Scotland is a paradox. We can freely leave the UK, but we also can't?

It has taken me several years to resurrect this blog. I have thought about it with the creation of Alba and my subsequent meeting with like minds.  #ALBAforIndependence #AlbaStandsForScotland #AlbaRising

I joined the SNP to gain independence for Scotland. I didn’t join the SNP because of Alex Salmond or Nicola Sturgeon. And that also applied to Jim Sillars, Gordon Wilson, Winnie Ewing or anyone else. I did it because their arguments were best, and once I looked into it economically there was no doubt. Democratically there was no doubt. Culturally and with my heart there was more doubt. I could see culturally, arguments for and against staying within the Greater England project of 1603 and 1707. Culturally I needed to be convinced. Ironic because that became one of Better Together’s lines during in 2014, ‘Think with your head to stay in the Union, not with your heart for Scotland’s independence’. My feelings were weighted the opposite way round. 

I left the SNP in the 2000s because of the lack lustre leadership of John Swinney and the unfortunate episode with Clause 28. Being a gay man this really stuck in my craw. They were standing in the way of equality (ironically they are doing it again in 2022 under different leadership this time backed up wholeheartedly by the Scottish Green Party). This won't be happening if many women and others in Scotland have anything to do with it, or if it does there will be long term problems with this legislation. #WomenWontWheesht #NoToSelfID

That soon passed once Alex Salmond came back to the helm. And equality and anti discrimination came to the fore. Plus he called Scotland’s government Scotland’s Government which it most definitely was. London still held most of the purse strings and still do to this day. And that control has increased with Brexit which was one of the reasons I voted against that (but could still see some arguments for it. although none of them have come to pass. The people you vote for to carry something out are almost as important as the thing you are voting for, and it was blindingly obvious that those elected by England to do this on our behalf were not in it to improve life of any particular part of the UK, let alone Scotland – they were in it for where they were, and to improve their own lives). 

I had rejoined the SNP in 2014 after the official ‘No’ vote but with little enthusiasm for party politics again. It was made abundantly clear that I and many others who were the most active for Scottish Independence during the independence campaign were not welcome. Having been bullied and pilloried for a number of years I eventually gave up the ghost in 2017. 

Its not what you know or what your experience is

Who can I vote for? There are further links to incidents, happenings and processes within SNP Provan.

And now we come to Wednesday 23rd November 2022. The day on which the UK Supreme Court made its judgement on whether Scotland had, within the UK, the right to have a second Independence Referendum. Sovereignty in Scotland’s lies with it’s people and the representatives elected by those people. In England sovereignty lies with its Parliament. This creates a fundamental problem within the UK as these sovereignties are entirely different. 

Salvo video introducing the Scottish Constitution.

More information can be found on the salvo.scot website.

The highest court in the land of Scotland is the Court of Session for civil matters. To state that the UK Supreme Court has a greater power breaks the Articles of Union between the 2 countries. So it is questionable whether this matter should have been referred to this court in the first place. 

Secondly we know the previous outcome of a very similar case a few years ago instigated and carried through by Martin J Keatings which also went to court and the outcome was that this question could not by answered by the Court hypothetically. The Scottish Government would have to legislate before the basis of the argument could be contested. 

Link to Martin J Keatings case information. 

This was one of the possible outcomes for today, i.e. a repeat of the outcome of before. At the time of this case the SNP for whatever reason didn’t want to know the answer, as it seemed to put everything possible in the way of Martin Keating's case. 

Wednesday 23rd November's outcome was an absolute ‘NO’ which to me is best outcome in our current situation. However I personally believe Scotland should be in a much better position. Frequently over the last few years I really question whether the SNP has been trying to achieve Scottish Independence at all with its mis-steps, active persecution of strident voices for it, and the squashing of even discussion about it at the party's conference. 

As ‘Wings Over Scotland' has said today and I quote… ‘You can argue legitimately that Scotland is not a colony. You can argue legitimately that Scotland is not a country and gave up its people’s right to self-determination. What you cannot do is legitimately argue both, because the two assertions contradict each other in the most absurdly direct and blatant way.’ 

This will annoy more people. As to how many people it will annoy will be interesting to see. The question of who can decide on Scotland’s future was decided a long time ago. 

In 1950 a petition was raised (known as the Scottish Covenant) which stated that Scotland should again have its own Parliament. It gained 2 million signatures, and then was quietly ignored. This ultimately led to the unexpected removal of the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey, to which it was then returned, until retracing its journey back to Scotland ‘on loan’ in 1996. 

Newsreel from 1951 about the removal of the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey.

More about Ian Hamilton.

1996: The Stone of Destiny is returned from England to Scotland

As an aside in 1975 Scotland voted to join the EU, or the EEC as it was then. At that time this was against SNP policy I believe. 

In 1979 we had a referendum where a majority of voters voted to have a Scottish Assembly. Because of the way the referendum was set up however Scotland didn’t get its Assembly. But nor did it do anything worthwhile afterwards about getting it. This swindle was what switched me on to Scotland’s position in the UK. 

The video below 'Scotland's Oil: A Case for Scottish Independence' puts this in context, and sums up perfectly all the reasons which made into a believer and supporter of Scottish Independence.

In 2014 there were some irregularities about how the whole thing was conducted. 

There was the blatant use of existing sources of media by the British state. See below for video re this. 'Writing Off Scotland: Press Bias during the 2014 referendum. 

There was the breaking of purdah offering something which appeared substantial by the British state (the infamous Vow which has still not been delivered due mainly the Scottish Parliament not being made permanent).

There were very odd things about the day of actual voting. A number of times on the day raised a red flag being outside a polling station for most of it. And then there were odd things as regards some voting papers, at the counts themselves, and then reports of bags of discarded votes left in odd places. There was also no mechanism for a recount. The voting papers were discarded quickly and 'Better Together' people seemed to know the postal votes outcomes prior to the day of voting itself. Please see below John McTernan stating that No votes are dominant on 14th September 2014, with the actual vote taking place several days later.

Personally at the moment if I had been on that committee of Judges on the UK Supreme Court I would have passed a different judgement. With the seemingly almost moribund nature of the SNP leadership and therefore Scotland’s current Government particularly on the matter of Scottish Independence, and the lacklustre involvement of the Yes Movement (with a few notable exceptions) as the SNP’s lack of leadership and vision has drained enthusiasm I would have put the proverbial cat amongst the SNP pigeons. I would have said you do have the powers to hold a second Scottish Independence Referendum, but only before or on the day of 19th October 2023 the date Nicola Sturgeon said she would hold one, no ‘ifs’ no ‘buts’. 

I have no belief whatsoever that the SNP is any way ready to have a second Scottish Independence Referendum. So if I had been fighting for the UK this is the option I would have picked. It would have completely hamstrung the SNP and left it in disarray. Of course I have believed in Scottish Independence since our ‘democratic’ referendum to have an Assembly in 1979, so I am pleased at the outcome. If anything can raise Scotland from its slumber this will. Given the initial reaction of the SNP leadership it certainly hasn’t roused them. So it must come from other sources; Salvo, Alba, ISP, etc. Is it going to come from you? Or do you not care about Scotland or its people?

Alex Salmond Salmond response to UK Supreme Court ruling.

A response from SALVO.

If you believe in Scottish Independence you will risk everything unless you give both votes to the SNP

‪#‎SP16‬ ‪#‎VoteIndependence‬ ‪#‎MhariBlack‬ #SNPbecause #BothVotesSNP

Although I have great sympathies for those that work for the smaller #indy parties standing on Thursday (5th May 2016) and I do want them to be represented in the next #Holyrood parliament, anything less than an SNP majority will jeopardise the prospects for any future move to independence. That is why I am plumping finally for both votes SNP in this election.

Once Scotland is independent then I shall vote #Green. I was originally going to vote Green on the list, until the episode in Westminster when Caroline Lucas went into the lobby with the Tories over the matter of full fiscal autonomy for Scotland having checked out what to do with the Scottish Greens. I disagree with FFA for Scotland simply because to me it would give Scotland the worst of all possible worlds i.e. no control over foreign affairs, nuclear weapons, etc. but on this particular occasion solidarity with the SNP was more important as it had no hope of being passed anyway. Thus the Greens lost my list vote.

I also toyed with voting #Rise on the list as I am in admiration for several of their columnists that appear in the National. However the prospect of indy overrules everything, so its ‪#‎bothVotesSNP‬ for me, but hoping for some Greens and Rise MSPs too.

Then we can have proper democracy in Scotland and the #SNP have been so much better than the preceeding #Liebour./ #FibDum administration anyway.

Whatever you decide (as I can only state my thought process on this one) please vote and make sure it is for an independence supporting party. 

#toysootthepram #biggestcrisissincetheabdication #projectfear2 and all that stuff. Its now the big day!

Well here we are again on the day of a UK General Election.

So much has changed, but so much stays the same.

One of the things that has marked out this campaign, is the coverage that Scotland has been getting. The BBC has been showing Reporting North Britain (known by the BBC as Reporting Scotland), and North Britain 2015 with Sarah Smith (known by the BBC as Scotland 2015) on the BBC Parliament channel so it has been available to everyone in the UK. No other BBC ‘local’ news programme or political programme is shown on this channel on a daily basis. Nicola Sturgeon has been getting coverage and the ability to state the SNPs case outside Scotland during UK wide news and leaders debates. 

Nobody can deny that the SNP’s position in the polls has not considerably raised Scotland’s profile.

What has stayed the same is the British Establishment’s reaction to the SNP. However now it looks as though the SNP and therefore Scotland might actually have the possibility of getting something out of a UK General Election, the barbs have been getting somewhat stronger although have not been to the standard we have come to expect after the Scottish Independence Referendum campaign in the months and years leading up to September 2014.

There were murmurs of #ProjectFear2 but when a twitter storm started from disgruntled Yes supporters this very quickly seemed to peter out , although it may be resurrected at the polling stations by Labour representatives mirroring what occurred at the polling stations at the Independence Referendum.

We then had the #biggestcrisissincetheabdication from Theresa May the UK Home Secretary. True she was referring to a constitutional crisis stating that English voters would question the legitimacy of a UK Government where the SNP held sway over taxation and spending powers that would not affect their own country. She was obviously forgetting the fact that Scotland too is part of the UK (quite a common problem for those in Westminster, even for many of those elected from Scottish constituencies once they are in the Westminster bubble), the SNP are a UK political party legitimately standing for election to the UK parliament to represent Scotland, and that Scotland had to put up the same thing in the opposite direction for just under 300 years up to the re-establishment of a Scottish Parliament in 1999. After all when Scotland had 72 seats to England’s 550 there was not a great deal Scotland could do about anything as it didn’t really matter how it voted. Scotland’s views only ever mattered when they coincided with what England wanted, and that remains largely the case since 1999 in matters reserved to Westminster.

This was quickly followed by #toysootthepram Milliband, who was so harassed by the ‘impartial’ UK media, indicated that he wouldn’t even talk to the SNP if they won lots of Westminster seats in the House of Commons inferring strongly that he would therefore prefer a Tory Government rather than a left wing coalition if this coalition required the SNP to function. This indicated a lack of political maturity on his part (hence the ‘toys oot the pram’ line), but also part of the arrogance and the sense of entitlement that has come to be associated with Labour in Scotland i.e. they don’t care how people voted as everyone is going to have what Labour wants.

According to the opinion polls Scotland could be on the cusp of something historic. I can’t say as I am surprised given the infamous vow which promised the maxiest devolution but ended up a mish mash which will be a nightmare to administer and gives Scotland complete control of road signs but very little else. Everything else seems to be qualified by the requirement for a Scottish decision to be approved by Westminster which largely defeats the point unless I am missing something.

The opinion polls have been showing the SNP polling amazing numbers since late 2014 and I remain in a state of disbelief over them. If the SNP win anything above 11 seats then the result will be historic (NB: When these 11 seats were achieved in November 1974 Scotland had 72 Westminster seats). If the party gets more than 30 as looks likely then Scotland is much less likely to be ignored in future as it gives the SNP real clout. If the SNP win over 50 seats out of the possible 59 Scottish seats then I may need to call an ambulance for the shock. I have wanted the SNP to get a majority of seats in Scotland since 1978, and I honestly thought I would never be alive to see the day. However if I end up in hospital I don’t think I shall get seen very quickly because of the queue of ousted Labour MPs in front of me. If anyone reading this knows me and wonders where I am on Friday when I am not contactable I shall send you my ward number in due course.

However Scotland’s position even if the unlikely event of the SNP gaining 59 out of the available 59 seats was to actually occur then it needs to be remembered that although an amazing political statement will have been made, because Scotland remains part of the UK this will still only be a small part of the 650 seats in the House of Commons in Westminster. This is the actuality of Scotland’s position in the UK, and nobody in Scotland should forget it. It is only the fact that both major UK parties are virtually neck and neck in the rest of the UK that Scotland can have clout on this occasion.  Onwards and upwards.

Dear Willie...

Letter sent to Willie Bain our beloved MP in Glasgow North East

Hello William,

I have just read your leaflet, as delivered to my household on 11/4/15. I have numerous questions arising from this, and would like to seek some answers from you. I hope you can take the time to answer.

The first thing that is brought to my attention is that our NHS is in "crisis". Can you please tell me why your party denied this pre-referendum?

It then says that "our families" are £1600 per year worse off under the Tories and that your Party will fight against this. May I point out that Labour voted WITH the Tories on further austerity? May I also point out that Labour have had the GNE seat for in excess of 80 years, and that it's one of the poorest constituencies in the country. I mean, the Tories haven't always been in charge....can I have your thoughts on this?

The next thing that is brought to my attention is that Labour will increase the minimum wage to £8. Other Parties have quoted £8.70 and £10 respectively, so why does £8 make you the better choice? Also, may I ask why Labour voted against the other proposed rises in favour of a lower proposal?

I then see that Labour plan to abolish "exploitative" Zero-hour contracts. It is a well known fact that in excess of 500 staff-members are employed by Labour on such contracts. Does this mean that you are admitting that your Party currently exploits people? Also, can you please explain why, after Tony Blair promised the same thing in 1995, we are still no further forward 20 years later?

The leaflet also mentions the mansion tax that your Party proposes. How many homes in Britain are worth £2m plus? I can't imagine that such tax will cover much. Can you please explain just how much this tax will cover?

I also see that you say that if we don't vote Labour, the Tories will get in. I'd like to point out that Scotland voted Labour in 1951, 1955, 1959, 1970, 1974, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992 and 2010 and got Tory anyway? That's a staggering 10 from the last 15, so kind of disproves your notion. Can I ask why you still think that voting Labour beats the Tories?

We have here an opportunity to have a Labour/SNP government, going by the polls. Do you not think that Labour not working with the SNP would allow the Tories in? Given that your printed assertion is wrong?

I note you also mention that you are anti-austerity. May I then ask why your Party voted FOR the cuts alongside the Tories? And why Ed Balls has said he won't change any of the current Tory plans?

Moving on to the 50p tax for £150,000 plus earners. Well, there aren't many of them in the UK. In fact, the Prime Minister doesn't even earn that. So....how much will this cover?

Finally, may I ask why your leaflet does not offer any advice on what YOU will do for us? You've been my MP for 6 years, and you do not say one thing that YOU will do for GNE.

I know that's a lot of questions. But they're the questions that immediately run through my head upon reading your promotional leaflet. I hope you can answer my concerns, and convince me it is not just the "same old".

Thanks,

James Gilchrist

reproduced with the kind permission of the author.

WHAT POLITICAL PARTY CHOICES ARE THERE?

In England and in the UK as whole (because of the imbalance in parliamentary seats between the constituent countries) there are only 3 parties ever likely to be part of a UK Government at the present time.

These are …

1. Conservatives
2. Labour
3. Liberal Democrats

CON: The price of everything and the value of nothing.

The Conservatives know the price of everything and the value of nothing. They run the country like UK plc screwing down the workforce to the lower pay values possible. They believe in business and money, freedom, and the rights of the individual (if they are successful in monetary terms) to choose. They remove rights and laws protecting those at the bottom of society and by inference or direct statement blame the most vulnerable for being a drain on the country. They are not in hock to the Unions but are instead the bedfellows of big business and the rich and are funded by them. Traditionally they are also the party of the landed gentry and the hereditary principle. The usual colour they are represented by is blue.

LAB:  should change its colour from Red to an increasingly bluish lavender

The Labour Party was once a party of principle who believed in sorting societies ills to make a better future for all the people of the UK. They believed that all essential industries and utilities should be owned by the people and run for their benefit. They set up the National Health Service offering health care free, to be available as required rather than on the ability to pay. They carried through and enhanced the Beveridge Liberal vision of a welfare state. They are still in a large part funded by the Unions who are themselves funded by a large proportion of the UK population. However the post Thatcherite Labour Party is a shadow if it’s former self and should change its colour from red to an increasingly bluish lavender. It has accepted most of the 1980s Conservative ideology meaning there isn’t much to distinguish it from the Tories, except you can expect them to be a bit less concerned about the price of everything and more likely to know the value of something, although recently they have gained the notoriety of being in charge during the 2008 financial crisis. I believe they actually did the right things (as compared to the Conservatives who would have let the banks go to the wall at the time) but got no thanks from the electorate due to the preceding years of profligacy.

There was a remarkable similarity between the two UK conference sets recently of the Conservatives and Labour party. Both had a blue background and both included the Union flag. Similar in design and similar in basic ideology with slightly more social minded policies from Labour.

LIB DEM:  They are represented by a golden yellow colour (that sums them up!)

The once mighty Liberal Party now the Liberal Democrats who came up with the majority of the welfare state is now likely to only get into Government as bedfellow to either one or other of the big two mentioned above and has been in this position since World War 2. They claimed to be principled prior to the 2010 election spouting ‘an end to broken promises’, fairer student funding, a fairer UK electoral system, and Mr ‘read my lips’ Clegg stated that he would never go into coalition with the Conservatives as they were not progressive in their hopes for a better society. They are represented by a golden yellow colour (that sums them up!). However all that got ditched in 2010 and now they are no different to either of the above. Indeed it could be argued that they are worse. At least you know that you are going to get brutalised by the Conservatives and incompetence from Labour. After 2010 you could anything at all from the Liberal Democrats!?*!

Danny Alexander in shock as he is told he is not a Conservative but a Liberal Democrat MP.

There must be something better, surely! Anyone?

If you want to pick a party that is likely to get into power in a UK General Election then (barring in one English Constituency i.e. Brighton Pavilion where the Green Party of England and Wales got its first representative) you are completely bereft of a choice that offers any moral, just, principled argument based on anything but how much everything costs in monetary terms. I do not believe the English people are so mercenary. There must be something better, surely! Anyone?

Fortunately in Scotland there is the SNP

Fortunately in Scotland there is a fourth realistic choice the SNP. The SNP in its first majority Government within the Scottish Parliament has done things that Labour should be fighting for i.e. free prescriptions for all, free university tuition fees, the return of at least a partial student grant, keeping the NHS from being privatised, etc. Unfortunately they are never going to have a majority in the Westminster Parliament as they only stand in Scottish constituencies.

It is about time Scotland learned that it could have a new future away from the above UK ‘choice’ (is it really a choice?). Only by voting YES in the forthcoming Scottish Independence Referendum can they have a new start. Will they chose this? I hope so.

Two Futures: vote Yes on Thursday, 18th September 2014

GETTING HUNKERED DOWN FOR A LONG WINTER Part 3 of 3

Go back to Part 1.
Go back to Part 2.

My lessons from all this

So all this has taught me the following…

1. Thank God for the SNP coming into power at Holyrood. They removed prescription charges which allowed me to access the medication I need to reduce the symptoms of my chronic illness without having to worry about the cost.
2. Why did I have to pay tax and National Insurance to the UK Government when I was working for 20 years when they actually only took 1 years contributions into account when I had to apply for benefits through no fault of my own?
3. If 1 year’s National Insurance contributions are all that counts, can I not have the other 19 years refunded?
4. I was very naïve to assume that the UK Social Security system actually operated so it would care for me if I needed it. It has time and time again proved that it would not, and even when it does, it only grudging helps with meagre levels of support.
5. The Incapacity Benefit and now Employment and Support Allowance systems are the UK equivalent of Lourdes, as people go in to be assessed and come out according to the system miraculously cured. I wish in actuality I was cured as I so desperately want to be well again!
6. I can have any power supplier I like as long as it is Scottish Power thanks to the so-called free energy market which was so efficiently designed by the UK Government so that everyone (except those in my situation) could chose their energy supplier. Oh yes and that same system has led to imminent overall energy shortage thanks to the private companies pursuit of profit and not energy security, the latter being the prime motivator before privatisation.
7. Lord Martin of Springburn, and the Labour Party are no longer interested in protecting the most vulnerable in society, or they have a mighty funny way of showing it.
8. The SNP Government at Holyrood also introduced a more generous version of the UK’s Green Deal meaning I may be able to get some financial help towards making my house a little warmer in winter.
9. In an energy and resource rich country like Scotland why do millions have to suffer in fuel poverty, when they have to choose between eating and heating their homes?
10. Why is a system called the ‘Warm Home Discount’ designed to help those in need such a big secret?
11. Why is it called the ‘Warm Home Discount’? Is this not an insult to those in financial hardship whose houses remain freezing thanks to the constantly increasing fuel prices.
12. Why when I phoned the DWP or Job Centre Plus did they not know anything about the Warm Home Discount?
13. Why when I phoned Scottish Power initially did they also deny knowledge of it for someone in my situation i.e. under the pension age?
14. And what I consider the most important lesson: Why do the Scots seem to think that the UK Government can do better at the vast majority of things that I have mentioned above than the Scottish Government, when the latter has proved itself far more efficient and effective than the former in its short existence?

 

Vote NO for nothing, no change, zilch, and probably even less than you have now.

Vote YES to have the opportunity to create something new, to get the Scottish Government that you actually have some control over doing what the majority of Scots want, that is better than we have now (which in my opinion with Scotland’s resources would not be all that difficult).

I live in hope.