PortraitFavorite of the legislative elections of May 6, the Scottish Prime Minister is determined to obtain a new referendum on independence in the wake of the election. A dream that finds its source in Irvine, his hometown, hard hit by the conservative policies of Margaret Thatcher.
Marie Burns awaits us in the parking lot of the small station of Irvine, in the west of Scotland. Steep gaze but soft voice, she is a municipal councilor in this charmless city that grew like a mushroom at the end of the Second World War to unclog Glasgow, the economic capital of Scotland, barely 50 kilometers away.
Rows of small houses with gardens, a vast shopping center disfiguring the city center… We are far from postcard Scotland and its sublime wild landscapes. However, the beach is very close, Loch Lomond an hour’s drive away. “It’s a very old town, Robert Bruce [roi écossais, héros des guerres d’indépendance contre l’Angleterre] is from the region ‘, specifies Marie, who may be guessing our disappointment.
This long-time activist of the Scottish National Party (SNP) belongs to the inner circle of acquaintances and friends of Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish Prime Minister. The ” most dangerous woman in the UK ”, as she was christened behind the scenes of power in London, after she took over as head of the Scottish government at the end of 2014. “The most dangerous because she is terribly gifted at what she does”, said Nelson Fraser, the editor-in-chief of Spectator, the British right-wing weekly.
The detestation of the English conservatives
It must be said that at 50, including nearly thirty-five of pro-independence activism, Nicola – everyone calls him by his first name in Scotland – is a formidable political animal. Tough, very experienced and, now, ultra-popular. Perhaps the first leader of the country to be able to realize the dream which the Scottish nationalists nourish for decades: the end of the “submission” to the parliamentarians of Westminster and especially to the Tories, the English conservatives, party hated and ultimate foil.
On May 6, the Scots renew their Parliament. And, if the SNP, given the winner in the polls, wins the majority of the 129 seats in Holyrood, its seat in Edinburgh, Nicola Sturgeon should demand the organization of a new referendum on independence. The second after that of 2014. At the time, the no to independence won 55.3% of the vote. But, since last summer, almost all the polls give the winning yes.
The stake is historical, there is no question for the Prime Minister to leave things to chance. This workaholic renowned for her attention to detail and her prudence is secret and even ” very shy “, assures Marie Burns. Since the start of the campaign, the First Minister, as they say in the country, can only be approached by a few Scottish media. But a detour through Irvine allows us to grasp the matrix of this leader, who has rarely left her country but has multiplied declarations of love for the European Union and promised to return to her fold, once independence has been acquired.
You have 85.41% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.