James Miller (third from left) and Jamie Stone (right) at John O’Groats Mill with Walter Mowat (left) and Ian Leith from the John O’Groats Book Festival and Jeri Cormack, general manager of the mill. Picture: Alan Hendry
Britain’s departure from the European Union – and the question of whether the 2016 referendum result might one day be reversed – provided a number of talking points at the latest John O’Groats Book Festival event.
The focus was on James Miller’s latest book, Keeping the Light On: A Highland View of Brexit and the EU, published 10 years after the Brexit vote.
He spent an hour or so in conversation with local MP Jamie Stone in John O’Groats Mill on Friday evening before taking questions from the audience.
“I was so disappointed and confused by the outcome of the referendum in 2016 that I thought I would write about it to get it out of my system,” Mr Miller told the MP during their wide-ranging discussion. “I had become very interested already in the connections between Scotland and Europe, and Britain and Europe.”
Mr Miller felt that the Brexit referendum had been, for many, “a vote for all grievances”.
Mr Stone asked him whether he was hopeful that at some point the Brexit decision might be reversed.
“I try to be optimistic,” Mr Miller replied. “I just hope I live to see it. It might take 10 years but I think one day Britain will rejoin.”
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In June 2016 the UK voted by 52 per cent to 48 per cent to leave the EU. In Scotland the result was 62 per cent to 38 per cent in favour of remaining.
Mr Miller points out in the book that European funding made a huge contribution to infrastructure projects in the north of Scotland, as well as bringing opportunities for social and cultural cooperation.
At a seminar in Inverness this year it was noted that between 1975 and 2020 some £7.7 billion of European money had been allocated to Scotland, with almost a fifth of that coming to the Highlands and Islands.
“The Highlands benefited enormously from EU funds,” Mr Miller said during Friday’s event. “Nobody knows exactly how much we got – it’s very difficult to put a figure on it because money came in different ways for different projects.
“There was one man in Inverness who said, ‘It’s only our own taxpayers’ money we’re getting back.’
“But that’s not strictly true. We were getting extra money because of the Highlands’ economic position.”
Jamie Stone and James Miller outside the restored mill before their John O’Groats Book Festival event on Friday. Picture: Alan Hendry
Mr Stone, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, said afterwards: “It was a fascinating event.
“We were unrehearsed – we hadn’t planned what we were going to say – and we got more out of it than we ever expected, either of us. Judging by the reaction of everyone here, we’ve given a good night’s value.
“At the end of the day, James Miller is a most impressive writer and I am going to make damn sure that the House of Commons library has a copy of his book.”
Entry to the event was free, as a result of support from Dunnet and Canisbay Community Council’s micro-grant scheme.
Book festival organiser Ian Leith said: “The John O’Groats Book Festival tries to have different subjects and many different events, and we try different formats as well. This is the first time we’ve done it really as a discussion or a conversation, and it seemed to work.”
Jamie Stone and James Miller spent an hour or so in conversation about the latter’s new book, Keeping the Light On: A Highland View of Brexit and the EU. Picture: Alan Hendry
Copies of Keeping the Light On: A Highland View of Brexit and the EU were on sale afterwards and Mr Miller signed copies.
Originally from Keiss, the author has lived near Inverness for many years. He considers himself a Caithnessian, a Highlander, a Scot, a British citizen and a European “all at one and the same time”.
Keeping the Light On: A Highland View of Brexit and the EU, by James Miller, is published by Scaraben Press (£14.99). It can be ordered by email from scarabenpress@gmail.com and is on sale in bookshops in the north.
Details of further John O’Groats Book Festival events will be announced soon.
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