In a speech to the Progressive Britain conference in central London last week Labour leader Keir Starmer insisted that he didn’t care if people think that his party’s priorities sound conservative. We’ve noticed that Keir, we’ve noticed. In an attack on the the Tory government of Sunak, he claimed it “can no longer claim to be conservative.” That’s a mantle that Starmer is determined to adopt. Under Starmer the Labour party has become a vehicle for the imposition of conservative policies.
Starmer is a Labour leader for whom Tony Blair’s neo-liberal New Labour is dangerously left wing. In the speech, Starmer said that in order to secure victory at the next General Election the Labour Party would have to “change our entire culture” and compared his efforts to reform the party to former prime minister Tony Blair’s symbolic rewriting of Clause Four, but “on steroids.” In this speech Starmer signalled that under him the Labour party will move even further to the right than it did under Blair and Brown, with the clear implication that he intends to shape Labour into a party which appeals to English nationalist Brexit voters in the midlands and north of England, the so-called red wall seats which fell to the Conservatives and were instrumental in delivering Boris Johnson his landslide Tory victory in the December 2019 General Election. The only reason that Starmer is able to pose as a social democrat is because the Conservatives are in the grip of people like the right wing authoritarian English nationalists of the European Research Group who are but a hairsbreadth away from outright fascism. However viewed objectively, Starmer’s Labour party occupies much the same political space as the Conservatives did under John Major. It was to get rid of those Tories that Scotland gave Labour a landslide in 1997, now Starmer wants us to let those so called one nation Tories back in, rebadged and rebranded as the Labour party.
Starmer knows that his route to power depends upon winning those seats back for Labour. Despite his cant about achieving a Labour recovery in Scotland, he knows that he needs to win in England in order to have any chance of winning the next General Election. He can win without Scotland, he can’t win without England. The electoral arithmetic is very simple.
How Scotland votes can only make a difference when the outcome in England is finely balanced, there are just not enough Scottish constituencies to affect the final result when England votes decisively one way or the other. Scotland has only 59 Westminster MPs, a number which will be even lower following the planned review of constituencies which will see Scotland with only 57 Westminster constituencies. These new boundaries may be in place prior to the next General Election, which is not scheduled until late in 2024. England on the other hand will have ten more MPs than it currently does, with 543 MPs. Since Scotland does not return many Conservative MPs, and there is no sign that the Conservatives are benefitting electorally in Scotland from the current difficulties of the SNP, how Scotland votes will have very little impact upon the total amount of Conservative MPs at Westminster.
So despite what Starmer and the Labour party might tell voters in Scotland, Scotland and Scottish interests are not a priority for Starmer and his party. His assertion that voters in Scotland need to vote Labour in order to ‘get the Tories out’ is factually incorrect. Indeed, voting Labour simply means voting for an alternative vehicle for the delivery of conservative policies. Starmer has given us a Labour party shorn of any decency and idealism which it once may have had and which promises nothing more than to apply Tory policy, only more competently and with a sad face. Starmer is the true heir to Blair, a man who fakes sincerity as a means to tell a more convincing lie.
What we have now is a Labour party which is committed to Brexit, which promises to be every bit as vile as the Tories to migrants and asylum seekers, a party which refuses to repeal the authoritarian legislation introduced under Boris Johnson and his successors, and which, crucially as far as Scotland is concerned, refuses to recognise the right of the people of Scotland to choose another independence referendum by voting for a Scottish Parliament which is committed to delivering one. Labour pays lip service to the notion that the United Kingdom is a voluntary union of nations, but effectively denies that it’s an idea which has any meaningful political content. Starmer has consistently refused to spell out what the democratic route to another Scottish independence referendum might be. He’s not going to say what it is, even as he insists that it exists, because he is determined to prevent another independence referendum from ever taking place. He will only consent to one when his path to Downing Street depends upon it, but that’s the last thing that he’d ever admit to.
Nothing Starmer says can be taken at face value. He will say whatever it takes in order to win over those crucial votes in pro-Brexit English constituencies, and his stated refusal to do any deal with the SNP must be viewed in that light.
As I pointed out on this blog a few days ago, Starmer will be haunted by the memory of the Conservative attack adverts which did such damage to Ed Miliband in the 2015 when the Tories produced adverts showing Miliband in Alex Salmond’s pocket. The Tories had not expected to win an absolute majority in that election, but in the event they did, with the catastrophic consequence for the rest of us of them having the votes in the Commons to force through the EU referendum which was held the following year. Starmer will be determined to avoid giving the Tories the opportunity to mount a similar attack on him which might deprive him of the victory he craves.
Colin Talbot, emeritus professor of government at Manchester University, said he would “never say never” when it came to whether Starmer would go back on his promise to refuse to deal with the SNP. Certainly Starmer will continue to vehemently refuse to do any sort of deal with the SNP prior to the election, but he will insist that there will be no deal with the SNP right up until the moment that he needs one. The price of that deal will be to transfer to the Scottish Parliament the power to hold a lawful independence referendum. Only then will Scotland have a chance to escape the danse macabre of the Tories and Labour in lockstep
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If the union were an actual union of equal countries being called one country for the purposes of elections to the overall government Westminster parliament then proportional representation would have been introduced long ago to equalise the difference in population numbers one country to another
Why has England not done this? well if they did we’d all be equal voters wouldn’t we
That’s why they’ll never do it, they’ll say they’ll look at it, they’ll say they’ll talk about it, they’ll say they’ll say they’ll say, until they don’t have to and we’ll still all be unequal in the eyes of the English parliament
Wales and Scotland cannot outvote England on anything ever, and Northern Ireland has even less choice because England’s (now called Britain) political parties do not even stand for election in that place
There is no law they cannot make or break at will any time they choose, and Scotland Wales and the North of Ireland can do absolutely nothing about it
This does not even resemble equality
Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland wouldn’t join this so called union today under any circumstances whatsoever, no country on earth would
This is a USSR style imposition of tyranny wrapped in the velvet glove of English controlled media protection and propaganda under an English electoral system where they now do not even have to elect their own Prime Ministers
At the BAFTA awards ceremony Irish actress Siobhan McSweeney’s speech was edited by the BBC because she criticised governments including Westminster
Had she criticised the Scottish government (which she didn’t) I have no doubts under the sun that would have been left in
The current line of “vote SNP and cross your fingers that Labour needs their MPs” is so weak. If Labour don’t get a majority, the Lib Dems will be only too happy to serve themselves up on a plate. In the highly unlikely event that Lab+Lib isn’t enough, the SNP still won’t allow the Tories to get in, so they can only threaten to make Labour’s life difficult on a case-by-case basis. So the whole pitch hinges on this extremely narrow electoral result occurring, and *then* Labour being willing to take the huge political hit in England of transferring referendum powers (which, in the event of a Yes result, will cause Labour to lose office anyway), just to make the process of governing a bit easier.
It’s hard to see this being persuasive to Scottish voters.
The way to get independence supporters to vote SNP in a Westminster election is to reinstate Nicola Sturgeon’s policy of a de facto referendum.
We have had a referendum where 2 million voters voted No and much as we cannot undo this much as we would like to.
What happens if SNP get not only a majority of seats but >50% of votes at GE (looking highly unlikely) but way short of 50% of electorate or 2 million votes.
Westminster will not acknowledge this as a vote for independence and I fear EU and most other countries will not acknowledge Scotland as an independent country. The result will be uncertainty of Scotland’s status, economic hardship and falling support for independence.
The hard reality is that independence has to be achieved via a referendum either:
with Westminster consent where winning by >50% will suffice but getting more than 55% would be much more desirable for future of independent Scotland
or
without Westminster consent in which case No voters will boycott so Yes will need to achieve >2 million votes to prove country is fully behind independence.
In both these scenarios I think the EU and international community would recognise Scotland as an independent country.
The EU etc have recognized far less sure expressions, for example when Slovakia had a vote in their devolved assembly leading to the “Slovak National Council’s Declaration of Independence of the Slovak Nation”. Opinion polls at the time had only around 37% favouring independence. Slovakia is now a full EU member.
However, it’s not really down to the process, it’s more down to whether or not other nations _want_ to recognize us. Realpolitik is the only key part of whether a nations independence is recognized, the rest is just window dressing for appearances sake.
I agree that it is Realpolitik that will decide when and how Scotland becomes independent.
Realpolitik, in my and many others opinion, dictates that an independent Scotland will struggle without recognition from EU and other international countries and institutions.
The process part that I outlined is unfortunately the reality as I see it for getting the required recognition.
If anyone can convince me that there is another route, at present, that can achieve this recognition I have yet to hear it. This is why the other proposals being floated like using elections as a de facto referendum do not carry widespread support throughout independence movement. Many people are unconvinced, with good reason, that they will achieve the required outcome so many of us want to achieve.
It is the SNP’s primary task to identify a clear, workable way to achieve independence that will be widely recognised outside UK despite Westminster opposition. If they cannot do this support for SNP will ebb away.
I’d agree 50%+ eligible voters is the best way if we want to truly bullet-proof the case, my fear is that it might not be enough.
It’ll depend greatly on EU-UK relations at the time, & whether the US likes the idea. The latter may be easier, we just need to make a commitment to NATO (their one key worry), while appealing to their “Scottish” population. Offering ourselves as a diplomatic middle-man between the EU and the US (i.e. the UK’s former role) would also sweeten the deal.
The EU will have to decide between taking a massive dump on EU/UK relations, and setting a stark example of the risk for any other nation thinking of leaving the EU!
Westminster ignored 62% of an indicative referendum re Brexit. I think we could have been at 90 % and still ignore.
They are not interested in Scotland or Wales -other than what they can thieve from us. It’s silly to say 2m or 1.75m or whatever.
It’s a majority that counts. Ask the tories they govern with less than 44% of U.K. votes. They have no mandate here.
What happens if SNP get not only a majority of seats but >50% of votes at GE (looking highly unlikely) but way short of 50% of electorate or 2 million votes.
Westminster will not acknowledge this as a vote for independence and I fear EU and most other countries will not acknowledge Scotland as an independent country. The result will be uncertainty of Scotland’s status, economic hardship and falling support for independence.
I’m not really sure why support for independence would be likely to fall in a scenario where we’d just voted for it and been denied it. But be that as it may, you might as well ask: what happens if the powers are transferred, Holyrood holds a referendum, we fall short of 2 million votes, and WM refuses to acknowledge it?
Whatever the method by which a vote for independence is achieved, if WM simply acts like it hasn’t happened, we don’t have much formal constitutional recourse. But we would have a pretty big political weapon which we don’t have now. If we restrict ourselves to the section 30 route, we have next to no chance of such a vote ever happening.
Westminster will initially say No to any route. I fear that unless we can prove beyond any reasonable doubt that majority of Scottish electorate support independence then EU and other countries will effectively say No – why would they side with Scotland against UK if there is not a clear mandate.
The clearest way to demonstrate there is a clear mandate is via a referendum. Westminster will not agree to S30 when there is a chance of a Yes vote that is why they will not commit to under what circumstances they would agree to one. This leaves a referendum organised by Holyrood without Westminster agreement and this will require a very large Yes vote, as it will be boycotted by No side, if it is to be recognised outwith UK.
I just do not see EU or any other country recognising an election vote as de facto referendum especially when there has been a previous ‘gold standard’ referendum. The only pressure they may bring to bear on Westminster is to get them to agree to another referendum.
As I write this I find it depressing but I really cannot see any other realistic alternatives.
The only reason Blair got away with this the first time was the hegemony of Westminster politics, this time Starmer’s advisers have got it totally wrong in dictating the public mood rather than reading it.
I spin through many blogs in England to gauge public opinion there, and it’s not at all good for Labour, and Starmer’s advisers must know it.
Brexit is deeply unpopular at ca 60%, stonewalling IR2 about the same, where once a principled “Labour Party” stood, for all it’s faults, a caricature now stands – Think Ian Murray, Labour Scotland’s contribution to modern theatre and shortly to bankrupt a pie baker when he gets his jotters.
I’m not sure whether the Greens have enough clout yet in England, but they sure as hell frightened both main players in local elections whilst the the Lib-Dem “safe vote” failed as usual cover – England’s electorate is getting mightily pissed off right now, “they are not amused”.
The Greens might yet rise to the occasion for the next GE, but that will not solve England’s ongoing love affair with Tory greed, and it’s relentless promotion via MSM.
Meanwhile Starmer’s “game” on Scotland is even more bizarre – Loyalty of party members had already passed breaking point when their branch leader became more interested in the political game than “principle” – The rich dentist who further disconnects Labour’s formative principles of democracy and home rule so he can show his Da a “politician of the Year” trophy, is not going to go down well, except on BBC Scotland…
Like the Tories, old-new-more new-even more new Labour are dead from the neck up in Scotland, it’s only the formal burial left to do, but a wider excavation will be required for “pies” Murray – I’m sure one of his dad’s freezers will have already been prepared for Sarwar…
Reblogged this on Ramblings of a now 60+ Female.
I’m sure he’s had a name change, too:
Keir Stürmer – A British National Socialist [sic.]
Vote Tory get Tory ;
Vote Labour get Tory ;
Vote LibDem get Tory .
You have to admit that none of the Westminster Parties is even trying to fool the public – they are all upfront with what they stand for , and it isn’t democracy .
They are career politicians and the party each represents was probably decided by a toss of the coin .
True Conservatives have been driven from the Tories by a combination of May , Johnson and Brexit , while two-faced Starmer has pretty much done the same with anyone with left leanings in the Labour Party .
The LibDems don’t count – they are a bunch of sharlatans who will serve any cause for a ministerial Limo .
Scotland’s hope is Independence . We have to work and hope that we can convince enough waverers /Don’t knows that this is the only way to escape the inevitable downward spiral of UK society under Westminster rule .
The Tories stole UKIP’s clothes. Now Labour are stealing the Tories’ clothes.
And Scotland looks on in horror.
Starmer has lied his way to the top job in the “Labour” party. He has renaged on just about every promise that he made when bidding for the leadership. He has removed almost all of the left wing of the party bar one or two who actually stand on socialist policies and principles. There is no more Labour party under Starmers leadership, he admits to being the “new” conservative party of the UK. England has now gone down the American political route,where big business is the actual controller of policy and, I hate to say it press dictat! My forebears will be turning in their graves at the thought of any Labour leader admitting they were even close to conservative, never mind actually claiming to be the new conservative party of GB. Blair and Broon were bad enought, but Starmer has really gone one or two steps to far. They know they dont need the Scottish vote these days, they want the so called red wall vote back. But surely this is just asking for power for powers sake. Politicians are elected to serve the people, the people vote for them for that very reason, although some may say that this is just an illusion of democracy to keep he plebs happy and make them actually think they are having their say. Scotland needs out and as soon as possible to save ourselves from generations of Westminster slavery. SAOR ALBA
In conjunction with absolutely no academics whatsoever from Edinburgh University, and without using any polling data, I can demonstrate that it wasn’t the VOW wot won it for the Unionists, it was having to put an “X” in the box.
Now, as 55% of the population know, an “X” means “Wrong”, so 55% of the population put an “X” against the “NO” to say “That’s wrong”. Adding that to the 45% that knew that an “X” was actually just the normal way of voting and hence voted “YES”, means that in actual fact 100% of the voters of Scotland voted for Independence, one way or the other.
My book – yes – this publicity is for my book – will be coming out as soon as I can be bothered, please buy generously, as I need the filthy lucre.
IMO, everything says to me that Yes got basically every vote it could in 2014. Maxed out. Scotland was still just a wee bit too British and not ready yet.
It’s that simple. In the end, Scotland will vote for independence because it’s Scottish and doesn’t feel British anymore. Scottish identity never went away with the union, but British was adopted as a second identity, notably in the post war period where it peaked. The latter has been in decline since the early 1960s, with 1979, 1997 and 2014 just reflecting this slow but inexorable direction of travel. As Britain declines, so does Britishness.
Totally conservative absolutely worst case polling is now like 49%+ Yes tomorrow. Completely unaffected by events.
That’s Yes with no plan for anything. In the EU? Doesn’t matter. Currency? Don’t care. Monarchy? Who gives a sh*t. Border at Gretna? If there must be.
These people are not supporting Yes based on some sort of white paper prospectus as there isn’t one. They are just now totally lost to the union because they are not British, feel nothing for it and see no point in it at best. At worst (for unionists), they hate the UK politically. Their numbers grow imperceptibly each day. Talking to my daughter is so refreshing – at 15 she has no perception of Britishness at all. She has no idea what it’s even supposed to be, having grown up in a devolved Scotland where everything British was privatised or shut down years before she was born. She only knows what Scotland is, her country, like France is her other one.
Baseline was about 40% in 2014, Yes got 45% on the day, causing the Brits to brick it.
It’s just shy of 50% now, and based on recent peaks, we could expect at least 55% if it went to vote suddenly. That 5% on top are just playing for time. Procrastinating like their equivalents were 9 years ago. ‘Och, I support it, but maybe we wait a bit longer cos, well, I always delay these important decisions…’ 🙂
With respect Paul I have to disagree Starmer is well to the right of Major’s government.
JHC. He wants to wipe us from the face of the earth.
Lib Dem British leader saying Scottish people / their nation can ‘can never’ exist again.
This is seriously getting into 3rd Reich talk. Used to be that the Libs were the most pro home rule etc. Now Scots shouldn’t be allowed to exist ever again.
https://archive.is/KvLLC
He’s had a moment and blurted out what they’ve really always thought of Scotland’s people, and what we always knew they thought
There are certain folk who might be happy to take advantage of the target he just painted on his back, and he very likely did it deliberately so folk would react to give himself something else to nark about
Don’t be surprised if ACH turns out to be a candidate in the upcoming for libdums in Englandshire.
And a Lordship, whether he wins, loses or draws.
Very true Dr Jim. Only sensible question I have ever heard him ask at FMQs is when is the cabinet meeting although why he repeateadly asks that is beyond me. Although it could be to keep his ugly fizzog on TV a wee bit longer
I read that article.ACH really is a priggish ignorant *rse. If I were him I would avoid walking down any dark alleys in Scotland anytime soon.
He’s already attracting the twitter outrage just like he planned when he opened his big mouth, he’ll by hoping for a threat or two so he can make the news
ACH , the LibDem’s answer to … sh*te !
“He’s already attracting the twitter outrage just like he planned when he opened his big mouth, he’ll by hoping for a threat or two so he can make the news”
I think Alex ‘F*ck You Maree’ Cole-Hamilton has OTHER worries just now as a certain female ex Lib Dem peep is once again, post her illness, exposing the reality of both the Lib Dems as a #BAD party and HIS (lack of) leadership skills which also equates to #BAD……
Alas and surprise surprise the BBC in Scotland seem to be somewhat reluctant to pick up this story that she has to tell……the accusations she has made against THE party are the same ones that prompted Adam Price from Plaid Cymru to resign…. so one would have thought her story was both topical and of public interest…..after all the BBC website did an article on Plaid Cymru and Adam Price re negative findings of a report on THEIR party…..
Yes I know….how naive am I…to think that any Pro UK party would be subject to same bad publicity and scrutiny as any Indy party….via the BBC…..especially the BBC in Scotland…as if…
Check out her Twitter a/c…Emma Walker (@EmmaWalkerCEO) Twitter….
Her latest tweet (9Hrs ago) :
“An extract from my resignation letter as #MentalHealth spokesperson for Scottish Liberal Democrats.
Tag your MSP – lets make sure everyone in the chamber knows exactly who is gaslighting them, their staffers and the electorate this week.
#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #AskAlex”
Ooft…..keep going Emma ……Mental Health seems to be something both Willie Rennie and Alex ‘FYM’ Cole-Hamilton constantly accuse the Scottish government of failing on….with YOUR and others stories it appears they are literally the Pot calling the kettle black….who knew….well most people that actually know fine well how the Lib Dems as a ‘party’ operate and behave via their constant lying and bad behaviour….. just as much as some other Pro UK political parties do…all to try and destroy the SNP ….both in the past , now and I am sure they will also do so in the future…..until they themselves as a party are stopped…….
Perhaps instead of Alex wanting Scotland NOT to be a Nation again…..we all should be active in wanting the Lib Dems to NOT be a political party anymore….I mean from Emma’s accusations seems to me his party doing MORE damage than Scotland as a Nation could or would ever do to the people who live here (and elsewhere too)….so fair’s fair.
“Lib Dem British leader saying Scottish people / their nation can ‘can never’ exist again.”
======
No, he does not.
The National’s headline writer says ACH said that- a claim unsupported by the story underneath the headline.
With Starmer as leader Labour no longer actually have any policies or any ideology of any description. Labour are a policy black hole and anything they ever stodd for has disappeared into that hole.
If he ever gets into power there will be total stasis as he will not have a clue what even his own priorities are as he changes them every single day. I think he will be a disaster as Prime Minister, every inch as bad as Johnson, Truss and Sunak. It totally beats me why there are any left leaning Scots still around that believe Starmer is the answer to their prayers. They are in for a hell of a shock if he does ever get to sit in the big chair.
‘It totally beats me why there are any left leaning Scots still around that believe Starmer is the answer to their prayers’. I agree!
And they will face a double whammy if their votes at the next UK General Election lead to (a) Labour winning power in Westminster; and (b) a diminished SNP representation in the Commons.
After (a) they will surely be let down by Labour as it advances Tory-lite policies both for England and for the reserved areas of UK government. And if (b) occurs they will find that leverage in Westminster on behalf of Scotland (and on behalf of left leaning policies more generally) will be more limited than at present. And crucially on (b) these voters will gain no compensatory return because there is no prospect of SNP MPs voting to secure the continuation of a true blue Tory government. Labour needs to win in England but its plan seems NOT to do so with left leaning policies.
I can accept that a Starmer government in Westminster may be better for the UK than the incumbent – that’s not a high bar – but the better outcome at the next GE for ‘left leaning Scots’ is achieved by the return of similar or higher numbers of SNP MPs. (Would ‘left leaning Scots’ contemplate voting for Alba?)
I think Starmer via the New Labour love of focus groups has identified that the route to electoral victory is to convince the gammon collective in England that Labour are a safe pair of hands. That this might play less well in Scotland, Wales and NI is just tough.
It is incumbent upon the SNP and others to highlight exactly how little change this is going bring from current Tory policies. For sure one might hope for less corruption and incompetence, less sheer nastiness but is that it. Privatisation, tuition fees, Brexit, immigration. Will Labour actually do anything of note? I can see them refusing to commit to not raising the retirement age too.
If it wasn’t so sad it would be funny.
ANY Labour politician who accepts a Knighthood or a peerage is NOT a Labour politician !
Any snp councillor, MSP, MSP with an OBE, MBE etc should get an OBN and deselected. No self respect.
British empire no more.
🏴
Spot on James.
Spot on James, spot on.
As for ach a question to the FM should be asked if he believes such racist slurs has no part of a new Scotland and if a MSP should ever say or think such a thing they should be forced to resign if not voluntarily step down.
Indeed Hamish…..
Check out Emma Walker (@EmmaWalkerCEO) Twitter’s account
Ex Lib Dem staffer…..last year she made accusations about the party and also ACH…..
Unfortunately she got ill, but NOW she is back , and she is continuing in her quest to ensure that both HE and the Party are exposed …….accusations she made last year concerned bullying, misogyny and harassment and too ACH’s failure to address her accusations….it also involved an assault upon her by someone within the party….upon him, ACH, saying to her that he would both look into and try to address her complaints…..he then BLOCKED her on twitter…..
So I think ACH has OTHER worries too…closer to home…. politically …. as well as his ill thought out speech at the Oxford Union where he declared #ScotlandNoMore……typical from him and sure not something he will be challenged on via BBC Scotland….as if…..many on social media are aware of what she has said and is saying about the Lib Dems…. but televised media seem to be less keen to pick up on her story…as in LESS keen than they were to pick up on the SAME accusations against Adam Price and the Plaid Cymru party…..
Time truth came out about this (self ordained) self righteous chancer…..and too his party…..they have ridden on their moral high horse for way too long…..they are always very quick to condemn the SNP but fail to reflect on their own failings as a party…..perhaps NOW IS THE TIME….that finally they will hopefully get THEIR comeuppance via the voters…and MORE…as in…
#GetOutTheBlueTents
Not sure why THEY, the Lib Dems, get so much donations (and from WHOM) at elections….. for so little return….in more ways than one….
What ACH actually said was this apparently:
“We are a people trapped between flags, between politicians who mythologise and pine for ancient nations that can never and should never exist again in the global world in which we find ourselves.”
Basically speaking, if we could go back to 1700 as an “ancient nation”, very few of us would be alive as the life expectancy was about 35. We’d also if adult males (or even females) probably be missing a limb or two, and if our clan chief needed a bit of money he’d rent us (men) to the Swiss or whoever offered a good price, possibly with our women as camp followers.
Freedom of speech? Careful not to mutter too loudly …
Trapped between two flags would be a nice line to try and spin if it were true but Scotland has only had the one flag since around the 13the century whereas England has been inventing and reinventing flags it seems like every five minutes depending on whichever King Queen or Royal occasion that needed magnifying to impress the masses
Even right down to local English nobles who had flags fashioned to reflect their greatness, and that’s not even considering the Royal standards for this and the standards for that occasion, ooh! and the holy orders flags as well
In flag terms Scotland is pretty boring, we seem to only be bothered about the main one having never been overly impressed by the personal flags except for identifying who was who during ancient battles
Poor wee Cole Scuttle needs to invent his own wee flag to wave at us
From the Grauniad in 2018 –
“Genoa, once a powerful maritime city, adopted the St George’s Cross as its flag and St George as its patron saint during the Crusades. The symbol was adopted by England toward the end of the religious wars, in the 13th century, with English ships flying the flag of Genoa as a deterrent to enemies.
For the privilege, the English monarch paid an annual tribute to the doge of Genoa, or ruler of the Republic of Genoa. However, the tribute apparently fell by the wayside after the republic collapsed.
Marco Bucci, the mayor of Genoa, said the arrears claim could be the “biggest stroke of marketing” for the city. He said he would write to the Queen seeking to recoup funds that could then be spent on the city’s needs.
“Your Majesty, I regret to inform you that from my books [it] looks like you didn’t pay for the last 247 years,” he joked.
Good quote for demonstrating that he was talking about Scotland as is right now. Nobody has ever suggested we reproduce late 1700’s Scotland, not even the most ‘radical’ nationalist armed with claymore and blue fact paint. Being an independent country like all the others in the EU/EEA is hardly incompatible the the modern, global world and that’s the ancient (old) nation he’s referring too. In fact becoming a self-governing PR democracy is vital to bringing Scotland into the modern world asap! We are stuck in the 18th century age of empires as the entire world saw the other week when the part in ermine rolled around in a gold carriage expecting us serfs to bow before him. The Lib Dems are living in this imperial past with their lords and ladies in the HoL.
Speaking at an Oxford Union debate on Scottish independence, Alex Cole-Hamilton compared the Yes movement with the push for Brexit, saying both pined for “ancient nations” at odds with the modern world.
Also, seems I’m not part of Cole-Hamilton’s ‘people’. My family and I are not trapped between two flags like his people are, so he can’t be talking about me or those of my shared nation. Must be talking about British people.
Everyone in my house is a dual national, but we are not ‘trapped’. I have my ancient (old / in age) nations of Scotland and Ireland, but don’t feel ‘trapped between them’ as I don’t feel the people of one are superior to another, so one should rule the other against its will. Cole-Hamilton sees the British people as superior to Scots, so they should rule Scotland by contrast.
OT but… Amusing as it was to read much harrumphing on English forums at the BBC’s obvious editing of Siobhan McSweeney’s speech at the BAFTAs https://archive.ph/Qj4sE, the number of “That’s normal for Scotland” comments rather quickly became even more an embarrassment.
The “..despite the indignities, ignorance, and stupidity of your so-called leaders in Dublin, Stormont, and Westminster… ‘it’s time they started to wise up’ ” appears to have only added the BBC to the list…
Starmer will say anything to get elected. Like all Westminster unionist Parties they lie consistently to get elected. Make false promises than do not comply. Do anything they want. Totally again manifesto promises.
Independence supporting Scottish Gov tries to stick to electoral promises. Or gives an explanation to any difficulties. That is why people vote and give supported. The Scottish Gov is more trusted.
Support for Independence supporting Parties is increasingly. Outvoting the unionist parties.
More Independent supporting voters need to get out and vote at every election. A higher turnout.
STV and D’hond’t skewer the vote.
A higher turnout of Independence supporters would win. 50/50
Local election 40% turnout, Holyrood elections 50%. GE 60% Referendum 85%. Independence supporters need to get out and vote every election. Take another supporter with them. Vote the opposition out.
[…] Source […]
I used to share all your posts to FB .. they got marked as spam .. so i stopped posting .. Is spam still the case as iv seen other people share your posts .. or am i banned from sharing ? I’m just curious mate .. thanks keep up the good work by the way.
BBC England , sorry scotchland. Really scraping the barrel with the news that, wait for it— it took 2 weeks to get a search warrant for Mr Murrels house.
I would be concerned if there was dead bodies presumed to be in the garden or millions of pounds recycled Tory donations from businessmen.
How did the bbc get to this level of investigative journalism?
A freedom of information request put in by the Tory party and maybe a press release?
When it all comes out you’ll not be in the least surprised as to the origin of all of this
Let’s just say it’ll be wearing a bonnet
Bonnie Dundee?
“Ye ha’ no seen the last o’ my bonnets and me.”
Absolutely nothing has happened for over 1 month after everyone was released without charge and they needed to get the story back in the headlines, so this is how.
‘Application for warrant takes a period of time to be processed’ is not a story.
It seems from some reports that it was a Draft application for a search
warrant that was submitted in the first instance which would no doubt delay matters.
But it’s not about the story, it’s about the diversion, the Scottish squirrel…
I’d responded to https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2023/05/16/babies-in-care-researchers-cant-find-evidence-of-support-for-mothers/ in the morning by highlighting HMS James Cook’s efforts to ensure Scots didn’t see the BBC UK’s prime story ““Javad Marandi: Tory donor’s link to massive money laundering probe” https://archive.ph/mauFS – Whatdya know – One bogus diversion switches to another…
It’s taken BBC UK most of the day to demote the “Javid Marandi” story to 2nd spot.
For Scots “consumers”, it didn’t happen…
Warrants are only issued if the investigating officers can show just cause, maybe they had a problem with that, hence taking 2 weeks.
The problem that British Labour have is that the story they want to sell to voters in England doesn’t go down well in Scotland.
The only consitituency they can hope to attract in Scotland,with their centre right policies,are Tory voters and the small number of Labour unionists who put subservience to England above all else.
We are two very different polities which the British state isn’t designed to accommodate so Scottish aspirations which differ from England’s will always be ignored.
However,the view from London and certain political leaders in Scotland is,that Scotland as a distinct polity ceased to exist after the so called union so there is no democratic deficit.
Try selling that story on Scottish doorsteps!
If you want to know (as if you did not already KNOW…LOL) how disingenuous the creep that is Alex ‘F*ck You Maree’ Cole-Hamilton was and is…..well…
Murray Foote tweeted this :
” .. ancient nations that can never and should never exist again in the global world in which we find ourselves ..”
Then underneath this above tweet he, Murray, then retweeted two tweets from ACH….or rather Alex ‘F*ck You Maree’ Cole-Hamilton to give him his PROPER name we all know him by…..so here below is ACH’s TWO tweets :
1. On Feb 4th
“Come on Scotland”.
“#CalculttaCup”
(WITH him, ACH, then putting a SCOTTISH FLAG emoji in his Tweet)
2. On August 3 2022
” This is absolutely joyous to watch, stupendous run from @EilishMcColgan – what an inspirations and massive boost for Scotland”
(WITH him , ACH, then putting yet again a SCOTTISH FLAG emoji in his tweet)
So have I got this right…ACH when in (Oxford) ENGLAND it’s SCOTLAND and FLAGS #BAD…but when ACH on Twitter as one who is an MSP in the Scottish parliament it’s SCOTLAND and FLAGS #GREAT….that’s the Lib Dems for you…..they will say anything if they THINK it will be an opportune thing for them to do to TRY and win favour aka votes in Scotland #Fail….. to pretend they care and support Scotland (and too respect our flag) but occasionally (often) the mask slips……that’s when THEY, the Lib Dems, tell us who they really really are…as in…
#NotPrettyOrWorthVotingFor
Perhaps if YOU or you know OTHERS who are on Twitter consider the best response to ACH re ANY of his tweets would be simply this …#AskAlex ….(via Emma walker’s current quest to expose ACH and his party for what they REALLY are and where she is now ending her tweets with #AskAlex …)…now that will really get under his skin because I am sure he LONGS for Emma W to go away and stop what she is doing…..let’s make sure that does NOT happen…on the plus side Smuggy McSmuggie (the ‘Mc’ part being offensive to him) will be extremely irritated by this….already he is smugly tweeting via a headline in the National about his Oxford speech that states ” Scotland can never and should never exist again” with a picture of ACH….where he has tweeted in response to this : “There’s been a journalism…”
Aye Alex there has been but what about #AskAlex….where currently….for NOW…’There has been NO journalism’ on one Emma W’s story on YOU and YOUR party….questions…questions…but NO answers yet from #AskAlex
Lib Dems may be considered an irrelevance here in Scotland but that being the case they and indeed ACH are STILL given a platform on MSM to target both the SNP and independence……and they do that as ones who see themselves as those who are looking down on us (and the SNP) from their self appointed moral high Horse…..more like clapped out Horse….in more ways than one.
Schrodinger’s Police Scotland / CPS; both in (protecting them) and not in (arresting them) the SNP’s pocket at the same time.
https://archive.is/dpMVg
A FORMER Scottish justice secretary [MP Kenny MacAskill] has called for a full, judge-led inquiry into the Crown Office, alleging that it may have delayed the granting of a search warrant for Nicola Sturgeon’s house until the end of the SNP leadership race.
But the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has insisted that there was no delay and that the timing of the procedure was not out of the ordinary.
An insider further said the suggestion of a judge-led inquiry into an ongoing criminal investigation was “ludicrous”.
Now you’re getting close to the origin of the whole debacle
Follow the disgruntled and the tartan, especially when they turn up on Talk TV news and GB news trying immensely hard to sound like reasonable people
Labour MSP Katy Clark must not be very proud of her political party as I’ve just received a leaflet from her stating she’ll be standing in my constituency for election and wants my vote, but nowhere on her leaflet does it mention the words Labour party or her branch manager Anas Sarwar or her leader Sir Keir Starmer of the Labour party of which MSP Katy Clark represents
So there you are Katy Clark of the Labour party, now Brexit party, I’ve just helped you out and informed everybody in East Dunbartonshire that you forgot to mention the Labour party that you represent but are so deeply ashamed to even mention the name
I fear that many of you nasty Nats are deliberately misconstruing what the sainted Mr Alex-Cole-Hamilton , Esquire ( Mr ACHE for brevity ) was wittering about at the Oxford UNION ( he loves that name , by the way ! )
As he stood there is his kilt ( which in keeping with his philosophy of NO MORE Scotland was banned by his UNION back in the day ) he would have rejoiced in getting the backing of people who , like him , do not want to see another Independent Scotland , or Ireland probably , because he would be a complete irrelevance in such a nation .
We can argue about his actual relevance at the moment – but life is too short !a title or extra payday in it for him
But the real triumph for Mr ACHE was the publicity ! He craves the limelight .
Watch any of his Party Politicals and HE is the centre-piece of each ; HE is hogging the screen for its duration .
Mr ACHE is concerned primarily with Mr ACHE !
If there was the slightest possibility of Mr ACHE getting in to a position of power in an Independent Scotland he would be waving a Saltire ( borrowed ) from the rooftops and proclaiming UDI at every opportunity .
However , being a LibDem Mr ACHE is one of life’s parasites who do not believe in much but will attach themselves to any cause which he thinks will gain him a morsel of publicity .
He will support Tory or Labour policies , not for their merit but for whatever exposure it can provide for his ego . In that he is keeping up the great tradition of Nick Clegg , Christine Jardine and Wee , Mad Willie Rennie !
I’ll bet he is logged in to this blog to read what is being said about his recent exploits , such is his ego .
So Mr ACHE – F*ck you !
Has she given up on Ayrshire?
SNP lead Scot Gov must be the first ‘one party state corrupt government’ in history to have itself investigated and key members arrested re financial irregularities in the hope of keeping itself in power. But that’s what British nationalists / Alba are actually saying over on the National.
Think about how many times one particular candidate wanted the leadership contest delayed/stopped then take a look at the rotten coupon of that candidate when they lost, now take another look at that candidate’s coupon and think about the Alba party and it’s Talk TV appearances and GB news appearances and former vote stealing MPs representing that party demanding investigations appearing on STV and BBC Scotland claiming by implication once again that Nicola Sturgeon controls the Crown office
Previously they claimed Nicola Sturgeon controlled the police the judiciary and the Crown office then that was all debunked as nonsense by each of those departments, because nobody controls the Crown office, the clue is in the name “Crown office” and that’s not any crown of Scotland now is it
In case anybody has the memory of goldfish, with the help of the media Alba and the Tories have colluded to present this pile of bilge and rehash the same accusations that have already been disproven and debunked as bilge
Nicola Sturgeon does not and never has controlled the vertical the horizontal or the Crown office and her accusers know it fine well, after all one of them was a FM once upon a time wasn’t he, and he didn’t control the crown office either, and as a former justice secretary Alba’s Kenny McAskill knows that fact fine well also, funny how in McAskill’s eagerness to claim Nicola Sturgeon does, he’s forgotten that?
And still the press and TV media ignore Alex Cole Hamilton in his calls for Scotland to cease to exist or Labour’s desire to “cremate” the SNP
I just donated another £20 to the SNP because of this, and every time Alba opens it’s mouth I’ll do the same every single time
Is the Tory, Davies an Hon Member of ALBA. Asking for a cynic. Lol
*BBBs* That’s best bar buddies
More evidence of the Tory party being up to their armpits in sleeze over dirty money donations by oligarchs.
MPs demand Tories return Javad Marandi donations after links to money laundering probe revealed
https://archive.ph/Y3o5G
Where has all this dirty money gone? That’s what I’d like to know.
The question is though, did they buy a ladies’ razor on Amazon though? Huh? Huh?
🙂
More interesting still is BBC/Scotland’s interest in ensuring Scots never hear of it since the story broke on BBC/UK early doors…
It’s an absolute scandal what the BBC get away with in Scotland. I raed this particular story around lunchtime on an English Azeri website so the news was well out there.
Pravda.
Where’s Glenn?
Digging in his garden!
Shitehawks are an endanger species…
The guy being investigated gave the Tories £250,000 for their 2019 election campaign which you might remember took place of 12th December that year.
Two weeks later on 27th Dec it was announced that he was to be given an OBE in the Near Years Honours list. There’s a surprise.
Alison Thewliss, the Scottish Nationalist Party MP …
________
Scottish Nationalist Party? Huh?
Tonight the *news* from the big England reported that the *British* motor industry could grind to a halt with the loss of tens of thousands of jobs because the English Tories bolloxed up Brexit, and it was reported as if it was just a shortage of lettuce leaves
By comparison the *news* in Scotland screams at the top of its voice every time they get the chance that Scotland is doomed because of ferries that are actually being built, delayed, yes, and a couple of years of Covid is never mentioned as part of that delay of course or the fact that as a result of Tory English government stupidity costs have skyrocketed as well, but the ferries are being built
England motor fabrication inc owned by Europe and Japan could go bust overnight because of Brexit but y’know that’s OK nothing to worry about eat your cereal, and England barely bats an eye, why? because their *news* didn’t sound bothered at all, why? it’s England so they’ll just go back to building cars in sheds with windyup handles at the front and smoke coming out the back and it’ll all be fine
Cricket anyone? sorry no time, training to be a fruit pickers apprentice
I think this is possibly Tomkins best ever article:
“You have the right to free speech, but not to disrupt others”
https://archive.is/IJfl4
but perhaps needing one use of the need for being “proportionate” when referring to police action.
Remember the kettling by the Met of students protesting against tuition fees – the reason for that being some interlopers (agents provocateurs) wanting to use it for extreme action and violence.
It may indeed be a right article.
Two basic facts are omitted entirely, both of which would highlight the total waste of time in writing the article.
A) for decades, since patrols stopped and call 999 was implemented the police in the
UK (not ok) have been a reactionary force.
B) protesters are always arrested.
Belligerents and antagonists from the larger assembly are rarely troubled. Less
time and effort required to secure a conviction usually with the help of edited
video footage.
None of the republican protesters arrested suffered the fate of Blair Peach, so I suppose that’s progress.
Nor that of Ian Tomlinson, or Willie MacRae.
Is it your contention that only the dead have been wronged, or had their rights trampled over to satisfy the unionist point of view.
How about all the others who suffered ‘baton charges’ simply for declaring a different point of view. or the ones who were charged down by Maggie’s cavalierly.
Sorry but just naw!
When the beedy eye of unionism (empire) focuses on you or your views you must accept that you will be made to suffer physically one way or another.
Ask the civilians in the North of Ireland how much a rifle but or a baron hurts.
Or South Africans how effective a sjambok is.
Or perhaps those who need food banks how painful hunger is.
Pain certainly dulls the political will.
Difficult to focus on your oppression when you spend 23 hours a day worrying about feeding your children.
Sorry observation turned into a rant. Ooops
I was being sarcastic.
About the Old Bill.
If you want to solve any problem, the first thing you have to do is admit that the problem exists. Denial/deflection is a tool used by those who do not want to see the problem far less fix it.
This is exactly what I’ve been saying. SNP voters are stepping back a bit from saying they are ‘certain’ to go out and vote SNP in light of the police investigation. This, combined with movement to the Greens, is what’s mainly behind the lower SNP at the moment.
That’s totally normal. If it came up at a work do, you’d feel you’d need to defend your SNP vote much more than normal right now, so you are more likely to stay silent about this. The same happens when pollsters ask. It’s a totally normal polling pattern.
SNP voters are not moving en masse to Labour / unionism, and they’ll vote Yes parties at the next election as they are pro-indy and lost to the union.
British Labour’s ceiling is 30% now in Scotland and falling each year as Yes rises on the back of tectonic pace generational national identity changes.
Cole Hamilton should be talking about Labour and the lib dems ‘living in the past / trying to bring back a country that is gone’; that being British unionist Scotland.
2014 didn’t end the union, but it marked the beginning of the end for unionism in Scotland.
https://archive.is/a83mj
Despite the crisis following Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation as party leader, the percentage of people switching from SNP to Labour has remained stuck at 10% between January and April, a blog published by the LabourList website has highlighted.
Article author Joe Alder. a research associate at polling firm JL Partners, said focus group findings showed the police investigation into SNP finances has led to some expressing doubts about their party – with SNP voters falling from around 70% to 57% in April.
However these voters do not appear to have been put off from supporting the SNP in the long run and it was “widely felt” that any wrongdoing is being exaggerated by a hostile media – with one voter commenting it is like “the forces of Sauron and Saruman” in Lord of the Rings.
If folk are happy continuing to be subservient to England then they should vote for the English political party, be it Tory Labour or Liberal Democrat, there’s no difference, any one of them will do
Folk could believe the news media and decide what they’re saying is true, but if you’re really not sure, take a trip to anywhere in England and walk into any A&E in any city or town and have a look, take a bus or train in England , if you can get one, just go for the day and take a look, no word of a lie England is a shithole of a disaster, even through these trying times by comparison Scotland runs like a Swiss clock
I heard a Tory minister crow about how they had built 22.000 houses in their time in office, that’s in a population of 55 million, Nicola Sturgeon built 100.000 in a population ten times less of 5.5 million
The list is as long as your arm as to what the SNP has done for our children’s benefit in Scotland, as it is for everybody if they’d take a moment to think about what you actually get here in Scotland for your money and what you don’t get in England at all
The one party of England will take every benefit of what we in Scotland have as a result of the SNP and end it to create their one party one country state
Don’t blame the SNP for what they can’t do because Scotland isn’t independent like England, ask what they could do if we were
Or start training to be a fruit picker, or a nurse, or a HGV driver, a home carer or any of the jobs filled by the 22.000 people who fled our country due to England’s Brexit
A long long time ago on another blog that I no longer visit or add comments onto I stated that when the UK LOST workers via Brexit , citing as an example those who picked fruit on Farms, as in the ‘seasonal workers’…..that we would then see those chancers who promoted Brexit turning to the unemployed in their UK and saying they should do that job ….if they refused then they , the unemployed, would lose their benefits…..THEN….
Lo and behold just seen a video online of Ann Widdecombe stating that very SAME thing on Politics Live….with the Tory on the panel saying Hear Hear …..and the BBC showed a credit while she spoke showing her name and the fact that she represented Reform UK……a supposed ‘OPPOSING’ political party to the TORY on the panel….but everything SHE Widdecombe said he, the TORY, AGREED with……not forgetting the fact that Widdecombe herself was a ‘former’ Tory MP……so there is MORE that UNITES them than DIVIDES them….politically…..as in the NEW so called political parties and the Tories (and Labour too)…
The witch Widdecombe also stated , when challenged on increasing food prices, with the example used from Jo Coburn being the higher cost of a cheese sandwich,….”well then you don’t do the Cheese sandwich” said Witch Widdecombe…..didn’t see THAT on the side of a bus……
Why are the BBC still platforming those who promote Brexit and who are regulars via either guests or presenters on GB News…..why ?….because that is what the BBC is all about……is GB News not surplus to requirement as far as platforming the right when we already had the BBC doing that and STILL doing it…..on their debate shows. politics shows and via their News programmes…..
Meanwhile here in Scotland the BBC still doing their REAL and ONLY job……that is promoting negativity against the SNP and ignoring the impacts of Brexit upon Scotland….which THEY hope will in turn have a POSITIVE impact on Pro UK political parties who either SUPPORT Brexit or who like the Lib Dems now want to distance themselves from their former pledge that they were THE most Remain party in the UK (they were NOT ) and who now say via their UK leader Ed Davey, that they are no longer, as far as the EU is concerned, a “Rejoin party”……
UK politics and UK media are what has and is still destroying and undermining Scotland as a Nation….we only need MORE people, as in a MAJORITY, in Scotland to catch onto that FACT….when they do….that is when we will get a fighting shot at gaining our independence…..that is what THEY fear the MOST…when the majority of people in Scotland no longer believe them or trust them…it is then GAME OVER for their UK ….as in their BriNat media and their BritNat politicians…..the majority of the Scottish younger generation are proving to be LESS gullible and HARDER to manipulate and that should be a HUGE worry to both the BritNat media and politicians supportive of the NON Union…..and thus something that gives hope for us in Scotland…..
That is why consecutive polls have shown a majority FOR independence among the younger age groups in Scotland…..as the only SHARED history they, as youngsters, have experienced within the UK is the various cruel, incompetent and corrupt Tory UK governments and too the weak so called official opposition party who both promote the NON fact that Scotland is the black sheep within the so called UK family of nations…..and one that THEY both as political parties state is being subsidised BY their UK…yet Scotland is a PART of the UK…so who are THEY really saying subsidises us…..do they mean ENGLAND…YEP they do…..while simultanously stating that tis very much a major resource in the waters of Scotland that is a HUGE financial source that helps keep THEIR UK afloat…….in many many ways…….indeed the so called but NOT official opposition are relying on THAT Scottish resource to fund much of their manifesto pledges FOR the whole of the UK (mostly England) while denying that same resource could help fund an independent Scotland with less of a population until the time comes when Scotland has transitioned to renewable sources of energy…..BUT they also have plans for OUR capacity in renewable energy….but it will be, THEY say, to the benefit of the WHOLE UK (mostly England)…..
Time ALL Scots began to see an obvious pattern here….
UK in charge of Scotland’s resources….equals Benefit for WHOLE UK (mostly England)
Independent Scotland in charge of OWN resources…equals disaster, disadvantages, resource running out, fluctuating prices etc etc
Q to ALL Scots….How can you NOT remember that in 2014 when THEY, the No Thanks mob, stated OIL would run out, yet NOW they ALL say they will USE that SAME resource to fund their UK NOW and in the FUTURE long before what THEY see as an EVENTUAL transition to Renewable energy (also via Scotland mainly)….with NO talk of it , as a resource, running out within the SAME timescale that they stated to us in 2014…..is NO penny dropping for ALL Scots as to how they were LIED to in 2014….. total UK Government revenues from UK Oil and Gas production were £1.4 billion in the tax year 2021 to 2022…Labour party basing much of their pledges on profit via WINDFALL Tax on Oil and Gas if they were to be next UK government…..Oil and Gas companies colluded with the BT side in 2014 yet some of these SAME companies now reported to be DONATING to the Tory party……and with BREXIT both Labour and Tory parties IGNORING Scottish vote to REMAIN in the EU when in 2014 they USED that SAME EU membership as a BENEFIT of being a PART of their UK and one of the reasons why we should vote NO thus it was used to deter Scots from voting YES….look at what we have now….OUT of the EU ….BECAUSE we are PART of their same UK…..ironic or what ????
Wake up Scots……Turn off their televised propaganda news, stop buying and reading their Propaganda newspapers and stop listening, trusting and believing their BritNat politicians and start to THINK more of what YOU could have in an independent Scotland compared to the REAL hardships and terrible existence you ARE having to endure by YOUR country STILL being a part of THEIR UK…let’s REALLY say NO THANKS to the UK in the next Indy Ref…..and YES PLEASE to Independence….it WILL happen…eventually…as we cannot and should not be willing to exist in this awful state that they call the UK…..same one that sees their politicians LIE to us to TRY and KEEP us …for reasons….one being that they NEED our resources MORE than we NEED them and THEIR UK….and THEY know it….pity then that MORE in Scotland also did not know that TOO…..and then, when known, took the ultimate step of rejecting both THEM and their UK…..
Sorry for long rant….but better OUT than IN….in more ways than one.
Have a nice day everyone (whether you read this OR not…LOL)
🙂
OK – An even longer rant –
You have to hand it to the Tories for their devious use of the media to create and control perceptions of “the enemy” – eg It was no mere accident that condescending git Clarkson became so popular denigrating “The Belgians….” etc..
Once Thatcher’s masterstroke of Tony Bliar surrendering socialist principles was achieved, they had to create a facsimile opposition specifically for England’s electorate to be convinced “democracy was not dead”, hence the Tory takeover of a nascent UKIP as the directable “frenemy” and the mirage rise of Nigel Farage, a serial failed Tory candidate.
Parts of England have already woken up to having been conned as Brexit “benefits” failed to unfold, but Scots were already way ahead of them having dumped Labour wholesale, the problem was not EU but HMG.
Anas-wi-teeth’s latest attempts to preserve a myth of socialist principle was never going to work among Scots who know what it actually means.
However – Ask yourself why segments of ACH-him’s speech in the Oxford debate of February are being circulated now when there are more immediate issues at hand ?
It’s no accident, any more than the latest installment of “Ferry” stories or “Search Warrant” or “Scotland’s councils need radical change, says spending watchdog”…. It’s all to obscure “Javad Marandi: Tory donor’s link to massive money laundering probe” https://archive.ph/mauFS and HMS James Cook dutifully provides the distraction…
Politicians we can fire, the propagandist in sumptuously rewarded in the employ of those behind HMG Inc. we cannot.
Remember when we were told this was a ‘Union of equals’….yes I know…for the birds …..LOL
Same ‘Union of equals’ that now will see inequality via NEW proposed ‘boundary changes’ this :
Scotland 57 MPs (losing 2 seats)
Wales 32 MPs (losing 8 seats)
England 543 MPs (gaining 10 seats)
So SAME amount of MP seats in HOC…as in 650…just LESS Welsh, Scottish MP’s and MORE English ones….did some vote NO THANKS to independence to see this happen ?…..actually SOME probably did LOL…others alas failed to see the CON in Conservatives ( of ALL colours)……
Via a NON Union of Unequals……or rather political inequality within THEIR UK……just another example of dominance for ONE nation in their UK aka Absurdistan that apparently SOME Scots see as NOT being a problem…..while many of us on here and outwith here view it as THEM gaining yet ANOTHER advantage for but ONE nation , as in their one, with them having a majority say in what is supposed to be a UK parliament……indeed some in England are asking why their country does not have a DEVOLVED parliament…..same ones that FAIL to look at the numbers in HOC that represent constituencies via their country…….and too the representation, for their country, in the HOL’s ……
I mean how much POWER, INFLUENCE and CONTROL do some people WANT in THEIR UK ?
Well ALL it seems…..was EVEL, that was announced the morning after the 2014 Indy Ref , not the TORY way to try and address (the non existent) imbalance of power in UK politics…..same EVEL that SOME Scottish constituency MP’s, as in the SNP MP’s, never in the past VOTED on ….as in the SNP never voted on laws that ONLY concerned English matters……but NOW seems Scottish (INO) Tories CAN vote on them as in LAWS that impact ENGLAND…..via extenuating circumstances….. as in them being TORY HOUSE JOCKS …..
Wake up Scotland…..or at least set the ALARM clock on when you think NOW is THE (exact right) TIME to say that Enough is a bloody enough….
In the great scheme of voting the people count for nothing when it comes to England’s control of Scotland and Wales
It’s the job of the state controlled media to assist the government of the day in making the lives of Scots as unbearable as they can so that they in turn will vote for the English political one party
They will undermine and undo any benefit of the Scottish parliament they possibly can in their efforts to falsely prove that Scotland is a basket case because of the SNP
Never in history have so many attacks on whomever represented Scotland in the past been made when it was the Labour party, and yet time has shown us all that that Labour were always stooges of the Tories placed in Scotland to carry out the will of England for England’s benefit
The level and ferocity of attacks on the SNP by all three of the English one party state and their media should be proof enough of the panic that resides within the English establishment that Scotland might decide to get the hell out of England’s town and do what every other English empire controlled country has done and become whatever Scotland wants to become
Scotland must must get rid of England, even Wales is now a third of the way there to agreeing the route to prosperity is ridding themselves of English control
The north of Ireland is at boiling point and the English controlled media is still not reporting it with crossed fingers hoping it’ll all go away, die down, go quiet
English and other non Scots people must put aside their religions and English empire loyalties and wake up to the fact if they want to continue living in Scotland and have the benefits of that maintained and advanced they must vote SNP to give them the power to change things, if they do not England will totally subsume Scotland once again and we will have no one to fight against what they will do
Some will say their are other independence parties to vote for, well there are the Greens but truthfully they are not enough by themselves, some will say Alba, and again truthfully Alba work harder with the English establishment to undermine everything the SNP try to do
Instead of encouraging people to get out and help by voting for the only political party in Scotland that has the power to do anything about the situation they actively use every available opportunity to oppose the SNP by telling voters they are being lied to by the SNP about their desire to make Scotland independent, thus encouraging the opposite effect to what they claim to want, because like the Greens Alba cannot form a majority of anything by themselves
And here’s where the truth comes in, the Greens are in partnership with the SNP for the same end purpose, Independence and a better country, Alba would dump the Greens and the SNP, so in what universe can Alba a practically non existent political force assist in making Scotland independent? they can’t and they know it
So who’s telling porkies to the electorate in Scotland? it’s not the SNP or the Greens is it
What do you mean by, “the north of Ireland is at boiling point?” I live in the place you refer to and haven’t noticed this development, perhaps you could be more specific.
So everybody’s delighted they can’t have what they voted for? the people don’t care that they’re being made mugs of by the DUP assisted by the Tories in England? Everything’s just hunky dory and everybody’s happy?
I must be talking to all the wrong people and seeing fake videos if that’s the case
I agree with all you write here, especially about ALBA. For some reason that escapes me here, I can’t understand why the National newspaper has become a mouthpiece for ALBA? Why does such a miniscule political party get so much publicity in the media, unless of course it is because the sole purpose of the leader of that party is out to destroy the SNP and the media laps this up.
Watched Konstantin on his YouTube “Inside Russia” channel. He was talking about Russian propaganda. As well as all the blatant lies and misinformation, he was having a go at all the stuff that just isn’t reported in MSM. In Scotland, of course, we know how that goes. But then he went on to discuss the ordinary Russians who think what they see and hear on MSM is reality. He says these people are “damaged” by the state. They will argue that anything they haven’t heard didn’t happen. He also says that he thinks this is a lasting damage. Even if confronted by the inconvertible truth, regime change, etc. their world view stays the same. The damage doesn’t go away.
He got me thinking about our own British Nationalists and their propaganda channels. Not so different!
Spot on – This for example,
Ok that’s England – But do any actually trust what MSM says any more in Scotland ?
eg – Where were the marches on QEUH for allowing incontinent pigeons to assassinate a single kid via the air intakes of the hospital’s AC system or patients to be killed by potentially legionella infected showerheads under the guise of “contaminated water” per BBC-in-Scotland which were never put into use ?
When psychological warfare is deployed by the State against it’s own citizens, there is no good outcome aside bye-bye – James Cook’s era of collecting flash suits are closing, and none give a toss as to Glenn Campbell’s “In my opinion….”
Russians are not stupid either despite what their MSM portrays…
“Psychological warfare”: exactly what it is. Bob. Neither Russians or British Nationals are stupid. Maybe damaged by the state/MSM?
I think there ARE still people who believe in the sanctity of the UK media as a media who are doing their job in reporting facts and truth….. and thus who they see as a non partisan source of news…..just as as there ARE still SOME people in Scotland who DEPEND on the media being and doing the opposite of this…. as in the media here (and elsewhere) being as biased as they can be AGAINST the Scottish government and too in their combined opposition to Scottish independence…..while minimising bad news connected to opposition parties and the UK….their ultimate goal being to act on behalf of and FOR the benefit of the UK continuing….hence why they, the media, refuse to scrutinise and condemn political parties (actions and words) in Scotland who support the UK….
BBC Scotland is a classic example of ‘Groundhog day’ as far as their political news coverage is concerned…..but at times both STV News and Scotland Tonight also steer close to regurgitating and amplifying their, the BBC’s, same message #SNPBAD….#IndependenceBad
That then sees them , as a media, colluding to TRY to ensure that TRUTH is obscured……. and they do that by what they CHOOSE to report on and NOT report on… and How they report it……
PLUS…..WHO they CHOOSE to give an EXCESSIVE platform to and WHO they CHOOSE to give a LIMITED platform to……
They hope this tactic will help (they think) to maintain those voters in Scotland who are already onside with their support FOR the UK …..BUT….
They also hope to convert those others in Scotland who are as yet still undecided on independence …but who can, the media hope, still be CONVERTED/CONVINCED to support the UK by what they read and watch via MSM output…… and too what is suppressed and/or diminished as positive news connected to and by the Scottish government….
Thus they are swayed (Conned) to believe in the UK being best for Scotland….. they, as voters, still have DOUBTS on both the SNP and Independence mainly because the TRUTH is NOT , in the past or NOW, out there via the MSM’s contribution to news where WE are (or elsewhere in the UK) on Scotland’s true worth in the way of the many beneficial sources we have access to in order to be MORE than able to thrive as an independent country (instead they promote our resources ONLY via the narrow prism of the UK)….and the media prey on these doubts and promote the ownership and responsibility of OUR resources being under the UK’s control…. in all that they as a media CHOOSE to broadcast and print and also CHOOSE NOT to broadcast and print….
Thus the MSM here (and elsewhere in the UK) are ensuring (or trying to) ensure that “The damage doesn’t go away”……for SOME voters in Scotland….but alas for the media, not ALL of us are so easily manipulated or conned by them as a media….
Sorry last rant of the day from me….not meaning to hog argument(s) on here….just still very passionate and committed to justice, truth and obvs independence for Scotland….some great comments today from others on here…..quite inspiring actually….
https://www.thenational.scot/news/23528140.labour-cannot-rely-snp-voters-election-majority-pollster-says/
Just taking this slightly out of context:
“with SNP voters not yet switching to Keir Starmer’s party”
I don’t know if this is the National’s “yet” or not, can’t be bothered checking, but it seems to me “yet” is likely to be totally inappropriate.
Righty, personal perspective. I’m not happy with the SNP as they seem to be getting dragged off by the Greens for a load of garbage (almost literally) to the damage of Scotland’s economy, PLUS concentrating on minority issues like the GRRB rather than Indy.
So the SNP can not rely on my vote in the General Election unless it’s a Sturgeon one of “A majority and we negotiate for Independence”, not some stupid one of “Oh we’ll hold the balance of power and will ask nicely for Brexit to be reversed and an S30 pretty please”. Not going to happen, including the balance.
BUT it does not mean I’ll vote for Tory Starmer and his right-wing Labour Tory party. So for me there is no “yet” and to be honest I’ve not seen anyone who is a “yeti”, in my delving btl on blogs (doesn’t make me a bad person). None of them are Bigfoots either but that’s neither here nor there.
I also won’t vote Tory, nor LibDem who will put the Tories back in power. Nor the Greens who are causing strife and division in Scotland and totally diverting from Independence. And nor will I vote Alba whose sole purpose seems to be attacking the SNP, like McAskill, Hanvey and Salmond and btl posters.
If I don’t vote SNP, I just won’t vote at all.
Incidentally, if you want to understand why unionism is f’d in Scotland, you need to think of close to half of the Scottish electorate as being like Irish people in Ireland. They won’t vote unionist under any circumstances. Ever again. Never, ever, again.
That simple analogy helps understand why we are where we are, and why there’s no going back to unionist dominance in Scotland, any more than that can happen in the republic, or even the north these days for that matter.
“ Scottish Secretary Alister Jack is to stand down as an MP at the next General Election, he has revealed
….
Asked if he would take up a peerage after standing down as an MP, he told the broadcaster: “Who knows.””
Ah I get it.
Lord Jack of Pratt’s Bottom.
If he stands down now it forces a by election that the SNP have been tipped to win so he has to await further instructions on damage limitation
If Labour look like they could be the winners then it’s OK to stand down
From the Guardian – one minute later:
Wed 17 May 2023 18.24 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/17/alister-jack-spares-tories-a-byelection-by-ruling-out-lords-switch
Alister Jack spares Tories a byelection by ruling out Lords switch
Boris Johnson ally says he would not accept peerage while still an MP but will stand down at next election
[…]
As many as 29 sitting Conservative MPs had already announced they would not be contesting the next general election. They include the Scottish Tory leader, Douglas Ross [sic.], younger figures such as the levelling up minister, Dehenna Davison, and veterans such as Graham Brady.
Jack said he would definitely not accept the peerage while still sitting as an MP, but he left the door open to accepting an honour and entering the Lords after the next election.
“I’m not going to the House of Lords and causing a byelection,” he said in an interview with ITV Border. Asked if he would go to the Lords if he stood down at the next election, he replied: “Who knows?”
‘Alister Jack expected to lose seat at next general election due to Tories in the s**t’
Would be the correct headline.
I think he does know and we know he will. Buy a tent ⛺️ and it will have jacks wee name on it toady Lordy.
I see the boss of Calmac has accused STV news of irresponsible reporting
Calmac could accuse every single media outlet in Scotland of the same thing but it doesn’t stop them doing it night after night day after day
There must be another way to stop England’s government controlling the news
I’m not a politician so my way would be much simpler
Back to Starmer – as a birthday treat:
This is so realistic – is it a documentary ?
All you need is the hushed tones of an Attenborough, and you’re done.
😂 Brilliant
I see the SNP don’t even have the word “Independence” on their main page:
https://www.snp.org/
Yes they do. Top right hand corner.
Not on my Win 11 Pro laptop with Firefox with a bookmark sidebar. It does on my desktop Win XP Firefix with bookmark sidebar.
Anyways, that’s just a menu item, independence doesn’t appear on the shown bit of any article of either setup.
?
THIS from 12th May should be on the main page:
https://www.yes.scot/this-is-why-we-need-independence-more-than-ever/
and they should keep the articles on Indy ticking over, with at least one always on the main page.
Otherwise people might think they don’t give a.
Perhaps admitting your prejudice to that perspective might be be a good start ?
As someone said elsewhere:
“You mean the SNP followers that put party before country and that do not truly support independence!”
Is that you Bob?
Nope – I can admit to seeing the word “Independence” in the top right hand corner.
Is that you yesindyref2 ?
Was there something about:
“Not on my Win 11 Pro laptop with Firefox with a bookmark sidebar. It does on my desktop Win XP Firefix with bookmark sidebar.”
posted the day before, you didn’t understand?
Nope.
You were wrong.
Period.
On my laptop (this lifebook) I see SNP with the logo on the left, then plain yellow, then on the right 3 lines, which if you click on it gives a menu.
You accuse me of lying, without doing any research to see if I’m genuine. I’m 100% genuine. Here, I did a bit research for you, for example:
https://support.mozilla.org/bm/questions/1231729
It’s a space saver, as the line menu is too long for my display.
As always you won’t have the integrity to apologise when you got it wrong. What does that make you?
“As always you won’t have the integrity to apologise when you got it wrong. ”
🤣
QED
🤣😂🤣
The tax evading non Dom Press. Do not listen to it. Totally avoid it and do not give it oxygen. Independence supporters need to get out and vote. A higher turnout. Taking another too. That is how Scotland will get Independence by going out and voting for it every election. Vote out the opposition, Independent supporters (plastic) even vote for unionists parties. Where is the sense in that? Indy will be achieved when people who support go out and vote for it. The tide is turning even more support. A higher turnout. The next GE coming soon. Get out and vote. Not for unionist parties. March to the polling station in higher numbers. The times they are a’changing. The Tory/unionist nightmare will be over soon. The red/blue/yellow Tories voted out in higher numbers. Totally feasible, A higher number are sick of it.
Multimillionaires Jacks hand still in the pie. Enough is never enough. Making £millions out of other people’s misery. A complete and utter disgrace. On the way out trying to pick up even more of public taxpayers money. Killing people.
Low Jack. High Jack. Shut the door on the way out.
The National illegally banned Alba adverts. The National lost contributions, from Independence supporters. Alba restricted views. MSM propaganda. No democratic. Without a free and fair Press there is no Democracy. Westmibster propaganda.
People give and exchange views on the internet. Call out the propaganda Press. Losing custom quicker than a sieve loses water. Gutter Press. Tomorrow’s chip paper. Recycled rubbish . Regurgitated nonsense.
So now the non members of the SNP are bleating about the snp conference being arranged.
Can I be tactful. Mind your own business.
However, If you pay the membership fee then fair enough you should be listened too. That’s how membership’s of organisations work.🏴
Never trust a quacking duck.
Can I be realistic. Without the votes of SNP voters who are not members, the SNP get just 75,000 votes in any election, even if all members turnout.
That’s just 30,000 votes more than your Alba party got on the list last election with null seats, no MSPs.
Are you deliberately trying to put off potential voters?
No, I leave that to you and your kin.🏴😇
Please no more fantasy politics that somehow ALBA have about the same number of votes as the SNP.
The folk complaining about the conference are ALBA supporters it seems. They want their cake and the SNP’s too.
Too bad they ain’t getting it.🍰
Dr Phillipa Whitford points out the waste of energy caused by Westminster’s inability to upgrade the National Grid, energy being a reserved matter. She outlines alternative ways of storing that energy.
Wind farm curtailment costs see Scottish renewable power ‘wasted’
https://archive.fo/czLil
Surprised by Whitford saying this as it’s a bit of a distortion, but for sure the grid is desperately in need of investment and has been for a very long time.
Wind gennies are turned on/off to suit power demand, the operator gets paid whether they’re generating or on standby to generate.
True that an Indy Scotland would make better use of it though, one of which will be Scotland’s first ever direct interconnect to the continent after years of gerrymandering by London to prevent it…
Her point is the lack of investment by Westminster in alternative technologies which would store energy in times when too much was generated for use when too little was generated. The rest of the article describes the possibilities such as pumped-storage hydro and green hydrogen as well as battery storage. If we were an independent country with control over our finances that’s what we would be doing rather than paying producers to stand idle.
Fair comment in that case – The “lack of investment by Westminster in alternative technologies” has been most notably Tory and Scotland directed for some time, the Peterhead-Norway Interlink a prize case in point (gazumped in favour of Blyth…), but it is proving at best myopic.
On MSM Monitor Twitter a/c a tweet showing the headline on a story via the BBC on voter ID….. the BBC headline on this story was :
“Local elections 2023: Thousands didn’t vote due to ID rule, data shows”
MSM Monitor tweeted in response to BBC headline:
“If it’s the ‘controversial’ GRR bill and the ‘controversial’ Deposit Return Scheme. Why isn’t it the ‘controversial’ Voter ID rule”?
INDEED especially given their, BBC, above headline and also much of the CONTROVERSY it , Voter ID, caused and too the OPPOSITION to it as a TORY UK government Act….when many opponents to this act presented the facts that it was deemed unnecessary considering it was disproportionate in the context to the ACTUAL proven instances of ‘personation’ at polling stations last year and before in previous elections……well I would say THAT IT then deserved the description of something HUGELY CONTROVERSIAL…..a bit ironic this Voter ID being implemented …..considering MORE people were UNABLE to vote in recent English council elections BECAUSE of this NEW TORY Voter ID Act than there was ACTUAL voter fraud committed prior to this in previous elections ……
AND then post the English Council elections……
One JR Mogg, on LBC, suggested (let the cat out of the bag) that it, Voter ID, as an act was implemented to see the “government attempt to suppress Labour support”..as they, the government, assumed many Labour voters would NOT have the necessary VOTER ID that was accepted as evidence at the polling station…as in evidence such as passports, Driving licence BUT strangely an EXCEPTION to their RULE was made that 60+ Oyster cards and Older Person’s bus passes were being accepted as valid ID….. BUT NOT Young person’s rail cards and Oyster cards ……as in TORIES assumed the 60+ voter were more likely to vote CONservative……now that to ME is CONTROVERSIAL….but hey we have a BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation with TORY plants who operate within it from the TOP and too I think also all the way down to it’s ‘Political editors’ within it’s organisation…….so they always favour presenting LESS criticism and use of words like CONTROVERSIAL when anything connected to the Tory party….however same JR Mogg then said ” it came back to bite them”…..as in them the Tory party….. as he said it had “made it hard for our own voters” to take part in England’s local elections….OMG what an ACTUAL very CONTROVERSIAL thing to say and DO…..via everything connected to this ACT…..
So…back to Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme….
The BBC (yet again) found another vocal #SNPBAD opponent to a Scottish government act in one Dougal Sharp, the founder of Innis and Gunn , who questioned the “legality of the scheme and raised concerns about its costs to businesses and consumers” here in Scotland….yet his company exports to SWEDEN who operate a Deposit Return scheme, and they, Innes and Gunn, also export to OTHER countries in the world who MAY or MAY NOT also have this same scheme….SO…. has he, Dougal Sharp, raised concerns to SWEDEN (and other countries he exports to who may also have this scheme) about the “the legality of their schemes and raised concerns about their respective scheme’s costs to businesses and consumers” ……questions questions….as in ones the BBC will never have asked HIM…..and I suspect questions he did not want asked……which would then lead to what Prof John Robertson stated as quoted below…..
Pro John Robertson of Talking up Scotland stated in an article on March 3 this year the statement :
“Why Innis & Gunn owner Dougal Sharp is either a hypocrite or a Tory or both”
To add insult to injury we also hear that ONE reason the UK government may VETO this scheme is that , according to them, it impacts the UK-wide Internal Market Act…..
The BBC , in January 2023, had an article on the UK government introducing a Deposit Return scheme for recycling plastic bottles and cans…..the BBC in the article stated:
“The scheme will see customers pay a small fee that is refunded when they return empty containers into special vending machines that will be placed in supermarkets around the country.
It is due to be introduced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2025”.
NOWHERE in their article did the BBC state this scheme, via the UK government, could be perhaps considered CONTROVERSIAL and OPPOSED by businesses within the UK….like say Innes and Gunn to name but ONE business who oppose it being implemented in Scotland……so basically ONLY in Scotland is it considered both CONTROVERSIAL and something where they, the BBC, will ALWAYS find SOMEONE within the business community who OPPOSES it….as in anything proposed or implemented by the Scottish government…BUT elsewhere …especially if via UK government, it is just presented as an initiative with details on the scheme and how it will WORK…..
Are MORE people in Scotland really NOT seeing a pattern of behaviour here….especially with the BBC but not exclusively just them as the majority of MSM also operate in much the same way AGAINST the Scottish government and anything SNP related (whether factual or otherwise…mostly otherwise)….and also do the people in Scotland not realise why this is ?…….it really really really is NOT rocket science surely……..