Getting a grip

Mar31 by weegingerdug

There’s always a lot of talk online amongst independence supporters about the nefarious activities of the British state and the intelligence services. For the most part, these stories are nothing more than the speculations of those who know that just because you’re paranoid it doesn’t mean that they’re not out to get you. The aim of the intelligence services is to counter threats to the state, the Scottish independence movement is not a terrorist organisation, it’s not illegal or law breaking, but it certainly represents one of the biggest threats to the interests of the British establishment. In terms of risk assessment to British interests, there are few greater than the Scottish independence movement. Ours is a movement which spells the end of British rule over 32% of the land mass of the UK, taking with it the great majority of the UK’s natural resources. And despite a constant barrage of SNPbaddery in the British press, support for independence is not going away.

I have no information at all about whether the British state is involved in concerted attempts to derail the independence movement, but what I do know is that if the intelligence services and the British state that they serve were not infiltrating the independence movement with the aim of causing divisions and upsets, they’d not be doing their job. Personally I don’t find it useful or helpful to speculate about this, that way madness and tinfoil hats lie. However what we can most certainly be assured of is that whether or not there is any intelligence service involvement in the current divisions within the independence movement, the British intelligence services will most certainly be looking on with great satisfaction as independence supporters devote their time and energies to tearing lumps out of one another. Job done.

Just look at us. Here we are in the middle of an epidemic which appears set to go on for weeks if not months. Thousands of people may die. Hundreds of thousands of jobs may be lost. It is simply not realistic for there to be a referendum, indeed even any sort of ballot, when the population is stuck at home in a lockdown designed to prevent our already over stretched NHS from being overwhelmed by the sick and the dying. And here we are, independence supporters spending most of their time and energy attacking other independence supporters for a supposed lack of ideological purity. Get a fucking grip. And that comment is directed at both sides in this debate. It’s directed both to those who continue to make insinuations about Alex Salmond and to those who attack everyone who in their eyes hasn’t sufficiently defended him.

Who benefits when a significant part of the independence movement attacks Alex Salmond and his supporters? British nationalism. Who benefits when a significant part of the independence movement devotes itself to attacking Nicola Sturgeon and her supporters? British nationalism. The factionalism and infighting within the independence movement and the SNP needs to stop, and it needs to stop now. That applies to Nicola Sturgeon’s inner circle, to Alex Salmond’s defenders, to pro-independence bloggers who spend all their time attacking the current First Minister, to the legions of online independence supporters who now spend their time sniping at one another instead of promoting a positive vision of independence and undermining the arguments of apologists for the British state. It applies to all of us.

We all need to take a step back and realise that in our eagerness to promote our own particular interests within the movement we are damaging the movement as a whole. The movement belongs to all of us, to all of Scotland, or it belongs to no one. In any a mass movement there are going to be opinions and voices that you disagree with. It wouldn’t be a mass movement otherwise. If we can’t learn tolerance and acceptance for one another within this movement, it is a poor reflection on the kind of Scotland we are able to offer those people who hold the real key to independence, those soft no voters and undecideds that we seek to persuade. That means that all of us have to be willing to offer the olive branch, to refrain from pointing to the faults and sins of those we disagree with, and instead reflect upon ourselves and our own actions.

The Achilles heel of socialist organisations has always been that they’ve been prone to internal divisions. One group would fall out with another group because of a perceived lack of ideological purity, because of a disgreement over a minor point of doctrine. And before you know it you’ve got a myriad of tiny little left wing groups each of which has zero influence, and the rapacious capitalists who were the original target of socialists are laughing all the way to the bank. That’s exactly what we are in danger of right now in the Scottish independence movement. Our divisions are just so many deposits in the bank of British nationalism.

We have made real breakthroughs as a movement. Independence is no longer a marginal cause. It’s a real prospect. We have managed to convince half the population of this country that independence is needed now, and have convinced far more than half that independence is going to happen at some point in the future. What we are currently witnessing within the movement are the strains that result as Scottish independence moves out of the margins and into the mainstream. It means that the main party of independence is now an attractive home for careerists. It means that those who have been in this for the long haul resent the arrivistes. It means that we start to fall out with one another about our visions for that long anticipated independent Scotland now that it hovers on the horizon.

The SNP has always been prone to factionalism and infighting, while it was a party on the margins no one really much cared. Even when it transformed into a party of Scottish government the factionalism could be contained and managed. However as we stand on the edge of a transformative change in Scotland that takes us into majority support for independence, that factionalism, infighting, and division becomes a serious problem. It infects the entire independence movement. So when I say get a fucking grip, above all it’s the top echelons of the SNP that need to get a grip of themselves. If their egos, ambitions, and careers are allowed to come before achieving independence, the movement will not forgive the party.

There is absolutely nothing that any of the rest of us can do about the divisions between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, that is a dispute which will resolve itself in the fullness of time. But what we can do is to ensure that we keep our eyes on the main prize and refuse to allow those divisions to infect the rest of this movement that we’ve all put so much into. Scotland deserves better than an independence movement that does the job of the British state by devoting itself to nuturing internal divisions and resentments.

We all want the same thing. We all want independence for Scotland. We are all united by the belief that Scotland is best served by a government which is accountable to the people of this country. We are all united in the belief that the natural resources with which Scotland is blessed and the talents of her people are best used in order to improve the lives and opportunities of all of us in this wet, green, and beautiful land. We should not to making our opponents happy that we’re doing their job for them, we should be devoting our time and efforts into making the case for independence.

And finally, because we could all do with some cheering up during these difficult times…

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The baby and the bathwater

Mar30 by weegingerdug

If you follow social media, you’re probably aware that there’s considerable anger and dismay amongst independence supporters about The National’s decision to give publicity to the post-verdict statement from the anonymous women who were the complainants in the Alex Salmond case. I’ll be blunt, it’s an anger and dismay that I share. It was, to put it mildly, deeply misguided for the only pro-independence newspaper to further publicise what many in the independence movement perceived as an attempt to appeal to the court of public opinion after an actual court had thrown out all the allegations against a man who is hugely popular and influential amongst independence supporters. It sparked off a wave of anger and suspicion about the motives of the sole independence supporting newspaper within an independence movement which is already reeling from months, indeed years, of repeated assaults from the British nationalist media.

As we all know the complainants concerned are not merely the powerless and naive victims of a powerful man. We are not permitted to speculate upon their identity, but it is common knowledge that they are highly influential, powerful, and politically well connected in their own right. It is only natural that their letter, written behind a cloak of anonymity, would be seen as an attempt to pursue a political vendetta against Alex Salmond by other means. That’s precisely how it was viewed by many independence supporters on social media. Their anger is palpable, all the more so because they feel that they have been betrayed by the one newspaper that they felt that they could trust. We expect this sort of thing from the British nationalist press. We don’t expect it from our only pro-independence newspaper.

As you all know, I am a columnist for The National. I’ve seen comments online impugning my own integrity as though I somehow share responsibility for perpetuating accusations against Alex Salmond. I am not an employee of The National. I am a freelance writer. I have no control over the newspaper’s editorial policy. I do not generally write for the Sunday edition, which has a different editor from the daily edition. As is usual in newspapers, Sunday editions with an editor of their own have their own distinct editorial policy. I had no knowledge of what the paper was planning to publish on Sunday, but even if I had I do not have any ability which could have prevented it. It was a grave misstep, one which I sincerely hope will not be repeated. For a newspaper to misjudge its readership so badly is a serious error, and I had I known in advance I would have counselled against it.

Despite the fact that both The National and The Herald are owned by the same company, they are editorially independent and are run independently. The National is not subsidising The Herald or vice versa. Both newspapers are owned by Newsquest, an American multinational company which owns hundreds of newspapers in the English speaking world. This company has no opinion either for or against Scottish independence. Its owners genuinely don’t care one way or the other. All they are interested in is that the newspapers that they own are successful. Despite some of the frothier comments you may read online, there is no grand Yoon conspiracy to use The National as some trojan horse. The editors and staff of The National and its Sunday edition are as committed to the cause of Scottish independence as you or I. They believe passionately in it, so much so that they’re prepared to work for a newspaper that is regarded with disdain in the hidebound and cliquish world of the Scottish press.

In The National’s defence, the newspaper is currently being produced in the middle of a lockdown. Most of the staff are working from home. The paper was already being produced by a small team who are overstretched, but now that team is scattered and isolated and like the rest of us they are worried about their families, their friends, and the uncertain times we live in. This means that an editorial decision doesn’t get the proper feedback from within the team of journalists that it usually gets. There’s no one in the office to say, “This might not play well amongst our core readership.” The additional stress and difficulty of producing a paper under such trying circumstances makes mistakes more likely.

The simple fact of the matter is that if independence supporters don’t buy The National, we’ll have no pro-independence newspaper at all. The National is able to reach parts of the population that no indy blogger – least of all those who are leading the charge against the current incumbent in Bute House – is capable of reaching.

The only people who will benefit if The National loses readership are British nationalists. They are delighted by the self-destructive efforts of some people within the independence movement to attack other parts of the movement. The British nationalists deeply resent the very existence of The National, and nothing would please them more than to see it fail. Then they could go back to having the Scottish traditional media landscape entirely to themselves. It’s already difficult enough for pro-independence voices to be heard in the Scottish media. It doesn’t help the cause of independence to make it even harder. The National is the only outlet in the Scottish traditional media which promotes and publicises the grassroots movement and its initiatives. It’s the only newspaper that gives space to voices like mine who criticise the British nationalist media. So yes, I have a vested interest in the health of the paper, but I care even more passionately that pro-independence voices are given a breadth and reach that might otherwise be denied to us. The bottom line here is that our movement needs The National a hell of a lot more than Newsquest does.

The National is an imperfect media vehicle for independence, but it’s the only newspaper we’ve got. The SNP is an imperfect political vehicle for independence, but it’s also the only credible party we’ve got which is capable of winning enough seats to form a majority. And pro-independence bloggers – myself included – are the most imperfect vehicle of all. Yes, I understand your frustrations. But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

And finally, because we could all do with some cheering up during these difficult times…

Please also use this email address if you would like the dug and me to come along to your local group for a talk.

You can order the book directly from the publisher. Ordering directly means that postage is free. You can order here –
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Leadership, not management

Mar29 by weegingerdug

leadership
There’s a new Scottish opinion poll out today commissioned by the Sunday Times which must have come as a massive disappointment to the British nationalists who produce that newspaper. The Salmond trial has had precisely zero effect on Scottish voting intentions. Fieldwork for the poll was carried out between 24 and 26 March, after the verdict had been given. All that SNPbaddery has had precisely zero impact. You’d almost think that the British media didn’t understand what’s driving support for independence.

Shock horror as the voters prove themselves to be far more sophisticated in their understanding than the press, and are able to distinguish between the actions of individuals on the one hand and political goals and governance on the other. After all this time, the British media still persists in thinking it’s all about the SNP. It’s not and it never has been. It’s about the British state and the way in which it marginalises Scotland. But for British nationalists grasping that thorn requires a fundamental shift in their own behaviour, views, and outlook. That’s never going to happen.

British nationalism is above all else defined by its exceptionalism and the unshakeable belief that it’s better than all other forms of nationalism by virtue of not being nationalist at all. It is psychically impossible for it to change, because in order to change it must first recognise that it is in fact a form of nationalism. So we’re going to keep on seeing articles like Brian Wilson’s exercise in spittle flecked denunciation of the SNP ship and all those who sail in her which will be hailed by the British metrocommentariat as important and game-changing, but support for independence will continue to rise.

In fact there’s been a slight increase in the number of people who state that they plan to vote SNP in the next Holyrood election, 51% in the constituency vote and 48% in the list. Together with the vote for the Greens who would pick up 3% in the constituency and 6% of the list votes, this would give pro-independence parties a very comfortable majority in the next Scottish Parliament. On the figures in this poll, the SNP alone would take 70 out of the 129 seats in Holyrood and be set for its best ever result in a Scottish election. 54% of voters in Scotland would support pro-independence parties in both the constituency vote and the list vote. The new poll shows that support for independence is up 2% on 49% compared to the last Sunday Times poll on the question. Support for independence is holding up well despite the constant barrage of “we’re all in this together” from the British press.

The reason for the rise in support for the SNP in this poll is because the people of Scotland trust the response of the Scottish Government during this crisis. Despite all the other criticisms which may be levelled against her, Nicola Sturgeon is precisely the kind of leader that a country needs in an emergency of this sort. She exudes calmness and determination, a marked contrast to the bumbling and contradictory statements issuing from Boris Johnson.

A time of crisis is a time for solidarity. The British nationalists may very well think that this means that there’s going to be an increase in opposition to Scottish independence. That’s a facile understanding, but one which they cling on to in comfort. This proves we need the UK, they tell us, more in desperation than anything else. In fact it proves nothing of the sort, what it really proves is that during a national emergency, life and death decisions are made by a British government which isn’t accountable to Scotland and which Scotland has no means to control or punish should it – as it has done so frequently in the past – act in a selfish and incompentent manner.

Even now we see the British government game playing and acting irresponsibly. We also learned from today’s Sunday Times that Boris Johnson was furious when Nicola Sturgeon decided to close Scottish schools and forced his hand. The Sunday Times reports that now the inner members of the British cabinet are making decisions that only go to COBRA at the very last minute, in order to stop the Scottish Government forcing the issue. We also see that they have refused to participate in the EU scheme to provide much needed ventilators, because Brexit. They’re refusing to delay or suspend the trade negotiations with the EU and the UK is still set to crash out with no trade deal in a few short months.

National emergencies are also a time for reflection and thought. That’s doubly true during this crisis as we’re all stuck at home with our fears and our worries. We have plenty of time to think and reflect. This crisis will pass, and the British nationalists are hoping that when it does the people of Scotland will come out of it with a renewed faith in the institutions of the British state. Their hopes will be dashed.

The closest parallel is perhaps WW2, when the entire UK came together and made enormous sacrifices. Yet when the war was over, the sentiment that reigned was not one that rewarded the Conservative party and Winston Churchill, it was a determination that things needed to change. The voters elected the most radical Labour party in history, which introduced the NHS and nationalisation of key industries.

When this current crisis passes there will also be a determination that things need to change. We need to change to ensure that workers and incomes are protected, and that the government must not prioritise the interests of the wealthy under the guise of protecting the economy. We need to think seriously about a basic income scheme in this time of gig jobs and zero hours contracts. We need to ensure that the rich and big business pays its fair share of taxes. We need a government which knows that the economy is a tool to service the people, the people are not a tool to service the economy. But above all we need to ensure that Scotland is governed by a parliament and a political party that the voters of this country can hold to account.

So here’s a prediction. During this crisis support for independence will not shift much – people have other things to worry about right now. But after this crisis is over there will be renewed interest in independence as the realisation dawns that the British state is incapable of reforming itself and if the people of Scotland want the changes that the we all so badly need, there’s only one way that we’re going to get them. We will have that opportunity in the next Scottish elections.

Above all we need an SNP which is brave enough, bold enough, and imaginative enough to seize the opportunity. Many things that we have become used to have been shown to be inadequate in the fires of this crisis. One of those is a party leadership which seeks to manage the independence movement. We don’t need to be managed, we need to be led. Beyond the darkness of this terrible time, there will be the dawning of a better Scotland.

And finally, because we could all do with some cheering up during these difficult times…

Please also use this email address if you would like the dug and me to come along to your local group for a talk.

You can order the book directly from the publisher. Ordering directly means that postage is free. You can order here –
https://www.vagabondvoices.co.uk/rants/barking-up-the-right-tree-2019

Updated regulations for dog owners

Mar28 by weegingerdug

We have a result. Following the plea on this blog yesterday for the needs of dogs who live in flats to be taken into account, this morning the Scottish Government issued updated regulations relating to those of us who own or are responsible for animals. The upshot is that it’s now accepted that taking a dog out to do the toilet is accepted as a valid reason for going outside if you do not have access to a garden. Of course you must maintain social distancing, remain at least two metres away from anyone else, and wash your hands upon your return home.

This may seem a trivial issue to many during this crisis, but to dog owners, especially dog owners who live in flats, not being able to take your dog out for the toilet without having to worry about being stopped by the police was a very big deal. The National was the only Scottish newspaper to take up the issue, and published a story about it in today’s edition – in which I am quoted. https://www.thenational.scot/news/18341384.can-dog-go-pee/

I’m delighted that the Scottish Government has listened to our concerns and acted so promptly.

I will copy out the new regulations in full below. They were published on the Scottish Government website at this URL:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-to-owners-of-companion-animals-and-livestock/

Advice to owners of companion animals and livestock who may be required to self-isolate as part of government advice on coronavirus (COVID-19).

Published: 28 Mar 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice to owners of companion animals and livestock

Dog walking and Social Distancing

Q. What are the rules for walking dogs now everyone is only allowed out for exercise once per day?

A. It is accepted that dogs may need to be taken out more than once per day if they do not have access to a garden or other area to toilet. This must be done following the guidance on social distancing so that you do not come within 2 metres of other people and wash your hands after returning.

Shielding

Q. Are there any extra precautions for animals in shielding households (where people are in the high risk category)?

A. The advice for self-isolating households also applies. If you have arrangements for others to walk your dog, particular care should be taken to avoid them entering your home unless absolutely essential.

Self Isolation

Q. Can I walk dogs or look after other pets for people who are ill or self-isolating as they may have Covid-19?

A. This is permitted – where practical pets should be cared for away from their home for the isolation period so that repeated visits are avoided. Strict social distancing should be followed when pets are collected or returned so you avoid coming within 2 metres of the people self-isolating and wash your hands afterwards. You should only enter their home if absolutely necessary and stay for as short a time as possible. Dogs from self-isolating households should be kept on a lead and contact avoided with other people and animals if being walked in public.

Q. Are there any precautions for pets or other animals in self-isolating households?

A. There have not been any reports of companion or other animals becoming sick with COVID-19 and currently there is no evidence that they play a significant role in this human disease. It is recommended that those who have COVID-19 or are displaying symptoms, adopt the hygiene measures above when handling their pets.

When handling and caring for animals, good hygiene measures should always be implemented. Dogs from self-isolating households should be kept on a lead and contact avoided with other people and animals if being walked in public.

People under self-isolation who are responsible for the care of any animals, including horses and livestock, must ensure the animals continue to be cared for during the period of self-isolation. Wherever possible arrangements should be made in advance with friends family or neighbours that can be put in place should the need arise.

Q. I am in self isolation. Where can I go for help or advice on caring for my animals?

If you are too unwell to care for your animals and do not have anyone near-by who can help, for further advice and support please phone:

For companion animals- the Scottish SPCA animal helpline on 03000 999 999.
https://www.scottishspca.org/news/coronavirus-and-your-pet
For livestock – the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution on 0300 111 4166 (7am – 11pm).
https://rsabi.org.uk/Home-Page

Travel

Q. Is it an essential journey to travel to care for animals away from my home like relatives’ pets, horses in stables or animals in rescue centres?

A. Journeys to feed or provide other essential care for animals are acceptable. These should be done in a way that follows the guidance on social distancing so that you do not come within 2 metres of people who are not part of your household and wash your hands after returning. You should if possible make arrangements to share the care of animals at stables etc and minimise the number of people who need to visit each day.

General

Q. Is there a COVID-19 risk from domestic animals or livestock?

A. There is no evidence that companion animals such as dogs and cats, or livestock can be infected with COVID-19. There is no evidence that they become ill as a result of COVID-19.

Q. Are there any precautions to take with live animals or animal products?

A. General hygiene measures should be applied. These include regular hand washing with soap and water after touching animals and animal products, as well as avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth until hands have been thoroughly washed.

As per general good food safety practices, raw meat and dairy products should be handled with care. Meat from healthy livestock that is cooked thoroughly remains safe to eat.

Q. Can boarding kennels and catteries remain open?

A. Boarding kennels and catteries can provide a valuable service caring for pets of essential workers and those who become seriously ill and have no-one else to look after their pet. They may remain open for these purposes if they follow the guidance on social distancing for their staff and owners when animals arrive or are collected.

Q. Can I still take my pet to the vets?

A. Vets will continue to provide emergency services. You should contact your vet before travelling to check that a visit is essential and their arrangements for social distancing at the surgery.

Please also use this email address if you would like the dug and me to come along to your local group for a talk.

You can order the book directly from the publisher. Ordering directly means that postage is free. You can order here –
https://www.vagabondvoices.co.uk/rants/barking-up-the-right-tree-2019

Dugs, self-employment, and the white van man

Mar27 by weegingerdug

dogtoilet
Lots of coronavirusy related news today. Like Charles Windsor, Boris Johnson has miraculously morphed into one of those high risk patients who qualify for a coronavirus test and has tested positive. To be fair, we always knew that Boris was one sick puppy, and anyway he was always going to qualify for a test on account of being much richer than plebs like you or me. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has also been tested positive.

Dominic Raab is supposed to take over in the event that Johnson is incapacitated and unable to perform his usual duties of fnaugh-fnaughing and telling inappropriate jokes. Dominic Raab. Dominic. Raab. The white van man of government. The man who exudes the permanent air of a low level business executive who has his ex-girlfriend buried under the patio and who has just realised that there’s a broken drainage pipe that’s going to need the entire back garden to be dug up. Dominic has been appointed as the designated survivor as no one would ever know if he had the virus or not because he’s permanently sweating. In that respect he’s the exact opposite of Andrew Windsor, thus proving the ancient aphorism that if you go far enough in opposite directions you’ll end up at the same arsehole.

We’re now in a UK where the words “if the Prime Minister becomes incapacitated, Dominic Raab will take over” are supposed to be reassuring. If you weren’t scared by the coronavirus crisis before, you should be terrified now.

In more reassuring news, I got in touch with Glasgow North East MP Anne McLaughlin to ask her for clarification on the rules about walking dogs. This isn’t about exercising dogs, it’s about their toilet needs. We’re told you can only exercise your dog once a day, but it’s simply animal cruelty not to permit a dog to do the toilet for 23 hours. The RSPCA recommends that every few hours a dog should be permitted access to a space where it can do the toilet. Dog owners have a legal duty of care to their pet’s physical and emotional welfare. Those of us who live in flats don’t always have access to private gardens that we can let our dogs into to do the toilet, we have to take them out. I live in a top floor tenement flat, and we don’t have a back green where the dog can do the toilet. All we have out back is a tiny wee space for the bins. https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/dogs/environment

Anne spoke on a conference call with UK government minister Penny Mordaunt. Penny told her that that within the guidance / rules there will be times when people just need to use their judgement and that this is one of those times. If your dog needs to pee he needs to pee and she would not expect the police to interfere with that. She also said should your experience be any different, she would expect your MP to step in.

However this is a devolved area, and the Scottish Government state that as per the advice, you can only leave the house for one form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle. However this isn’t about exercise. It’s about your dog’s toilet needs. There’s a very good argument to be made that this is covered in the medical exemption provision. It’s unhealthy and distressing for the dog to have to restrain itself from peeing for 22 hours or more. We’ve spent the entire dog’s life teaching it not to do the toilet inside the house, any well trained dog is going to be extremely upset if it pees indoors. No dog wants to be a bad boy or girl. Puppy pads are not an option – have you any idea how much urine a medium sized adult dog is capable of releasing? And besides it’s disgustingly unhygienic for you to have a dog pissing and crapping indoors. So if anyone from the Scottish Government is reading this – and I know that some do – some public advice on this issue would be very welcome.

But in the meantime we have to use our common sense. If your dog needs to go out to do the toilet, take him out. Just be sensible and considerate. Go out alone with the dog. Strictly maintain social distancing protocols. And don’t go too far from your home. As soon as the dog has done his business, return home. This isn’t a sneaky opportunity to get more exercise or for you to get out of the house more often, it’s about your dog’s needs. So don’t take the piss. Pun intended. If you get told by the police to return home, explain that you’re only out so that the dog can do the toilet then you’ll return home immediately, and contact your local MP when you get home.

In other reassuring news, we now know that there’s now finally some help for self-employed people. It’s late, and there won’t be any payout for months, but it’s welcome news nevertheless. Not everyone is going to be covered, especially those who’ve only been self-employed for less than a year. I’ve been self-employed for several years now but wasn’t sure if I’d be covered as I’m still able to do some work – after all you’re reading this blog right now. As well as the blog I can still keep writing for The National. I am grateful for that, as I’m considerably better off in that respect than many self-employed people.

However like many who are self-employed my income has taken a significant hit. A large part of my annual earnings derives from selling books and maps at speaking events, but those have entirely dried up. I also do a significant number of paid speaking events – I had three of those booked for this month alone but all have been cancelled so I have lost all the income from those. And of course there will be no new bookings for the foreseeable future. Additionally I can no longer do the dugcast for The National as the paper’s offices are closed and all except a skeleton staff are working from home. (I’m going to look into doing a dugcast myself from home, but of course I won’t get paid for that.)

I’m not writing this because I want a pity party, but because there are bound to be many other self-employed people like me whose incomes have been severely affected but which haven’t dried up entirely, and who will be wondering whether they’re covered. This morning I received a communication from the accountant who does my taxes, and he informs me that it seems that people in my situation will indeed be covered by the new regulation. So if you are self-employed and most or much of your income has dried up as a result of the crisis, it appears that you will be covered as well as those people who can’t work at all. There won’t be any payments until at least June, and my understanding is that you will have to wait for the government to contact you first. Better late than never.

If I get any other information I’ll let you know. Stay safe, stay indoors.

Please also use this email address if you would like the dug and me to come along to your local group for a talk.

You can order the book directly from the publisher. Ordering directly means that postage is free. You can order here –
https://www.vagabondvoices.co.uk/rants/barking-up-the-right-tree-2019

The R-word

Mar26 by weegingerdug

selfishsoandso
The independence referendum campaign of 2014 might not have succeeded in leading Scotland to independence, but it did succeed in normalising the idea of independence and making it the most important issue in Scottish politics. This coronavirus outbreak is a human crisis, but it also has political ramifications. During the crisis, of course our focus needs to be on ensuring that people are safe and well, that medical staff have the protection and resources that they need, that people who are ill receive the care and treatment they depend on, and those who cannot work receive the financial support they require. However those of us who are stuck at home now have plenty of time to think about the kind of country we want to live in once this epidemic has run its course. We have plenty of time to make note of the selfish and entitled behaviour of those at the top of the social food chain. We have plenty of time to consider how we want our society and politics to change.

There have certainly been many instances of coronavillians, and this crisis has only just started to bite. We’ve seen the grasping entitlement of some super wealthy businesspeople, who have been laying off staff without pay while insisting that they personally will take no financial hit to their obscenely large fortunes. We’re looking at you Richard Branson, Gordon Ramsay, and Tim Martin. We’re looking at the call centres that have insisted that their staff come into work, crammed into offices next to one another to deal with phone calls that they could be dealing with at home. We’re looking at Next. We’re looking at Sports Direct. It seems that we live in a British state which when it calls upon the citizens to make sacrifices, they mean that ordinary people should sacrifice their health and their lives for the bank balances of the rich.

But the crowning example of coronavillainry is Charles Windsor and his selfish and reckless disdain for advice not to travel to holiday homes in rural areas. There are serious questions about when he started to feel ill, about how he received an NHS test which is denied to NHS workers. This is man who is so up his own arse that he instructs his valet to put the toothpaste on his toothbrush. A man who insists that his friends call him sir. A man whose first instinct in his own privilege. He does that because other people enable him.

We keep hearing in the Scottish media that Prince Charles is known as the Duke of Rothesay when he’s in Scotland. No. He isn’t. When he’s in Scotland he’s know as “thon selfish prick Cherlie.” One of the ways in which the privilege of this massively wealthy, pampered, and entitled family is perpetuated is because we all keep referring to them by the titles that they give themselves. The head of state of the UK is not Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the whateverth. She’s Mrs Elizabeth Windsor. Her heir is not His Royal Highness Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Duke of Rothesay. He’s Mr Charles Windsor. By referring to these upper class billionaires by titles, we reinforce their privilege by placing them above ordinary people. So we need to stop doing it. Language matters. It’s Elizabeth Windsor, Charles Windsor, and William Windsor. It’s time we stop deferring to the pretensions of the pampered.

What applies to the Windsors applies by the bucketful to members of the House of Lords. The titles of the likes of Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, or Baron Forsyth of Drumlean, are justifications for patronage. It is a means of legitimising failed politicians who continue to rule over us and to make our laws and influence our legislation and public policy despite the fact that they have been rejected at the polls. The rest of us should start by refusing to use or to acknowledge these pretendy titles awarded to political failures, rejects, and retirees by their pals. Calling Michael Forsyth Mr Forsyth is more politeness than he deserves.

If the independence referendum campaign of 2014 succeeded in normalising the idea of independence, we should ensure that this coronavirus epidemic normalises the political idea of equality, equity, and fairness. Republicanism needs to be brought into the mainstream of Scottish politics. It needs to become normal and mainstream to discuss the issue of this country becoming a republic.

It’s peculiar indeed that the SNP leadership remains loathe to discuss the idea of a Scottish republic, given that Scotland consistently tops all opinion polls as the part of the UK with least support for the monarchy. In a poll carried out in 2018 only 41% of Scots said that they supported the monarchy. 28% said that they opposed it, and 27% said that they were ‘ambivalent’. Given the distinct lack of interest in Scotland for recent royal wedding celebrations, it seems safe to say that with the exception of those of a flute band and Tory persuasion, even those who do still support the monarchy in Scotland are far less enthusiastic in their support than those elsewhere in the UK.

There is widespread public anger in Scotland about Charles Windsor’s selfish and reckless behaviour during the coronavirus epidemic, behaviour which put the public at risk and which ran directly contrary to the government advice the rest of us are obliged to follow. That points to a considerable lack of patience in Scotland for a royal family which thinks it’s better than the rest of us because it’s descended from German aristocrats who ripped off the peasantry of the Electorate of Hannover. It suggests that the 41% support for the monarchy in Scotland is support which is conditional on members of the Windsor family not acting like entitled dicks. It suggests that the 41% support for the monarchy is less support than it is toleration.

However despite clear evidence in Scotland for widespread distaste for the privilege and the nauseating sychophancy which the Windsor family receive in the UK and in the media, no one in the SNP leadership dares to speak the R-word. Instead they continue to defer to the privilege and pomposity of the hereditarily entitled. This cuts across any divisions within the party. Alex Salmond is a noted monarchist who wanted to retain Elizabeth Windsor and her heirs as head of state if Scotland had voted yes in 2014. Nicola Sturgeon dodged the question when asked about Charles Windsor’s selfish disregard for advice not to travel to holiday homes in the Highlands and noticeably refused to criticise him.

I am not suggesting that we open up another division within the independence movement between those who want a republic and those who support the monarchy. However we do need to start constructing a vision of the possibilities that open up to Scotland once we achieve independence. We need to start to talk about the better nation that only becomes possible with independence. We can build a more egalitarian and equal country. We can build a country where no one enjoys undue privilege as a result of their genes or political patronage. We should begin to debate the nature of Scotland’s head of state and ways in which our political class can be held to account. And we should start talking about other ways to ensure and nourish equality of opportunity. What steps can be taken to ensure that the likes of Tim Martin don’t treat their staff so poorly. How can we reform our tax laws to ensure that the rich pay their fair share. We should start to discuss the merits of universal basic income schemes.

We may be stuck indoors, but that means we’ve got plenty of time to think and dream of the better country that we can build on the other side of this crisis.

chillisauce I’d like to give a wee shout out to Jim McWilliam of Jimbo’s Chilli Sauce who has very kindly sent me a chilli sauce care package to get me through the lockdown. His new Declaration Sauce is the best BBQ sauce I or my American husband (who takes his BBQs very seriously!) have ever tasted. It’s spicy and fruity which a delicious kick. Declaration Sauce is named to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath, and the label was designed by the very talented Alison Stell, AKA DefiAye. It’s only one of the many delicious sauces that Jimbo’s produces. Independent sauces for an independent Scotland!

Give Jim a follow on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/JimbosChilliSauce/ and follow Alison on Twitter: Brave @defiaye

Please also use this email address if you would like the dug and me to come along to your local group for a talk.

You can order the book directly from the publisher. Ordering directly means that postage is free. You can order here –
https://www.vagabondvoices.co.uk/rants/barking-up-the-right-tree-2019

We’re not all in this together

Mar25 by weegingerdug

allinthistogether
Prince Charles has tested positive for the coronavirus. It’s possibly the closest he’s got to the crown. We were told by a Nicolas Witchell who was even more gushingly sychophantic than usual that Charles had been tested positive for the coronavirus but is experiencing only mild symptoms, and is – I quote – “continuing to work while he’s in self-isolation”. There’s a whole lot to unpack in that sentence.

For starters, Nicolas Witchell upping the sychophancy is rather like a mountain of sugar covered in syrup having several litres of treacle poured over it because it was judged not to be sickly sweet enough. There are many people who can’t get tested, and widespread concerns about the difficulty of access to testing – especially for NHS staff – but we are informed that Charles was tested on Monday after qualifying for an NHS test due to his age and his medical condition. I never knew that being a member of the royal family counted as a medical condition, but then you look at Prince Andrew and think, “Well, fair enough.”

Charles is in self-isolation, but he’s self-isolating with his servants, staff, minions, lackeys, and security detail. He has ignored the advice for metropolitan types not to selfishly piss off to rural areas of Scotland where there are vulnerable health services for the duration of the crisis and is putting the already stretched health services on Deeside under further strain. And let’s be honest here, apart from waving at the plebs and writing letters to government ministers and newspapers protesting any threat to his privilege, the only job that Charles has ever had in his long life is waiting for his mother to pop her clogs, and she’s doing a very good impression of being rather more healthy than he is. But apart from that, the BBC’s report was entirely accurate.

Instead of the “oh poor Charles isn’t he wonderful but he’s doing well” guff that fills our TV screens, where is the anger? Where is the holding to account? This is a rich, privileged and extremely over-indulged man who recklessly and selfishly travelled with his sizeable entourage to a vulnerable area of Scotland, and who brought the virus with him. He did so despite the Scottish Government advice for people to stay at home. He did so despite first showing symptoms over the very weekend when he decided to travel. Why did he get preferential NHS treatment? Someone must have authorised it. Instead of kissing the hand of the royal circus clowns, our politicians should be calling him out.

Instead, what we get is the Herald attacking one of the few politicians who did dare to call him out. Former MP George Kerevan tweeted:

“This billionaire land owner disobeyed guidance to stay home to avoid spreading virus, went to second home in Scotland, is now infected and has infected others. Indy Scotland must be a republic and tax this arrogant fool.”

But instead of looking at the behaviour of the rich and arrogant fool who has put public health at risk, or even questioning whether there might be any truth in what George said, it’s hey SNPBad! There’s the Scottish media, fearlessly holding the powerful to account.

Charles won’t have to go to an overcrowded hospital full of overworked and overstressed staff struggling to do their very best in the worst of circumstances. He won’t be told that there’s no beds or no treatment. He won’t be expected to forgo any treatment because medical staff require it for a younger patient. If he should need a ventilator or an ICU bed there will be no question about him getting one as a matter of priority. He won’t ever have to face the indignity of lying on a cot in a repurposed warehouse with a thousand other sufferers, coughing up his life. Charles will be just fine. He’ll get the very best that modern medicine can provide, the second that it’s required. Because the British state is a state which deems him to be better than the likes of you or me.

As this crisis was just beginning on 3 March, Prince William was filmed during a trip to Ireland saying, “I bet everyone’s saying ‘I’ve got coronavirus, I’m dying.’ and you’re like ‘no you’ve just got a cough. I’m sure. It does seem quite dramatic about the coronavirus. Is it being a little hyped up, do you think, in the media? By the way, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are spreading the coronavirus. Sorry. So we’re keeping an eye on that, so do tell us if we need to stop.” Well that quote hasn’t aged well. Rather like Prince William, come to think of it.

What’s really hyped up in the media is the royal family. That’s what fuels their massive sense of entitlement. It’s one thing to joke about the crisis when you’re an ordinary punter, and you’re going to face the brunt of it. That’s gallows humour. Laughing is a coping mechanism when you’re confronted with the loss of your livelihood and income, your home is at risk. Laughing is even more a coping mechanism when you worry about a collapsing NHS which might not be able to cope with an influx of victims, and one of those victims could be you, or your spouse, or your parents, or your child. It’s quite a different matter to scoff at the seriousness of the epidemic when you’re a rich and privileged member of the British establishment who doesn’t have to worry about any of those things. It’s not gallows humour, it’s the callow indifference of a rich and privileged oaf.

What makes it even worse is that the media in the UK only fuels the fire of royal privilege. After Prince Philip, who had no business being behind the wheel of a car, carelessly and recklessly crashed into an innocent motorist, Nicolas Witchell didn’t appear on our screens and tell us that Prince Philip was acting like a privileged wanker who was a danger to himself and to the public – even though that was true. Instead we got gushing news reports about Prince Philip and how wonderful he is, and not a care about the two women and the baby he’d so nearly killed.

This matters. It matters because the entitlement and privilege and lack of accountability at the top of the British establishment filters down to others in that same establishment. There are different rules for the rich, different rules for the well-connected, different rules for the privileged. We see it in the casual indifference of Boris Johnson and our inability to hold him to account. We see it in the selfishness of Richard Branson, laying off staff while demanding a bailout from the government, but refusing to dip into his own massive private fortune. We see it in the actions of Wetherspoon owner Tim Martin, who first demanded that his pubs remain open, and who then laid off the staff without pay, telling them to apply for work with Tesco. Richard and Tim won’t have to worry about keeping a roof over their heads. They won’t have to worry about keeping food on the table. They won’t have to worry about getting access to medical care if they need it.

We’re all in it together my arse. This has to change, but if there’s one thing that we’ve already learned from generations of experience with the British state, it’s that the British state is unwilling and incapable of reforming itself. Scotland has another option. Once this crisis has passed, we need to take it.

Please also use this email address if you would like the dug and me to come along to your local group for a talk.

You can order the book directly from the publisher. Ordering directly means that postage is free. You can order here –
https://www.vagabondvoices.co.uk/rants/barking-up-the-right-tree-2019

The lockdown

Mar24 by weegingerdug

areyouathome
Welcome to day one of the Great Scottish Lockdown. You already know how this is going to go don’t you. You’ll have got up today resolving that you’re going to use this time productively. You’re going to learn Gaelic on Duolingo. You’re going to spring clean the house. You’re going to fix the loose doorhandle on the door to the spare room that’s been broken for months. And then in two weeks time you’ll be lying on the sofa in your pyjamas, complaining that you’ve used up all of Netflix. All. Of. Netflix. But luckily you’ll discover, lurking in the far reaches of the programme guide, a Portuguese language movie about vampire chartered accountants, so you’ll start to watch it. Then you’ll realise that you’ve already seen it. And you still won’t have fixed the doorhandle.

The lockdown was clearly required. It should have happened sooner. By sheer luck, the UK was given a head start when it came to dealing with the coronavirus epidemic, yet that head start has been squandered. We’ve seen this before. The EU granted the UK an extension to the Brexit negotiation period last year and Donald Tusk pleaded with the British government, “Please do not waste this time.” They went on to do precisely that. Now they’ve done it again. For the first weeks of this crisis the British government did nothing. Boris Johnson spent the time hiding from the press, then picking fights with the civil service. Then he toyed with the herd immunity notion. And ever since his government has been giving confused and mixed messages.

This lockdown, welcome as it is, is still giving the public confused and mixed messages. You’re allowed out once a day for exercise, but how is that going to be enforced? Yet at the same time those of us who live in flats and have dogs are being told that we can only take our dogs out once a day. There is no dog in the world, especially not an elderly dog, which can be restricted to only peeing or crapping once a day. You try it with your own bladder and bowel movements and see how you get on. The only alternative is to allow the dog to piss and shit inside the house, which is scarcely hygienic.

In other countries where there’s a stricter lockdown than in the UK, you can walk your dog as often as required as long as you go alone, you remain at least two metres away from anyone else, and you stay within a short distance of your home. In Greece there’s a number you text on your mobile which authorises you to walk your dog up to four times a day. So between Greece and the UK, which is the banana republic basket case? The current UK rules appear to have been designed by middle class politicians and civil servants who have quarter acre back gardens and no real idea of how ordinary people live.

Rules need to be clear and simple. When they’re not clear, when they’re full of loopholes, people will exploit them. Yet they also need to be realistic. This is not rocket science here. What’s needed here, as a matter of some urgency, are clear and simple rules which are easy to follow and which are practical and realistic.

British government policy is being determined by Dominic Cummings, who is supposedly a genius at communicating messages. He’s not doing very well at it then, is he. If the reports about Dominic Cummings are true, and and he’s responsible for this confused and confusing set of mixed messages from the government and he really was the driving force behind the British government’s now discredited “herd immunity” policy, then it raises some very serious questions for Boris Johnson. Johnson is Dominic Cummings’ boss. Johnson hired him, and Johnson can fire him. But the PM insists on putting all his eggs in one basket case.

At some point we have to hold Johnson and the Tories to account. They have been ignoring advice from China and UK experts like the editor of the Lancet for weeks. The solution to this crisis is to restrict public movement, which has belatedly now happened, to test people for the virus, which is now starting to happen more frequently, and to trace the contacts of those found to be positive for the virus, which isn’t happening at all.

For the past ten years the Tories have presided over an entirely unnecessary austerity policy which has caused the decimation of British public services, meaning that the UK is uniquely challenged when it comes to tackling the coronavirus. Over the weekend Number 10 was forced to release a statement denying in the strongest terms that it had ever been British government policy to argue for “old people being allowed to die”. That would be true. They didn’t argue for it. It’s just that they weren’t going to be overly bothered if it happened. Even now, they’re still more concerned about the impact of the crisis on the economy than on the people.

This epidemic has turned everything on its head. A few weeks ago people were talking of the need to ensure that after Scottish independence an open border should still remain between Scotland and England. Now there’s folk demanding that the border is closed right now. There are effectively internal borders now, as travel to the islands has been restricted in order to help protect communities which don’t have easy access to fully equipped hospitals.

Efforts to keep people out of fragile communities in the Highlands aren’t helped by the likes of the Spectator’s Rod Liddle, who is complaining about the restriction it puts on his privilege. Yet you can be certain that if this virus was somehow spreading from Scotland to England, he’ be the first to demand a fence along the border to keep the Scots out.

Rod Liddle, the gammonfather, has penned a piece in that magazine of entitlement, the Spectator, demanding that people boycott Scotland because the Scottish Government has told people to stay away from the Highlands. The Highlands is the perfect place for entitlement metropolitans to self-isolate, Rod opines. However the communities in the Highlands and Islands are especially vulnerable. They contain a larger proportion of elderly and retired people than the rest of the country, but they’re also remote from ICU beds. Yet folk like Rod can only think about his own needs, not the needs of the communities into which he’s determined to insert his unwelcome presence. The Scottish government has an easy solution to the problem of people travelling to the Highlands. Simply breed billions of midgies to release over the West Highlands to ensure that everyone stays indoors. The plan would be criticised by the Conservatives, as they think they were the only ones allowed to be blood sucking parasites paid for by public funds.

The real lessons from this crisis will not be felt until after it’s over. The most important is that at every level in British government there’s an abdication of responsibility. We’ve had enough of experts, said a certain oleaginous Conservative who still remains in high office. Having enough of experts might work as a soundbite when you’re trying to appeal for the votes of the British exceptionalists who drove Brexit, in an epidemic it costs lives. The result is a public which is unclear on advice and which is happy to believe that it can do what it wants with no consequences. After all, there are no consequences for members of the British government when they screw up, as they so frequently do. This is what happens when you have no proper accountability in government. Scotland has only one cure for that, independence. It’s a cure that we will once again be campaigning for the moment this crisis has passed.

Please also use this email address if you would like the dug and me to come along to your local group for a talk.

You can order the book directly from the publisher. Ordering directly means that postage is free. You can order here –
https://www.vagabondvoices.co.uk/rants/barking-up-the-right-tree-2019

The sigh of relief

Mar23 by weegingerdug

Alex Salmond is going home a free man. He has been found not guilty on all charges except one which was found not proven, and another charge which was dropped by the prosecution earlier in the trial. Our faith in Scottish justice shines today and BBC Scotland’s Sarah Smith has gone into self-isolation. Was it just me or did she seem to be barely containing her displeasure as she reported the verdict?

The British nationalists were rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of Alex Salmond being handcuffed and sent to prison. All over the country, newspaper editors are having to bin their gleefully malicious headlines, and the British nationalist frothers on social media are having a collective meltdown. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was supposed to be all their SNPbad Schadenfreude union flag Christmasses come at once, and it’s all been snatched away by the common sense of a Scottish jury.

It should go without saying that the cause of independence is greater than any one of us. We are all the rocks that support this movement. We are all the trees in the Great Caledonian Forest. It is also true that nothing that has happened today changes the contempt with which successive British governments and British politicians have treated Scotland. Even if Alex Salmond had been convicted on one or more of the charges he faced, Brexit would still be happening. Boris Johnson would still be fnaugh fnaughing his posh boy disdain for Scottish democracy. Johnson would still be in charge during a health crisis which he is so clearly incapable of rising to. All the reasons for independence would have remained exactly the same, and once the dust from the trial had settled, the dynamic driving support for independence would inevitably reassert itself.

But Alex Salmond is and will always be a giant amongst us. He’s the foundation upon which we build our path. He has, more than any other individual, wrested the cause of Scottish independence out of the jaws of hopelessness and marginalisation where it languished for generations and brought it squarely into the very centre of Scottish political debate and discussion. No more can it be ignored. No more can anyone, least of all a British nationalist, pretend that it’s not a serious prospect. Above all, that’s thanks to Alex Salmond. He is the individual who our opponents have striven to identify personally with the independence cause. Removing him from the picture under a cloud of disgrace would have given them a cheap and handy weapon with which to taunt us for years to come.

This verdict comes after two extensive investigations, one by the Scottish Goverment, and one by Police Scotland. Both have cleared Alex Salmond. There are now questions to be answered about what seems to have been a particularly vicious bout of party infighting which was allowed to get so spectacularly and dangerously out of hand. As he spoke to the media after his acquittal, Alex mentioned that there was evidence which he was not allowed to present in court, and that would come out when the time was appropriate. There will be scores to settle here, but we can now hope that this will not be a destructive process, but rather one which ensures that the SNP is a party which provides justice and fair treatment to those accused of wrongdoing.

There has been some disquiet for a while about the way in which the party seems to turn on its own. There has been disquiet for a while that the party seems to have lost its focus on the goal of independence in favour of the goal of governing a devolved administration well. There will be immense disquiet if it is proven that there are those within the SNP who were prepared to risk such a potentially disastrous outcome as the conviction of Alex Salmond for their personal ends within the party. Because if that is indeed true, then they were not merely prepared to see the personal destruction and humiliation of a former First Minister, they would also have been prepared to see the independence movement suffer a humiliating and deeply damaging reverse.

So yes, there are uncomfortable times ahead, but unlike the conviction of Alex Salmond on charges of sexual assault, these uncomfortable times will only lead to a stronger and more focussed SNP, an SNP which is better able to lead the independence movement. There are uncomfortable times ahead for Nicola Sturgeon, as questions will be asked about what she knew and when she knew it, all the more so since one of the statements she gave to Holyrood appears to be at variance with the evidence that was presented during the trial. There may be an innocent explanation, we shall have to wait and see. Those who were so keen to assert that Alex Salmond was innocent of wrongdoing before the investigation and the trial must also extend that presumption to Nicola Sturgeon. That’s doubly the case for those who claim to be zealous in their pursuit of independence. They would then be guilty of the exact same sin that they would convict Nicola Sturgeon of – allowing their personal agendas to damage the independence cause and giving our opponents a weapon with which to hurt us.

Under normal circumstances, this political story would be all that occupied the news. But as we all know these are not normal times. In his dignifed and statesman like comments to the press after his acquittal, Alex said that the tribulations which he has faced recently pall into insignificance compared to the life or death issues facing so many people as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. There will be a time for dealing with the fallout from his trial, and for dealing with the circumstances within the SNP which led to it. That time will come, but it is not now.

Today is a day for breathing a collective sigh of relief. One of the giants of the Scottish independence movement will now be able to focus his efforts on helping us toward that goal we all share. He will not be languishing in prison, with a conviction around his neck which would have destroyed his reputation. He will not be able to be used by our opponents as a stick with which to beat us, he will be one of the biggest sticks beating the drum for independence. For that, every supporter of independence is grateful.

Please also use this email address if you would like the dug and me to come along to your local group for a talk.

You can order the book directly from the publisher. Ordering directly means that postage is free. You can order here –
https://www.vagabondvoices.co.uk/rants/barking-up-the-right-tree-2019

The lessons we learn

Mar22 by weegingerdug

grocerydeliveries
Well it’s been confirmed. The UK government’s policy of herd immunity originated with Dominic Cummings, the Rasputin of the Conservative Party. According to the Sunday Time’s political editor Tim Shipman, who is extremely well connected with the uppermost levels of the Tories, the herd immunity strategy was first proposed by Cummings during a private meeting in Number 10 at the end of February. Shipman quotes those present as saying that the policy was, “herd immunity, protect the economy, and if that means some pensioners die, too bad.”

We are living with a British government which, as we feared and expected, wanted to prioritise the protection of financial interests before protecting the people. Many of us feared that the Tories would see the deaths of thousands of people as merely so much collateral damage in the real campaign this government is fighting, the campaign to ensure that the Richard Bransons, the Philip Greens, and the Jacob Rees Moggs of this world don’t see a dent in their bank accounts. We now know that those fears were not groundless. The virus doesn’t discriminate between rich and poor, but the British government does. That would be those rich people who already have the resources, money, and space to save themselves.

A month ago, when the British government should have seen the writing on the covid virus wall and should have been laying the groundwork for the public health campaign to come, Number 10 hired a eugenicist – Andrew Sabisky. When Johnson said that there was a view that the UK should take it on the chin, he meant your chin and my chin, he meant your grandmother’s chin, the chin of your neighbour with COPD. He didn’t mean his own chin. He didn’t mean the chin of Jacob Rees Mogg’s financial interests.

This is the clearest evidence possible that Scotland desperately needs the ability to make its own choices and to have governments which are directly accountable to the people of Scotland. Right now there’s very little that Scotland can do to remove from power and influence a man who, as we now know, was prepared to oversee the deaths of untold numbers of people for ideological reasons. Well, I say “little”. What I really mean is bugger all. We are still hostages to half baked theories of Dominic Cummings, the non-scientist who in his arrogance thinks that he understands science better than actual scientists, and the bumbling mumbling arrogance of Boris Johnson. But hey, thank god we got rid of those unelected bureaucrats in Brussels eh eh.

The British government issued a statement today in which it denies Shipman’s report in the strongest terms. Equally anonymous sources within Number 10 are claiming that the Sunday Times report is defamatory and contains invented quotes, even though Shipman makes it clear that he’s paraphrasing certain conversations, presumably in order to protect the anonymity of his sources. The problem that the British government has is that we all saw and heard Boris Johnson talk about herd immunity. We all saw and heard the British government’s change of tack. We all see and hear the confusion and mixed messages coming from the British government and its intense reluctance to impose the kind of strategies which we see in other European nations, or even more so those in East Asia which have a proven effectiveness in preventing the spread of the infection.

It took weeks, during which the virus gained a foothold amongst the population, before the British government saw the error of Cummings’ ways. The herd immunity strategy has now been abandoned, but it may be too late. Untold thousands of people have been needlessly put at risk because a more sensible strategy was not adopted sooner. Yet the UK is still behind. This is a failure of government which is many many orders of magnitude greater than the who knew what and when gossiping about the Alex Salmond trial that consumes certain sections of Scottish politics. This isn’t just about reputations. This is about life and death.

We see how Scotland is regarded as a bolt hole for better off people to come and self isolate themselves for the duration of this crisis, without a care or a thought about their impact upon fragile local communities. The news that a property company was advertising expensive cottages on Skye, that 30 camper vans were turned away from a campsite near Fort William, or the feature article in the Daily Mail extolling the glorious isolation of Jura tell us all we need to know about Scotland’s role in the eyes of this so called United Kingdom. Scotland already has the greatest inequality in land ownership in Europe. Our land is hoarded by the rich like so much toilet paper. We’re a resource to be exploited for the benefit of people who know nothing about us and who care even less.

These developments have led to calls from some for the Scottish government to adopt the same measures adopted by certain other European nations, and to close the border to everyone except those who live here. Irrespective of whether that’s a good idea or not, the point is that the Scottish government doesn’t have the legal authority to do so. The Scottish government cannot prevent the English gutter press telling its readers to consider Scotland as a bolt holt. The Scottish government can’t prevent people driving over the border in camper vans, intent on sitting out the epidemic in a rural part of Scotland where the health service and local grocery shops are already overstretched. We are, whether we like it or not, subject to the overarching policies of the British government. The Scottish government could certainly do more, and I have no doubt that it will over the coming days and weeks, but it has limited freedom of action.

For the time being the priority is to stay at home, to shop responsibly, to wash your hands, to think about the needs of others. This storm will pass. This trial will end. These tribulations will calm down. And when they do, that is the time for debating what sort of country we want this to be. Do we want this to be a country which cares for its citizens equally and without favour, or a country which prioritises the interests of the wealthy. Do we want to remain under the control of a government in Westminster which we cannot hold to account, or does a major health crisis teach us that the need for accountable government is the only way in which democracy can be defended. Scotland can only be safe, can only be a place which prioritises the needs of its citizens over the greed of the rich, when it has the full powers of an independent state. Sadly, this is a lesson that we’re learning the hard way.

Please also use this email address if you would like the dug and me to come along to your local group for a talk.

You can order the book directly from the publisher. Ordering directly means that postage is free. You can order here –
https://www.vagabondvoices.co.uk/rants/barking-up-the-right-tree-2019

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Wee Ginger Dug

Biting the hand of Project Fear

Monthly Archives: March 2020

Getting a grip

The baby and the bathwater

Leadership, not management

Updated regulations for dog owners

Dog walking and Social Distancing

Shielding

Self Isolation

Travel

General

Dugs, self-employment, and the white van man

The R-word

We’re not all in this together

The lockdown

The sigh of relief

The lessons we learn