Slavery and Scottish Independence

No, the two aren't linked, but I wanted to talk about two separate things in the saem post:

Slavery

Tony Blair has apologised for Slavery. Well, sort of. What he did was express "deep sorrow", but stopped short of the apology that many wanted. I don't see where the problem is. I agree, slavery was an abomination, a terrible, terrible crime against humanity.

However, what people need to understand is that Tony Blair, and indeed nobody alive now, was responsible for the slave trade. Today, it is treated with the disgust it deserves, but Blair, and indeed the British people, have nothing to apologise for. The only reason that one should apologise is if you have done something wrong, and as nobody who is alive now was involved in the slave trade, why should we apologise?

Scotland

Today, the Home Secretary John Reid dismissed the Scottish National Party as "not fit for purpose" (which now seems to be Reid's all-purpose phrase for things he doesn't like). This continues the trend at the Scottish Labour Party Conference for bashing the SNP, off the back of a Sunday Telegraph poll saying that 52% of Scots supported independence from the United Kingdom. Coupled with massive predicted gains in the Scottish local elections for the SNP, a party that wants Scottish indpenedence, Labour is rather worried. And so should the Scots be.

Scotland relies on England, the Scottish economy needs the rest of the UK for support. Every nation in the United Kingdom relies on each other, and Scottish independence will cripple Scotland. A border between England and Scotland will solve nothing, and will only add to the problems the UK is facing.

The SNP's ludicrous campaign is based on a lie: the belief that England somehow oppresses Scotland. This is simply not the case, and hasn't been since the Middle Ages. Scottish MPs give the Government its majority in the Commons, passing laws that will have absolutely no effect on their Scottish constituents. English students are saddled with ever increasing debt thanks to top-up fees (passed on the Scottish vote), while Scottish university students are subsidised by English taxpayers (while the SNP claim that Labour have forced debt upon Scottish students).

So, while the Northern Ireland independence ordeal is coming to a close, the SNP look set to start a ridiculous attempt for Scottish independence, which is not only predicated on a falsehood, but will cripple Scotland. Not fit for purpose? They are, Mr. Reid, but their purpose is a terrible one. Scotland will not survive on its own, hopefully the Scottish people will realise this, and that England is not the enemy.