Jackson Carlaw has been at the Dettol again. This time the office manager of the Scottish branch of the We’re Not Nationalists Because We’re British Yay For Boris And Brexit And The Queen Party has, in a single tweet, erased 1000 years of history. There is no border there is only one United Kingdom, he harrumphed in response to Nicola Sturgeon’s suggestion that if the circumstances of the epidemic demanded it she might “ask” for the power to close the border between Scotland and England, a power which she notes she does not currently possess.
Her answer made it clear that in her view we’re dealing here with something that is in the realms of the hypothetical twice removed. Yet even that is a threat to Surname Surname’s preciousssss, a threat which has to be removed. Nicola Sturgeon might have suspended campaigning on the issue of independence, but Jackson sure as hell isn’t going to. He’d have nothing to say otherwise. Indeed his comments about the border show that even when he is banging on about independence he’s got nothing to say.
The insistence that there is no border between two territorially defined entities which everyone else believes to be adjacent to one another can only mean that in the view of the Conservatives there can be no border between any two legally distinct pieces of land which happen to be a part of the same internationally recognised independent state. Logically this means that there can be no border between Jackson’s car lot and the adjacent car lot. All cars for sale on Jackson’s car lot should be sold by the larger car lot next door and then they can give him part of the proceeds and tell him that they’re subsidising him. They might even give him the loan of a painting as well. And it’s very handy of those of Jackson’s neighbours who are without a garden – they can have a barbecue in Jackson’s for the duration of the lockdown.
The border between Scotland and England is one of the oldest borders in Europe, and – much to the chagrin of Jackson Carlot – it remains politically salient today. The border dates back to over 1000 years ago, when England finally acknowledged that Lothian was a part of the Kingdom of Scotland after the Battle of Carham in 1018, although Scotland had actually taken control of Lothian even earlier, in 973 and Scottish influence had been strongly felt in Lothian even prior to that date. With minor revisions, it has remained the English Scottish border to this day. There are few other borders between adjacent European nations which are as ancient as the Anglo-Scottish border.
Even today, the border remains politically and legally important. Different legal systems and laws apply on either side of it. People from on opposite sides of the border have different national identities. The electorates on each side of the border have a very different set of political loyalties and preferences. Different education systems operate on either side of it. Although less important in this modern secular age, the border also marked a boundary between different religious traditions. The border represents a sharp delimitation in differing public attitudes to the EU, that deep political fault line which runs through modern British politics. Since devolution the border also represents the boundary of the area which is governed by the Scottish Parliament.
The political border between Scotland and England is also an important linguistic border, forming the boundary between northern English dialects and the southernmost dialects of Scots. Whereas English dialects merge seamlessly into one another, as Scots dialects do likewise on their side of the linguistic border, the border between the Scots and English languages is sharp and well defined. Even if you want to insist that Scots is merely a set of divergent English dialects, there’s nothing else like it anywhere in the English speaking world.
But according to the Scottish Conservatives, none of this really exists. It tells us that in their eyes there is only a unitary British state in which Scotland exists solely as a colourful continuation of the north of England. That’s exactly the kind of Scotland that they want, a Scotland that is quiescent, obedient, and which has the exact same political priorities as the Berkshire Conservative Association. Any expression of Scottish distinctiveness is seen as a threat.
What Jackson’s idiocy really tells us however is something serious. It shows us that despite the announcement of Nicola Sturgeon that she will not press the case for an independence referendum during the Coronavirus crisis, British nationalists like Jackson have no intention at all of ceasing their campaign against independence. In fact they are hell bent on weaponising the crisis as a campaigning tool against independence, while at the same time railing against independence supporters who have the temerity to point to the UK Government’s woeful mishandling of the crisis as a reason why Scotland desperately needs the ability to take charge of itself.
It’s entirely understandable why it’s inadvisable to press for another referendum under the current circumstances. Under lockdown we would be campaigning without access to the greatest strengths of the independence movement, our proven expertise in face to face, individual persuasion, and our grassroots mass movement’s ability to organise local events and initiatives which are able to tailor the message of independence to individuals and to different areas of the country. The British nationalists are however not so constrained. Their areas of strength rest in the traditional media, which is less affected by the lockdown than the independence movement’s brand of a mixture of individualised campaigning and mass rallies.
But this doesn’t mean that we should stop campaigning for independence, and it certainly doesn’t mean that we should be shy of pointing to the British state’s mishandling of this crisis as a reason for Scottish independence. With less than a mere 1% of the world’s population, the UK is now home to over 10% of reported deaths from the virus. And that’s just on the British government’s figures for deaths in hospitals. The true figure as we all know is considerably higher. According to the website https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/total-deaths-covid-19 which collates worldwide information on infections and deaths, as of Monday 27 April there have been 205,923 reported deaths from the virus of which 20,732 are in the UK – 10.07% of the global total. Britishness kills disproportionately. And now we’ve got the waffler in chief back in Downing Street, under pressure from his frothing backbenchers to end the lockdown even though this will risk a resurgence in cases. Every other country of Scotland’s size has done better. It beggars belief to insist that an independent Scotland would have performed worse than the UK.
So we should not be reticent to point out British mishandling of this crisis, the constraints the the British state puts on the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and the fact that other comparable – independent – nations are doing so much better. Ireland doesn’t have to ask Westminster for permission to close its border or to impose checks on people arriving at airports. Denmark doesn’t have to operate within the framework of devolved powers and leave the most important economic levers to Westminster. Finland doesn’t have a government which needs to constantly fend off a hostile media which is furious at any minor policy divergence from Westminster. The Czech Republic doesn’t need Westminster to borrow money for it to keep families and business afloat during the crisis and then be told that it’s economically dependent. All of those countries are facing the exact same issues that Scotland is, and all of them are performing much better. Scotland could do better too. We must not be shy about pointing that out.
And finally, because we could all do with some cheering up during these difficult times…
You can help to support this blog with a Paypal donation. Please log into Paypal.com and send a payment to the email address weegingerbook@yahoo.com. Or alternatively click the donate button. If you don’t have a Paypal account, just select “donate with card” after clicking the button.
If you have trouble using the button, or you prefer not to use Paypal, you can donate or purchase a t-shirt or map by making a payment directly into my bank account, or by sending a cheque or postal order. If you’d like to donate by one of these methods, please email me at weegingerbook@yahoo.com and I will send the necessary information.
Please also use this email address if you would like the dug and me to come along to your local group for a talk.
Gaelic maps of Scotland are available for £15 each, plus £7 P&P within the UK for up to three maps. T-shirts are £12 each, and are available in small, medium, large, XL and XXL sizes. P&P is £5 for up to three t-shirts. My books, the Collected Yaps Vols 1 to 4 are available for £11 each. P&P is £4 for up to two books. Payment can be made via Paypal.
My new book has just been published by Vagabond Voices. Containing the best articles from The National from 2016 to date. Weighing in at over 350 pages, this is the biggest and best anthology of Wee Gingerisms yet. This collection of pieces covers the increasingly demented Brexit years, and the continuing presence and strength of Scotland’s independence movement.
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
You can also order a book directly from me. The book costs £11.95 and P&P is an additional £3.50, making a total of £15.45. To order just make a Paypal payment to weegingerbook@yahoo.com, or alternatively use the DONATE button below. Please make sure to give me your postal address when ordering. Orders to be sent outwith the UK will incur extra postage costs, please email me for details. If you can’t use Paypal, or prefer an alternative payment method, please email weegingerbook@yahoo.com
Wee Ginger Dug 
[…] Wee Ginger Dug Jackson’s car lot Jackson Carlaw has been at the Dettol again. This time the office manager of the […]
I’m seething.
Don’t be terrified by the pandemic fraud. Here is the answer and it will grow faster than a Coronavius very soon. The tide is turning.
[video deleted by WGD]
Grafter – stop using this blog as a forum to share unscientific conspiracy theorist shite.
Disagree. It’s a small example of informed people getting together and demonstrating against the “shite” we are now being inundated with from a corrupt MSM on a daily basis.
You can disagree if you want, but you’re not posting it here.
Thank you
Jackson Carlot was supported in his claim of ”no borders” by that fount of wisdom David Mundane , who minus the face fluff could be easily mistaken for Carlot . Perhaps they share a brain cell ?
But , Paul , you have to show some sympathy for Carlot and his daily utterances of pure sh*te – how else can he let the world know that he is there ?
Actually they’re all at it – Mundell, the nonentity that is Miles Briggs, and several other Scottish Conservatives. Seems to be a co-ordinated line.
Like Wendy and Douglas Alexander, you never see Carjack Lawson and Mundo in the same room at the same time. Spooky, what?
Reblogged this on Ramblings of a 50+ Female.
To the list of differences either side of the Border there is this very important one to which the Unionists have no answer namely:
– on this side of the Border the Queen wears a different crown,
– bears a different coat of arms,
– flies a different Royal Standard and,
– should bear a different Regnal Number (if the Court case had turned out differently,)
– it is the Honours of Scotland in the shape of the Scots Crown that precedes her when she opens
the Scottish Parliament
– her offspring are known by different titles.
See Brenda does have her uses especially when the Unionist sooks try to say we are all one United Kingdom and Scotland as a country does not exist. I don’t think she would be happy to have her hereditary position removed by the likes of Messrs Carlaw and Mundell and her position takes the legs out from under any argument they may try to promote that Scotland as a distinct entity does not exist. .
And of course we can get rid of her if it comes up our humph. Has anyone informed Carlaw, et al, of that? Looks as though he may have annoyed their Majesty. Just wondering if he’s annoyed some of his Lairdy mates too with his nae borders guff. I doubt they’d be too pleased to see us all running amok in their “borderless” thousands of acres estates, because Carlaw says it’s okay.
Indeed but while her continued presence is useful then keep their Glorious Majesty and use that against them and to our advantage
Oh we will Legerwood, we’re no daft 😀, and when the time is right, following independence, the sovereign people of Scotland will have their say. One that may not be to Mr Carlaw’s liking.
To deny the very existence of the country of their birth is high treason.
No.. that’s it.
If there isn’t a border then why do folk use phrases like North or South of the border, neighbours live in the same street but have borders around their houses, there are borders in the middle of the road to stop people meandering all over the place
But mainly in this context there are borders because Scotland and England are different countries, the clue’s in the names Scot-land, Eng-land, I don’t have any Welsh but I’m sure there will be a translation for something similar for those folk’s country just as there was for Ire-land
Tories are very silly people who argue with their own logic but their arrogance precludes them from understanding that we the people understand that, one minute we’re one nation, the next minute we’re a family of four nations, then we’re a precious union, then we’re the country all depending on the current needs of the situation at hand
Westminster loves to confer titles on everything they can to increase the propagandised belief that they own more stuff that’s of greater value than anybody else’s stuff while at the same time telling the people who live in the countries they boast about owning to others, that we, the people of those countries, without Westminster are worthless
It’s a con trick they’ve been pulling off for hundreds of years, and once you control modern day media to promote your con trick, you’re golden
Unless of course you happen to live in the parts where you are, which is not in the important part where they are
One more thing, if we are not different countries then why does the big main important country not just rename us all instead of continuously grinding away involving themselves in naming things within our countries after things or people in their country, look around you there are a ton of things named after English monarchs, dead English soldiers, sailors, politicians, buildings, streets, the list is endless but worse than that it’s the parasitical eating away at another nations culture bit by bit in the hope the host eventually doesn’t notice it’s being eaten from the inside
Except this parasite we’re living with has been killing us more slowly in order to extend its own life because it knows no other way to survive without us, how many hosts have cured themselves of the England parasite
A lot, and every one of them is now vaccinated against them ever invading their countries again
Our turn!
Dr Jim,
Wales (English name) – weilz
Etymology: Anglo-Saxon, ‘Land of the Romanised ones, ‘Land of the foreigners’, ‘Land of the serfs’.
Cymru (Welsh name) – KHUM-ree
Etymology: Brythonic (P) Celtic. ‘Land of the compatriots’, ‘Land of the fellow-people’.
See also, Plaid Cymru = (The) Party (of) Wales.
This map of recent voting intentions shows scotland’s distinctiveness fairly well. Whereas Plaid seems only to score yn y Fro Gymraeg ?
True in part, marconatrix.
But remember, Assembly/Parliament (to be in June!) elections, give a slightly different picture.
Yes, both Scotland and Wales fight under FPTP for Westminster – and DESPITE THAT the SNP do incredibly well – but the breakdown is much more diffuse for Plaid in Cymru than for the SNP in Scotland. (Rather like the Liberals traditionaly in UK Elections).
Will find you stats and/or more info when I have more time.
Cofion,
Diolch! I see your point. The stats will be most interesting, I look forward to seeing them if you can dig them out. Pob hwyl i chi 🙂
You could also point out that Australia closed internal borders between states. No need for unionists to relate such a policy to independence. They’re running ridiculously scared of this.
Shutting borders could also be exactly right policy: https://voxeu.org/article/proposal-exit-covid-19-lockdown
That makes sense David. Not just closing the borders between Scotland, England and Wales but further creating zones within each country. I reckon that this is what Nicola Sturgeon has in mind for example creating zones in area that are naturally “detached” such as the Isles followed by the Highlands and so on. If Westminster follows this zoning procedure in England it would destroy any argument they, and hence Carlaw, could have against closing the borders.
Good summary and observations but with one clarification, the land border has not changed but the sea border did under Blair…
All the nonsense that has been raging in the last month or so is part of an orchestrated political assault on SG/SNP/Indy whilst Scotland holds off Indy campaigning to deal with the worst epidemic to hit the UK in a century. In the good old “perfidious Albion” tradition, don’t count your own dead, onward assassins..
The Tories have assistance from the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, #10’s fudge/nudge unit and Scottish and UK media, GMB, Dow Investments and Renaissance Care, but to deploy the vacant Carlot with this latest nonsense is beyond a joke.
On further thought, however, if Marr is brass necked enough to trot out 3 lies as accusations on national tv, idiocy would appear to be part of their strategy, which part explains Mr wobbly jowels.
There will be a reckoning very soon for this shower, and don’t they just know it…
Just listened to a bit of handcock at the daily lonely deaths report.
He’s just said the lockdown will be released as required by each area IF they meet the 5 tests.
That makes carlos jackass and Co out of message.
Used Carlot would be a lot more convincing if his attitude were shared by his southern neighbours. I was looking at one firm’s website just the other day, and they proudly announce that they are located in the “North East”. That being Durham. Hmmm.
And it actually was stated in full as being the “North East of the UK”.
But they’re probably simply anticipating a reality that Carlot just can’t bring himself to contemplate. History is slowly but relentlessly passing him by.
I would have thought they would have been fine with the shutting of the border. After all leaving the EU was about stopping the free movement of people was it not?
Can’t think Charlotan will endear himself to the unionists and the OO in Northern Ireland who love to beat big drums saying they are north of the border. That of course is very different as it is a province of England which lies across the Irish and Celtic Seas. Confusing being a Tory.
Onward Tory lemmings
Onward Tory lemmings,
Marching o’er the cliff,
With the mark of Carlaw,
Leading them skew-whiff.
Jackson, chief of numpties,
Heads his band of woe;
Forward into hist’ry:
See those bampots go!
Chorus:
Onward Tory lemmings,
Marching o’er the cliff,
With the mark of Carlaw,
Leading them skew-whiff.
______________________
[With acknowledgements]
*Land of the serfs* who came up with that one?, I guess you’ll not be ecstatic about that reference, still, it’s better than us verminous Scots, maybe
And to add to your list Paul we’ve also got our own NHS which Mr Carlaw would be quite happy to see being totally overwhelmed by virus carrying folks crossing over our border. Overwhelmed culminating in many more deaths. I say, however, that he should keep this nonsense up, and we should support him in doing so, as I’m quite sure that the vast majority of people in Scotland, independentistas or not, Brexiteers or not, would want to see that border being closed. Want to because their priority would relate to protecting lives, especially their loved ones, not on protecting the bl**dy Tory party, their selfish aims and sinister agenda.
If there is no border why is Carlaw’s party named the Scottish Conservatives?
We all know who’s paying the running costs of the Scottish tory party, check the votes cast for the leadership.
The surprise is the half million votes cast in the election.
Well spotted Simon. Amazing how one can miss what’s staring them right in the face 🙄.
yon tory leader aff must be on some kind of medication. Its his face, why does he always look so swollen.
Dettol as Paul suggests?
I forgot one
The Tories of all colours have a border between their own parliaments to separate the Lords and Barons and Earls and Clergy and their Counts (did I spell that right) and the *commoners*
Them’s the Tory values on borders when it suits them
And a different voting system, Dr Jim, north and south of the border.
…………
Over 41,000 deaths in the UK, as per the Financial Times.
http://www.ft.com/content/67e6a4ee-3d05-43bc-ba03-e239799fa6ab
Someone should tell Westminster, there are no borders – they threatened that if Scotland was ever independent, they’d build a wall, dam the rivers, stop buying mackies ice cream and do border checks on fresh air.
There is no “One United Kingdom” – there is an economic & political union between two Nations – Scotland and England. One principality; Wales and one province; Northern Ireland. This collective polity is sometimes referred to as the “United Kingdom”. But this is a collective pronoun not a national identity. It is also sometimes referred to by the collective noun “Great Britain”. This is also not an identity, but geographical description. Some of the people in this collective like to refer to themselves by a non national collective identity of “British”
There are some sadly deluded types, who profess undying loyalty to the various collective terminology used and not the group identity they actually belong to. They are easy to identify. They will profess to be “proud” of their actual national identity but then add “But” – what will follow is bizarre display of taking a “shit” on their actual nation. They will not say what it was about their nation that makes them proud. They will then get teary eyed and wistfully talk about a series of collective nouns. They adamantly state that this non identity they are proud of, is not a national identity like other countries have, which apparently makes it superior because it means absolutely nothing. This will then be followed by demands that you “Obey the Queen” and that you have to get over the non national identity group collective pronoun.
I hope that clears it up for you.
Car law will have to resign as a member of the Scottish parliament as it does not exist or is it him?
Interesting that the MSM stay clear of asking the Brexit question to nhs England.briefing
You can’t close the border, how would our colonial administrators…er sorry, senior Scottish Government Civil Servants get home at the weekend?
The Scottish government have missed an open political goal by failing to close the border with England. A political gift for the taking wasted.
Who could have spoken and acted against a Martin Luther style emotional speech ” to protect our people”? Raab? Hancock? The blustering Boris in rehab. from whatever ailment he claims, was off pitch. Nicole Sturgeon’s sincere, heartfelt daily presentations on the virus on TV don’t cut it with me. She has blown another Indy opportunity.
Adding to the “cold” political view I have expressed above is my resentment of the selfish camper vans and caravans trek by people south – of the border – to Scotland.It should have been anticipated, and stopped.
Just look and compare the virus fatality statistics of independent nations comparable to Scotland.
Gees I’m angry.
With respect, this is fantasy – even if you accept that Nicola Sturgeon would issue orders to close the border in a genuine belief she was doing so to combat CV – who would enforce these orders and under what presently existing legal authority?
@ J Galt: Being prevented by Westminster from closing the border would be a political scoring gain. Closing the border would have provided control and arguably saved lives.
Perhaps vacant car lot could explain why the midlands are not in the middle?
Nicely done 🙂
Spot on re the great gammon gobshite, he’s desperately flailing for traction and no doubt very aware of how well NS is doing in a crisis (not to say I think ScotGov has got everything right but she has consistently found the right tone, unlike most of the Westminister gang)
Not sure I’d want to hang too much on the stats though: the UK numbers are an underestimate but those for much of the rest of the world are even more so and increasing rapidly – we may never know the full toll.
The very fact that we are even talking about this …… seething against the weapons grade stupidity we are confronting daily. A viral pandemic I can handle, even the blatant lying, but the sheer inane puerile stupidity of these shitebags ….
Obviously what the Brits are saying is rubbish but from my point of view they are useful idiots. THEY are keeping independence on the agenda and simultaneously making themselves look like childish fools.
Of course they offend me. Everything they lie down for offends me. Their very existence offends me. That being so, I am pleased to at least derive some benefit from their stupidity.
Cheers, Paul, I missed this, thanks for the heads up.
It is comical watching the various shades of unionism’s daily attempts at keeping their balance on the twin high wires of us being a respected Scottish neighbour on the one and their one nation Britannia on the other.
They talk of a four nation approach to this crisis,then, as you rightly point out, deny our nations’ borders give us the right to do what so many other countries have done when finding their own solutions.
I recall in 2014 a certain Neil Oliver railing against Scottish independence, as he was against anything that added new borders to maps.
A historian, who had been paid by the BBC to write and present a history Scotland. I ask you.
The cognitive dissonance levels are ramping up with each passing day.
The fall is going to be messy.
The roads are closed. Little border movement. £60 on spot fines for driving to the park or beach. No problem with closing the Border. Everyone is inside. Or at the shop, No movement.
No freedom of movement. The Tories ruining the economy. Brexit. The Tories closing the border.
If only we were in the same position as New Zealand right now, eh? (Assuming that our FM had received the same sound advice as well as having the same executive freedom.)
A significant part of that would be control of our own borders, including that with England. (No biggie, just like any other two neighbouring European countries.) No-nonsense no-exception quarantine for all arrivals included. And that is increasingly seen by the public as a plus, not a minus.
Look at what the BritNats are whining about these days. Increasingly it’s not about what they think has traction with ordinary folk, it’s about what they fear the most. Use that fear.
The UK would starve if there was no border trade in food.
People do need to cross borders without quarantine to continue this essential trade or this lockdown would have far more serious consequences than it does now. Even Asda trucks.
Nobody’s talking about stopping trade or movement of goods. New Zealand manages it somehow even with their lockdown, so it ain’t magic. Having a land border makes it seem “different”, but that’s all in the mind, really.
In normal times, long-distance UK train crews often swap over halfway along the route, each returning back the way they came on a different (onward) train. Wherever most convenient, not necessarily anywhere near a border, of course. But they could. Same with truck drivers and their cabs, swapping over trailers at an actual border. More awkward, perhaps, but perfectly feasible given the need, the will and sufficient imagination.
It shouldn’t really need repeating, but anyway, closing borders does require clear political authority, as Jacinta Ardern has. Our FM doesn’t, since it’s a reserved matter. Trying to turn this into a constitutional issue during a health crisis would be a fatal political error, and the FM is both fundamentally decent enough and savvy enough not to make it. Whatever firebrand-waving hotheads might demand. Futile gesture politics is the last thing we need right now. She is quietly kaying a case for full autonomy (including borders) to be pursued when our current difficulties are behind us, which is exactly when we will need it.
Point being Vellofello we can’t make comparisons because we’re not an Independent country and who’s fault is that? Not Alex Salmond’s or Nicola Sturgeon’s. They worked their socks off for us and we let them down. We’re still letting them down as after all is said and done we’re still sitting around 50% support and that doesn’t quite hack it.
Velofello nice try but closing borders ain’t happening. Good sound byte though. Restricting movement is still possible but is a delicate balance. Too much weerapeeple kicking about. It never won us anything. If you closed the border with England would you close the sea border with Ireland or did you forget that bit?
Ps you can still fly from Heathrow.
The all colour Tories didn’t complain about Scottish borders when they moved the maritime border from Berwick on Tweed to somewhere near Arbroath to encompass 6.000 square miles of oil and gas filled ocean
The McCrone report, it makes good reading, and what’s more it’s true and it goes all the way back to Ian Lang Tory sec of state in a letter to Margaret Thatcher about how they, the Westminster government must conceal the wealth of Scotland from the Scots or they’ll be wanting their country back, Tony Blair took over from there and made sure of it in his deal with Labour First Minister Donald Dewar who I knew, and no he wasn’t the nice man they all say he was, but you’re not supposed to speak ill and all that
He’s a statue now, much like all the historical figures who ripped off Scotland, both domestic and foreign
Don’t blame Nicola Sturgeon for Scotlands ills, shouting loudly bluffing and waving a sword around gets you nothing but failure, we’ve had that, our current FM is playing a different game altogether, she won’t just hold a referendum, she’ll win one
Dr Jim & Petra
Agreed
The Tories have shut the borders. The total incompetence. No traffic on the roads, no flights, no rail, Empty streets and offices. Only essential traffic moving. Police stopping and giving £60 fines for non essential travel. NHS underfunded for years. Tories cut the budget.
The lockdown should have been out in place a month before. It has continued longer because of Tory total incompetence. More people have died (pro rata) in the rest of the UK, Tories did not close the borders sooner.
Brexit. No free movement of people. Wait for the next Tory muck up. The Brexit shambles already dtsrted. Lack of essential workers. In the NHS and elsewhere. Farming and fishing. Every other sector, The queues for goods and service. There will be shortages.
The Tories will be voted out. The Westminster opposition scandal. Not fit for purpose.
Support for SNP/Independence rising.
New Zealand is a (small) island, Easier to shut the borders, Australia and New Zealand have not been so affected as other countries. Lock down sooner?
Not so much Chinese travel into NZ/Australia for direct contact. Flights were cancelled. Singapore, Dubai banned flights. Flight traffic hubs. Flights grounded. Paris banned flights earlier. No Far East connections. Less traffic to NZ/Australia. No world connection. Only those retuning back/home and self isolating or quarantined.
Close the border.
Simon Calder yesterday on the Scottish radio station that’s not Scottish at all, ‘can’t wait to get to the Scottish Islands come July’…
It’s going to be madness in campervans, cars, trains, boats, planes. It will be hell. They can always camp out in carlot’s car lot.
There is no room for them all. No room at the inn. No accommodation. They will be off to Benidorm, Turkey and Greece per usual. Over consuming, being sick and annoying the locals.
Scotland has plenty of open places for the locals. Depopulated by Westminster chronic mismanagement for years.
Simon Calder go stuck during lock down in Yemen. Got the last flight out, via Cairo, costing a fortune. Some expert. Flying the world adding up the air miles and emission charges. He was advocating all holiday flights were secure re Brexit before lockdown, All fights were cancelled. Other matters overtook travel.
Some people had flights to Australia cancelled. Over Easter, C’est la vie. Happy to stay alive. Postponed for another time. Bucket list. Zoom the relatives. Australia not so affected according to reports. After the fires were put out. The rains came.
Scotland. A sovereign nation we keep assuring ourselves, cannot close our border with England as it is a “reserved matter”. Really does clearly indicate the crux of the issue doesn’t it?
Petra, I didn’t fail to support Alex Salmond in 2014, nor I assume did you, but whilst campaigning for Indy the number of times I came across people wringing there hands – Aye, I’m for independence but can we afford it? Westminster won’t allow it, etc etc.
And there are a few responses here likewise.
It does highlight the crux of the matter Vellofello. It demonstrates that we’re not an Independent country at all and that our political leaders, such as Nicola Sturgeon, have to abide by laws, rules and regulations put in place over the centuries. Restrictions that must frustrate her, never mind us, to hell.
I read one post after another, elsewhere, whereby people are calling for Nicola Sturgeon to be replaced, for a new party to usurp the SNP and so on. These people are living in cloud cuckoo land as far as I’m concerned. Worse still many probably don’t want independence at all, including some blog owners, but are managing to influence many others online. If we don’t waken up to what’s actually going on here, stand together and support Nicola Sturgeon at this time we can forget it, imo.
What we should all be doing now is following Paul’s (Prof Robertson, Gordon McIntyre-Kemp etc) example and getting the truth out there in relation to the economy and so on and when the crisis abates get into full to face interactions again to get our points across. More so to win Indyref2. Take a look at sites elsewhere and ask yourself what on earth are they doing right now to promote our cause. Ask yourself why they are trying to destroy Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP. The answer is right under everyone’s nose and it stinks to high heaven.
Following on from Jim Sillars yesterday the Herald had Kenny MacKaskill today. They appear to be working some sort of rota in an attempt to keep their campaign against Ms Sturgeon bubbling away.
The National have both on their website with comments from the usual zoomers.
And they wonder why they are leaving their Glasgow Central premises to cut costs?
Findo Gask here we come.
Reposting this from David at 5.30pm.
https://voxeu.org/article/proposal-exit-covid-19-lockdown
If this is adopted, as it may well be, by Westminster for England they’ll have no substantive argument to make against closing the national borders.
There should be no traffic coming over the border other than essential traffic. Essential traffic goes in both directions carrying food and drink, petrol and everyday items that are sold in supermarkets.
Non-esential travel is illegal and the border is already closed to them. We should be enforcing that law more heavily IF it is really an issue. I’m not at all sure how big of an issue it really is while non-essential travel remains illegal and is then enforced.
What if I live half a mile from the border and I go out for my legally sanctioned hour’s exercise – I could easily cover 2 miles or more on a public way crossing the border on the way, In that way the Scottish/English border is no more closed than the nearby (to me) border between East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire.
There is no time limit of 1 hour on your exercise period. The guidelines just say:
“” These reasons are exceptions – even when doing these activities [walking, running, cycling], you should be minimising time spent outside of the home and ensuring you are 2 metres apart from anyone outside of your household.””
The artery in one of my legs has narrowed. Every step I take is painful and I have to stop quite often to allow the oxygen to get through. What was once a relatively short walk – 2 miles or thereabouts – takes more than an hour but I have gone for a walk every day since 23rd March and have 65 miles in total under my belt. Very few of the walks have been less than an hour but I consider I have minimised my time outside taking into consideration my problem.
What is more the police have never stopped me. But then one look at my face sans make-up was probably enough for them to decide discretion is the better part of valour!
You put me to shame – I admit there some days I just can’t be bothered!
Thepnr,
Unfortunately the police authorities in England have muddied the water by changing the guidance for people in England so that they can exercise twice per day and drive someplace to go for a walk.
Predictably the latter change has led to people in England piling into their cars and heading to Snowdonia or the Yorkshire Dale’s.
Also predictable was that this change in England would result in people thinking it applied in Scotland. It does not.
The guidelines in Scotland are unchanged. One exercise session per day and NO driving anywhere to go for a walk.
Ah, the 4 nation approach eh? Ok if England diverges but not anyone else.
Sorry this is a bit ghoulish but will very likely prove to be a big deal
Today the ONS released figures for overall deaths of all causes in the UK which is now England and Wales apparently, but since the beginning of the pandemic those numbers have tripled to a now staggering 21.400 per week, but of course those numbers are not included in the UK governments daily pandemic updates even though many of them will be from that cause
Sky news have extrapolated the average numbers of deaths in the community from care home and residential and come up with a new guesstimate of Covid 19 deaths in the UK, again meaning England and Wales again of over 50.000, most of these numbers will be England because of population density
These numbers will have to be verified of course which they probably wont because no UK England and Wales government will want to go anywhere near verifying these sorts of numbers to the population of the UK, meaning England and Wales, because they’ll be terrified of the fallout when the penny drops on the people of England exactly what’s appeared to have happened
At least we have learned that when Scotland becomes Independent the news media in England will still be calling it the UK
In other news the beleaguered and downtrodden oil and gas sector figures have also been released and although it’s all terrible disterous news for the poor souls they still managed to pay out dividends to the shareholders of half a cent more per share than last time
I clearly don’t understand finance at all that when you have less profit you pay yourself more wages, I must be too lowly to get that
Aye Dr Jim, the truth about the number of deaths caused by Covid only just leaking out now.
Ah the beneficence of Westminster never fails to impress me. £60,000 to every family who has lost a loved one, who worked for the NHS, SC, due to their callous neglect. Being fly as a bag of monkeys too knowing full well that these families could sue them for £millions they’ll no doubt add full and final payment and gagging clauses to their wee deal. The families should tell them to stuff it and take them to the cleaners, imo.
Following on from that ….. ”Our MPs voted for The Coronavirus Act which includes ‘indemnity for criminal negligence in relation to the pandemic’ have you been paying attention?” https://mobile.twitter.com/FionaGrahame/status/1254921027324428291
Bloody hell Petra. Bloody bastards. Gagging clauses in tiny small print are par for course for bloody, and they do have blood on their hands, bastards.
At least one of these two are complicit also, deelsdug.
‘Did David Mundell or Alister Jack fail to warn Scotland of the pandemic risk and the urgent need to stockpile PPE last year?’
……………………………………………..
Some good news ….
”The Herald cannot afford to stay at their Glasgow offices and are moving out next month. The Scotsman are enforcing pay cuts on their staff. Usually not the kind of stuff you want to hear, but given the attacks on the indy cause from both its hard to find sympathy for them.” https://mobile.twitter.com/Colkitto/status/1254861764253978624
Agreed totally on the latter, originally both scottish icons of just and honest journalism, their passing may be mourned but not their final days of existence… I feel sorry for many otherwise good journalists, but if you swim in shit….
1/2Million people die in the UK (norm)
500,000 a year. 10,000 a week on average. More in the winter than the summer.
50,000 a year die in Scotland (norm)
1,000 a week on average. More in the winter than the summer.
Mostly elderly of old age. Average life expectancy 79. Women outlive men 5 years on average, worldwide.
Japan highest life expectancy 85
Finland 82, Spain 80. Lifestyle contributes. Genes/DNA.
Health workers have good pension funds/remuneration. Depending on length of service. They will receive more. More if they sue for negligence. The Tories trying to shut loopholes. They cut NHS funding. A typical cover up Inquiry.
The other crowd in on the act.
‘Reporting Scotland health correspondent uses misleading graph to obscure lower death rate in Scotland.’
…………………………
Along with their wee helpers.
‘Long-retired BACTERIOLOGY prof infected with rabid Unionism preferred to FOUR top VIROLOGISTS by Committee Convenor, Lewis MacDonald (Labour)!’
…”Well, no, there are at least four (virologists) I can find easily online. There’s at least one each in the universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling. There’s even a new one at Aberdeen who must be getting pretty fed up with the old man stealing the limelight after 17 years retired. What is prof Pennington’s appeal to the Scottish media, we wonder?”
Along with Jim Sillars, Kenny MacAskill et el.
Here we go again!
‘We don’t need a fisheries agreement’ insists Scottish Tory MP.’
http://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/we-don-t-need-a-fisheries-agreement-insists-scottish-brexit-tory-mp-brexit-trade-talks-michel-barnier-boris-johnson-1-6625576
……………………………………….
Check out all of Ann’s links on the Indyref2 site.
https://indyref2.space/forum/topic/links-tuesday-28-april-2020/
Taking it that the true CV19 figure is probably over 40,000 at the moment, 100,000 dead by the end of the year isn’t too difficult to imagine with Johnson ruling the roost.
‘UK’s true coronavirus death rate 35% higher than thought with 7,000 extra fatalities.’
..”At the weekend a government scientific advisor warned that the UK’s death toll could top 100,000 by the end of the year if the lockdown is eased too soon. Prof Neil Ferguson said that even allowing young people back to work would be dangerous, as it would give the killer bug a chance to spread again.”..
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coronavirus/uks-true-coronavirus-death-rate-35percent-higher-than-thought-with-7000-extra-fatalities/ar-BB13j1Zo?ocid=spartanntp
…………………………………..
Oh look! Amazing to think that with England having around ten times the population of Scotland they manage to find a wee photo of some Coatbridge idiots.
‘Drunken covidiots are slammed for holding weekend party as lockdown slips with traffic up and more shops reopening.’
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coronavirus/drunken-covidiots-are-slammed-for-holding-weekend-party-as-lockdown-slips-with-traffic-up-and-more-shops-reopening/ar-BB13hT4u?li=BBoPRmx
In one area of England a street party was so big the police couldn’t break it up.. BBC news reports
The problem the news media have is they don’t have enough variation of news to distort so they’re forced to invent their own distortions and exaggerate them and applying them to Scotland is par for the course for a bit of daily SNP bad or incompetent, or deliberately designed to help undermine the Scottish government message
The news media do enjoy a bit of the old *monkey see monkey do* style of reporting in a kind of *look they’re not complying why should you* in the hope of having more of the same behaviour to report later, which all backs up their intended message of Nicola Sturgeon’s lost control, or has no control, either way she’s rubbish
As to newspapers closing or scaling down or basically semi hibernating I wouldn’t worry too much for them because I watched an entire report on how the BBC funds from our ownership of a TV “licence” tax 150 journalists wages working for newspapers, if that was any other company the shareholders would be calling for the BBCs heads for misusing their funds
Scotland is full of newspapers that are failed businesses by any measure, and at the moment it’s even worse because they’ve lost advertising revenue as well as customer sales
I used to own a business, the BBC nor the UK government ever came along and paid for my staff when I got skint and couldn’t pay the bills
So folk should ask why does the UK government continually bail out certain failed newspapers but then tax a spare room in someones home, what’s the order of importance there
Is a journalist an essential worker, because they roam around the country like flies in the wind turning up everywhere to talk to us on the telly from a street near you when we all know what a street looks like so they could have saved the money and time and just reported what the newsy part was without the journalists wee trip around the country to point at a street or a road sign or a village, and even water, they travel to point at water, we know what all that looks like too, is that our taxpayers money in action
STVs Sean Batty shows the weather in the entire country from his back garden every day with a map and a different jumper on for variety and we all understand that fine, because we kinda know where we live, and if we’re not sure Sean has wee arrows pointing at places on his map to help identify those places, so why are these *journalists* paid to go where it’s not essential to be
We do need to support Nicola and all genuine independence supporters, it is obvious that the opposition went for Alex salmond and Nicola sturgeon and are still trying the same tactics in MSM as well as politically at this moment in time. And do their best to drive a wedge between all independence supporters for us to fight amongst ourselves taking sides,on Scottish sites,
rule and divide has always been a mantra from down south whenever they wish to exploit a country.
There are questions that should be asked though regarding other areas in our lives concerning what is fact and what is fiction regarding law.
I have not read anywhere in the Treaty of the Union 1707 that England would have the right to alter marine or land borders between the two countries after the treaty was signed.
I am also led to believe that Scotland retained its separate legal system and law, and this may be of assistance during a pandemic,
It is also there for all to see that we hold a different attitude towards the Hanoverian monarchy, and we retained our sovereignty.
Some issues were reserved in devolution and the Scotland act to Westminster, But the Scotland act and devolution itself should have a big legal question mark around it, for most of us as these are not in keeping with the the signed treaty of the union in 1707.
There are obviously very large elephants in the room,
We should be asking for clarification on what is fact and what is fiction regarding the treaty,
It appears at first glance that England thought it was becoming the new owner of Scotland in 1707. Yet there are obvious flaws in there thinking and in the assumed laws they have tried imposing on Scotland,
We the Scottish sovereign people are fighting for our sovereignty to be returned to us, And yet through Westminster’s own policies and arrogance they may have destroyed the treaty of the union themselves,
We should approach the obvious route to independence and rid ourselves of the mythical elephants elephants in the room,
We all should be going through this with a fine tooth comb, pick it to bits, it should and would aid the independence movement. It gives us alternatives.
And the attitude that “England holds Scotland fast” probably no longer lawfully legally applies.
The Labour party in Scotland with the willing co-operation of Tories and Liberal Democrats representing the Union handed Scotlands rights and assets away for *reasons*
The maritime border with England was moved under a deal with the late Donald Dewar and Tony Blair so that England could control and own all of Scottish assets with regard to oil and gas for all the obvious reasons, under International law if Scotland regains its Independence the borders return to their original place as would the assets after *negotiations* I’m sure
It never mattered what Scotlands peoples attitudes or even any consultation over any of these things was as Scotland never had a political party powerful enough at that time (the SNP) who represented Scotland to oppose any of these things, and once a thing is done, undoing it now requires Scotland to make the decision to do it, but at the moment the evidence shows that around half of the population want to be governed by the Union and turning that around must be done before holding a referendum just for the sake of hoping those who support Independence might get lucky, because we could be unlucky as well and that would be a situation that doesn’t bear thinking about
Scotland has always had people within it who say they support Scotland until they’re confronted with the choice then they either don’t or accept the coin offered not to
There are also people who enjoy criticising the FM for not doing this or that before or now as if expecting her to be some kind of warlord and just challenge everything on their behalf, but they forget that she’s the FM for all of Scotland and others opinions too, her task is to convince them their *concerns* are unfounded, that’s her job and if she doesn’t manage it before Independence we’d have a very divided bad country post Independence if we won, or if we lost
Who would want such a thankless job, one half of Scotland dislikes Independence and what she stands for and the other half demand Independence because of what she stands for, and she’s in the middle of trying to satisfy all of us
You couldn’t pay me enough to have a job like that, she doesn’t even do it for the money because she hasn’t accepted a wage increase since 2008 like many SNP reps all the wage increases have gone to Scottish charitable causes
“So why are these *journalists* paid to go where it’s not essential to be.”
Well we know that there’s more per capita here in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK Dr Jim with few if any media attacks on BritNat politicians being reported. They seem to be getting paid to dig up nasty wee local SNP stories with authentic looking backgrounds to add credibility to their tall tales. Why they bother is beyond me as they’re pretty good at just making them up as they go along no matter where they are.
You know what irks me Petra, these journalists are being subsidised by us to malign the government we vote for
See I wouldn’t mind so much if they actually did do the correct scrutiny job they say they’re paid for, but they don’t, when in recent history has any newspaper or journalist ever scrutinised Ruth Davidson yet the bad evidence against her was stacked a mile high, they’re a bunch of Burke and Hare wannabees sucking up to their bosses the Butchers of Westminster
Ach!
Seconded..
That reality is now sinking in across Scotland, and the irony of it is that were it not for the ramped up and clearly orchestrated (Yes, I’m looking at you Cummings) media onslaught against SG to deflect attention from England’s problems it mibbe might have worked… So thank you Glen Campbell, Border TV (Jack-a-Tory productions Inc), Scum Scotland, and lest we forget, Demonic Cummings et al, you just reinforced the endpoint against your intent.
Great piece:
https://nation.cymru/opinion/it-is-small-independent-nations-that-will-best-weather-the-coronavirus-crisis/
Face coverings on the 9
Only the BBC would attempt to make an SNP bad controversy out of of something everybody actually agrees on, but still trying to make it appear they don’t agree by bringing on their tame expert who aggressively doesn’t want to agree but does
It’s no wonder even the Unionists are getting fed up with the BBCs version of the news where we are
We don’t need to close the Scottish border. What we need to do is to set up patrols and check points on the routes from south of the border to north of the border. As we start to close Scotland area by area to allow things to start to open up, we need to keep within our own country boundaries. The patrols should stop motorists, ascertain the purpose of their journey and turn back those who have no real reason for travel over the border. People living in Eyemouth will still need to go to Berwick upon Tweed for groceries, the same for those who live nearer to Carlisle than a major Scottish town. Delivery lorries will be allowed to pass. The border can not be closed but it can certainly be watched and movement restricted until out Scottish Government deems it appropriate to open up our country again.
How we deal with trains and aeroplanes will need more thought. But until the Scottish government is ready to open Scotland up again I would not allow trains to travel across the border. Internal UK flights between the four nations should also be stopped. (the exception being for freight purposes)
The border is closed to anything but essential traffic. Police £60 fines. No movement. The Tories have shut the border. They should have shut down a month sooner. A result of their total incompetence, Totally unprepared despite frequent repeated warnings.
There will be longer delays to the economy because of Tories gross mismanagement, They cut funding for the NHS. More people have died south of the border because of it. The Tories total incompetence, as usual.
Brexit. There will be no freedom of movement, Another catastrophe. The total mess and shambles. Already a lack of essential workers. Migrant healthcare workers being charged £thousands for healthcare. The ones saving lives.
Migrant people who have live here all their lives being charged £thousands for passport which do not give people so many rights. Children born in the UK are being charged to stay. Another Tory shambles.
Brexit will bring queues and shortages of essential supplied. Higher unemployment More people will die because of it. The Tories will be voted out. A total mess and shambles. Vote Tory to die younger. Deja Vu. It will all end in tears again. No freedom of movement. The Tories will be gone,
Support for SNP/Independence rising. Vote SNP to live longer and have a better Independent life.
Benn did not support Scottish Independence or EU membership. Campaigned against it,