A Scot who voted against Scottish independence in 2014 described how recent events in Westminster have convinced her that “England is beyond help”.
Modern studies teacher Sarah May Philo would now vote in favour of Scottish independence if a second referendum were to go ahead.
Brexit was one of the key events which made her switch sides in the independence debate as she believed it “would be crazy” to let go of the “huge” benefits of the European Union in 2014.
“Then a couple of years later, we were leaving anyway,” she said. “That made me absolutely furious, livid. That was the first point I said ‘no, I am done’.”
However, the recent string of prime ministers has solidified her switch to the yes side.
The 39-year-old said: “Boris Johnson completely tore down what it meant to be a prime minister.
“If I wasn’t a yes vote after the Brexit vote, I definitely support yes now. I think England is beyond help, but at least we can get a healing process done.”
This article is part of our coverage of the social attitudes survey - read more:
- 'Solutions are in deeper cooperation': Why this Scot switched from Yes to No
- How have Scottish social attitudes changed since the last independence referendum?
- Two thirds of Scots think SNP work in Scotland's best interests and have most influence
However, she emphasised that she is not without criticism of the Scottish Government.
“It’s not really about Nicola Sturgeon because whether we get independence or not, it’s what she set out to do from the start and we all know that.
“But it is not about the SNP vote, it’s about healing. Eventually, I hope we can re-join the EU.”
Ms Philo said that recent years of Westminster governance have seen the rest of Europe “just having a laugh at our expense”.
“Every single thing that happened like Brexit, the pandemic and BoJo getting in, I shouldn’t have been surprised but I was.
“I think we are just hoping for something better and the promises we really want to believe are true. It’s indescribable how bad it’s gotten.”
Yet, if Scotland remains in the UK, she has no hope for a turnaround anytime soon.
She said: “My son is two and I think he will be 40 until we are back to being the most competent country around.”
In 2014, she did not believe the arguments were “strong enough” to push her into making such a “big break” and the teacher was not convinced in plans for the economy and energy sources in an independent Scotland.
She now believes independence is the only way the country can begin a “healing process”.
“We have a lot more than we did in 2014,” the 39-year-old added. “We have wind power and we could utilise that much better if we had our own government.
“I am under no illusion that if we gain independence everything will be okay overnight. It won’t be.
“The Scottish Government and Nicola Sturgeon have loads of really positive ideas, again loads of other things I would argue with, but given it was the best of two evils I would rather go with Scottish independence.
“Hands down. Anything is better than the mess we have been dealt.”
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