If you read The National you will be aware that the paper is about to embark on a major initiative along with Believe in Scotland and the SNP to print over one million copies of a special eight page pro-independence newspaper and deliver it to homes across the country.
I’m not involved with this project but it’s a fantastic idea which I wholeheartedly support. There isn’t a writer in the country who wouldn’t give their eye teeth to see one million copies of their work printed off and delivered to people all over Scotland, but this is a high profile publication and it will feature contributions from people who are considerably better known than a random blogger with a cute dug. Amongst those who will be penning a piece for the special free newspaper are Gordon Macintyre-Kemp, author of Scotland the Brief, and of course the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon herself, along with other senior figures from the SNP and the Scottish Government.
The special newspaper is being designed and edited by fellow Ayrshire resident the estimable Richard Walker, who you may remember was the editor of the Sunday Herald when it came out for Yes during the 2014 referendum. He later went on to found The National and is now editor of The National’s Sunday sister publication. As an award winning newspaper editor, you can be sure that the special free newspaper will be of the very highest quality.
Believe in Scotland, the campaigning arm of Business for Scotland, have done sterling work debunking the scare stories and alarmism of the British nationalist opponents of independence, who would have us believe that Scotland is an economic basket case which couldn’t afford to fund basic public services as an independent nation. If you haven’t already done so, you should get a copy of Believe in Scotland’s excellent Scotland the Brief and get it into the hands of your friends and relatives who are still undecided about the merits of independence. It details the immense resources and potential which this cold, damp and heart-achingly beautiful country of ours possesses and how they can be harnessed to improve the lot of the people of Scotland. You can order a copy here https://www.businessforscotland.com/scotland-the-brief/
The immense advantage of a free newspaper with an enormous print run is that there are enough copies of it to allow it to be delivered to half of all the households in the country, according to the most recent available census figures, the 5.5 million people of Scotland live in around 2.3 million households. That means that potentially a half of the entire population of Scotland could see a copy of this special newspaper. Many of those households and individuals will not have engaged with the arguments for independence and this could be an invaluable way of reaching out to them.
Not everyone engages with or is interested in politics, and even if they don’t sit down and read this special edition of The National from cover to cover, its mere existence in their letterbox and its delivery to a large number of households where they have friends and relatives tells them that the independence movement in Scotland is a lot more than a few people trading snark on social media, it is large, well organised and influential in the real world. That is particularly important in a country like Scotland where the traditional media is overwhelmingly opposed to Scottish independence and goes out of its way to criticise and attack the Scottish Government and to magnify and promote any news story which can be spun as bad for independence while minimising and diminishing news stories which are positive for Scottish independence.
I try in this blog to keep the focus on attacking the true opponents of Scottish independence, the anti independence parties which are apologists for the British state and British nationalism, while at the same time formulating arguments and articles which have a chance of getting through to the soft noes and undecideds whom we must persuade of the case for independence if we are to win the independence campaign that is coming in the next couple of years. I don’t always succeed but I try to write in a style that is amusing and entertaining in the hopes that this will help to get through to those all important but as yet politically disengaged people whose votes will be crucial in deciding the outcome of the next Scottish independence referendum. However I’m not kidding myself on here, this blog, just like every other Scottish politics blog, is to a very large extent preaching to the converted.
I don’t say that as a criticism of anyone else’s blog, it is simply a reflection of the nature of the blogging beast and the Internet in general. People tend to seek out online resources that confirm their own views whatever those views may be, and once they discover them, tend to keep revisiting. The online echo-chamber phenomenon is very real. In order to reach out to the people whom we must convert to support for independence, it is vital to break out of that reinforcing but closed loop of opinions and to take arguments for Scottish independence to people who are not already convinced and who do not realise the true extent of the harm that the Conservatives are doing to both Scotland and the UK as a whole, and to democracy in general, people who are unaware of the realities of the depths of Westminster corruption and the impossibility of meaningful change within the UK.
The great value of this joint initiative from The National, Believe in Scotland and the SNP, is that it has the potential to do just that. It has the potential to take the message of independence to people who would never consider searching online for a pro-independence blog ,who prefer to use Facebook for swapping recipes and keeping up with family news, and who very sensibly restrict their use of Twitter to what it should really be kept for, which is tweeting gifs of cats being cute. One million copies of a pro-independence newspaper mean one million arguments for yes which can reach precisely those people that we need to reach if we are to restore Scotland’s rightful place among the independent nations of the world.
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I look forward to this publication as probably the most significant step ever made towards Scotlands Independence, I have no doubt this will be packed full of the correct credible arguments and reasons for why it’s not only desirable to become Independent but necessary for our future both economically and wellbeing
A word of caution perhaps as to the backlash from the British Nationalists media might be in order as they will no doubt front page dissect and attempt to destroy every word contained within this project and if Twitter is anything to go by they’ve already begun their attacks before it’s even out there, although that also proves how afraid they are that those who oppose Independence in Scotland finally wake up and see the truth of it
The bubble works both ways. The Twitterati Brittles will only be blustering to themselves.
For those of us who are watching the movement with great interest from abroad, will there be an online version of the publication?
I’ve been wondering this too William.
If anyone has the info, would you please post it here.
Paul, do you know if it will be available on line?
8 pages will be a hefty read…but worth it.
Thank you Glasgow for hosting the COP….and showcasing a great city.
Again Paul, thanks for this…stay well, friend.
I’m going to check if some previously NO-voting people get a copy, and what they think of it. If they don’t get a copy I might try to get them someone else’s copy – including mine if I get it, once I’ve read it.
If we all did that …
Indeed it is a formidable effort by all concerned, right down to Yes groups making sure they still have enough hands and feet to distribute….
Bravo all…
“However I’m not kidding myself on here, this blog, just like every other Scottish politics blog, is to a very large extent preaching to the converted.”
That has been my argument/viewpoint for a long time, the war for Independence (and make no mistake the opponents of Independence will make it a war!) was never going to be won or lost on blogs like this.
You are right this is about feeling like what you think isn’t crazy, that the desire to be like any other normal country in the world isn’t abnormal, reading the thoughts of like minded individuals gives you that sense of reinforcement.
However, this battle will be won and lost in the “real” world, where we do have a “natural” imbalance, that of the lovely folks of the Scottish media!
So anything that seeks to redress that imbalance has to be a good thing?
Now obviously I haven’t seen it yet but the fact that there is a contribution, no doubt front and centre, from the First Minister has to be a good thing,
(suspect I’m about to join the numpty watch on another blog here!)
but the simple fact is she is the biggest asset that we have,
the vast majority of Scots like her, they trust her and those who are undecided on the question that is coming will giver her a fair hearing,
That is a great starting position,
I’m not belittling the work of grassroots Yes,
their time and work will not be wasted but if you have something tangible to take into the forthcoming battle that has to help them/us?
It also says to me that the naysayers elsewhere may be about to eat their words,
if you are producing something like this,
it does kind of suggest to me that we may just be quite near to an announcement and the firing of the starting gun or given my war analogies, the whistle as we “Go over the top”!?
I just posted this on the revious thread – seems more appropriate here. The Scottish newspaper front pages have disappeared from the BBC website. You can still see the Nov 15th front pages. I have no idea why. Could The National front page be the problem?
The massive outpouring of hatred towards the National the FM and Scotland from English and British nationalists is evidence of how successful this and the FM is
If they really believed there was no threat to their stranglehold on Scotland they wouldn’t care
Great Paul but don’t downplay your brilliant writing.
I am satisfied that the FM is adopting the correct, level headed, approach towards securing independence. My thought is that this publication should reflect that approach and I’m confident that it will.
By chance – I still had the BBC front pages on my very smart phone. Flicking through, most of them focus on the hospital bomber; the “I” and Scotsman focus on businesses “on the brink” if NS extends Covid measures, The Herald says Local Councils are at “tippng point” (is that a pun about binmen?) and the evening papers all focus on local issues. Only The National has a front page that would upset a unionist.
Radio 4 WatO has just spent half an hour on a regional issue about racism in English cricket. Appalling evidence by Azeem Rafiq at the Westminster Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee of the level of racism experienced. They are now discussing Islamist terrorism amongst other kinds in relation to the hospital bomber (who was actually a Christian convert).
What a dump.
Link to BBC front pages in Scotland from my phone:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-59302476
A briliant initiative. While people like us would undoubtedly enjoy having a read, in a way that would be a waste. The more copies which can be placed in the hands of “uncommitteds” and non-subscribers the better. In this media hostile environment, they are the ones who would most benefit from a dose of well-crafted arguments for indy they otherwise would miss. I hope that aim is very much in hand. This is where “Yes” volunteers can make a substantial and effective contribution.
I thought this might be of interest.
Really well done.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/e8vkjmttbw/glasgow-scotland-the-last-best-hope-to-fight-climate-change
Thx for posting – a really well produced article on the Clyde, its history and a low carbon future.
Meanwhile on Planet 1.6% they’re still going on about GRA. Never mind climate change or the pandemic or Brexit or poverty or Tory corruption, opposition to GRA trumps all these matters..
Well, some people do. The rest of us might have some degree of concern, but not enough to cast ourselves out into the political wilderness when there is a more pressing self-governance issue to resolve first.
Latest from the Western Colonies:
https://nation.cymru/news/scottish-independence-would-change-the-views-of-labour-politicians-in-wales-says-plaid-ms/
Scottish independence would ‘change the views’ of Labour politicians in Wales, says Plaid MS
16 Nov 2021 3 minute Read
A Plaid Cymru MS has said it would “change the views” of Labour politicians in Wales if Scotland becomes independent.
Rhys ab Owen, the South Wales Central regional Senedd member for the pro-independence party, was reacting to an opinion poll which suggested that the SNP would gain five extra seats, taking its total to 53, if a general election were held tomorrow.
[…]
https://nation.cymru/news/welsh-government-reveal-members-of-its-new-constitutional-commission/
Welsh Government reveal members of its new Constitutional Commission
16 Nov 2021 5 minute Read
The Welsh Government has revealed the members of its new Constitutional Commission.
The independent commission has been created to make recommendations about Wales’ constitutional future.
The commission will develop options for the fundamental reform of the constitutional structures of the UK in which Wales remains an integral part and it will also consider all progressive options to strengthen Welsh democracy.
[…]
Should be a good read……..one to carry around in my GIANT handbag.
It’s a great idea. How will the lucky household be chosen?
Believe in Scotland has more information. It’s a joint initiative between The National, the SNP and Believe in Scotland so there will be many distribution points around Scotland.
https://www.believeinscotland.org/inspirational-new-independence-message-fires-the-starting-gun-on-indyref2/
Been waiting for something like this to get done for quite a while now, it’s something of a numbers game so if enough copies are distributed widely enough (1 mil would be great) and effectively makes the point(s) about why Scotland should be and must be independent in an easily understood and appreciable way then there could be at an uneducated guess another 100,000 Yes votes that wouldn’t have been there before, perhaps more though I wouldn’t want to slip into wishful thinking..
Definitely a kickass move that I’m very pleased to hear about.
Well chuffed by this initiative, a fine example of collaboration between different arms of the movement, I have no doubt more are in the pipeline.
Never ever doubt your contribution and worth to our movement Paul, you are an outstanding ambassador and inspiration to many.
Och lol.
https://archive.md/5EQe0
Boris Johnson ‘gives Douglas Ross the red card’ with changes to MP rules
BORIS Johnson has “given Douglas Ross the red card” – as the Prime Minister was forced to propose rule changes that would bar the Scottish Tory leader from retaining his second and third jobs as a football referee and an MSP.
What the MSN won’t tell you is that the ‘new’ rules have been lifted from the Senedd’s guide to Members.
It can’t be seen that we can learn anything from those uppity Taffs, can we?
https://nation.cymru/news/johnsons-suggestion-for-tackling-lobbying-scandal-taken-from-senedds-guidance-to-members/
Yea, and not for the first time, May was not afraid to show her distain for her successor
Believe in Scotland seem to be doing the right things to win people over to indy, and doing them proactively too. Something long overdue, IMO.
Visiting their website to find out more about the 1M copies, I was attracted to another page, one on their recent investigation into the motivations of a collection of no-to-yes switchers:
http://www.believeinscotland.org/200-no-to-yes-voters-tell-us-why-they-now-believe-in-scotland
The results are enlightening, and worth mulling-over. The-thing-that-mustn’t-be-named being far-and-away the standout item, as might be expected. But the others also. Everything helps.
The authors’ first comment:
One hopes that lesson will be learnt by the eventual showdown, and the former touchy-feely campaign will not only be replaced by one with a far more convincing economic basis but will also have a sharper edge, unafraid to drag out and expose to full public view all the lies, dissimulations and betrayals Scotland has had to endure before, during and since IR1. “Away from” with a vengeance.
But why not ask them about GRA! 🙂
This is very interesting, and I can’t help but laugh at this:
About 5% mentioned Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership in general and emphasised her leadership during the health crises.
Long may the British Nationalists and ‘real independence supporters’ continue to utterly misunderstand Scottish people and relentlessly obsess about her.
As I said in a recent comment, I don’t believe the wave to temporary peak of 2020 was in any way Sturgeon related. It was about trying to seek control when everything was out of control. The 2008-9 financial crisis and aftermath had a similar effect; catapulting the SNP to a majority and iref1. Brexit is doing the same, but because its effects have taken time to be seen, it’s been a slow burner.
The SNP are not the reason Scotland is moving towards indy, and this plot shows it all too well. They have just benefitted from an increasing number of Yes supporters looking for a party to vote for. By stint of their general competence they’ve hoovered these up.
Very interesting (but hardly surprising) that Brexit is playing a huge part and herein lies the opportunity. The 2014 YES campaign was 100% positive, and rightly so. However, we live in very different times and the Brexit impact displayed on the above graph indicates that fear is a massive factor. Fear worked against YES in 2014, but it won’t necessarily this time. It depends on us. As some polling experts have already indicated, only positive reasons were promoted to vote YES in 2014. The only risk (potential negative) factor was to vote YES. Status quo = NO was the “safe” option (how did that work out?) Next time, there will be an equal, if not great risk to vote NO (ie. continue on the Brexit path to destruction).
So, bottom line – in 2014 YES was the carrot. 55% of voters declined the positive offer and opted to stay “safe”. . Next time, however, we need both a carrot and a stick, and with some push we can get over the line. If we stick just with the positive, indy pot of gold at the end of the rainbow line, we might not make it. I’m not all for relying too much on “doom and gloom” but people really do need to be informed just how dangerous voting NO can be this time IMO. Let’s have a more balanced, push-pull approach this time. Brexit offers a marvellous opportunity. I hope this is reflected in the free copy of the National that is being planned.
Brexit, brexit, brexit!
Is the key it seems. As I noted, it’s something that Scots feel is out of control, and importantly, out of their control. The worse it gets, the more they’ll want to ‘take back control’.
On the UK government incompetence aspect, well, we can let them get on with that themselves! ‘Never interrupt an enemy when they’re make a prize erse of themselves’….
There’s little point engaging with unionist trolls.
This is a great initiative by Believe In Scotland and I’m pleased that the SNP and Greens have got behind it. I understand that the papers are printed and are ready and waiting to be put through the doors of half of Scotland’s houses in the coming weeks.
A big hand for all those volunteers that will be doing the legwork and helping spread the message, I don’t mind if I don’t personally get one as I’d rather that they might be read by those yet to make their mind up. I’m sure I’ll come across one in time.
I too hope that the entire paper will be reproduced online for those that fail to receive a copy of the real thing, I’m sure there will be lots of very useful arguments in there for us all to use in the coming battles.
The timing of this is very interesting, so too is the fact that the Believe In Scotland website talked of the next referendum as being in 2023 but I doubt that they know any better than anyone else. The timing will take care of itself but it’s great to see the start of a meaningful attempt to capture the votes of some doubters now.
Kudos indeed for the initiative and to the volunteers involved.
I also noted the website reference to 2023, and with some personal reservations, not least because there was the teensiest hint of “60percent-ism” about it. Their reasoning is to give time for the case for indy to really register with the undecideds – and given BiS are actually doing something proactive to help achieve that, they deserve to be heard – but for me that amount of time does rather tempt providence. It’s not safe to assume that we will have an unmitigated free run from now to an IR2 in ’23, for several fairly obvious reasons and probably as many surprises.
Read that it will apparently be included as an insert of Saturday’s National…
Must get to shop early then, The National is very often nowhere to be seen, usually it’s hidden on lower shelf under the European. I suspect a few Tory foot soldiers are deployed to remove it from the shop shelves, money being no barrier.
[…] Source […]
The initiative has certainly upset the usual unionist crowd, much wailing and gnashing of teeth, awash with absurd claims of environmental damage from ACH etc, little do they seem to realise how much free publicity they’ve given it 🤣
Conversely not even a passing mention on the BBC webpages this morning, a million being the biggest print run in recent Scottish history, at a time the Scotsman and Herald are struggling to keep tens of thousands of readers.
Good…
Found this article on Al Jazeera.Funny I saw nothingabout it in uk press or wireless. Seems the vaccine developed in Livingston might be a game changer in the fight against Corona Virus.
http://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/11/9/valneva-covid-19-vaccine-why-it-might-be-a-game-changer?
Aye that’s the same vaccine that Johnson reneged on. Looks like a bit of a blunder. Wha wad hae thocht?
Good news indeed. Staff at the Livingston plant will be delighted.
Great post Naina. Deserves to be reposted.
This may seem a petty/trivial example of anti Scottish propaganda in the context of everything that is going down just now and indeed has occurred in the past…but tis but one of the many examples where someone from another country (England) is given a platform on UK national television to spout misinformation….through ignorance ?…. or because the individual is confident in the knowledge that it will go unchallenged at the time/place where he is misinforming the audience of this untruth ?…..as the media is largely dominated by individuals from that one country (England) that gets the unfair UK media coverage advantage over the other country/s (Scotland/Wales) in being given yet another opportunity to talk on matters they are ignorant of or so detached from out of sheer disinterest .
Video on Twitter showing Mike Parry on Jeremy Vine show stating that no Scottish player in Scotland team good enough just now to play in English premier league……person who tweeted this video stated untrue as there were six Scottish players in Scotland football team line up who play in English premier league……Mike Parry is also given a platform on GB News the most recent addition to a growing televised media that is so misinformed and at times blatant re lies about all things on Scottish politics/SNP/Nicola Sturgeon/Scotland as a country that is beyond farcical…where non facts and biased assumptions via biased Unionist individuals (mostly largely English but occasionally also Pro Unionists within Scotland ) ‘opinions’ hold sway over the reality of us who actually LIVE in Scotland……..
Now think of the many political assertions spouted on UK national television by individuals who state unchallenged untruths of their faux perception/opinion of Scotland in relation to the NHS, Education, SNP as Scottish government, Scotland as a country etc……the individual/s make sweeping statements with no facts/figures to back up their statements…..no comparison to the rest of the UK is given to reflect the true position of matters within the UK’s individual countries ……where information does seep out on the true position in England on the NHS, Education etc, where negative, then excuses and weak arguments are used to explain away the true position as somehow unavoidable because of this or that excuse……where ‘other factors’ are at play as opposed to the actual reality of the gross mismanagement via the Tory UK government.
I do not watch shows like Jeremy Vine or GB news but via Twitter I see that these same guests given a platform are easily able and allowed to cross over from both of these channels to give their skewed observations and also some of these same guests are given another platform via SKY news to review the newspapers……the fact is these types of people are promoted to INFLUENCE the opinions of the gullible as opposed to REFECTING the opinions of the many thousands of people like us……where as a nation Scotland’s REAL news is ignored and neglected, with the exception of but one newspaper The National, and where no honest individual/s are given a regular platform via the media to uphold and promote OUR opinion and beliefs or that of our country ?
As to the radio….well TalkRADIO where some of it’s previous ‘presenters’ found a fitting new home with jobs on GB News…..that station is filled with the exactly the same types of characters who misinform and are blatantly biased and against the SNP/Nicola Sturgeon/Scotland……..and who are given a platform to present THEIR version of truth from a mostly uninformed English perspective……where the vacuous void is filled with lies and biased perceptions and where truth and fact are strangers to their various transmissions spewed out by idiots whose main job is to deceive and manipulate the gullible and like minded individuals who tune into their propaganda.
Come Independence the media needs an overhaul in Scotland…….and no not a media solely compliant with the Scottish government but a media that is objective and promotes Scotland in a positive light as an independent country…..sadly the poor excuse for media transmitted in Scotland jus now and the so called ‘Scottish’ versions of the printed press in Scotland provides a disservice to all who reside in Scotland…….I mean if they LOVE their UK so much why have different editions of the papers/Televised news….why not just have one edition/news programme covering all of THEIR UK …….why not ?…………..well because THEN too much bias towards ONE nation (England) within THEIR UK would be exposed as opposed to the pretend version we are subjected to just now in Scotland…..currently the MAIN news on TV is just another English version of the news as well as their respective regional English news editions…..the only time they mention Scotland in the news is when they are promoting another SNPBAD agenda or a Scotland is sh**e narrative.
IndyRef2……..the beginning of a new age for Scotland…..can’t come soon enough then we can start to enjoy life like any normal citizen in a normal independent country…..what the heck is the problem with that ?
Interestingly https://www.thenational.scot/news/19722306.jeremy-vine-show-mike-parry-outrageous-rant-scotland-team/
I’ve no interest in football, and even less in the opinions of Mike Parry or Jeremy Vine, both of whom appear to pander to or genuinely believe in English exceptionalism.
I’m old enough to remember David Coleman’s commentary, “a hard loss for Scotland/Ireland/Wales” v “Great Britain wins gold/silver/bronze” depending on the result, and the inverse if they were English, so opinions from Parry or Vine are nothing new.
I, like you Bob, also have no interest in their opinions as know only too well what they represent however their opinions are broadcast on national UK TV with no counter argument given to offer a defence from someone who actually LIVES in Scotland and who perhaps knows more or preferably has facts that contradict/expose their incorrect statements.
The media , and those given a platform on it, can sway/influence the opinion of some who either do not seek out or perhaps have no access/knowledge to alternate news via social media….thus are reliant on news they get via a dominant Unionist media…..and that is a travesty and a obstacle to truth about all things pertaining to Scotland.
Indeed their opinions are nothing new and have existed for as long as I , and sure many others, have existed…..however they do still exist and there are those who live among us who are influenced to believe what they spout has credibility…….indeed they may even think ‘there is no smoke without fire”…..even if they do not believe all of the story/s that is being presented to them…..the “no smoke without fire” was indeed something I heard an old guy say once when he was reading an SNPBAD headline on a news stand in a supermarket about the SNP via an edition of one of the gutter press ……..also some people actually believe the so called integrity of the media….as in they CANNOT lie…..or believe that they , the media, are supposedly NOT even allowed to present a biased presentation of a story…..naive yes of those who may live among us….but perhaps why there are still those, outwith the usual BRITNAT suspects, who live in Scotland who still vote for Unionist parties at elections?
As to those who supposedly chair political / topical debate shows they are sadly deficient in hiding their own bias and whose audience largely consists of uninformed and biased individuals via a majority……so what hope is there ever for Scotland and indeed it’s current government to get a fair hearing ?
David Coleman a blast from the past…..not a unique example either…from the past….though his replacements are cut from the same cloth in their allegiance to the sport of but one nation within THEIR UK…..our sport/sportsmen/women in Scotland are presented as incidental news of no great significance in THEIR supposed UK that THEY pretend to promote as being united as one and greater together while actively doing the opposite…….same goes for their lack of interest in wales and Northern Ireland’s sportsmen/women and national sporting teams…….also how many trees are lost to spout Unionist press propaganda I wonder….perhaps ask Alex Cole Hamilton as seems to be latest vehicle he has jumped on to promote another SNPBAD mantra……AC Hamilton & Media in Scotland…two peas in a pod within Scotland.
Sad state of affair is it not ….only end when we dump the lot of them…..
Have a nice day Bob
🙂
Let them talk. Scots will notice. Good!
Some may think this insensitive but HRH Queen Elizabeth looks completely gaunt and appears to have lost around 30lbs in the last week and at her age we all know what that might mean, the biggest political distraction Johnson and his crew can get and we know they’ll use it just for that
Well, it comes to us all sooner or later, no? It would be utterly churlish to deny her her fair due whenever it comes, but in these viewer-fickle times, way less might be tolerated than back in the reverential ’50s or ’60s. And I suspect that by marking the end of an era, it might be prelude to a time for substantive re-evaluation rather than public wallowing in nostalgia. In Scotland anyway.
Nmrn
Excellent summation of the current situation.
When any snp/green on tv/ radio reference should be made to the intitiative.
🙂
An all too familiar story. Regularly dismissed as just ‘banter’, and ‘it can’t be racism as we are all brits’. Tell that to some English cricket players…
http://archive.md/7ewvL
Perthshire born actor Alan Cumming left ‘worn down’ by anti-Scottish sentiment in London
Perthshire native Alan Cumming has told how he experienced ‘prejudice’ in London, with assumptions made about his intelligence because of how he speaks…
…He said that often in London assumptions were made about Scottish people and their education…
…But he added that after moving to New York, he found that his Scottish-ness was actually celebrated.
“When I went to New York, all the things that I had been kind of reminded of in London, my Scottish-ness, my difference, the way I sounded, in a negative way, I was celebrated for.
“So that made me feel like I had a place at the table,” he explained.
Explains why he moved to NYC anyway. There and London are obvious fit a stage job, but in London you get the anti-scots racism.
Racism is the often used mask to cover up cultural exceptionalism that is not specific to colour, anyone who’s not of those who consider themselves superior have always been the subject of denigration, since the dawn of mankind no race creed or colour has been excepted by the exceptionalists
These people come in all colours
The thing about exceptionalism is that it is rooted in insecurity. If you’re fine in your own skin, you don’t have any need to lord it over anyone else.
I sympathise – although, tbf, it’s not simply anti-Scottish. It’s more the ignorance and complacency that comes from living in the London Bubble.
I used to get it all the time because of my (vaguely) Lancashire accent. We all wear clogs ‘down t’pit’ and ‘it each uther ower ‘t’ead wi black puddins, sithee. Ee ecky thump.
(And the Goddies sketch is still very funnt, btw)
I see we have another Tory apologist Isabel Oakeshott defending Stanley Johnson against allegations of improper touching of a female…according to Isabel who tweeted this on Stanley, who she is friendly, it’s apparently harmless based on who is being accused:
” The charming Stanley Johnson can be a little over friendly- indeed handsy but i don’t believe this is one for the police. Officers should focus their limited resources on investigating real crimes”
So slapping a female’s bottom and making an inappropriate remark is acceptable to Isabel as Stanley is just “over friendly” and “handsy”( so as in too familiar and inappropriate )…..or is it more WHO did the slapping that is acceptable and appropriate to Isabel….
Reminds me of the time Julia Hartley Brewer defended the then Tory defence secretary Michael Fallon when he repeatedly touched her knee during a dinner……where she defended him and considered it ridiculous that he ultimately resigned from his ministerial position …..his resignation was actually due to an allegation of inappropriate and lewd comments towards fellow Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom when they both sat on the Treasury Select Committee. … She had contacted Downing Street about the incident several hours before he resigned….Julia’s disclosure of her knee being touched was SUPPOSED to be a defence of him……mere female mortals such as I saw it as a reinforcement of my opinion that he was a sleaze ball……and in no way should represent constituents as an MP never mind a cabinet minister…..another over friendly and handsy Tory.
But Julia, like Isabel , are females who seem to not see themselves as vulnerable to any (TORY) men in power’s/social status inappropriate behaviour and what looks like, for these men, a shocking sense of entitlement that they think permits them to act in such a way with no detrimental consequence……..for many other females like me who are but mere mortals….well we would deem this as an abuse of that power/social status and would seek some form of retribution…..especially given the recent publicised allegations and indeed in some cases convictions of other powerful men upon women….and young girls.
Isabel promoting “a rule for them and a rule for us” on behalf of the privileged few who coincidentally just happen to be connected to the Conservative Unionist party and are the elite in HER UK…..would her or Julia’s support extend to SNP politicians……..I think NOT.
OT
This is the last day, by 23.59 tonight, to sign up for a National subscription and get 1,000 Scotcoin free (admin can catch up later).
I can’t post on the National, but there are claims there it’s a scam, and it’s not listed on coinmarketcap – well, a simple google finds it is.
https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/scotcoin-nxt/
Value of 1,000 currently is 10 brown cents – £0.08p.
The advisory board appear to be OK people. I have nothing to do with Scotcoin, don’t have any cryptocurrency, don’t even use a leather wallet, and have nothing to do with Scotcoin.
So why are they giving away a grand total so far for 1,000 signed up dudes, £80? Well, it’s 1 million more Scotcoin in circulation and that helps to build its value as a currency. A bit like giving away Betamax videos to get people to buy VCRs. Maybe if they had way back then, the standard would be Betamax.
All just my opinion, but the word “scam” can be used wrongly, I think it isn’t a scam at all, even if I’m not taking advantage of my own free 8p. I did wonder whether I should add bitcoin as a way of payment on my websites – answer, no. Not yet anyway!
I registered for mine. It’s free. How can free be a scam?
I hope it helps establish a Scottish crypto-currency which could be used for transactions and maybe even gain in value but that would be a bonus.
“How can free be a scam?” By pulling in many more people who pay their own money, of course. Loss leader. Ponzi schemes pay out real well to the first fortunate few! Not that I’m saying that this one is. Nor wishing it ill. But the potential for {ahem} turbulence is very real.
You have to start somewhere, I suppose. But I would be more willing to pile in if yir2 were accepting payments in it! {laugh}
Let’s see. I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt if the The National has backed it. We sure need to get away from the giant Ponzi scheme that is the City of London and the Tory Party.
I listened to the debate in Holyrood yesterday marking the first anniversary of the Scottish Investment Bank. Hard to believe it’s a year already. Kate Forbes was impressive as always and the usual moaners in the Tory and Labour parties whinged on about “lack of ambition” and so on. As you say – you’ve got to start somewhere.
Link to Holyrood debate:
https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/scottish-government-debate-celebrate-the-first-anniversary-of-the-scottish-national-investment-bank-november-16-2021
I likewise was extremely impressed yesterday by Kate Forbes and her clear mastery of her brief. A true star. The oppo moaners are a pathetic crew, and I for one wouldn’t like any of them anywhere near our communal money. Most especially the Tory sleaze-merchants.
It’s probably more appropriate for a service industry at the moment, haircut, grasscutting, maybe even coffee and home bake, where costs are low and normal item profit high. On the basis of it’s business you otherwise wouldn’t get. Save them up until they grow in value then spend them. But even then you’d have to value them at 1p each at most at the moment, total for 1,000 = £10.
I think though you’d still have to pay up the VAT if registered, so you’d have to not be VAT registered. Yeah, and the accounting could be a problem.
(mutter mutter off into the distance …)
Excellent news for both NI and Scotland.
Shows how rapidly we’ll shift away from trade with the rapidly declining UK post-indy.
Being essentially outside the wall is already of clear benefit to NI.
Trade surges between Northern Ireland and Ireland after Brexit
The value of trade between Northern Ireland and Ireland has rocketed since Brexit with cross-border business increasing in both directions, official data shows.
Figures released on Wednesday by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in Dublin show that the value of imports from Northern Ireland surged by 60% in the first nine months of 2021 and are now valued at €2.8bn (£2.37bn).
Trade in the other direction has also increased, with a 48% rise in exports to Northern Ireland from the republic, bringing the total value of trade to €2.57bn for January to September 2021.
Roll on the hard border at Gretna bonanza!
A bonanza of border control jobs, civil service jobs and the new Independent Scotland tourist jobs
There can be great benefits to controlling one’s own borders I’ve heard, well England seems to like it for themselves but strangely are against the same rights for Scotland
Hitler got the idea for concentration camps from the British too (Boer War). He greatly admired the brutal, repressiveness of the British in their empire building.
https://archive.md/O9GFj
Nazis based their elite schools on top British private schools
Eton and Harrow among those whose ‘character-building’ qualities were admired by German educators in 1930s and 1940s
Excellent article. I can recommend “Posh Boys: How English Public Schools Ruin Britain” by Robert Verkaik. He quotes the Nazis too e.g. recommending which public schools to send their children to once they conquer England.
Aye, if you want to understand where the idea of British/English exceptionalism/racism comes from, it’s the public schools.
In terms of producing feckless racist buffoons, £50k in fees seems a lot of money to me. I’m pretty sure bozo entered as exactly the same idiot he left as.
Someone somewhere has worked out a very clever way to have fools part with their money.
Did I not read somewhere that von Ribbentrop (when he was the Reich’s Ambassador to Britain) wanted (or even obtained) for his son to attend Eton or similar – mid 1930s?
Capella seems to have the same library as me. I too have “Posh Boys” at home!
Didn’t Jackie Baillie attend an English public school ? Case in point.
Colonial England and Portugal rolled into one.
Fiona Bruce also attended likewise born in Singapore.
I don’t think they know any better, the daughters and sons of colonists.
Another female that misogynists do not like- basically they are female and more intelligent than them.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/17/politics/house-vote-censure-gosar-aoc-video/index.html
Tonight they had the BBC nonsense *debate night* programme asking the questions about what could we all do about the nasty Tories in Westminster scamming the system for all they can get, and the answer that never came from anyone is *nothing*
As long as I’ve been alive nothing has ever changed at Westminster in the English parliament, and I call it the English parliament for the reason that we the people in Scotland have and never will ever be able to do anything because we don’t vote these people into office, the electorate of England decides who is in office in England and which party that will be and we in Scotland are an irrelevance to their procedures, if England wants a jumping monkey on a stick that’s what’ll be the government, right now they voted themselves a blonde monkey on a zip wire and there’s sod all we can do about it
There’s only one way not have to put up with English parliamentary abuse of power and money
Vote for Scottish Independence, and if by chance it were to happen here we can vote them out because it’ll be our parliament not an English one where we don’t get to decide anything
What kind of idiots keep hanging around waiting and hoping for England to vote somebody better into office, that was the Labour party’s con on Scotland for decades “When Labour get in it’ll all be better” well has it ever? of course not, they’ve made a fool of Scotland by telling voters “just wait and one day when England votes in somebody good” for God sake how thick do you have to be to keep waiting lifetimes for people in another country to do something different to what they like
England likes the Tories or they wouldn’t have voted for them, they like Brexit, they like isolation, they like the idea of thinking they’re more powerful than the next country, they like being in control, they like Imperialism, they like Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland being colonies belonging to them in exactly the same way they patronised all the other colonies of various colours of people who belonged to their Empire and their Queen
Scotland does not count, make it count by leaving these corrupt Bastirts to their own devices and let’s move on with the rest of the world
It always comes back to agency. The agency of a Scottish Government that has the economic heft and the full sovereignty to do the right thing by and for the People of Scotland. And the agency of the People of Scotland to change it whenever it doesn’t.
I see the bbc are on the attack again this time against Dr Leitch re covid.
Trying the guilt by association. Simple fact is there are many incidents as to the source of covid causing illness or death and will never be known fully.
Sad all around but for an organisation to tap into a grieving family is real base journalism.
Do we really believe the bbc care about the family?
Sorry forgot to add this https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-59322416
Radio bulletin on GMS also.
BBC Scotland is truly pernicious. The people running this propaganda unit should be sacked. Their constant attempt to undermine the public health measures of the Scottish Government during a deadly pandemic is criminal IMO. Imagine if this was an Ebola pandemic and the national broadcaster continually cast doubt on the health service, containment measures and personnel at every level. Disgraceful.
They’re immediately on the job with ‘racism in Scottish cricket’ too. Classic British ‘but we’re all just as racist as each other’ story.
For sure we have racists in Scotland; I’ve been subject to it as a white dual Scottish-Irishman. It’s why British parties like the BNP, National Front, UKIP, Tories pick up votes.
I suspect national identity vs racist attitudes data would be quite revealing.
A disgraceful article indeed, oddly reminiscent of the Millie Main campaign.
Note that this is yet again another unattributed article, the “Analysis by Lisa Summers” the only certain direct connection to the BBC, but promoted in prime promotion spot by BBC both on the Scotland and Politics web-pages…
Whoever wrote this opened with the “full details of his illness were concealed to protect the reputation of a troubled hospital”, the exact same conspiracy flag as before and so beloved of the spooks and propagandists – Troubled hospital ? To whom ? Incontinent pigeons ?
They’ve had almost a year to construct this since Andrew Slorance’s death, yet the entire construct hangs on treatment for Aspergillus.
Was it “treatment” for a detected issue or a precautionary protection for an extremely vulnerable patient with a weak immune system ?
The job of a journalist is not to report any old opinion (as long as it’s anti-SNP or their advisers). If someone says it’s raining and someone else say it’s dry, the job of the journalist is to look out the window and see for him/her self (Sally Claire’s tutor).
We can conclude that these people are not journalists. Typists?
I just read the BBC item on racism in Scottish cricket. Not so long ago I didn’t know anyone played cricket in Scotland. But here we are – if there’s racism in English cricket, and it is scandalous, then it must be just as bad in Scotland.
Is all this coming from Michael Gove’s union unit? he’s been very quiet lately.
Yes Capella…….it’s a let’s drag Scottish cricket down toooooooooooooooo.
” if there’s racism in English cricket, and it is scandalous, then it must be just as bad in Scotland”
Yep that is a formula applied by the media…..no Scottish exceptionalism allowed.
Yes there is racism in Scotland…….as there is everywhere…..BUT…..when something negative is highlighted in England then it must be countered with the SAME negative (or worse) in Scotland…..I mean how quickly did the corruption committed by a Tory MP who as a paid consultant for a private company change/morph into a second jobs issue …..by the media and some Tory MP’s/MSP’s.
The real scandal is where he , Owen Paterson as a paid consultant, lobbied government ministers to get contracts for a private company….which he succeeded in doing and where contract won was not tendered out………then blink and suddenly it becomes very quickly an issue on second jobs…..AND…..then questions asked on Ian Blackford…REALLY ?….questions and insinuations by desperate Tories and a media too quick to gaslight people into framing this corruption via Tory MP’s as a …………second job issue…..forgetting some MP’s second jobs are actually benefitting the community e.g. Doctors and Nurses as opposed to working for financial institutions or private companies seeking government contracts….and getting them…while also just so happen to be a company or individual who donates to the Tory party….how very cosy.
DRoss himself is, as per, and just like the Baroness, protected and left unchallenged………as are the other Tories who are mired in a form of corruption as in renting out properties while claiming rent from the tax payers for the other property they live in……..and Geoffrey Cox included in that as well….and of course not forgetting Mr Cox’s astonishingly high earnings that he has accrued in his ‘other’ role outwith his MP job…………to benefit HIMSELF financially.
Cash for peerages another corruption issue…and one that the Met police think that the person who has referred this to them is the one who should present the evidence to them …..as in that person investigate and actually do all of the hard work for the Met police for the job they are paid to do and who as a police force are expected to do….by taxpayers ……..more like the Met police under DAME Cressida Dick do not want to touch this or ANY other Tory hot political potato…….meanwhile the force of the law is IMPOSED upon us mere mortals….pretty much on investigations by the police on evidence THEY the police accumulate…apparently that is NOT how it works if you are a Tory …..who knew…..well us …. based on this and previous cases.
“Insufficient evidence”…..”will not investigate”…..”no evidence”……is there a pattern forming here between the Met police and the Tory party……I think there is…..and I think the organ grinder aka Dame Dick is the root of the problem that sees the blocking of action against Tory MP’s……..as a Commissioner of police she is NOT fit for purpose….perhaps time SHE was investigated…after all we have the ……EVIDENCE…. in her actions…or rather LACK of action.
Though drag the Met police down…and the media will quickly find the Scottish police lacking in something too…..that’s the formula.
Racism of course occurs in Scotland. However, that doesn’t mean it’s ‘Scottish’. We would need to know the national identities of those involved to assess this.
If a British man racially abuses people the south of Spain, it’s self-evidently not ‘Spanish racism’. Same rules apply in Scotland.
It’s the nature of living in a multi-national country where a large proportion of the population is of a different nationality, i.e. wholly or in part British. If someone nationally identifies as British (not Scottish), or ‘more British than Scottish’, then any racist behavior from them should be described as ‘British’. If they identify as English, then it’s ‘English racism’. Same if they were Polish or whatever.
The BNP, NF, UKIP etc are not Scottish, but British parties operating in Scotland, with membership drawn from the British community here.
Orange marches show this all too well; the flags tell you the nationality of the hate marchers and it’s not Scottish. But the BBC calls it ‘Scottish sectarianism’ when Scots are not the ones marching, but instead those being spat on or abused by a group of British people.
Of course there will be some Scottish racists, including some nationalists. However, the lack of any Scottish registered / pro-indy racist party that gets any votes is strong evidence that the problem is mainly one in the British community. That would make sense as Scots themselves are a minority group in the UK, and because of this are subject to racist discrimination themselves from the dominant English/British people.
I highlight this occasionally because if we are to deal with problems of racism in Scotland, we must understand it correctly for what it is while not letting the British community tar Scots with the actions of their problem people, aided by the BBC etc.
We scots cannot solve British racism. It is the British community that needs to deal with their own ultimately, making such behavior unacceptable. Sturgeon telling British orange marchers to not abuse Scots will just make them more abusive. By contrast, the British community castigating the for such behavior can help stop it. By not admitting it’s a British problem, the Brits allow such things to persist.
“Racism of course occurs in Scotland. However, that doesn’t mean it’s ‘Scottish’
Indeed….in fact as I said above “Yes there is racism in Scotland”…..and yes as you correctly stated above , and I failed to specify, the sources of that racism is by whom ?….from my experience on social media and indeed interactions with like minded independence individuals I have never seen or heard racism from them….indeed the opposite is the case…and indeed one only needs to look at and listen to certain individuals LIVING in Scotland of a certain political persuasion linked to bigoted organisations that promote BRITAIN FIRST via sub divisions such as you identify above i.e. NF, BNP etc to see how they infiltrate countries such as ours.
Racism can be indirect or direct….and sometimes some people make statements that they may not see as racist but to those that they direct these assumptions/statements towards….well they may feel differently.
I live by the rule of taking people as I find them and in expecting people to treat me in the same way as I treat them….obviously as in being fair , open and kind when needed and obviously NOT basing my view of anyone on their colour , nationality or religion……..unfortunately many others are blinded by sweeping generalisations and assumptions based on a person’s colour and that leads to white supremacy ………which when one considers the many negative traits associated with that allegiance it clearly shows it as being the opposite……in that how can one be considered supreme when you are so judgemental on others solely because of their colour, discriminate against others solely on their colour, promote hate against others because they are not white……the list goes on.
As to your quote “That would make sense as Scots themselves are a minority group in the UK, and because of this are subject to racist discrimination themselves”…….well I saw this tweet today on Matt Black’s (NoirJ )twitter a/c that he retweeted and he admonished the individual :
The tweet by the individual stated this :
” If we can call a Scotsman Jock, a Welshman Taffy and an Irishman Paddy why cannot we call a Pakistani a P*ki”….( the person who tweeted this did NOT delete out the ‘a’ in the last word).
Kind of shows you the mentality of some of those people who are clearly racist but are trying to defend/portray themselves as NOT being racist in using insane comparisons which are , as a comparison, also clearly RACIST……note BTW no example used for English people…Hmm ( no clues where the writer of this tweet comes from ).
Anyway you do make some really good points in your post.
Have a nice day scottish skier
🙂
” no clues where the writer of this tweet comes from ”
Not me making a sweeping generalisation upon English people just an observation that he, the person who tweeted this , omitted to mention what one calls English people via a slang name based on where this individual comes from…..i.e. England…..also this individual in (intentional) denial as to the offensive use of abbreviated term P*ki as a form of racism…..as indeed in some cases the abbreviated terms for us, the Welsh and the Irish.
I think we have to be very careful with this who ‘identifies as’ business.
On the last Census, I identified as British for several reasons:
1) Being born (and living) in the British Isles – a landmass included in Europe – I can no more stop being British than I can stop being European.
2) I no longer wished to identify as English!
3) Having been born south of the Not-Border and lived there till the 80s, and not having a drop of Scottish blood in me – to my knowledge – I didn’t see how I could identify as Scottish.
4) I’ve always considered Scotland to be a separate Nation. Not “part of Britain, innit”.
I don’t like being lumped in with “The British” because I did this. Don’t think much of the practice of conflating “The English” with Westminster either. They’re nothing to do with me and it’s a bit offensive…
Don’t know quite how to get round that. We’ve got to call them something! 🙂
When I explained all this to my daughter (also born in England, no Scottish blood) she said “Well I’m Scottish and I don’t care who says I’m not!”
Of course, I now know that I can call myself New Scot. So I do!
iusedtobeenglish
“Don’t think much of the practice of conflating “The English” with Westminster either. They’re nothing to do with me and it’s a bit offensive”…
Hi was this in response to me…..if so then sorry as you are quite right to highlight distinction between WM and English people in general….the opinions/actions of SOME individuals within a country does not indeed reflect ALL individuals opinions/actions of that same country.
Have a nice day……
🙂
Hi NMRN.
Sorry, should have said. It was in response to Scottish Skier’s comment. I wasn’t taking offence at anybody, though, and I hope I didn’t sound as if I was or cause any to anyone else.
Why I said we had to be careful was simply because there’s not necessarily a correlation between ‘choosing British’ and being anti-anything/body.
I agree with SS that racism in Scotland isn’t the same as Scottish racism.
OTOH,I don’t think
“because if we are to deal with problems of racism in Scotland, we must understand it correctly for what it is while not letting the British community tar Scots with the actions of their problem people, aided by the BBC etc”
is quite right .either.
If identifying as British in that context makes everybody who did part of the British Community, it isn’t “their” people. And the troublemakers cause problems for everybody.
I think it might be better to stop allocating the racism to people from national/religious/political/gender-based/etc community at all. I’d even stop using an ‘ism’. It’s just offensive. Full stop!
The WM v England remark was something I’ve noticed increasingly in the National btl. “The English are corrupt.” No. The WM govt is corrupt. But you knew that… 🙂
🙂
Yeh everything conflated with everything else…..it would be so much easier if we were all just separate countries then no more confusion or need to , at times, confuse on certain people/issues or indeed feel compelled to comment…..and no you did not come over as taking offence but just highlighting pertinent points…..my response was just in hoping I did not intend in my original post to offend…..if that makes sense….nowadays nothing seems to make sense…..aarrggghhh….
God it’s just all so exhausting is it not….anyway no worries…S Skier did make some good points in his/her original piece and indeed subsequent one….as did you too in both your comments.
Power to the people…well some of the people that is Ha Ha………less power to WM…..if only.
If identifying as British in that context makes everybody who did part of the British Community, it isn’t “their” people. And the troublemakers cause problems for everybody.
I totally get the point here, and I maybe didn’t make it clear enough. Because the e.g. ‘British loyalist’ types hate the ‘pro-indy community’, it is very difficult for ‘Scottish’ Sturgeon and co to deal with them. Attempts to castigate them, even politely, is just met with more abuse. Attempts to use the police, courts etc is met with the same and shouts of ‘One party SNP state!’ etc.
What is needed is that unionist parties and organisations to disown these, break links with them, speak out against the hate etc. Also be honest about the problem. If they don’t do that, or worse get cosy with the hate marching types (Murdo), then that emboldens the latter.
The BBC promotes division and hate by not talking about it for what it really is.
It’s bordering on ridiculous to e.g. claim union jacks vs tricolours is somehow the ‘SNP-led Scotland’s sectarian shame’. It’s Britain’s shame and it can’t be solved unless the British state admits this and stops projecting. It’s also nuts to suggest the people waving the tricolour are ‘nasty sectarians too’ when many are protestant while the flag they wave is a f’n anti-sectarian peace flag; the green and the orange united in peace (white).
The reality is you have British anti-Irish / anti-Scottish (I’m a target through my protestant Irish republican mum and gran) hate marches opposed by anti-sectarian protesters waving peace flags. But how can this be solved when the British lie about what the reality is and try to blame others? When the English/British Tories won’t admit that they are the political front for these people, but instead say it’s ‘Scottish’?
And of course this isn’t specially British Bob from Bathgate or Birmingham’s fault, but that of the parties they vote for / the state they identify with. Although through that they do have collective responsibility.
The reason Ireland is partitioned is not because people there want to be British, but because England wanted N. Ireland to be British. We are all told a fat lie about this. A union takes the consent of two partners. If England had not wanted to keep a hold of what territory it could there, N. Ireland would in all probability be a peaceful party of the republic by now. So the N. Irish problem is 100% made in England. It’s naff all to do with what the N. Irish want. This much should be evident if you live in Scotland; England thinks our presence in the union is a matter for it, not us. They think the same about N. Ireland and couldn’t actually give a rat’s ass what people there think, as the DUP have recently discovered.
The SNP/Yes side are of course not responsible for everyone that votes for them either, but they know that they must act swiftly and decisively in condemning / disowning people on ‘their side’ for behaving inappropriately. Some argue they are overly ruthless in this, coming down way too hard on people for apparent transgressions. But what else can they do? We do have to police ‘our own’ even if they are not really our own or just pretending. Hence the occasional ‘rabid nationalist’ troll that pops up on here saying English people should not get a vote is swiftly dealt with.
I have to say I am really pleased that if I was a ‘blood and soil’ Scottish nationalist who was rabidly anti-English and e.g. thought only Scots born should get to vote, that I would not have a party to vote for. That makes me immensely proud of Scotland and the Yes movement.
Now if I was British, I’d have quite a few racist options to pick from, including the party in power (who don’t let my wife vote due to her race, even though the Scots do). It’s a shame for many decent British folk that that’s the case, but only the British themselves can actually change that. The Scots are too few (just 8% of the UK) and can only manage things in their we neck of the woods and only with the help of British parties / organisations when the issue involves members of that nationality.
I think you maybe answered the question not quite as intended. It was about national identity, not geographical residence, citizenship or believe in unions of nations. I am a British citizen and a European citizen but I don’t nationally identify as either because I don’t see these as nations nor want them to be that. My national identity is Scottish, but also Irish through my Irish side. I increasingly feel a bit French through the wife, but maybe not enough to write that yet. My daughter is 1/2 French of course, no question about that.
Of course, the issue is complex and I have always been a pains to say I am not pinning labels on people; it’s how people see themselves. I am also careful to say ‘some’ people from different groups behave that way, e.g. with my comments on sectarianism and how it really needs British figures to deal with a problem British identifying group. As things stand, the only racist parties going are British ones, and to understand racism in Scotland, that can’t be ignored.
I also rightly warn people about saying ‘everyone in Scotland is Scottish!’ as that is not inclusive, but actually offensive to some who don’t see themselves as Scottish and hate the entire idea of Scotland, desiring instead a one nation Britain. It’s like Alister Jack telling me I’m part of his one British people when I’m not – don’t do it!
Certainly, this aspect can’t be ignored as it’s a stark reality in Scotland that is fundamental to politics here and also issues around racism / ‘sectarianism’, as it is in every country in the world.
It is shared national identity that creates and maintains countries. Scotland exists because Scottish people see themselves as that. This in turn has led them to protect their nation legally and so forth, and will ultimately lead to it becoming independent again. 300 years of union could not wipe out that identity because of its strength. And that has not been forced; it has some form self-identification alone.
Britain is ultimately falling apart due to a long term decline in British identity in the celtic nations. If national identity was overlooked, it would be utterly impossible to understand Scotland, it’s relationship with Britain, and why that is deteriorating. This is a good read:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5153/sro.3797
As for your daughter, she’s clearly Scottish by the self-identifying definition, and maybe you’ll tick that box yourself next year! Sounds like you should be 🙂
Remember:
https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/census-results/at-a-glance/national-identity/
National identity is not tied to ethnicity or country of birth. A foreign citizen living in Scotland is free to choose ‘Scottish’ as their national identity.
So don’t hesitate if that’s how you feel. Same goes for all readers. Nobody is going to ask for proof, documentation as this is civic nationalism.
At the same time, some people will not tick Scottish, just British, and that’s their choice. Can’t be forced on them.
In the interests of balance , I was operated on in this ”troubled” hospital just before the Covid Lockdown .
I must have been THE lucky patient who had no issues with this ”troubled” hospital , having a spinal operation , received excellent care throughout my stay AND walked out without contracting Covid from this ”troubled” hospital .
I didn’t know how lucky I had been .
If I had been made aware by Anas Sarwar or GMS or The Herald or Lisa Summers then I would have lived the rest of my life in severe pain rather than put my life at risk in this ”troubled” hospital .
They like the word *controversial* as well and sometimes add in a *highly* to make it sound even more disputatious contentious tendentious or even polemical once they’ve checked their official broadcasters thesaurus for wordy words meaning the same thing but sounding worser and even worserer
So I got my 8 page this morning, delivered by an SNP guy I had a blether with. Good to see the local branch IS getting them out – I had my doubts after about 509 elections and referendums in the last 7 years and leaflets, more leaflets, surveys and oh no, more leaflets. Not to forget the newsletters and calendars.
First impresssions – it’s good. Second, actually I think very good, it stayed off the potentially controversial Brexit which I think mostly now is best left to people to make their own mind up about – it will be biting more and more, particularly after the 1st July EU wide VAT on all parcesl, not just those over 23 euros (and the complete mess of IOSS for small businesses – yes, I was up all night trying to figure it).
Oh, and an interesting thing, as far as I can see no input from the Westminster SNP politicians, only the SNP and Greens at Holyrood. Which is correct and quite handy, as only those with MSPs would qualify, and nobody else could really complain.
So yeah, looks good. I’ll read it later on and then maybe keep it to pass on after the 1 million are all distributed and some people don’t have one.
This morning I read that the country of Britain has an army that’s apparently paid for by the country of England and where would we lucky sweaties be without the loan of them
I read recently that we Scots pay the highest rate in the world for “defence”. Imagine that. Yet I hardly feel defended at all. Nor do I feel threatened by anybody – apart from those lying thieving robber barons in Westminster who charge £5 billion to our account annually for “defence”.
But on the rare occasion when we actually need some personnel to help out with ambulances we are told how generous those robber barons are for allowing us a few squaddies at great inconvenience to themselves.
I trust there are none of our soldiers sent to the Polish border to make up NATO numbers. It’s not our battle.
The Republic of Ireland defence bill is around £1.9 billion which is short of about £200 million for the UN requirement, so with a population at current level in that country of 4,982,987 not too far behind Scotland at 5.5 million Scotlands share of defence contribution would be around £2,6 billion which is around half of what is currently removed from Scotlands budget towards the defence and offensive capability demanded by the English government, and that is not including the vast amount of money removed from Scotland to facilitate British Embassies and outposts to which the Scottish government has neither access to nor control over
Scotland subsidises Englands overseas ambitions yet is excluded from any decisions discussions consultations or benefits accruing from this expense in the same way any overseas colony or *commonwealth* country is
Scotland contributes financially to every Embassy ambassador diplomat civil servant driver porter translator office cleaner tradesperson in every part of the world yet has no official access or role in these places and was even denied the use of diplomatic services and a vehicle driver for Scotlands FM on a visit to Brussels by the English government
Scotlands First Minister MSP the right honourable Nicola Sturgeon the person voted for by the people of Scotland as their elected choice of government made her own way to Brussels at her own expense
If England decides to go to war with another country Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland become a target whether we voted for it or not, that’s not a Union, that’s an occupied colony
As usual, absolutely spot-on, Dr Jim!
We are a colony, and now beneath a corrupt Westmonster government.
Wow, a modern-day channelling of Neville Chamberlain. Who’da thunk it?
A jammy piece “in our time” ?
There’s an assertion going around from somewhere that “Scotland pays the most in the known universe for its defence”. Figures vary from 3.7% thru 5% to even 5.7%, of GDP.
Fact Check
Short version: False.
Medium version: Scotland pays, or is accounted for via GERS, its exact percentage according to population proportionate to the UK as a whole, according to latest estimates of population (which often lag the reality).
Long version:
From GERS 2020-21 Table 3.1:
“Defence £ million 3,637 % of total expenditure 3.7%”
Note: that’s total expenditure NOT a percentage of GDP.
From Table A.3: Scottish GDP including and excluding North Sea GDP
“Including North Sea (geographical share) £162,251 millions”
So Defence = £3.637 / £162.251 * 100% = 2.24%
This is slightly higher than the apparent UK percentage because of the drop in GDP during 20-21.
https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2021/08/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-2020-21/documents/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-2020-21/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-2020-21/govscot%3Adocument/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-2020-21 .pdf (remove space before .pdf)
TBH I can’t be bothered to look up the numbers I was quoting above. It’s academic anyway because GERS is riddled with guestimates and loaded with burdens we don’t need. If I feel more inclined I might do so later. 🙂
Thanks, it would be interesting to know the origin. There was this comment on the F35 atricler in the Herald:
“According to Gers, we spend 5% of our GDP on defence. That’s the highest in the world. Go figure. Your Gers”
I knew it was wrong anyway but had to look up GERS to reply to that properly – but a decent unionist and an unknown had already contradicted it. So at least the three of us had that in common! I’ve also seen the 5.7%, possibly a misread of 3.7% of expenditure.
Yes, GERS is an estimate for some things, and it doesn’t reflect the WHERE of the “spending on Scotland by Westminster”, It needs the “accruals” basis of accounting as spending IN Scotland gives economic activity contributing to revenues and GDP, whereas offices around Whitehall don’t.
Forbes has said she’ll try to get figures that would more reflect Indy Scotland wilth all spending under our control.. Good luck with that, it will be a difficult but very worthwhile exercise.,
https://archive.md/4pOgE
UK ‘dangerously close to elected dictatorship’ under Boris Johnson, Ken Clarke warns
The UK is “dangerously close” to becoming an “elected dictatorship” under Boris Johnson, veteran Tory Ken Clarke has warned – as he branded the prime minister’s handling of Brexit clashes “laughable”.
The former cabinet heavyweight lashed out at Mr Johnson’s disregard for “constitutional constraints”, calling his party “more nationalist than at any time in my lifetime”.
“He gets angry if the courts or parliament try to interfere. As the elected prime minister, he thinks he should not be impeded in these ways,” Lord Clarke said.