SNP and Tories unite over Border protesters – leader comment

This all-too-rare meeting of minds between UK and Scottish ministers was over the small group of protesters who gathered at the Border between Scotland and England to tell those heading north to “stay the f*** out”, in the words of one, in order to “keep Scotland Covid free”, which, it is important to stress on the grounds of public health, it is not.

There are political reasons why unionists and nationalists alike might want to disown them.

Sensible unionists will recognise that trying to paint all supporters of independence with the same brush is not exactly a good way to win some of them over, which is now particularly important for them given polls show the Yes vote on more than 50 per cent. And the risk for nationalists is that floating voters will be put off if it appears an independent Scotland could end up being a country where such tin-pot patriotism is the zeitgeist.

However, there are those on both sides of the constitutional debate – and, indeed, other fraught issues – who do not hesitate to act as if the extremists in the other camp represent the mainstream in the hope of weakening their opponent.

This strategy is both foolish and dangerous. It is only likely to increase the temperature of the debates and push more people towards the extremes in a downward spiral of vitriol, potentially turning false rhetoric into reality.

The vast majority of nationalists would never dream of abusing people simply because they happened to travel north across the Border. The vast majority of unionists, both north and south of the Border, are equally decent human beings.

Both camps should always remember this and the importance of disagreeing agreeably, one of the core ideas of democracy.

The late, great MSP Margo MacDonald was a passionate supporter of independence and was equally well-known for her respect for and sometimes friendships with political opponents.

Whatever the future holds, Scotland would do well to keep her generous, kind and thoughtful attitude close to its heart and not pay too much attention to those who do not.

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