[The] announcement that Scotland has voted ‘no’ to independence is a narrow escape for the rest of the UK. While I have every sympathy with those Scots who want to put themselves beyond the reach of the predations of the right, a ‘yes’ vote would have been a disaster for every ordinary person in England and Wales, writes Steve Walker in his Skwawkbox Blog.

The loss of 41 Labour MPs (and all but one of the rest from left-leaning parties) would have condemned the rest of us to longer and even worse periods of Tory-led government, with Conservatives feeling emboldened to accelerate and intensify their attack on the rights and support of ordinary people and especially the disadvantaged – and would have left Labour, the only realistic Parliamentary resistance, far less able to prevent them from doing so.

The loss of 41 MPs wouldn’t make a Labour majority impossible. But it would make it far harder to achieve and would mean Tory or Tory-led coalitions far more likely.

But the Tories are now aiming to have the best of both worlds – keeping the Union to appeal to their ‘little England’ members, while eliminating the impact of Scottish Labour MPs anyway.

To see the rest of the article, visit Skwawkbox. After that, your opinions are welcome.

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