JK Rowling, writer of the mega hit Harry Potter series, has donated 1 million pounds to the “Better Together” campaign, a group which opposes Scottish independence. This has qualified her as the largest financial backer of the campaign that promotes remaining part of the United Kingdom.
Rowling, 48, has lived in Edinburgh,Scotland’s capital, for 21 years now. She even wrote the Harry Potter series in a local cafe in the city. She was born in the West Country and grew up on the Welsh border.
Rowling argued her stance on the Scottish independence debate as she warned voters against making a “historically bad mistake”. She expressed her concerns stating, “the more I listen to the Yes campaign, the more I worry about its minimisation and even denial of risks”. Additionally, the writer expressed that she is mainly concerned about the future of medical research in Scotland if they were to break off from the U.K.
Last month it was revealed that the Yes campaign is almost entirely financed by an SNP-supporting couple, Chris and Colin Weir, who had won the Euromillions lottery. The couple has donated 3.5 million pounds, of their winning 161 million pounds in 2011, to the campaign since it was established in 2012. Their contributions have made up nearly 80% of the campaign’s total cash income. The Yes campaign has raised almost 4.9 million pounds, meanwhile Better Together has only raised about 2.8 million pounds as of this past December.
However, According to a TNS poll released Wed., Jun. 11, 42% of voters oppose independence, 30% are in favor, and 28% are undecided.
Rowling compares the extreme nationalists in Scotland to Death Eaters. In the Harry Potter series, Death Eaters are “pure blood”, supremacist followers of the evil villain Voldemort. She elaborated on this in her blog, explaining that there is a “fringe of nationalists” who prefer to “demonise anyone who is not blindly and unquestionably pro-independence”.
David Bowie and Billy Connolly are amongst the other Scottish celebrities who publicly oppose separation. Scottish residents will decide on Sept.18 whether they want to vote for independence which would end their 307 year tie to England. Rowling speculated on the decision, saying, “Whatever Scotland decides, we will probably find ourselves justifying our choice to our grandchildren.”
Photo: Reuters
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