Anyone who was daft enough to have thought that a Conservative defeat at the next Westminster general election and Sunak’s replacement with a Labour government led by Keir Starmer would mean an end to British nationalist attacks on the devolution settlement is in for a very big disappointment. The right wing Labour party of Keir Starmer, whose Scottish branch office is firmly in the grip of the über-unionists headed by Ian – union flag jaiket – Murray, Jackie Baillie, and Anas Sarwar, is every bit as much a threat to the devolution settlement as the Conservatives. The Tories hate devolution because they are Anglo-British nationalist centralists. Labour hates devolution when it doesn’t do what the Labour party intended it to do, which was to provide the Labour party with a permanent power base in Edinburgh even while the Conservatives are in power in Westminster.
The Labour party’s support for devolution was always transactional, it was about what Scotland could do for the Labour party, and never about what the Labour party could do for Scotland. That remains as true today as it did in 1997, when Tony Blair enacted a heavily watered down version of the original devolution proposals. However since the Scottish people have for the past decade and a half refused to cooperate with what the Labour party deems to be the ‘true’ purpose of devolution, which is to give power to the Labour party, Labour is more than willing to undermine devolution in order to get what it wants.
A case in point is the recent action of Stephen McCabe, the Labour leader of Inverclyde council, who has written to Michael Gove, that well known ally of the People’s Party (sic), pleading with him to overrule the decision of the Scottish Government to freeze Council Tax. Deputy First Minister Shona Robison has offered Scottish local authorities £147 million in funding to keep the taxat current levels, with an additional £45 million to come from the UK Government’s Budget which is due to be announced next week.
McCabe has urged Gove to by pass the Scottish Government and in so doing undermine the devolution settlement. He wrote in a letter addressed to Gove and copied to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt: “You will be aware from press reports that the Scottish Government’s Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance Shona Robison MSP has advised Scottish Councils that they will only receive a share of the estimated £45m of Barnett consequentials from the UK Government if they agree to freeze Council Tax.”
He added: “I am seeking your urgent intervention to ensure that all Councils in Scotland receive a share of this additional funding, should it be allocated by the Chancellor in next week’s UK Budget.”
Irrespective of the rights or wrongs of this particular case, by urging Conservative ministers to overrule the Scottish Government on this issue, McCabe is setting a precedent and giving them tacit permission to intervene in future on other matters. He’s opening the door to the undermining of the devolution settlement. It’s especially foolish as the Conservatives will seize on any excuse to attack devolution. McCabe has extended them a hand to do so, but in the words of the Spanish expression. Dales la mano y te tomarán el codo, give them a hand and they’ll take your elbow.
Following McCabe’s letter, West Dunbartonshire Labour council leader Martin Rooney is also understood to have written to Gove urging Tory ministers to step in over the Scottish council tax freeze.
Anas Sarwar has so far remained silent as senior figures within his party are rubbishing the devolution settlement calling for an effective return to direct Westminster rule. Don’t look to the Tory enabling Labour party in Scotland to defend the devolution settlement.
It would be bad enough if this was the only way in which Starmer’s little helpers in Scotland posed a threat to the devolution settlement, but it’s far far worse than that.
Labour peer George Foulkes – you’d think that in a sane world the phrase ‘Labour peer’ would be a contradiction in terms – but we clearly don’t live in a sane world, has announced an attempt to force an early Holyrood election should Labour overtake the SNP in terms of number of seats in Scotland at the next Westminster general election. Foulkes has problems grasping the concept of democracy, as evidenced by the fact that he’s an unelected peer.
Foulkes recently announced that he is seeking to prohibit the Scottish Parliament from pursuing independence. It makes no difference to him if that’s what the electorate voted for it to do. Foulkes only accepts the legitimacy of the ballot box when it produces a result to his liking.
Now he’s gone further – and has not been condemned for it by Anas Sarwar. The mandate of the current Scottish Parliament does nor expire until May 2026, but that means nothing to Foulkes, who wants Westminster to dissolve the Scottish Parliament and hold early elections in order to instal a compliant Labour led Scottish Government, one which will meekly do Starmer’s bidding.
Branch manager Sarwar also seeks to attack Holyrood by removing powers from the Scottish Parliament and giving them to local authorities instead, some of which are of course more likely to be controlled by the Labour party.
There are good arguments for decentralising power in Scotland, and in an independent Scotland I’d strongly advocate it. But we don’t live in an independent Scotland, we live in a highly centralised British state where we need a strong Scottish Parliament able to stand up to an overweening and powerful Westminster. Sarwar wants to undermine Holyrood’s ability to do that, however much her dresses it up in self-serving cant about ‘true devolution’. As always, with the Labour party in Scotland, it’s really about what is most advantageous for the Labour party, not about what is best for Scotland.
Over the weekend it was the conference of the Tory party in Scotland. The Tories make no secret of their hostility to devolution, but they’re a spent force facing a historic defeat in England and the possibility of a wipe-out in Scotland. The Labour party is a far more insidious threat, a British nationalist wolf dressing itself in devolution clothing while plotting to neuter the Scottish Parliament and permanently block any moves towards independence – irrespective of what the people of Scotland want.
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There are several ways to describe this latest Labour attempt to undermine Scotland’s democratically elected Parliament .
The most obvious conclusion is that Scottish (sic ) Labour are acting like a Fifth Column with the deliberate aim of ceding control of Scotland’s governance to another country regardless of the enmity that country’s elected government has shown towards us .
Will voters in the upcoming election be advised by Labour that top of their (very thin ) manifesto is the desire to see the Scottish Parliament dissolved ( again ) ?
Will Sarwar , or whoever pulls his strings , explain the advantages of this reversal of Devolution to the Scottish people ? Will it be as good for us as Brexit ?
Will all their candidates in the GE sign up to this anti-democratic measure which puts Labour in the same camp a Putin when dealing with ”neighbours” who he wishes to fully control .
Will the democratic Labour Party ALLOW the Scottish people a choice by having a referendum on Devolution if they have a mind to erase Devolution ?
I assume that the Scottish ( sic ) Labour Party will be advocating the removal of Donald Dewar statue from the steps of the Glasgow Concert Hall as he , clearly , did not share their view on who should govern Scotland , and they wouldn’t want a symbol of old democracy to be flaunted in the faces of our new masters !
I knew Donald Dewar and he would have warmly embraced Westminster in ending devolution while simultaneously complaining bitterly and fighting against it in Scotland, then grudgingly accepted his peerage head hung low leaving Scotland then cheering right up when he got off the bus in England
Where’s the camera?
I knew Donald Dewar as well. He was my MP for years and I also knew him through my work. I never agreed with his politics but he was always pleasant and did not treat us council workers like something nasty on the bottom of his shoe unlike some councillors . He showed more humanity for ordinary people’s problems than the entire Scottish, UK and other unionist parties put together. I don’t think Donald would have been stupid enough to try to end the Scottish Parliament, curtail it’s powers possibly but he was pragmatic and would know that trying to end the parliament would cause the Labour party to be obliterated in Scotland. He had far more brains than the current leadership that’s for sure
If he were alive today he would not be working to retain devolution, he’d blame the Tories and SNP for ruining it and be no different from Starmer in shutting us down
I agree he was always very pleasant, until intelligently questioned, then he’d run for it
The Labour Party are a threat to democracy. Last week’s pantomime in the HoC, subverting the SNP’s Opposition Day motion on a ceasefire in Gaza, was a case study in contempt for democracy – even the watered down version of democracy which exists in Westminster.
Keith Brown is now floating the idea of abandoning Westminster in light of the reality now on display. High time we considered that option.
There is no democracy for Scotland in Westminster. Time to leave them to their pantomime.
Indeed Archie
Be aware, Scotland, that we in Cymru are watching developments very closely, too:
https://nation.cymru/news/snp-should-re-examine-withdrawing-mps-from-westminster-depute-leader/
SNP should re-examine withdrawing MPs from Westminster – depute leader
03 Mar 2024 3 minute read
The SNP should re-examine the issue of whether to withdraw MPs from Westminster following the chaos over its motion on Gaza, the party’s depute leader has said.
There were angry scenes in the Commons last week following Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s decision to allow a debate on a Labour amendment to the SNP’s motion calling for a ceasefire.
[…]
Good that Cymru are watching what’s happening. Shona Robison seemed to have missed the memo. What is the point of the SNP leading on issues like a ceasefire in Gaza if their debate can be hijacked by Labour with the connivance of the Speaker, a second debate vaguely promised, then that also cancelled. Totally arbitrary rules except that they lead to one consistent effect – to remove the slither of democracy which the SNP have got.
Or is it the Gaza ceasefire that is too politically threatening. Is the Labour Party bowing to the lobby pressure of their donors?
This is the reason Starmer’s/Sarwar’s ratings are plunging in Scotland.
I think the ‘Labour resurgence’ (lol) polls over the past year have been very good for the cause. They have made Labour think they are on the up, bringing out the arrogance and anti-Scottishness in them for all to see. They have also pushed the SNP to take a new tack, look at new ideas (see today’s national as another example), and not be complacent.
While VI numbers suggest Labour will win a few more seats due to current low predicted turnouts (albeit on average, the SNP are still on to win a crushing majority of seats worst case), the behaviour of Labour is causing their former voters to slowly but steadily leave the party and decide on indy in the background, warming to Yousaf, while considering a voter for the SNP.
One other thing I just came across is it looks like women are the most uncertain about voting right now. This takes me back to 2011 when Labour were projected to win a historic majority Q1. The change happened when men started saying they were more certain to vote, and this was going to be SNP. Then women followed with the same intent and the rest is history.
Listening to a R4 programme about the awful Bengal famine of 1943, caused by a number of factors including a devastating cyclone, which resulted in the deaths of at least 3,000,000, possibly more, people we learn that although the local administration was run largely by Indians, any decisions they made could and often were overruled by the British Colonial Adminstration in Delhi. Sound familiar?
Even the British Viceroy in India was writing to London warning them of the horrendous situation which was unfolding and pleading for help. A memo written at the time by Churchill stated that ‘the Indians should learn to look after themselves’ and saying ‘we have a war to win’. Rice was required for Britain’s war effort and that was that. The attitude was therefore, ‘Don’t come crying to us for help despite the fact we are supposed to be in charge’. ‘Scottish’ Labour take note. Bear in mind that India contributed a huge amount of manpower and resources to the war effort, particularly in the Far East.
Sadly, no doubt, there would have been Indians who were more than happy to support the status quo and do their master’s bidding possibly because they benefitted financially from the set up, but it wasn’t long before India said bye-bye.
The primary goal of England in WW2, was not to free countries from repressive / exploitative imperial rule, but to ensure this could continue, just with it England staying on top. England feared Germany (Hitler greatly admired England’s imperial ways) taking control of areas of the English empire, so various Scots and the peoples of other colonies were conscripted (and so killed) to prevent this.
I’m sure S_S will provide a suitable apt response to this with regard to ‘the Great Hunger’ in Ireland in the 1840’s, so I would not wish to take his place here.
All I would say is – and we all know how true this is with regard to the Anglo-British Establishment in London – plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
Over to you, S_S.
Funny how folk in England are so energised and offended by Israel’s behaviour towards Gaza that they feel compelled to protest in their thousands
Nobody as far as I am aware ever protested in any numbers when England were taking the food out of children’s mouths in Ireland
A movie to watch is “Black 47” you will have a John Wick moment, I guarantee you
As NOT reported over here … obviously:
“Last Sunday the European Left, a transnational party that brings together more than 40 progressive organisations across Europe, unanimously backed a resolution recognising that “Scotland has the right to self-determination” and that “the Scottish Parliament, as the representative of the Scottish people, should have the right to call a referendum”.
Crucially, the several dozen progressive organisations that comprise the European Left contest European elections together and form one of the seven official groups of MEPs in the European Parliament, meaning that their resolution will have a direct impact on discourse in Brussels.
The motion explicitly acknowledged the democratic mandate for a new independence referendum “in both the current and previous parliamentary terms” and recognises that this mandate “has been blocked by the British Government, which commands only minority support in Scotland”.
It goes even further in denouncing “the extreme asymmetry of the United Kingdom” which means “decisions about Scotland’s future lie in the hands of the English electorate” and that “the lack of a written constitution means that there is no clear way to identify how Scotland could be given a route to determining its own future.”
The eloquent resolution was unanimously approved by delegates at last Sunday’s general assembly in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital. It was proposed by the two Scottish organisations that are part of the European Left: Democratic Left Scotland and Socialists for Independence, whose joint efforts we applaud.”
Europe for Scotland
Unanimously approved but unreported in poor benighted Scotland where no ray of hope may shine. Thanks WS for passing it on.
Capella,
As mentioned to Dr. Jim, below as a member of EfS, I get their emails regularly in my in box – and for free.
I don’t think they’d object to having other members from both Scotland and outwith the country …
What is EfS? Not sure if my mailbox can handle more emails – I’m struggling to keep up with everything as it is! But good news is always welcome.
EfS = Europe for Scotland.
Do catch up at the back! 😉
https://europeforscotland.com/
🙏 Thx
Not one but two Labour Council leaders writing begging letters to Gove is a symptom of how far Labour have moved to the right. They no longer see Gove as an foe to be defeated but as an ally in their aim of sticking it to the SNP.
They do this even if it means that the Scottish parliament is undermined so badly that it becomes totally and utterly worthless. I do not know the people who have written these letters but I do know one thing. They have neither Scotland’s interests or the people that vote for them interest’s as their priority, they care and think of only their precious party.
They have gone so far from the original values of the Labour party that they should no longer use that name, they no longer represent Labour they represent themselves first, big business and their wealthy donors. labour doesn’t get a look in.
Just like the Tories, and it shows all too clearly.
Labour Tory Lib Dem
One party one country
One party, one country.
________
Strange how that echoes, “Ein Volk, Ein Reich …” eh?
PS That “one country” ain’t mine.
Times change yet always there are people that remain unchanged
Salvo in the National
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24154480.salvo-meet-independence-campaigners-hoping-change-game/
“That is so key to Salvo’s project that they took the process by which a parliamentary session ended in Scotland for their name. No session could end without the people – by which they would have been defined at the time – being offered “salvo”, or redress for their grievances.”
And the interesting thing is – that in 1707 the Scottish Parliament was adjourned, and then later dissolved by proclamation – WITHOUT Salvo. It could therefore be argued that it was illegally dissolved by Queen Anne.
I read this in The National and thought it an interesting read.
Aileen McHarg pours cold water on it but I think she misses the point. In reserving the right to get rid of a king who does not serve our interest we also reserve that right when the “king” is the “king in parliament” or the HoC in Westminster as the English constitutional position seems to be – a concept which has no counterpart in Scotland.
https://archive.is/l0UyF
Yes, I think Aileen McHarg was a bit too dismissive, and disappointingly so:
“You’re going to really struggle to establish that Scotland was a colony in any sense.”
Perhaps. As far as “was” is concerned. But part of the argument is that Scotland is NOW a colony, after the UKSC judgement, and after the refusal to “allow” a referendum – i.e. self-determination for a People.
She also dismisses the 1689 Claim of Right as an anachronism – but the UKSC included it in deliberations, same as the 1688 English Bill of Rights, and then quietly ignored it, or bypassed it in the judgements.
What if some Court actually ruled on the Claim of Right, rather than avoided it?
One only has to listen to Baron Hardup of Cumnock to hear the depth of Labours commitment to Scotland’s “settled will”.
Labour is not trustworthy.
More than 40 organisations across Europe unanimously backed a resolution recognising that “Scotland has the right to self determination”
Their motion explicitly acknowledged the democratic mandate for a new independence referendum which has been blocked by the British government which commands only minority support in Scotland
This is going to Brussels along with one of the 7 official groups of MEPs in the European parliament meaning that their resolution will have a direct impact on discourse in Brussels
Scotland has many friends in the world
Apparently broadcasters in England owned Scotland don’t know anything about this or they’d definitely be reporting it, wouldn’t they? Isn’t it of public interest? well isn’t it?
Apologies sionees, you’ve already referenced this at 6.32pm
No problems, Dr Jim. Great minds and all that.
I belong to Ef|S, so receive their emails on a regular basis.
(You know that this moniker is the new one for W_S, don’t you?)
Me too, and yes I do
If the UK is a single kingdom,why isn’t there a King of the United Kingdom?
The ducking and diving by the London establishment over it’s true constitutional position has been going on since 1707.
The relics of the original treaty,such as the guarantee of Scots law independence,are still around but have been greatly eroded over time as Westminster pursued an essentially Anglo agenda.
Unionist political parties operating in Scotland have to follow this agenda since their sponsors are London based.
England has no interest in seeing a successful Scottish state on it’s Northern border,in fact,quite the opposite,which explains their continuing attempts to denigrate our parliament and anything which operates outside London control.
British Labour were only interested in devolution when it was under their control but Blair ensured London could always have their way by inserting get out clauses in the devolution legislation.
The pathetic excuse Labour use to justify this quasi colonial arrangement is that it is better for Scotland to have it’s decisions Made in England than to do so ourselves.
Similar to the Tories trickle down lies where wealth is concentrated in the hands of an elite and working people are supposedly better off being dependent on their benevolence.
The Anglo state has barely moved on from it’s feudal origins and neither has it’s political parties,including Labour.
Labour have actually gone backwards instead of forward. Everything they once stood for has been abandoned in the pursuit of power and now they are no different at all from the other main Westminster party.
The establishment would view Labour’s move towards fascism as the right kind of progress, it’s not that long ago that Harold Wilson was though of as an enemy of the state.
Golfnut
There is – Charles is the King of the United Kingdom
So why the different titles, flags, heraldry and crown jewels in Scotland if it’s all one kingdom? That and nobody is king of Scotland, only of scots.
Not that I care because he’s gonnae be the last king of scots it looks like. Oan a very shoogly peg. And rich posh English ‘I’m not putting on a fucking jock kilt’ boy Wills will ensure a republic.
Because before union of crowns Scotland and England were too different Kingdoms.
They still are. Hence all that stuff was kept in place. It’s why we have a completely different legal system too. You raise an interest point though, so I’ll expand.
You’d have never sold the end of England to the English never mind the end of Scotland to the Scots. So the union of the crowns created a union of kingdoms, not a single new kingdom. Hence the f’n name that you seem to not have noticed. 🙂 Union / united = 2 entities or more. The union of the parliaments was just that; two countries one parliament. Not a single new country, but a unitary state. Again you’d never have sold the end of England to to the English never mind the end of Scotland to the Scots when it came to the political union either.
If it wasn’t two kingdoms, it would be ‘The Kingdom of Great Britain and N. Ireland’. We’d not have different laws, crown jewels, titles… nationalities, sports teams and whatnot. The honours of Scotland would not be rolled out for royal visits, the state opening of parliament etc.
We’d not be sitting here talking today if England and Scotland had in all conventional senses ceased to exist with the unions. If that had happened with mutual agreement from both populations, we;d all be happily British and cheer on the same footie teams, send our kids to sit the same exams, share an NHS etc.
It did’t though, as you’d never have sold it to people as noted.
So old charlie is king of two united Kingdoms and a province thereof. Hence he always talks about the Scottish people, Scotland and stuff.
https://archive.is/qyUHg
Charles III is monarch of the United Kingdom, not just King of Scots
His Majesty accepts the subtle differences between ruling England and Scotland, even if many of his subjects do not
I’ll go with Lizzie and son on this; even the Torygraph agrees. I’m not a fan but we do have royalists here. They are really proud if their King of Scots. The reason for keeping Scotland as a distinct Kingdom has not changed. It’s to stop people causing the union to break up by claiming Scotland no longer exists in it. People that say stuff like ‘Scotland isn’t a kingdom anymore’ are a grave danger to the union his filthy richness kens it. As does Cochrane.
You’d best be taking this line too lest you turn people against the union! It’s as stupid as attacking devolution.
It’s like how a fairy dies if you say you don’t believe in them. Well, every time a britnat tries to tell a Scottish unionist they and their country doesn’t really exist, the unionism inside them dies. I think the problem is that they don’t realise a British nationalist and a Scottish unionist are not the same thing at all. Scottish unionists would be very offended by a lot of the stuff you post on here. Which is why I’m puzzled that you do give I thought you backed the UK?
Actually don’t worry, just keep at it! 🙂
WTF are you waffling on about?
The original post stated:
why isn’t there a King of the United Kingdom
I correctly replied that there is Charles is the King of the United Kingdom.
So you are now the internet post police?
I’ll post what I like thanks not have some rude brit police this.
The mods will decide if my post good and not ‘waffle’. If it is the former, it will remain viewable. 🙂
I’m not a ‘Brit’ thanks.
Yep – Excuse the two noisy kids in the background, most of us have learned to ignore their double act these days…
We’re dealing with a nation incapable of change and modernizing, England is England first last and always, the British renaming was only an addition to their other titles and descriptions of themselves
They still use the words *realm* and *imperial* as though these things have never faded from existence and nor should that ever be for them
Like slaves yearn to be free, the powerful yearn for yet more power, refusing to accept their diminishment on any terms
England’s politicians of today would have been the courtiers of yesterday’s crown bending their knees with grateful thanks
There can be no end to the UK of Great Britain and all her territories
History must show the Reich continuing at any cost
Except history shows us that all Regimes fall, and that those in power at their end still never accept it, even to the last breath
And those of us not them will always be lesser ungrateful ingrates with no understanding of the greatness we were privileged to witness
The Tories may have refused iref2, but it was Labour that wrote the Scotland Act in such a way that they (or Labour, as may be the case later this year) could.
Commiserations to Queenie Camilla !
It appears that she has had to take a break after her arduous workload since Chic was diagnosed ( like thousands of others ) with cancer . She has been selflessly covering some of his ”duties” and has exhausted herself . Probably Repetitive Ribbon Cutting Syndrome .
How do all those who have to work on after diagnosis , who have not got squillions squirreled away ( at home and abroad ) , cope ? Does some Royal scrounger step in and share their burden ? Do they get wall-to-wall sycophantic coverage by the arse-licking media ?
Not to worry ! Camilla , or some other Royal Waster , will soon be coming to a venue near you with their trusty gold-plated scissors , ready to bring some much needed sunshine into your drab , Plebeian existence ! ( and you may be lucky enough to receive a wee , free Union flag to wave to show your support for an institution which does so much for the flag-making industry of this Ruritanian backwater ! )
In Westminster when the Tories (who are in charge) makes a decision the news media questions the Labour party about what they think then presents their answer to the viewer
In Scotland when the SNP (who are in charge) makes a decision the news media asks the Tories Labour and the Liberal Democrats, usually followed up by the Fraser of Allander institute, the resolution foundation, some newspaper journalists and uncle Tom Cobley and all, so they can present a full set of as many people as possible to disagree with the SNP, then they bring a SNP representative onto the telly for a journalist to insist to the viewer that everybody disagrees with the SNP
They have TV debate programmes with salted audiences filled with folk that hate the SNP like scenes from Carthage, but you know what’s funny?
The SNP are still the number one political party in Scotland despite all of it
Those of us who support independence for our country are in the majority yet the British media in Scotland still treat us as though we are the minority in the hope of convincing the public of their manufactured lie
That might be yet another one of the reasons why Scotland supports the SNP, we’ve noticed how hard the media work at telling us not to, and that’s insulting to people’s intelligence, and no Scottish people I ever met in my life enjoy being told they’re stupid
Aesop’s ‘The boy who cried wolf’ fable lives on through the millennia
HMS James Cook hosts the show the entire family can play “Spot the propaganda”, where you can call Kay with an E to claim your prize, the ‘disconnect tone’.
Take this wonderful example of BBC/Scotland/Politics (before they rebranded a la Winscale to bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics ) https://archive.ph/99Yy5
As appears to have become James’s MO, no attributed journalist, much as his email “we have seen” which neither sender or receiver recognised… So was a flunkie given leave by AJ from grape-peeling duties to assemble this nonsense, with Nick Robinson doing the editing for Shona Robson’s appearance on the Sunday Guiser Show, the tailpiece (or what used to be known as ‘codswallop’) as ever give over to a List MSP nobody ever voted into office, one Liz Smith…
I called the ‘Kay with an E’ hotline and no surprise to hear ‘number unavailable’.
That’s the problem with UK politics and the BBC particularly in Scotland, the disconnect, they think THEY rule us…. It’s not only Scots who have grown tired to the point of irritation of the “Spot the propaganda” game, it’s gone nationwide..
I read Angus Robertson appears to have mixed feelings about nuclear weapons at the moment
I don’t know what he thinks he’s doing with this but I hope he understands this isn’t and won’t ever be his decision, it’ll be a decision for the country depending on which party supports getting rid of them or not, and that will very likely be the SNP policy when that time comes, and I don’t see Nicola Sturgeon ever changing that as long as she’s still in charge
I know what you’re thinking, Humza’s in charge isn’t he? is he really though?
Going by his posts on Twitter/X today I have not seen any evidence of him giving out mixed messages on the nuclear weapons issue
There’s nothing in the Scotsman either about Angus Robertson having “mixed feelings” from the press conference he gave. In fact it seems pretty clear he wants nuclear weapons out of Scotland and he is backing the white paper that was published today saying exactly that..
https://archive.ph/wip/7PvTb
I’ve been telling you lot since before 2014 that the parliament of gb( lower case is deliberate) is the real devolved parliament of this benighted united kingdom and believe it or not the parliament of gb agrees.
Have a wee read of this. Warning, don’t read the comments.
https://yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com/2023/12/12/the-route-is-thereif-the-snp-use
Golfnut.
You might’ve warned us it was Alf Baird
Yeah this sounds really good but how do we get access to Scotland’s assets such as to pay pensions if all of our MPs just withdraw from Westminster. Answers on a postcard?. The Treaty of Union was broken within a year of it being signed and umpteen times since.
Alf Baird ( no fan of this guy) didn’t author the report by the privileges committee from back in 1999, focus on the extracts from the report, there’s a link at the bottom of you want to wade through it yourself.
The Treaty isn’t broken, articles have but the Treaty is still extanct and it is that fact that allows Scotland to withdraw from it as the Kingdom of Scotland territorally intact and and already a sovereign state. Your missing the point Eilidh as does Alf Baird and many of the SNP bashers if you think just walking out of westminster gets us out of the Union, if the people of Scotland are not asked first then our parliamentarians don’t have the authority to withdraw from the Treaty which is why westminster is desperate to make sure that doesn’t happen, but if for instance the SNP were outlawed and denied access to westminster that would be enough to end the union because Scotland would be denied representation.
Money isn’t a problem, not for us, England yes.
Golfnut
I agree that we the people have to give consent to leave the Union but we have no mechanism to obtain Scotland assets. We need agreement with Westminster to do that or get it through International law. Also the text describes the kingdom of Scotland so who is the monarch of Scotland because as far as I understand it King Charlie Boy never bothered with a Scottish coronation. The treaty of Union still technically exists I get that but it has been subsumed with so much legal garbage it is difficult to believe that if the Snp became a proscribed party and every MP was Snp and could not sit at Westminster that would invalidate the Union Treaty. Chances are the Unionists at Westminster would just do nothing about Scotland not being allowed the representation they voted for and I doubt the Supreme Court would be in Scotland’s side either.
Eh!
Golfnut
My point was that we don’t just need the people of Scotland to support ending the Union . We need agreement of how we end the Union to the benefit of the people Basically agreement on obtaining from England what belongs to Scotland . I cannot forget a quote from my previous boss
” Scotland can’t be Independent the country doesn’t have any money” I kid you not. I think certain parts of Alf Bairds arguement is flawed Could you imagine trying to get the ordinary people or sheeples as my brother calls them to accept the premise of that article. Too many believe everything written in the Daily Record or Daily Heil or on the BBC . The Westminster establishment will use every trick in the book to thwart the end of the Union that is obvious. I am a lot more cynical about how far they will go than in 2015 when the Snp got a vast amount of MPs elected
Your falling into the hole westminster dug. Leaving via Treaty of Union means simply that Scotland’s territorial integrity is assured which will probably include Berwick, it will absolutely remove England’s claim to the 6,000 square miles of stolen seas and any notion of annexing Orkney and Shetland and of course Faslane. All of Scotland’s assets within our borders and some that aren’t including part ownership of the BOE, a share of military assets and of course reparations. England doesn’t have much leeway in any negotiations other than the threat of military force but that should be a no no even for the right wing nutters in charge of westminster because we don’t need the international court to try them, we can do that right here because until a new Treaty is signed England’s ministers and civil service are subject to Scots law via the crown.
Golfnut
I hope you are right but there is nothing I would be confident that Westminster would not do to retain Scotland including armed conflict against the Scottish government and Indy supporters
Interesting read. I know you said not to read the comments but there is one by Xaracen on 12th Dec 2023 at 12:15 pm which summarises the article very clearly.
The principle seems sound. What is needed is a method of implementation.
I favour the idea of the next GE being a de-facto referendum and if a majority of seats are won by the SNP then they implement the withdrawal from Westminster and set up a convention to negotiate the terms and develop the institutions needed to administer an independent Scotland.
Confirmatory vote at the next Holyrood election in 2026.
It’s hard I know, I kick myself every time I forget my own advice and actually write a comment which I have to admit is very rare now.
” I favour the idea of the next GE being a de-facto referendum ”
Me too,
The union won’t end until a new Treaty between the ‘ Kingdoms ‘ has been agreed, ( unless they get really stroppy) that will probably mean international arbritration but the transfer of power will happen almost immediately which will enable the withdrawal from westminster.
I think it will happen quicker than we think.
Strange that Gallagher and Boyle managed to miss this is it not.
Golfnut
Free advice to those wishing to save the union…
Stop attacking Scottish indy supporters / Yes parties. These are not the cause of the union’s demise. They are a product of it. This could not be more obvious. 17 years of attacking the SNP / Scottish people has had the opposite effect you intended, so why are you still at this failed tactic?
The cause of rising support for indy is the behaviour of unionists, or more specifically, British nationalists. Your own side is destroying the union, and you are helping this happen by wasting your time attacking those not responsible for this, leaving those that are to get on with the job.
In the future, historians will document the reasons for indy as things like the destruction of the post-war consensus / the movement of the UK to the right… brexit… attacks on devolution… no devo max… refusal of iref 2. At most they might give a little credit to the SNP / Greens for decent governance in the circumstances and a positive message. However, it will be unionists / British nationalists that will be recorded as the by far the main reason for the failure of the union.
So don’t you think you should try to stop these destroying the union before they succeed?
I say this happily knowing I won’t be listened to.
Interesting, while Alliance take no official position on reunification, their members are pretty clear on the subject.
58% Yes for reunification ex DK in a border poll.
Significant given they now effectively hold the balance of power there.
https://archive.is/xjbae
More Alliance Party members would vote for Irish unity than to remain in UK: survey
Figures suggest younger members of party are less likely to support remaining in the union
Young folks again. So proud of the younger generations. They are opposed to the hatred and division that Britain spread with sectarianism, Brexit, blocking the right of Scots to vote etc.
Update on Angus Robertson
He got a row from *I wonder who*?
Well this is bad for Labour. Coming on the back of a sharp uptick in negative ratings for Starmer with Yougov, IPSOS are showing the same.
This appears to be his highest level of dissatisfaction on record (my dashed line). Impressive given he’s not even made No. 10 yet.
I await the tables to see what the certain to vote levels are like, but the best guide to election outcomes at this stage is not VI, its leader ratings. Starmer is doing very badly.
It seems the Gaza thing and his anti-Scottish subversion of the democratic process has been noticed.
A deeply unpopular party of government and deeply unpopular opposition means an epic constitutional crisis looms and they both know it.
While I’m delighted that folk are looking at all the wrangles that can be used to extricate us from this England colonial rule, there’s the one obstacle that must be traversed very carefully before taking any action, and it’s the big one about making sure we take the population with us, and that they are involved in the process
Because If they’re not rock solid behind any move that’s not some sort of vote on the matter England will exploit that to create chaos and hell in Scotland and use all their power to blame it on us
I agree, it only works if the people vote for it.
Golfnut
Rishi Sunak in panic mode still. He really doesn’t get this democracy thing.
‘Back off’: MPs slate plans to ban them engaging with pro-Palestine groups
https://archive.is/YcSDz
Sinister. From the same article. Who knew George Galloway could strike such fear into the heart of little Rishi.
As per SNP bods pointing this out, England is moving to make people who support Scottish / Welsh independence / Irish reunification ‘extremists that undermine British institutions’. They are already withdrawing funding from artists of such political persuasion even though these are UK taxpayers.
Don’t be surprised if talk of banning the SNP / PC etc starts to appear to test the water. They’re giving up on NI due to the GFA.
But it is all this that will drive Scotland to indy. In the end, 3/4 are Scottish first and foremost if forced to choose. England’s mistake is thinking Scottish unionists and British nationalists in Scotland are the same thing. They are not. Much of Scottish Labour is really pro-devo Scottish and unionist. The fault lines are already forming between these and their British (sic greater English) nationalist counterparts. This is what is driving Labour 2019/21 to Yes in huge numbers behind the scenes; Starmer is a britnat and they want nothing to do with him.
It’s all coming to a head. We’ve been in the calm before the storm the past year or so, but the wind is starting to pick up now.
So what exactly are these “British values” that are being undermined?
Who defined them and where are they written down?
Anybody got a link?
British values are what England’s rulers say they are
Labour backs the Tory crackdown on peaceful protest because protests have already started against Starmer’s government and he’s not even made it to No. 10.
The polls tell him he’s going to walk into No. 10 over the decaying corpse of the Tories. But his focus groups / polling experts are telling him he’s seriously unpopular,and if the low turnouts that are predicted come true, he will have no democratic mandate to rule. So little dictator that he is, he is preparing to hold absolute power with no mandate, and he knows that will mean mass protests which he will need to put down.
https://archive.is/Pvmzq
Extremists trying to tear us apart, says Rishi Sunak in impromptu No 10 speech
…The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, appeared to back the prime minister’s message calling for unity in the country.
He said: “The prime minister is right to advocate unity and to condemn the unacceptable and intimidatory behaviour that we have seen recently.
“It is an important task of leadership to defend our values and the common bonds that hold us together.
“Citizens have a right to go about their business without intimidation and elected representatives should be able to do their jobs and cast their votes without fear or favour.
“This is something agreed across the parties and which we should all defend.”
Scotland is a real problem for him. He’s got away with not being the one to refuse iref2. But soon he will be. He’s praying Scots don’t turn out in the GE so he can point to SNP seat loses as justification for saying No just like the Tories. But he knows that just buys him a couple of years because Holyrood 2026 looms large, and it’s far more important to Scots than English / Union elections now. But what can he do to stop that? Close Holyrood? If he did that, he needs to close the Welsh and N. Irish parliaments. Such an attack on the Scottish people’s own parliament would see scenes like the fall of the USSR where peoples in former states held hands around their parliaments to protect the independence they had just declared. Such action would have Scottish unionists move to indy en mass in response to England taking away their devo, and we’d be looking at 75% Yes. So what then, cancel all voting in Scotland going forward backed up with tanks?
The establishment in England knows it’s all falling apart and is not sure what to do. So it’s making desperate throws of the dice, and cracking down on protests is end of regime tactics 101. The UK is on it’s last legs folks. This election is going to break it both sides if the border. It might not kill it, but it will be mortally wounded ahead of 2026.
Rochdale showed that if you put up an alternative to the big 3-4 (Reform is establishment too – just a Tory pressure group), even if it’s in the form of a total idiot like Galloway, people will vote for it instead, if just to kick the establishment in the baws.
Serious trouble ahead for the union, and all the making if those that most strongly back it.
Who gave Angus Robertson the right to set SNP nuclear policy into the future? Not the members surely.
Independent Scotland will not commit to treaty banning nuclear weapons
https://archive.is/tP5Is
Angus Robertson has not set on policy om Nuclear weapons or on anything else as far as I know. He answered a question from the journalist to which the answer was already known. They knew there was no mention of joining the TPNW in the paper being launched but wanted him to state that precisely so they could get a story out like this.
The goal of course is to have supporters of Independence arguing among themselves, it’s called stirring the porridge.
Signing this treaty has nothing at all to do with removing nuclear weapons from Scotland which is still the policy but it seems that signing the TPNW contradicts another SNP policy which is to join NATO.
If they did not clear this up then they would be attacked for saying they will join NATO and it would be argued that they couldn’t join if they signed the TPNW.
This has nothing at all to do with Angus Robertson setting SNP nuclear policy.
I certainly hope so. I agree with the statement attributed to Nicola Sturgeon in the article – The former first minister said in 2021: “An independent Scotland would be a keen signatory and I hope the day we can do that is not far off.”
If that means not joining NATO then so much the better. I’m strongly opposed to joining any such war mongering expansionist , US MIC dominated organisation. Whether we join or not must be up to the Scottish people to decide.
See also Bill Ramsay on the pledge to ban nuclear weapons being SNP policy:
https://archive.is/TpUVr
It’s OK, Nicola sorted it out yesterday
How?
She’s still the boss, just on the end of the phone at the moment
The people that are in charge are her people
Where did anybody get the idea from that Angus Robertson has decided on SNP policy on nuclear weapons “by unilaterally making this decision to move away from the TPNW”?
Was he the sole author of the White Paper launched yesterday? Were there no other ministers or advisors involved in drafting the producing of this paper?
He simply answered a (loaded) question on the omission on any mention of signing the TPNW in the paper. That does not mean they will never sign it, it does not mean policy has changed it will be the choice of the first Independent Scottish government to make the choice of which treaties to sign once they are in power.
He has not “unilaterally” changed any policy, he simply gave an answer as to why signing the TPNW is NOT in this paper about Defence (not a paper about nuclear weapons policy). He actually said ““We will inherit our treaty obligations as part of the nonproliferation treaty. And then, of course, all other treaties are matters for the government of the day.”
AS usual the media will cherry pick the parts that they can weaponise and have us squabbling among ourselves and lots of other juicy quotes they can use to generate more headlines. They do this because it works! Buyer beware is the best advise, they will twist words and lie because people will buy it and they know it.
So why didn’t he say so, that the TPNW remains SNP policy? He left the door wide open to this kind of speculation and muddied the waters about what is, or isn’t, SNP policy. You can’t blame the media if official spokesmen won’t spell out the policy when asked.
The members decide the policies. They are committed to get rid of Trident. Nuclear warheads were removed from Greenham Common in 1992. 40 minutes from London. Dumped in Scotland by MacMillian.
180,000 military personnel. 10,000 based in Scotland. Scotland pays too much for the Military. No vessels to patrol the shores. Contaminated subs dumped at Rosyth.
Westminster Gov spending £13Billion a year on nuclear decommissioning, over ten years. £130Billion. Costs even increasing. Hinkley Point a total waste of monies.
Unionists going on about alcohol abuse. Labour did not support MUP or the smoking ban. Alcohol consumption has decreased in Scotland. Saving lives. It was 25% more than the rest of the UK.
The Scottish Gov funded proper total rehab facilities £250million over five years. Proper rehab facilities have opened in Dundee and the Borders. Instead of putting people on methadone for years. Unionist Council policies.
If I remember correctly Ken, it was Labour who brought in the smoking ban Possibly the one decent thing they did in eight years f government I’m not bigging them up, but it is important that we post accurate information on this forum
Corbyn is standing in the election. Rumoured to be starting an alternative political Party.
… calling it The Labour Party . Well , he can as there isn’t one at the moment !
Should call it ‘Old Labour’.
The media are really making a big hoohah with this George Galloway business, they’re really working hard to contrive and carve out a place to create a bogeyman out of a wee man in a hat that’s going nowhere in political terms, he’s as big a threat to England’s politics as a fly on yer windae
My best guess is he just needed the money, he’s been wearing the same clothes for the last ten or more years
He’s an erse, but he’s hardly a threat to Western civilisation.
What the establishment fears is more losses to smaller parties PC and the SNP.
Power is supposed to just transfer to Labour who will continue with the same policies. Anything that threatens this must be dealt with.
They know Labour’s good polling is nor real and worry what it will lead to.
The White Paper launched by the Scottish Government yesterday is about more than just defence but about Scotland taking its place in the wor;ld as an Independent country. This includes ambitions such as joining the UN and re-joining the EU as well as setting up Scotland’s Embassies and having our diplomats representing Scotland around the world.
Of course you wouldn’t know that from today’s headlines as they only want you to read stuff that they use to manipulate opinion so they leave out the good stuff, what a surprise.
Here’s a link to the full paper which is what you should use if you want to form an honest opinion on what it actually says instead of what the Daily Express or Mail tells you what it says.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-independent-scotlands-place-world/
It would be hard to be more clear that a vote for the SNP is a vote for indy than having this right there on the ballot paper.
https://archive.is/jWyle
Great to see.
Now, the Electoral Commission has published the proposed new ballot name and logo.
The four names are:
Scottish National Party – Independence for Scotland
SNP – Independence for Scotland
Scottish National Party – For Scottish Independence
SNP – For Scottish Independence
The new logos include the classic stylised thorn at the top above the letters SNP. One then has the word “independence”, while the other has “for independence”.
Every election would be a defacto indyref with this on the ballot. No arguments what you are voting for here. Hope Greens and Alba take the SNP’s lead here.
And unless unionists counter with ‘Labour – against Scottish independence’ then a vote for these would not be clearly opposed to indy, so would be more ‘I’m ok with what others decide’.
Certainly, we could not be sure people voting Lab/Con/Lib were clearly opposing indy unless the ballot specified this. They might just be voting purely on domestic issues and were ok with indy.
Aye, unionist parties really need to counter this move by the SNP to show they are pro-English rule of Scotland. Hardcore unionist. Loyalist No surrender etc.
While the Tories would be fine with this, it would likely send a lot of Labour yessers to the SNP if Labour opposed indy on the ballot.
The media headlines designed to cause division among supporters of Independence over the Nuclear/NATO issue are nothing new. The latest about the TPNW are being regurgitated from the same stories that they have been using in headlines ever since the treaty came into existence in 2021.
There are able to do this because when asked about the treaty just before it came into existence Nicola Sturgeon said:
“While the Scottish Government is unable to become a Party to the Treaty, as First Minister I strongly support the principles of the Treaty and the work of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. An independent Scotland would be a keen signatory and I hope the day we can do that is not far off.”
https://archive.ph/m3uJK
Once the media found out that signing the treaty and joining NATO were in conflict they have attacked the SNP as it was an open goal for them to do so.
June 2022 The Scotsman:
SNP may ditch pledge to sign treaty opposing nuclear weapons to join NATO after independence, MP comments suggest
https://archive.ph/jQF6y
July 2023 Daily Express:
SNP’s defence policy in tatters as NATO says nations that sign anti-nuclear treaty are not welcome
https://archive.ph/Re87F
So now this attack in 2024 on Angus Robertson is not new, just one more added to the list of those that came before. The difference is, this time the person being accused of making up policy unilaterally is not Alyn Smith or Stewart McDonald as it has been previously, it is now Angus Robertsons turn as he was the messenger in front of the media. Alba and the SNP CND group were also saught out back then by a media hungry for quotes that could be used to sow division in the SNP or among supporters of Independence.
You can be assured that in the future, at any mention of NATO and getting rid of Trident are spoken of by any senior figure in the SNP there will be headlines attacking them. That’s what the British media do, it’s their job!
So why doesn’t Angus Robertson simply spell out the SNP policy when asked? Why does he open the door to speculation?
If it’s SNP policy to sign the TPNW then say so, clearly and unambiguously.
If NATO says you can’t join our club if you sign that treaty then OK we can’t join NATO. I for one don’t want to. Ireland isn’t in NATO, nor Switzerland. They preserve their neutrality and don’t participate in defence pacts. Why should we be blackmailed?
Joining NATO is SNP policy as voted for by its members in 2012. When was signing the TPNW made policy?
Bill Ramsay says it has been policy since at least 2017. Is he wrong?
I posted the link above:
https://archive.is/TpUVr#selection-1763.3-1767.90
Yes he is wrong, Angus Robertson “signed a pledge” that would “push for the adoption of the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
I believe every SNP MP at the time may have signed that pledge, that didn’t make it policy as at that time it wasn’t a treaty as it didn’t come into force until January 2021. Signing a pledge in a personal capacity doesn’t make anything policy and it is possible that he still wants to “push for the adoption” of the TPNW.
Nothing in any of the papers shows evidence of anyone having changed their mind on anything. It is simply too good an opportunity to attack the SNP for them to pass on despite it being meaningless waffle.
If it isn’t policy then why didn’t he say so? If he wants to push for the adoption of the TPNW why doesn’t he say so? It’s this obfuscation and ambiguity that is so infuriating.
The obfuscation and ambiguity you talk about is being created by the media. He wasn’t giving a press conference on the merits or otherwise of signing up to the TPNW or even on the SNP’s policy regarding Nuclear weapons.
So why should he deviate and let the press set the agenda as to what he should be talking about? If he had told them that the SNP policy is to sign the TPNW then the headlines would simply have been about how the SNP are “muddled” over their nuclear policy and they can’t join NATO ect ect.
You really can’t win with them no matter what you say, so the best you can do in these situations is to give them as little ammunition as possible. They are going to damn you whatever you say anyway.
I looked it up myself. They all signed it, the SNP Westminster MPs and the Holyrood MSPs and the European MEPs. Ireland signed it in 2017 and ratified it in 2020. Of course, Ireland is an independent country and not interested in joining NATO so can do what it likes.
https://www.icanw.org/signature_and_ratification_status
Are you talking of two different things?
A pledge that all SNP elected members signed and the actual treaty that the government of Ireland signed?
It’s the same thing. The pledge is here with the signatories listed:
https://pledge.icanw.org/full_list_of_pledge_takers
“Over 2,000 parliamentarians around the world have pledged to work for their country’s signature and ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons:”
Cheers.
It’s pretty simple, it’s just another ambiguous invented piece of low hanging fruit attack from a Better Together standpoint
“In tatters” “ripped up” “slammed” and a thousand more adjectives that mean nothing spaffed across the Daily Express and Mail for the consumption of those that’ll fall for it
A non story whipped to create blether and doubt
How many countries do not have Nuclear weapons yet are in NATO
How many countries do not use the Euro yet are in the EU
There are no rules set in stone for any country wishing to be a part and contributor to the world if the intentions are for good
I see HMS James Cook is heavily promoting “Douglas Ross urges chancellor not to extend oil and gas windfall tax” on the Scotland, /Politics and /Business pages…
As movers and shakers go, I imagine even Jeremy Rhyming-Slang would be asking “Who ?”, yet here is James “Ah wanna gong” attempting to portray a soon-to-be has-been Forres Gump as so important that he can’t get a babysitter…
He’s shitting bricks. The Tories actually had some support in the NE. The windfall tax is killing this. If it actually came to Scotland that would different, but subsidy junkie Tory/New Labour England is keeping it to snort up its nose because it can’t be bothered working for a living.
I work in the offshore energy / CCUS area, now out of Aberdeen. The union has never been this unpopular. The Tories will lose loads of votes to the SNP and none will go to Labour who are a minnow in this area outside if the city itself.
Douglas Ross has got a whistle, he’s very powerful wee laddie
Yes you are Dougie son, there’s a good boy now
Sharp drop in Starmer’s approval rating with R&W too, and they’re his best pollster.
Well done SNP; seems you successfully drew people’s attention to the sneaky little budding dictator and they didn’t like what they saw. No wait, Starmer drew this attention to himself. He hurt the unionists. SNP just gave him the opportunity and the idiot took it.
R&W are at odds with most pollsters in finding him net positive, but then big variations in what’s asked in ‘ratings’ questions give different outcomes. You can hate someone but think they are leading their party well for example. So you will have people rating starmer as a leader as they hear he’s got a huge poll lead, even if they don’t like him. Ergo it’s trends that matter.
This one is a sharp drop to his worst rating since the mini-budget boost. Not good for Labour. Seems all the polls are showing it.
That’s what you get for showing you don’t think Scots should be allowed to put forward motions in the British (sic English) parliament while threatening the speaker to get your own way.
[…] Source […]
Latest on the ‘Labour revival’ in Scotland.
As per his UK ratings, distrust in him in Scotland has hit a new high post #Gazaspeakergate
UK ratings being reported in the National. Good to see they’re reporting key leader polling and not just silly mid term VI numbers. UK trust here showing the sharp negative change in the latest survey as per Scotland:
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/trackers/is-keir-starmer-trustworthy
Folks in all the countries of the UK can see the guy is no tae be trusted.
TBH, it’s not just his hate for Scots and anti-democratic scheming that make him unfit to lead the UK, it’s because he’s that f’n stupid to think it would not backfire. He thinks he’s clever yet he’s not at all, but an idiot that can’t see the end of his nose. That’s dangerous in a PM, as we are seeing with Sunak.
When Scotland does become independent i believe we should ban nuclear weapons from our country altogether
We should still own a whole bunch of them of course but base them in England
What? you don’t think they’d be happy about that? it’s their turn isn’t it
I believe a Guy found lots of tunnels under westminster, we could park them there, a hellova lot more dangerous than gun powder though.
Golfnut
I just watched STVs John McKay arguing with this one and that on how bad the SNP are, it’s hilarious, one minute he’s complaining the SNP aren’t putting up the council tax then he’s arguing with himself that they need to put up council tax, then he bangs on about charging for parking, and isn’t that just a tax
See if the SNP just made everything free then wee John McKay would have to complain about taxing people to pay for other stuff that he hasn’t thought of yet
Nowhere in England Wales and Northern Ireland pays less tax than Scotland overall
Our parking is cheaper, our council tax is cheaper, our transport is cheaper, 53% of workers pay less tax than anywhere else, per head of population Scotland builds more social housing than anywhere else
Why on earth are English people moving to Scotland in their droves? it’s cheaper and better
The moaners want to go and live in the houses all these English folk have just left to come here, first they couldn’t afford to and second it’s *Orrible* down there
Go for a day to a town in the borders, you’ll come back so angry you’ll be wanting to dig up the weapons in your basement
It is very different. The media, and Bill Ramsay, are playing semantics.
https://www.icanw.org/united_kingdom
“More than 60 members of the Westminster parliament, along with dozens of members of the Scottish parliament and the Welsh assembly, have pledged to work for the United Kingdom’s signature and ratification of the TPNW.”
is not the same as pledging it’s policy for an Independent Scotland, nor is it the same as pledging that it’s SNP policy for an Independent Scotland.
And the key thing also is “to work for”, which is not the same as actually getting there. I’m working to become financially well off. Ain’t happened and won’t unless I win the lottery.
I didn’t make that pint very well.
“Working for” can include a plan with conditions – for instance spending money first on strong conventional defences rather than nukes. There are defence buffs who’d agree with that one.
Robertson’s position to me seemed to be entirely logical and non-contradictory.
In 2012 with the Indy Ref being a possibility, the SNP were being attacked for their “weak” defence policies. And their supposed anti-NATO stance. In fact a survey 2 or 3 years earlier of SNP members had shown a small majority in favour of full NATO membership, rather than their policy of being a Partner in Peace, like Ireland – and Russia. Sevvie of the Grun was on the job.
So Angus Robertson went for full NATO membership, and a sensible defence budget as a % of GDP. That was passed after a long and very strong debate – the NATO part by a very small margin, with 2 MSPs leaving the SNP.
Thing is that without defence I don’t think it would have been 45% YES, more like 35%. Defence and security is something most take for granted, it’s a State’s first duty to its citizens. People I talked to were contemptuous of the SNP with PfP for Nato. In fairness I live in a 75% NO area.
Hence why Robertson is a huge target for the Unionist press, and UK establishment. And why I painfully started to refresh my defence knowledge, having lost interest while raising a family! When spokesperson for defence by the way, he asked a large number of written questions in the HoC. He was on the job.
Lowest block grant in the history of devo, while England rapes Scotland with the windfall tax.
Pretty obvious which country is the ‘subsidy junkie’.
So I understand the Tory-Lib Aberdeenshire council has turned down an application for a pro-union march through Stonehaven, embarrassed as it is by the ugly sectarian nature of a section of the British community in Scotland.
https://archive.is/zGXfB
The marchers will be voting Labour as the pro uk ticket in the coming GE.
Aye, no votes in upsetting the thousands of folks signing the petition against the OO marching
It probably upsets the council just as much not to allow it as it would have for the voters had it gone ahead
Aberdeen council caught itself between a rock and a sash on that one
“Mr David Walkers, executive officer at the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, rejected accusations of “anti-Catholic and anti-Irish hostility” made against the procession by the petition”.
Perhaps Mr Walkers (me thinks this a convenient name in the circumstances), could enlighten us as to the number of people in his organisation who have been ‘sine died’ or indeed any who have sanctioned in any fashion as a result of their behaviour within or out with his organisations marches/parades which clearly demonstrate the organisations peaceful anti bigotry values.
Obviously identifying individuals would be questionable.
So a simple list of offences and sanctions applied would be a good way to demonstrate the self policing of good governs, tolerance, and peaceful attributes of his organisation.
Scotland pays £5Billion for Defence. Too much. 180,000 military personnel. 10,000 based in Scotland. Get rid of Trident. Contaminated subs dumped at Rosyth.
Scotland makes repayment on debt not borrowed or spent in Scotland. £5Billion.
Scotland has lost £10Billion to Brexit. £3Billion tax evasion.
£19Billion + lost to Westminster bad policies. HS2, Hickley Point a total waste of monies.
Scotland raises £87Billion. UK raises £731Billion. (Including Scotland). Westminster spends £1090Billion. Westminster spent £270Billion over two years funding Covid. Much of it was wasted.
Westminster spends £13Billion a year decommissioning Nuclear over 10 years. £130Billion. Increasing all the time.
Scotland gets £40Billion Block Grant. £20Billion? Pensions/Benefits. Scotland would be far better off managing its own revenues.
UK Gov whole accounts 2020/21.
Orange Lodge looking for some publicity. Masons. Bigoted, unequal, racist, misogynist secret. Should be illegal. Breaking Laws.
What does it mean when politicians say the first duty is defence of the realm or country or state?
Well the redefined popular version is military, but of course that’s a politicians translation using the strategy of playing the game of friends and enemies for those who don’t grasp the full meaning of politics, which is most people
True Defence of anywhere means the need to safeguard the population first, and you do that by making sure the population exists by not starving it out of existence, but creating growth in that population or there’ll be nothing to defend militarily
Politics is about perceptions, not friends and enemies
“What can I do for you that makes you do for me”?, is what politics is about
Friends and enemies is for children and the drunk in the pub
Interesting. It seems that under the UN Charter, it’s a right, but not a duty.
So perhaps the concept of “duty to defend our country” is a UK concept, not a worldwide one. Whereas the UN one is peace and human rights.
The danger of assumptions.
Douglas Ross talked down from quitting by Alister Jack over *fury* at the budget
Ooh scruples!!
Was there a band playing *believe it if you like* ?
These people really are the epitome of insult to people’s intelligence
Or … if DRoss resigned there was no one willing to take over as the first loser of Scottish politics . Maybe Damn Jackie baillie could be persuaded to step in ?
If Dross resigned and no one was listening, would it become a concern???
Here’s another insult the Chancellor throws at us
“I have decided not to increase the tax on fuel duty so that will save people money”
That’s like saying I’m not going to cut your finger with a vegetable knife so you won’t have to buy a band aid
Not increasing a tax doesn’t save anybody anything, it just remains the same
This guy wants praise for doing nothing while simultaneously calling us stupid if we fall for it
The Tories are losing tax revenues. No growth.
2019/20 UK tax revenues raised £813Billion.
2020/21 UK tax revenues raised £731Billion. Tories spending £1090Billion.
In a few months Ross and Jack will be voted out.
The idea that Union Jack talked Ross down off the ledge is laughable. Not so laughable is the short change in the block grant and syphoning off oil and gas windfall taxes. A double whammy and one that the electorate needs to have clearly articulated. There should not be a single Tory MP after this, especially Union Jack.
I never thought of Sunak as an IT technician, but obviously at the George Michael Tory Conference he slapped Douglas Ross on the back and told him “here’s something to heal the pain”, and inserted the glove puppet upgrade at the same time.
Douglas Ross says he’ll “rebel” when the Tory windfall tax is put to the vote
What he actually means is he’s asked permission to look like he’s rebelling to save his skin in Scotland
Wouldn’t it be funny if Alister Jack tells him NO he can’t, y’see DRoss doesn’t get to ask Sunak because Sunak doesn’t even know who he is
He’ll always have his degree in milk to fall back on, and refereeing, oh and MSP-ing and probably still MP-ing, so he’ll likely still scrape by on his £300.000 per annum plus expences
He must be salting it all away for something because he’s never spend it on a suit that fits him, I’m sure they do boys extra large in Matalan
Scotland should not be in NATO, IMO
Ross will be voted out. His words mean nothing. Hang on a couple of months.
There are no Orange Order marches in the NE. Never has been and never will be. No separate schools.
Religion has exemption above the Law. Above equal opportunity and employment Law. Unequal and unfair. Separation of religion and state. Scotland is secular.
There are Orange Marches in Glasgow. Way too many. A blight on the economy. They should be illegal. Racist, bigoted, misogynist, unequal, secret. They blackball people. Breaking the Law with impunity. A blight on society.