The Scottish National Party (SNP) politicised Scotland’s famous Hogmanay celebrations for the New Year with a pro-EU theme, and even projected “love letters to Europe” onto a number of buildings.
Meanwhile London Mayor Sadiq Khan turned the city’s Ferris Wheel into a giant EU flag during the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.
“In 2019, [the SNP] will do everything possible to protect Scotland’s place in Europe,” vowed party leader Nicola Sturgeon, who is also First Minister in the minority administration which runs Scotland’s devolved government — roughly equivalent to a state government in the United States of America.
“Scotland’s ties with our European and international friends and neighbours stretch back many centuries, and this year’s [Hogmanay] celebrations reflect those ties of friendship, business, culture and commerce: strong ties that the Scottish government and so many others are determined to see endure,” added Ben Macpherson MSP, who acts as Europe minister in Sturgeon’s administration.
Buildings across the Scottish capital of Edinburgh were even illuminated with “love letters to Europe” by left-liberal writers Billy Letford, Chitra Ramaswamy, Kapka Kassabova, Louise Welsh, Stef Smith, and William Dalrymple.
While the left-wing SNP is nominally civic nationalist, it is pro-mass immigration and slavishly loyal to the European Union — which requires member-states to give up sovereign control over a huge swathe of areas, including territorial fishing waters and international trade.
Scotland formed the United Kingdom with neighbouring England voluntarily in 1707, a little over a century after the former rivals were partly joined in a personal union when the King of Scots inherited the English throne.
Scotland held a referendum on whether or not to break the British Union in 2014, voting “No” by 55 per cent to 45 per cent, on an 85 per cent turnout.
The New Year’s Eve celebrations organised by Labour’s Sadiq Khan in crime-stricken London, where he serves as mayor, were similarly political, with the massive London Eye ferris wheel being lit up to resemble the EU flag to ring in the New Year.
“Sending a message across the globe: London’s diversity will always be our strength,” the left-wing politician declared on social media.
“Our one million EU citizens are Londoners, they make a huge contribution, and no matter the outcome of Brexit — they will always be welcome,” he added, appending his post with the emoji for the flag of the European Union.
Khan is currently campaigning to overturn the 2016 vote for Brexit in a second referendum.