John Prescott
Last week I lost a good Scottish friend. Jim Dobbin was the son of a coal miner, born in Fife.
Jim was typical of many people I’ve known from Scotland. Passionate, independent-minded and fiercely proud of his country.
Next week I could lose 5 million more Scottish friends if Scotland votes to leave the UK.
Many have talked about what the Scots could lose from independence – banks and businesses relocating, the NHS becoming more vulnerable to cuts and retailers raising prices.
But very little has been said about how England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be diminished by Scotland’s absence.
As well as being a Scot, Jim Dobbin represented an English constituency, once led a Greater Manchester council and worked for the NHS in the North of England.
And I’m a Welshman who grew up in Rotherham and Chester before moving to Hull.
We were both proud of where we came from. But Jim and I knew our countries were far better together.
Britain isn’t just a loose connection of nations. It’s an interwoven tapestry of business, culture and social justice. And Scotland has provided some of the strongest yarns and brightest colours.
The world has been united and educated by television, created by Dunmbartonshire’s John Logie Baird.
Billions of people see in the new year by singing the words of Alloway’s Robbie Burns.
And working class people only found their voice when Govan’s Keir Hardie established the Labour Party.
As my friend John McFall, a former Scottish Labour MP and respected chair of the Treasury Select Committee, said: “This historic union is one we have fashioned down the years of struggle and achievement through a shared history and shared vision.”
But if you love someone, you need to give them room and space for the relationship to continue and flourish. Keeping the magic alive after 300 years of marriage takes some doing!
That’s why I was passionate about devolution, not only for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but for Yorkshire, the North East, the North West and the other English regions.
In 1982 a young politician called Gordon Brown helped me draft Labour’s Alternative Regional Strategy, which proposed home rule for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and regional assemblies in England.
When Labour won in 1997, we started delivering on the plan within a United Kingdom.
What Gordon has proposed – devo-max – is the best of both worlds.
Scotland would be given 12 new powers to help boost jobs, encourage investment, improve transport, boost social care, protect employment rights and increase housing.
It would give Scots a greater say over how they run their country, raise taxes and spend their money, as well as providing a firewall to the excesses of any future Tory government.
Under Gordon’s plans, Scotland could have told the Tories exactly where to stick their “effing” bedroom tax.
From my experience, nationalism delivers nothing for the working man and woman except flag-waving and bitter division.
Without Scotland’s sense of community and solidarity we would not have been able to create the NHS, provide social security, build social housing or provide comprehensive education.
From Keir Hardie to Manny Shinwell, Jennie Lee to John Smith and Gordon Brown, Scotland’s sons and daughters have always fought and delivered social justice, not just at home but across the UK.
Poverty, ignorance and squalor know no borders and we are all our brother’s keeper.
Like 58 million others, I have no vote or say in what you do, Scotland.
But for all that you’ve given us and for what we could still achieve together, give us one last chance.
Last week I lost a good Scottish friend. Jim Dobbin was the son of a coal miner, born in Fife.
Jim was typical of many people I’ve known from Scotland. Passionate, independent-minded and fiercely proud of his country.
Next week I could lose 5 million more Scottish friends if Scotland votes to leave the UK.
Many have talked about what the Scots could lose from independence – banks and businesses relocating, the NHS becoming more vulnerable to cuts and retailers raising prices.
But very little has been said about how England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be diminished by Scotland’s absence.
As well as being a Scot, Jim Dobbin represented an English constituency, once led a Greater Manchester council and worked for the NHS in the North of England.
And I’m a Welshman who grew up in Rotherham and Chester before moving to Hull.
We were both proud of where we came from. But Jim and I knew our countries were far better together.
Britain isn’t just a loose connection of nations. It’s an interwoven tapestry of business, culture and social justice. And Scotland has provided some of the strongest yarns and brightest colours.
The world has been united and educated by television, created by Dunmbartonshire’s John Logie Baird.
Billions of people see in the new year by singing the words of Alloway’s Robbie Burns.
And working class people only found their voice when Govan’s Keir Hardie established the Labour Party.
As my friend John McFall, a former Scottish Labour MP and respected chair of the Treasury Select Committee, said: “This historic union is one we have fashioned down the years of struggle and achievement through a shared history and shared vision.”
But if you love someone, you need to give them room and space for the relationship to continue and flourish. Keeping the magic alive after 300 years of marriage takes some doing!
That’s why I was passionate about devolution, not only for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but for Yorkshire, the North East, the North West and the other English regions.
In 1982 a young politician called Gordon Brown helped me draft Labour’s Alternative Regional Strategy, which proposed home rule for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and regional assemblies in England.
When Labour won in 1997, we started delivering on the plan within a United Kingdom.
What Gordon has proposed – devo-max – is the best of both worlds.
Scotland would be given 12 new powers to help boost jobs, encourage investment, improve transport, boost social care, protect employment rights and increase housing.
It would give Scots a greater say over how they run their country, raise taxes and spend their money, as well as providing a firewall to the excesses of any future Tory government.
Under Gordon’s plans, Scotland could have told the Tories exactly where to stick their “effing” bedroom tax.
From my experience, nationalism delivers nothing for the working man and woman except flag-waving and bitter division.
Without Scotland’s sense of community and solidarity we would not have been able to create the NHS, provide social security, build social housing or provide comprehensive education.
From Keir Hardie to Manny Shinwell, Jennie Lee to John Smith and Gordon Brown, Scotland’s sons and daughters have always fought and delivered social justice, not just at home but across the UK.
Poverty, ignorance and squalor know no borders and we are all our brother’s keeper.
Like 58 million others, I have no vote or say in what you do, Scotland.
But for all that you’ve given us and for what we could still achieve together, give us one last chance.
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