Liberty in Scotland

According to a story on today's BBC website, Scotland is freer, or rather less unfree, than England by some margin. The group Privacy International apparently scored Scotland higher than the UK as a whole:

The UK as a whole scored 1.4 on the report's scale - the worst of any European country. But Scotland fared much better, with a rating of 2.5.

The report quoted a SNP MP:

Mr Wishart, the MP for Perth and North Perthshire, said: "This report highlights how people's civil liberties are safer in Scotland - particularly after the Scottish Parliament voted to oppose ID cards just last month."

The last bit of which came as news, though welcome news, to me. Sadly the Scots don't have control over such 'strategic' home policy, in the same way as they've no sway over immigration policy, despite the fact that Scotland is crying out for more people to arrest the decline in its population. The privacy rating isn't surprising as I've always considered Scotland to be a civilised country compared to its barbarian neighbour to the South.

It's about time that the country obtained its long-awaited, and much-needed independence, of which it was so mendaciously cheated back in the 70s when the independence referendum was rigged by the Callaghan regime and the true income from North Sea Oil was deliberately concealed. When independence eventually arrives, which I'd hope would be in the next decade before England's rapid decline drags the Scots down with it, I want to be sure to be on the right side of the Border.

Civil Liberty praise for Scotland, BBC Online, 6/1/08