THE WALL OF SHAME

In the Scottish Independence debate we can all agree to disagree about what the best future is for Scotland and what it will deliver for each and every one of us. But there is no defending the indefensible. And when a unionist decides that simply because a pro-indy person doesn't share their view about the political union with England then the pro-indy person somehow dislikes the social union with England then clearly that unionist has an axe to grind. And the very lowest such a unionist has been known to sink is to refer to a supporter of Scottish independence as 'anti-English'. This attempt to turn a simple political disagreement into a deep psychological analysis about an opponent's motives has no place in a mature debate.

Many of us who are voting Yes in this referendum are English like myself. We're maybe a minority of the English voters but we still count. The idea that just because of my political views I am inherently anti-English is frankly insulting and anybody who suggests we are anti-English deserves to be named and shamed.

Therefore, I have compiled a list of unionists who have referred to the SNP or supporters of independence in general as anti-English, Anglophobic or racist or used similar defamatory terms to describe them. It will be updated every time somebody makes an offending comment.

So in no particular order, here is the Wall of Shame:

James MacMillan
Source: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/jmacmillan/100059628/alex-salmond-is-exploiting-scotlands-reservoir-of-anti-englishness-dont-be-surprised-if-it-overflows/

Tom Harris
Source: http://wingsoverscotland.com/under-the-bridge/

George Foulkes
Source: http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/foulkes-snubs-mcleish-s-call-to-apologise-for-snp-racism-claim-1-917905

Brian Wilson
Source: http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/opinion/comment/brian-wilson-snp-convert-to-olympic-supporters-1-2442676

Michael Kelly
Source: http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/opinion/comment/michael-kelly-another-fine-mess-looming-over-horizon-1-2801225

David Maddox
Source: http://thesteamie.scotsman.com/viewpost.aspx?id=67

Steve James
Source: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2011/09/scot-s14.html

Nigel Farage
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22566180

Duncan Banatyne
Source: http://www.scotsman.com/news/celebrity/scottish-independence-duncan-bannatyne-backs-union-1-3081713

Duncan Stephen
Source: http://doctorvee.co.uk/2005/09/15/the-anti-scottish-snp/

Archbishop Cranmer
Source: http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/alex-salmonds-anglophobic-racism.html

Adzam Ruhul

Source: http://reality-insanity.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/how-snp-uses-anglophobia-to-split-union.html

Donald Findlay QC
Source: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056286028

Susan Dalgety
Source: http://www.heraldscotland.com/civil-servant-who-made-snp-racist-jibe-quits-key-post-1.827705

John Redwood
Source: http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/redwood-snp-anti-english.17045479

Jonathan Calder
Source: http://liberalengland.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/snp-candidate-in-glasgow-east-is-anti.html

Malcolm Rifkind
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1328819/Rifkind-accuses-SNP-in-race-row.html

K the Unionist
Source: http://ktheunionist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-scottish-nationalists-are-anti.html

The Orange Torch
Source: http://www.britishtogether.co.uk/news2.php?action=viewArticle&articleId=1

John Major
Source: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/john-major-scottish-nationalists-use-anti-english-sentiment-to-irritate-and-enrage.1385723008

Melanie Phillips
Source: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tO7YxtlTKRY

Kev Milne
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af86HgDOs4Y

Tom Morton
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/22/scots-not-morally-superior-solidarity-south-of-Carlisle

Fiona Laird
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/29/british-scotland-independence-vote-union


For the sake of integrity this wall can only include people who have been explicit in their branding of supporters of independence as anti-English or such-like. People who have implied that to support independence is to be anti-English but haven't said so explicitly aren't included and it is with some regret. Douglas Alexander may be considered one of them having delivered no fewer than three or four speeches over the past year talking about anyone who supports independence as wanting to walk away from friends and family in the rest of the UK. You can read a selection his recent speeches, here, here, and here. Read them and decide for yourself if they constitute a smearing of supporters of independence as anti-English as I personally believe they do.

Some people who have in the past described pro-independence people as anti-English are forgiven, at least for the time-being, including Billy Connelly not because I like him as a comedian (he's an absolute legend of course!) but because he has recently chosen to keep himself out of the debate and not judge. Andrew Marr is exempt as he was referring to the existence of anti-Englishness in Scotland which I don't doubt is still a problem in some places though I would question his wisdom in juxtaposing it with mention of the origins of the SNP.

Comments are welcome and encouraged especially if you can find more people who share the attitude of the idiots listed above.