PETER A Russell (Letters, November 19) suggests that Scotland can learn lessons on tolerance and integration from England, and gives as examples, London, and other major English cities as being "far more cosmopolitan and multi-cultural than any part of Scotland"; but however you look at it, the cosmopolitan ambience was somewhat dented when England voted to leave the European Union.
On a recent visit to London, a beautiful city which I love, I stayed at a large hotel on the banks of the Thames; the hotel was almost 100 per cent staffed by EU citizens from all over Europe who must be feeling a chill wind blowing down river from Westminster, and since the 2016 referendum a dimming of that cosmopolitan, multi-cultural welcome to people who have much to contribute; sadly, the Tories have created a hostile environment on immigration which leaves everyone poorer.
Ruth Marr, Stirling.
PETER A Russell speaks as if multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism are invariably and systematically good things. They can indeed enrich any society but can also create their own strains if not well managed, leading to resentments, real or imaginary. The tragedy of Grenfell illustrated more ills than building standards. The level of knife crime in London speaks to this as well.
Mr Russell claims that Brian Farrell (Letters, November 16) portrays “Scottish nationalism as exceptional to every other nationalism, in being some kind of benevolent and sanctified force”. I would respectfully disagree. Leaving Mr Russell to his own hyperbole, I agree with Mr Farrell that “we simply want to be known as Scots, with our own culture, within an international and multicultural society”. The pressure to end freedom of movement has not come from Scotland. Quite the reverse in fact, as it is a matter of widespread agreement that after years of depopulation, Scotland needs migrants.
Mr Russell also claims that Mr Farrell portrays England as “xenophobic, intolerant and well on the way to fascism”. In fact, the closest he gets to this is when he speaks of “the right-wing populist movement in England”. Is Nigel Farage not a right-wing populist? Or most worrying of all, Boris Johnson? How much support do either have in Scotland? Yes some, but much less than in England. The 2016 Leave vote was 53.4 per cent in England compared to 38 per cent here. In the EU Parliament elections, the Brexit Party secured 38.23 per cent of the vote in England, but only 14.8 per cent in Scotland. Thus, between the two countries there was overlap, which having been part of the same Union for 300 years is no surprise. However, distributions of opinion were different, such that balance of opinion in each country is not only different, but increasingly different
Most saddening though is Mr Russell’s claim that England has “nothing to learn” about “tolerance and integration” from Scotland. Is there though, a situation where we cannot profit by learning from others, even if it’s what not to do? Thus, when he criticises Mr Farrell’s nationalism as “exceptional to every other nationalism” he might do well to consider his own position.
Alasdair Galloway, Dumbarton.
SO Peter Russell believes that "London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester and every other city in England" is far more cosmopolitan and multicultural than any part of Scotland"? What an astonishing assertion, and from a resident in Glasgow's West End!
In his modest way, Mr Russell asserts that we Scots need to learn lessons from the English about tolerance and integration. What nonsense. Perhaps he needs to refresh his memory from school history lessons about the regular and accepted influx into Scotland over the centuries of people from other nations – Ireland, Poland, other European countries, and further afield. If anything, the intolerance and resistance he writes about is far more prevalent in some areas of England. The huge cosmopolitan city of London is a unique and special case, recognised as an international location. It is not in any way comparable to any other city in the rest of England, where the acceptance of incomers is just as welcome or unwelcome as in Scotland, depending on needs and circumstances.
I totally disagree with Mr Russell's final assertion that Scotland needs to learn lessons from England regarding tolerance, immigration and integration. One might even argue that the reverse is the case. Both nations have been doing this relatively successfully for centuries and will continue to do so without gratuitous advice from Mr Russell.
Iain AD Mann, Glasgow G12.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel