An event to mark the third anniversary of the UK leaving the EU will be held at 5.30 pm on Tuesday January 31st
Organised by Scottish Independence group Yes Orkney the vigil will take place outside St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall in solidarity with simultaneous events at Holyrood and across Scotland.
Orkney voted overwhelmingly to Remain, 63.2%, in the European Union, the World’s largest free trade area. Every local authority area of Scotland returned a Remain vote – 62%.
A spokesperson for Yes Orkney explained why they are holding the event
“At the time MEP Alyn Smith made a speech in the European Parliament which including the phrase “I am asking you to leave a light on, so we can find our way home”.
In keeping with that sentiment Time for Scotland– the group that organised rallies on Supreme Court Verdict Day-has asked Scots to show we have not forgotten, and that we want more than ever to return to the EU.
Those attending are asked to bring lights along to demonstrate this- any type of lights, Christmas lights, torches, lamps etc.
The event will also be livestreamed on the day by Yes Orkney.
Light and darkness have always been used as symbols and metaphors in religion, literature and history, such as the Dark Ages, the Age of Enlightenment, ‘seeing the light’, and many other instances.
In Ireland and other countries the candle in the window was a beacon of safety, letting travellers know that a home would offer them refuge. It was also a beacon to neighbours, as homes were often far apart, and the light in the window would guide the way for them as they travelled to visit. The candle also represented a beacon for a family member who was absent or at sea, in the hope they would find their way home safely.
“The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time”
Sir Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary, on the UK entering World War 1 in 1914.
“The stations of uncensored expression are closing down; the lights are going out; but there is still time for those to whom freedom and parliamentary government mean something, to consult together.”
Winston Churchill on the invasion of Czechoslovakia, October 16th1938.
How ironic to see this quote from Churchill, the current darling of the Tories, talking about the censorship of the media, the erosion and removal of freedom, and the assault on democracy from the Nazis in Europe.
In Scotland we are seeing all these things again, but they now exist within the UK, and it might be more appropriate to give the same speech from Europe to the UK.
The Home Office is calling for removal of footage of Suella Bravermann and her response to a Holocaust survivor, the Press is being used by a few ex-dom billionaires to further their political views and aims and the BBC has lost its impartiality with a Chairman and Board containing Tory donors and with the decision to give Sir Jeremy Fleming, the head of GCHQ, editorial control of the news flagship Today programme on Radio 4. Indeed just today the BBC Chairman, Richard Sharp, is the centre of yet another Boris Johnson patronage scandal.
Legislation is underway to penalise key workers striking and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act now gives police extra draconian powers to break up protests and arrest on suspicion.
The accountability of Westminster has almost been removed, and we are now seeing the beginning of an assault on Holyrood and the Scottish Government with the use of Section 35. The concept of partnership in the Union has been shown to be a complete fraud with the Supreme Court referendum judgement.
All remaining EU legislation will be removed in December 2023. This covers health and safety, food and water standards and workers’ rights, and will be ditched at the end of 2023, accompanied by the present Tory denigration of the European Convention on Human Rights.
These actions accelerated with the UK decision to accept the close-run decision of the non-binding Brexit referendum.
On January 31st it will be the third anniversary of the people of Scotland being taken out of the European Union, despite voting to remain. Returning to the EU as an independent, equal nation will protect our workplace rights, give us back our freedom of movement, and we can rebuild our economy as part of the world’s most successful trading bloc.
Will you light a candle?
Categories: Local News
Dumfries & Galloway Pensioners for Independence (Dgp4indy.scot) are also holding an assembly on 31 January at 5.30 pm.
I emailed a friend saying that I’m starting to think we’re heading into another Dark Age – his answer was that these times are full of ‘Alternative Facts and Evil Muthas.”
Yup.
http://www.spanglefish.com/berniesblog/blog.asp?blogid=16120
I wonder sometimes do folk get tired of me campaigning in m’blog – and then I think – well, it needs doing – I can’t do much else as I’m knackered – so, I do it.
On the other hand – I regularly post the weekly pics of Scotland…. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64292763 – AAAAHHHHH!
We came out of the last Dark Age – which has now be re-branded as the Early Middle Ages. What will the future name these times?
Meanwhile – Nil Desperandum and keep on hitting against the shit.
It’s obvious now that Brexit has been an abject failure in everything it promised, except for the very rich who are using the removal of regulations to pocket what they can whilst they can. The trumpeting has stopped, the slogans have stopped, and the population have the bill which they are now having to pay for the removal of a swathe of rights and opportunities.
Fascists like Bravermann, Badenoch, Anderson and others are busy trying to carve out careers based on racism and oppression that resembles Oswald Mosley’s rants instead of 21st century politics.
We need the support of Europe more than ever.
This got me thinking about lighthouses and what they represent – and of St. Magnus Cathedral being ‘The Light In The North’ –
https://theorkneynews.scot/2021/08/19/i-want-to-marry-a-lighthouse-keeper/
Lighthouses stand firm against some very strong forces – and they prevail.