“They will never take away our freedom,” William Wallace, masterfully played by Mel Gibson, shouted to the Scottish army before the Battle of Stirling Bridge. An independence that Scotland has claimed throughout much of its history, on several occasions and with conflicting opinions, and which today is sifting through the still hot ashes of Brexit.
Exactly 5 years ago, it was 23 June 2016, when the people of Britain were called to speak in a referendum on Britain’s stay in the European Union. The result is known history which materialized on 31 January 2020 with a definitive exit from the union after long months of negotiations. But if, in general terms, the difference between the pros and cons was small (52% yes versus 48% no), the population in Scotland expressed itself more clearly in favor of staying in the EU: indeed 62% of Scots, they voted to remain in the Union and none of the “districts” (constituencies) favored Brexit.

letter to europe
A decade later, sentiment in Glasgow has not changed, so much so that on 29 April, on the occasion of the elections and at the initiative of English intellectual Anthony Barnett, a “Europe for Scotland” campaign was launched to reclaim supporters of sentiment. The European that continues to share the United Kingdom: “Five years ago Scotland voted to remain in the European Union, which was distributed across the region – says Andrea Pissarro, the expedition’s Italian researcher and co-coordinator from Oxford. What is striking is that all these years the diversity of views between Scotland and England has been ignored, just as all settlement proposals introduced by the Scottish Government and Parliament have been ignored, thus popularizing the will. is deceiving ». Therefore an open letter from the movement was addressed “to the attention of the Presidents and Heads of State of the Member States of the European Union, members of the European Parliament and the European Commission”, asking that the Union clearly indicate and “before any referendum” It is a shared route that allows Scotland to become a member country.

in favor of the referendum
An outcry, contrary to one’s belief, is not only Scottish: even from England, in fact, the Brexit vote is seen as clear evidence of the lack of autonomy and the emancipation of the British from their Scottish cousins. “Scotland has the right to a plebiscite based on the constitutional change imposed on it – continues Pissarro -. So I can say that all of our signatories (over 10 thousand) are in favor of the referendum, but not necessarily independence Ho. From our point of view, the focus is different: it is important that Europe makes clear to Scotland that, if it becomes independent, the doors to re-entering the EU will be wide open”.
To date, the campaign has been supported by several intellectuals from 30 European countries, including Italians Roberto Saviano and Elena Ferrante.