Despite not being a native, I’ve lived in Scotland for 20yrs. Although I always experience hiraeth ???????, especially when leaving the Land of my Fathers, I have always loved it up here. Mrs Bowly is a Scot, as are both Bowly Jrs, they are Simple Minds, and not The Alarm, and would play in blue if the oval ball was their thing. So, I’m as integrated as a foreigner is ever likely to be (still sound like a twmsion mind ?). I’m not a nationalist, frowned upon independence, and generally consider politicians to be unreliable and power hungry. But, I have to say that I am becoming more in favour of an independent Scotland as time goes by. The current COVID situation is a prime example, the Westminster crew look like clueless amateurs, where ‘The Sturgeonator’ has waited, listened to advice, and made better decisions. She has become more credible as Boris and his boys have continued to be demonstrably ineffective. As a consequence, if she manages to swing another independence referendum, she’ll win it. Is that good? Statistics can be bent to any political need, so it’s hard to tell. Scotland is certainly not poor, the oil industry may be weakened but it’s still worth billions, and we have existing institutions that would allow independence without major upheaval. I would, as a non native remember, consider that the UK would be the loser if Scottish independence came to pass.
As far as this change to benefits is concerned, I would have a reasonable guess that it’s just one more area that would then be administered internally, and that’s the agenda. These smaller moves of almost sneaking changes in is a stealthy way of shifting ever more power to Holyrood. One less thing to worry about when considering a yes vote. Being benevolent about it, the Scottish government are much more credible as a government for the people, and this change could be viewed as a way of mitigating potential reductions that might come from Westminster. We have paid a penny more in income tax for years up here, in exchange for more favourable financial situations for local councils, transport, and of course the NHS. The SNP has been effective enough in its administration to have no political competition for many years now, and there’s no sign of that changing any time soon.
A long winded way of saying that I don’t have much fear with this change. Insofar as I trust any political entity, I would be happier with almost any other than the clowns that operate in Westminster. I shall now climb down from my soapbox.