I AM a unionist, through and through.
Our country, the United Kingdom, has thrived for 300 years and it grieves me to see nationalist politicians in Scotland striving to break it up.
Nothing highlights the advantages of our union better than events over the past year.
The vaccination drive, which has seen more than 50 per cent of eligible Scots inoculate, and furlough scheme, are two notable successes as the Government prioritises support for lives and livelihoods.
Subsidies have been handed out on an unimaginable scale, with Scotland, for example, furloughing a larger proportion of the work force than any other part of the union, according to data from the Office of National Statistics.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Scotland’s devolved administration has received £9.7 billion through the Barnett formula, including an extra £1.1 billion in coronavirus support.
Call me cynical, but nurses have been offered a four per cent pay rise only weeks before the Scottish parliamentary election.
Yet nationalists continue to demand independence, fostering a tired narrative that flies in the face of reality.
Now, quite extraordinarily, former First Minister Alex Salmond is back in the fray, leading a new nationalist faction that has already seen two defections from the SNP.
The new ‘Alba’ party is clearly an attempt to resurrect his career after he was cleared of sexual assault a year ago, while also taking revenge on Nicola Sturgeon.
She’s only just out of the woods, herself, having survived a vote of no confidence and two investigations into her conduct over the Salmond affair.
All this, with both politicians ignoring Scotland’s worsening education standards, healthcare and the highest drug deaths in Europe.
Nothing else seems to matter, other than breaking up the Union.
Let’s hope that Scotland’s voters see sense before it’s too late.