SCOTTISH independence is the “dream scenario” for UK politics, an English comedian has said after moving north of the Border.
Josie Long, the first woman to be nominated for the Edinburgh comedy award three times, made the comments in an interview with the Observer.
Long, who was born in Sidcup in London, moved to Glasgow during the Covid lockdown. She said it was a move she had been thinking about “for about 10 years”.
She went on: “I love the history of Glasgow, the architecture, the people. I feel very romantic about Clydeside… it’s got that living memory, a connection to this incredible social history.
“I do idealise the place, but part of my new show is about how you make your own reality in your mind. I couldn’t make the reality of living in England work in my mind any more.”
Asked about her “dream scenario for UK politics over the next few years”, Long said she would like to see Scotland become independent.
The comic told the Observer: “I’d love to see Scottish independence. I fully appreciate that I’ve only just arrived in Scotland and don’t have the right to have a strong opinion, but for me, the Labour Party has abandoned any hint of a progressive, radical agenda and the Tory Party is an untrainable monster.
“I’m pinning hopes on the utopian dream of independence,” she added.
Long, who graduated from Oxford University after winning a BBC New Comedy Award at 17, had previously campaigned for Labour under Jeremy Corbyn.
The comic compared the Tory Party to a “many-headed hydra”, suggesting that worse politicians could rise up to take the place of any deposed leaders.
She will be performing her new show, Re-enchantment at Edinburgh’s Monkey Barrel through the fringe festival, from August 4-28.
