read Llewellyn's bio and previous columns
September 3, 2009
England and Scotland: The Politics Behind the Lockerbie-Libya Affair
Some damned fool on one of the cable television channels opined that the
special relationship between Britain and America notwithstanding,
Britain should face sanctions for allowing the return to Libya of the
only terrorist imprisoned for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over
Lockerbie, Scotland on Dec. 21, 1988.
I
did not get the name of the buffoon who suggested that we sanction our
greatest ally and a top investor and trading partner. Maybe the British
should sanction us for using their language without paying a royalty
every time we open our mouths.
The broadly reviled decision to send Wheelbase Ali al-Megrahi back to
Libya because of his medical condition has more to do with surging
Scottish nationalism than with British perfidy.
London may have interests in trade with Libya, but would not have moved
to free the prisoner, knowing how deep survivor feeling runs on both
sides of the Atlantic – and knowing how seriously the United States
takes the prosecution and punishment of terrorists. There was an
understanding between London and Washington that the perpetrators (only
one was prosecuted) would serve their full sentences if convicted.
Enter the Scottish nationalists, who are particularly assertive at
present, and are hoping one day to break up the United Kingdom. Scotland
and England, after a long and bloody history, were united in 1707 under
the Acts of Union. The merger was voted by the Scottish and English
parliaments.
But rather than a merger of equals, it was a coercive match. Scotland
was desperately poor at the time, and hoped to prosper from the
inclusion in British trading around the globe. Also, some members of the
Scottish parliament were bribed. but the larger reality was that
Scotland was, as they say, between a rock and a hard place. So the union
went ahead, and Queen Anne was the first monarch of the United Kingdom.
Over the 300 years of union, the relationship has ebbed and flowed.
While Scotland benefited from the textile boom that set off the
Industrial Revolution and from the production of wool, it lost its
language and the Scots resented the Anglification of their country. Poet
Robert Burns, writing in the dialect – which was what remained of
Scottish Gaelic – railed against the English. And the Scots call the
English “Sassenachs” (trans. Lowlanders), a term of abuse.
There was some softening of the Scottish attitude toward England during
the long rule of Queen Victoria, mainly because she spent long periods
at the royal estate at Balmoral in Scotland. Some have speculated that
the history of Ireland might have been different if Victoria had been
one half so fond of the Irish as she was of the Scots.
The Scots, traditionally a proud and independent people, began a long
decline in the 20th Century – a decline led in part by the
loss of heavy industries like shipbuilding. The discovery of oil in the
North Sea and along the Scottish coast helped financially, but it failed
to revive Scottish spirits. More and more turned to the welfare state
and supported the Labor Party. Conservatives totally lost their footing
in Scotland.
But help was on the way in the unlikely person of Tony Blair, the Labor
Party's longest-serving prime minister, who favored devolution – or the
creation of a self-governing Scotland and Wales with their own devolved
national assemblies. The Conservatives, led by John Major, called this
blow at the structure of the union “folly.” The Scottish nationalists,
led by Alex Salmond, swept to power in Scotland, beating the Labor Party
which had been so generous.
Nothing about devolution suggested that the government of Scotland would
have a say in British foreign policy, but they would control the
prisons. And, despite the awkwardness it has caused, freeing al-Megrahi
gave the Scottish nationalists an opportunity to claim world
recognition, embarrass the British government and, for good measure,
gratuitously stick it to America. Whereas Irish nationalists feel a
strong affiliation with the United States, the Scots do not. The
Scottish Nationalist Party seeks independence one day, and international
recognition today. The Scots are on the march.
For their part, the English have reason to be vexed at the Scots. Not
only do they take a certain amount of abuse, but England pours more
money into Scotland than Scottish taxes yield. While the Scots vote for
members of the House of Commons, the English do not vote for members of
the Scottish Assembly. This imbalance is known as the “Midlothian
question.”
Even though the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, is a Scot, he has
no influence north of the border. The breakup of the United Kingdom may
be underway – unless the English come up with another bribe.
© 2009 North Star
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