tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69583797460627318662024-03-08T11:35:00.122+00:00Talk of the Hebrides (Heb Talk)A discussion board for topical and political issues, as viewed from the unique perspective of the Hebridean islands.Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-13973229213272200762012-09-19T10:24:00.000+01:002012-09-19T10:43:30.746+01:00This is the time to be part of Scotland's story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwEi2R-BzoyZim3xHRtbh04oG-0-jhqqXbdgr_lTl-SmHGrq5BB6pc3KvRm-gbHGyJRWFlHXykLbD24QK_46fVH1zESjgbY2fb6P0hHtiwowckiQh52HvT3oASG1Mjfh7R0VDPPUUCpB8K/s1600/1979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwEi2R-BzoyZim3xHRtbh04oG-0-jhqqXbdgr_lTl-SmHGrq5BB6pc3KvRm-gbHGyJRWFlHXykLbD24QK_46fVH1zESjgbY2fb6P0hHtiwowckiQh52HvT3oASG1Mjfh7R0VDPPUUCpB8K/s400/1979.jpg" width="400" /></a>In 1979, I was a third-year student and an ardent supporter of Scottish Independence. The first ever constitutional referendum for Scotland was imminent and the Yes campaign was marshalling its resources, such as they were, to fight a No campaign which included practically every political party and institution in the country and many based elsewhere.</div>
<br />
The few opinion polls which existed then were ambiguous, but seemed to show a Yes vote would be unlikely. The Westminster government (then Labour led) was interfering with the referendum process to make a positive outcome almost impossible. And the Tories were promising jam tomorrow – just as long as we behaved ourselves and voted No. We all know how that turned out.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>A march in support of the Yes campaign was organised in Edinburgh that Spring. Thousands of people massed on Calton Hill to hear the speeches and enjoy the atmosphere. Then a band of 71, one representing each constituency in Scotland (yes, really – 71) marched down towards the Royal high School where the new Scottish Assembly was to be housed. Each of us bore a Saltire and we marched in silence, eventually sitting on the ground in front of the empty school.<br />
<br />
As we reached the bottom of the hill, we were greeted by a solid wall of cheering as thousands of suporters were waiting for us to appear. I was at the front of the line, proudly striding alongside Billy Wolfe who was then the leader of the SNP. The cameras were out and we all featured in the small number of news broadcasts that evening. That was one of the proudest days of my young life.<br />
<br />
Nowadays, every time someone makes up a montage from 1979, or creates a retrospective on Independence or Scottish nationalism, there is a good chance that my 20 year old self will appear on screen again, my red beard (grown specially for the occasion) making me look like I just came down from the hills for the day. And each time, I am taken back to that campaign, and to that day.<br />
<br />
On Saturday 22nd of September, we will all have the opportunity to take part in the first of three annual Marches for Independence in Edinburgh. Those who attend, seasoned campaigners and neophytes alike, will remember that they were there for the rest of their lives. Win or lose in 2014, and I am supremely confident that we shall win, each person marching will become a part of Scotland's history.<br />
<br />
Then, if we achieve our independence at this attempt, or even at the next, each will look back on the experience and think, “I was there that day. I was a part of all that. And just look at the nation we managed to build because of it.”<br />
<br />
Don't miss your chance to become part of Scotland's story. Get to Edinburgh this Saturday, if you possibly can, and take part in the march. Create your own memories of the day, and be careful not to wipe them out again at the after party in Espionage.<br />
<br />
But most of all, just be a part of it.Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-4247455063117385182012-09-17T17:52:00.000+01:002013-01-03T16:59:48.913+00:00Satirical site fools BBC audience with spoof news stories.<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66eidhqpxGwRWBgN3OP4-Hb7oAfp45Qb-AuGzYAmnRrNqroIUXp6SnBxPf-bbjDeWE6WvgJf5JACTzptUcRDTci-Ec3UCfNPsrfpWGx-IX_dNiofxPl_9SvQIOhC_bTQ4JoW1Un3Nm0vO/s1600/Andy-Murray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66eidhqpxGwRWBgN3OP4-Hb7oAfp45Qb-AuGzYAmnRrNqroIUXp6SnBxPf-bbjDeWE6WvgJf5JACTzptUcRDTci-Ec3UCfNPsrfpWGx-IX_dNiofxPl_9SvQIOhC_bTQ4JoW1Un3Nm0vO/s400/Andy-Murray.jpg" width="400" /></a>A spoof BBC Scotland News site has been causing a mixture of hilarity and anger this week, as some readers have mistaken it for the real BBC site.</div>
<br />
The site, called BBC Scotlandshire, was launched on Wednesday 12th September with a single story entitled “<a href="http://www.bbc.scotlandshire.co.uk/index.php/glasgow/2-andy-murray-must-now-become-english-says-cameron.html" target="_blank"><strong>Andy Murray must now become English, says Cameron</strong></a>”.<br />
<br />
The article, written in the style of a BBC Scotland item, claimed that David Cameron was offering a new Honour to Andy Murray, but only if he agreed to a set of preconditions which included him representing England in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.<br />
<br />
A second article, posted on Friday 14th, suggested that MPs would take over Holyrood while Westminster was being refurbished, displacing MSPs to the nearby Dynamic Earth. This article, entitled, “<a href="http://www.bbc.scotlandshire.co.uk/index.php/teuchter-news/3-relocation.html" target="_blank"><strong>Cameron gives green light for MPs to relocate to Holyrood</strong></a>”, has even caused confusion among the Twitterati.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>The launch was publicised through Facebook and resulted in more than 8000 people seeing the page on its first day. However, a number of visitors mistook it for a genuine BBC Scotland story, despite the many clues on the site that it was a spoof, and some left angry comments on Facebook.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The team behind the new site say they created it to highlight the continuous bias of BBC Scotland reporting in favour of Unionism and the Status Quo. They aim to publish several stories per week on topical subjects. Although partly fictional, each article is written in such a way as to parody real BBC Scotland reports by taking the normal BBC bias just a little further and by making the stories just a touch more preposterous than the genuine articles.</div>
<br />
The trouble with the first couple of articles”, said one of the authors, “is that we got the style so close to reality that many people didn’t spot it was a spoof. Some got quite angry and one visitor even posted an image of an MP on twitter, along with the text of a ficticious quote from the site. Someone else tweeted about the image: <em>‘im quite aware its not a genuine flyer! Wasnt born yesterday. The quote is real as far as I know’</em>”.<br />
<br />
He added, “The most worrying aspect of the reactions so far is: if some people are unable to tell that these exaggerated spoof stories are fictional, how much are those individuals also taken in by all the real propaganda and bias in the Scottish press and media, which is normally a little more subtle. That is truly frightening.<br />
<br />
“But with BBC Scotland covering stories about losing the pandas and bombing our airports, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised.<br />
<br />
“Our aim is that new readers should get about half way down the article before they work out it’s a spoof – anyone returning to the site should not be fooled a second time, but will hopefully find the articles amusing and perhaps enlightening.”<br />
<br />
The site has a disclaimer on every page which declares, “<em>This site contains news items which are often ridiculous, generally ficticious, entirely ill-informed and simultaneously biased in favour of the status quo and against the Scottish National Party, the Scottish Government and Scottish </em><span style="color: black;">Independence</span><em> in particular. Any similarity with other national broadcasters is entirely unfortunate</em>.”<br />
<br />
If that doesn’t give the game away, well perhaps you should avoid the internet altogether.<br />
<br />
Bob DuncanHeb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com2Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-83724456854545357652012-09-17T17:34:00.000+01:002012-09-19T00:16:10.917+01:00A lesson in how not to argue your case.<em></em><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNWlC5axCg8GNhnNwBrrxieA2x6yd4x68k6eU1SPTkjTr6O093LKbVAGxoMIiC1gBHiYmNulMIxw6noJX83J7tApCtAUT7WOyyVwP8KC1uKzcL7qwOzMIVxNjQbrHQNaeo3PWiu7poXpm/s1600/UKT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNWlC5axCg8GNhnNwBrrxieA2x6yd4x68k6eU1SPTkjTr6O093LKbVAGxoMIiC1gBHiYmNulMIxw6noJX83J7tApCtAUT7WOyyVwP8KC1uKzcL7qwOzMIVxNjQbrHQNaeo3PWiu7poXpm/s320/UKT.jpg" width="320" /></a><em>The
following is a transcript of a conversation between myself and the admin of the facebook campaign page, Unted Kingdom
Forever, as well as a couple of it's visitors.</em></div>
<div class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<em></em> </div>
<div class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<em>T</em><em>he early comments seemed (to
me) to be a little controversial, so I decided to join in the argument
and see where it led.</em></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>What
ensued became, I believe, a salutary lesson in how not to put
forward an argument in support of a political position. </i></div>
<div class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i></i> </div>
<div class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Naturally,
not all British Nationalists are as ill-informed and poorly equipped
as those below, but many on social media sites at least give the
impression of being no more able than these examples.</i><br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4E0BpcgTwjL_S7RYM0FpSDCQR_mvBLwIqxoZvovHAdG2NH2epes-wJjj-hZC5w9RcARbrTi3u0Zss1wori2zAGF4s75JsEHPJIRyMa8Iqq8fUb8ZQoYs5YLg9O14PpR-VAeeW30whaG7/s1600/UK+Forever.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4E0BpcgTwjL_S7RYM0FpSDCQR_mvBLwIqxoZvovHAdG2NH2epes-wJjj-hZC5w9RcARbrTi3u0Zss1wori2zAGF4s75JsEHPJIRyMa8Iqq8fUb8ZQoYs5YLg9O14PpR-VAeeW30whaG7/s640/UK+Forever.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>United Kingdom
Forever</b></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The
latest delusional post from a cybernatz on Mackies page...
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mackies-Ice-Cream/100224090023122</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Nationalists
want to silence businesses and personalities by a campaign of fear
and intimidation. Remind us of a previous time in history?</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Hector Lopez</b>
<b>Arestegui </b>bigotry is not politics, it's
stupidity...nationalist stupidity from Mr.Salmond's people</div>
<br />
<b>Michael Holmes</b>
Autumn/Winter probably has more to do with the sales dropping than a
nationalist boycott!<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Bob Duncan</b>
Britain is not - and has never been - a nation. It is simply a
geographical area. The United Kingdom is a unitary state formed by
treaty (not a nation either). Scotland and England are </span><span style="color: blue;">nations, Wales
is a principality and NI is a province.
</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;">You should at least
attempt to get your facts straight if you are going to make this type
of argument.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Matthew Doel</b>
Bob, get a life. I'm British and proud to be. I'm also proud to be
European, and I'm really damn proud I'm not a bloody smart arse like
yourself. I obviously have something you don't which is a sense of
British nationality and your basic understanding of geography and
history does not change that.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;">B<b>ob Duncan</b> And
you will have a perfect right to feel that way once we are
independent. But, how is that an argument for letting others make
most of our important decisions for us?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>United Kingdom
Forever</b> Bob Duncan is a MORON! In the world cybernatzi's blood
mythology reigns supreme, to the average cybernatzi troll the English
are "Saxon" and the Scots are "Celtic". Doesn't
matter Scotland was settled by Angles, Saxons, Vikins, Normans, Jutes
and Danes as well as Celts (not to mention all the other people who
arrived after them!!!) none of these groups camped in one place, they
didn't live on a apatite island where different ethnicities have been
isolated from one another for the past 1,600 years, we’ve been
mixing since the year zero. The borders of the various Kingdoms,
dukedoms, fiefdoms have changed over time. Scotland and England can
trace their origins to the middle ages and they have both ALWAYS
consisted of people who were a mix of "Celt" and
"Anglo-Saxon". To the cybernatzi trolls it doesn't matter
the studies have concluded that people of English ancestry are as
Celtic as the Scots, people of Scots origins are as Anglo-Saxon as
the English. Nationalists need to believe they can trace their BLOOD
to a distinct ethnic group and believe they are 100% Celtic or
whatever. Oh and let’s forget about the millions of people who've
migrated to these islands since the "Saxons" arrived, 1,600
years ago - THEY DIDN'T BRED - they're not part of us! I find myself
staggered every day I log on to read dozens and dozens of trolls
posting bigotry and hate steeped in the same belief the Nazi's had -
BLOOD MYTHOLOGY. The Saxon's and the Celts merged into a
multicultural mush a long time ago! Get over it! It's worth
remembering the Nazi's, they were led by a part Jewish guy, with
black hair and dark features who managed to convince the German
people that blond haired, blue eyed Aryans were the master race! So
we're not being oppressed by these Saxons who have re-emerged in
recent years after they ceased to be a distinct ethnic group in
Britain about 1,000 years or more ago! You will find the last three
Prime Ministers of the UK have been Scots - Cameron, Brown, and
Blair, and Scots made up the majority of Blair and Brown’s
cabinets. There is no one in the UK (and probably no one in the
world) who can claim to be 100% anything. People move around, time
moves on, people mix! Maybe that will shatter a few illusions but
it's a FACT!</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Bob Duncan</b> If I
were a troll, I would be pretending to be a unionist - clearly I am
not doing that.
</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;">If you are going to
base arguments on terms like nation, state etc, you need to gain a
basic understanding of what they mean and how they apply to the
situation in the UK.</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;">All this talk of
ethnicity and cybernazis makes me think you have confused the SNP
with the BNP. I know the initials are similar, but both are
politically at opposite sides of the spectrum.
</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;">The SNP is fighting for
self determination for those people who live in Scotland, it has
nothing whatsoever to do with where they were born or came from.
</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;">Scottish nationalism is
a civic nationalism, not an ethnic one. Until you grasp that, you
will never understand what we are trying to achieve.
</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;">This is all about us
being able to implement our own priorities by having all the
political powers enjoyed by almost every other nation in the world.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>United Kingdom
Forever</b> Britain is a nation and a country, the political union of
1707 MERGED the Kingdom of Scotland with the Kingdom of England to
form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Britain is like most countries in
the world - the United States, Canada, India, France, Italy, Belgium,
Brazil, Argentina, Australia, the result of unions with other smaller
nations to form one nation. Take India for example - a UNION, 1,680
languages are know to be spoken, there are a wide variety of
ethnicities and religions but most Indians call themselves Indian
because Unity makes sense, disunity makes no sense at all, especially
when your living on a island where everyone has mixed and had family
across all parts of the UK. It makes absolutely NO sense. But let me
be clear Britain is a nation and a country. Nothing the cybernat
trolls come out with about ethnicity and Britain doesn't exist, etc
will change the facts that are written in black and white in the Act
of Union, written in black and white on every official document,
written in black and white on your passport and recognised by the
international community and recorded in international conventions.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
No amount of daft talk
by cybernatz trolls changes that fact.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Bob Duncan</b> It's
only of historical interest, and hardly relevant today, but it was
the Union of the crowns in 1603 which brought the 2 kingdoms
together. It did not merge them, but the same individual (James VI)
became king of both.</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;">The 1707/8 acts of
union formed a new state from the separate states of Scotland and
England, but neither Scotland nor England relinquished their
nationhood - in fact the acts of union are explicit in stating that
they retained their individual nationhood.</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;">When we become
independent, we will become a nation state once more, but we never
stopped being a nation.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<strong>Matthew Doel</strong> Well said, good admin.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>This was the point
at which I was banned from the page and each of my comments was
removed, leaving a bizarre one-sided dialogue for future visitors to
puzzle over.</i></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<em></em> </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<em>Bob Duncan</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em><strong>Postscript:</strong> I have just been pointed to an article showing that Wales is accepted by the ICO as a country in its own right, rather than just a principality. Mind you, Luxemburg is only a Duchy, and they seem to do all right.</em></div>
Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com10Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-51094389310381024322012-09-02T13:45:00.002+01:002012-09-02T13:47:26.516+01:00Atos Healthcare and the Benefits of Union<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNUPLMuQWZWAqVrNo5mHuUmh2ryh2e__EzYMBa-334A0OGhTcLtQGmuIvUHGkE7G4IjAFb8BGPotLVt01TnOOzuHrP8VMTC17KScUED-oZfz9PHFPjKDiYEvyz1jkr8oYweWu8An3CVwPf/s1600/Atos+wheelchair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNUPLMuQWZWAqVrNo5mHuUmh2ryh2e__EzYMBa-334A0OGhTcLtQGmuIvUHGkE7G4IjAFb8BGPotLVt01TnOOzuHrP8VMTC17KScUED-oZfz9PHFPjKDiYEvyz1jkr8oYweWu8An3CVwPf/s400/Atos+wheelchair.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
During the Olympics, we
were treated to the delicious dichotomy of the world's largest mixed
sporting event being sponsored by a fizzy drink manufacturer and a
chain of fast food restaurants. Presumably, by associating themselves
with the games, both companies saw the opportunity to clean up their
reputations for promoting ill-health and obesity. Only time will tell
if their marketing money was well spent.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Paralympics, on the
other hand, have raised irony to a whole new level as one of their
main sponsors is Atos, the giant French service company which has
been contracted by the UK government to reduce welfare costs by
removing benefits from millions of sick and disabled people. For most
of us, this may well turn out to be a degree of hypocrisy too far.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Westminster
government has awarded Atos a contract worth £400 million under
which the company will “re-assess” the ability of sick and
disabled people to work. The government, of course, expects to recoup
much more than this amount in reduced benefit payments if Atos do
their job well. And, from Westminster's point of view, they've been
doing their job very well indeed.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a name='more'></a>Despite repeated
denials from ConDem ministers, whistle-blowers from inside the
business have been telling of targets for denying of benefits to the
needy. Employees who allow too many of their 'clients' to keep their
benefits are subjected to review and possible disciplinary action. It
seems clear that the intention of ministers is to reduce the benefit
budget by a fixed amount, rather than to ensure that those who need
the benefits actually receive them.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Bear in mind that this
is a policy being implemented by the Conservative-led coalition, with
the full approval of their LibDem partners. But it is also a policy
which was conceived and initiated by the previous Labour government.
It is difficult to see how any voting choice in a UK general election
could make any real difference to this policy, since all three main
UK parties are so much in favour of it. The die, it seems, is
permanently cast.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Can you imagine,
however, a government being elected to an independent Scottish
parliament with a mandate to follow a policy such as this? Is it even
conceivable that a majority, or even a plurality, of Scots would
countenance such an obscene demonstration of unfairness and greed –
such a betrayal of those in greatest need – such a vicious attack
on those least able to defend themselves?</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If any single policy
area makes the case for Scottish independence, then surely this is
it. Continuation of the Union ensures the continuation of this
disgusting iniquity, while independence guarantees it's cessation.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The difference in
political philosophy on either side of the border could not be more
clearly demonstrated. And the opportunity for each of us to do
something about it is coming in just 2 short years.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Vote YES for Scotland's
independence in 2014 and say NO to the politics of greed and
injustice.</div>
</div>
Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-34912023519560663942012-08-09T19:57:00.002+01:002012-09-02T13:48:58.441+01:00The Jubilympics: How British do you feel?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyPvBCcd1J48xqPneAyV-q8jAGwg9s2I4qDH3WeQA4pr5aNGp5SHhgoaW5_UYiaExwn3JG9NhKybGB2kk64uUvsUc28FQZSvYTTqefuJDNojVdVY068Znnt0c1yYqWAAkwT62RdTV7wGb/s1600/Little.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyPvBCcd1J48xqPneAyV-q8jAGwg9s2I4qDH3WeQA4pr5aNGp5SHhgoaW5_UYiaExwn3JG9NhKybGB2kk64uUvsUc28FQZSvYTTqefuJDNojVdVY068Znnt0c1yYqWAAkwT62RdTV7wGb/s400/Little.jpg" width="288" /></a>The London Olympic
games have come to a conclusion and, along with the obvious success
of Team GB athletes, and their Scottish colleagues in particular, a
good deal of politics has been associated with the games. This has
played out as a sort of pastiche of the real independence debate, but
shares many of the same characteristics.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To begim with, the
opening ceremony, while spectacular in parts as a piece of theatre,
was conspicuously English and Metropolitan. This was understandable,
perhaps, given the location of the games but was hardly likely to
inspire a feeling of togetherness and common endeavour among those
unfortunate enough to live outwith the home counties.<br />
<br />
Danny Boyle's
choice of the NHS as a highlight of Britishness must surely have been
ironic, given the current state of, and prospects for, the English
NHS as it suffers 49% privatisation on top of death by PFI.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a name='more'></a>Nonetheless, the
spectacle seemed inspire many unionists to respond both during and
immediately after the ceremony, screaming that the SNP's dreams of
independence were effectively dead. Even the Senior Press officer for
the Glasgow Commonwealth Games felt the need to break her
professional neutrality and tweet that the ceremony was a 'poke in
the eye' for Alex Salmond. It seemed to many unionistas that the YES
campaign had been brought to its knees by the sight of Kenneth
Branner in a stove pipe hat. “Surely no-one wouldn't want to be
part of THAT Britain,” tweeted one union twit.<br />
<br />
The first week of the
games of the XXX<sup>th</sup> Olympiad were beset by problems and
concerns. The failure of G4S to provide the promised security workers
led to the last-minute mobilisation of police officers and troops as
replacements. Large sections of seating were conspicuously empty,
angering those who had tried and failed to buy tickets through the
'lottery'. And, worst of all, few medals were being claimed by
promising Team GB athletes, with Great Britain falling to 22<sup>nd</sup>
place in the medal rankings. The unionists became strangely quiet.<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Only the unremarkable
but indigestible Alan Cochrane seemed driven to comment during this
hiatus and even he seemed more than usually out of his depth. He
complained of border guards and immigration checks and claimed that
the SNP was English-hating and anti-Team GB. His attitudes and
arguments, like his Telegraph thumbnail portrait, seemed to be
straight out of the 1970s. Still, the level of pure green bile oozing
from his daily rants was an indication of what was to come later in
the games.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The red tops were first
to follow the Telegraph with their righteous indignation over the
refusal of two Scottish players the Women's Football team to sing
along with 'God Save the Queen'. Kim Little, in particular, was
singled out for having the temerity to say she chose not to mouth the
<i>de facto</i> English National Anthem “because she was Scottish”.
Facebook pages were launched and cleverly captioned images went
viral. The politicisation of the games had begun.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then came Super
Saturday. The promised medals began to appear in spectacular fashion
and the unionist front found its voice again. Both the mainstream and
social media erupted in a plume of British National red white and
blue (but not too much blue as that is a bit Scottish and leads to
complaints). </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Every successful
athlete was photographed in front of, or draped in, the union flag
and the BBC and ITV commentators reminded us at every opportunity
just exactly how Great it is to be British. It appeared that the
budget for the NO campaign had just been increased by around £24
billion, from its previous Jubilee level of a mere £12 billion.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There seemed to be
three distinct arguments being put forward in favour of Britishness
and I will attempt to summarise them here:</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<i>A Team Scotland
would win far fewer medals than Team GB, giving Scots less to be
proud of</i>”. This assertion, which I will label the “too wee”
argument is based on a number of assumptions. </div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Firstly, it assumes
that Independent Scots would somehow cease to be proud of the
achievements of English and Welsh athletes, just because we field a
national team. Secondly, that being associated with a larger, more
successful 'superteam' trumps having your own national team to
support. Thirdly, that the sole purpose of the team structure is to
maximise the number of medals won.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The fact that, after
almost a century of independence, we all still root for Irish
athletes, and take pleasure and pride in their successes, gives the
lie to the first. As to the second, imagine the pride we will feel in
2014 if the Scots team does well. Will that really be trumped by
having our athletes wear the same jerseys as their neighbours? </div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If the purpose of team
structure is to maximise the medals won, then we should be competing
with the Chinese and Americans by forming a Team EU. That would give
us a similar population to the USA and the total medals won this year
by all EU members would easily outstrip the USA and China together,
allowing us to claim first place for the European national team.
Imagine how bursting with pride we would all be then.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<i>Scots athletes
would not be so successful outside team GB as the best training
facilities are in England</i>”. I will label this assertion the
“too poor” argument. If there were ever a fact which was the very
antithesis of a union benefit, then surely this is it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The lack of facilities
in Scotland will only be remedied by the government and the sports
authorities in Scotland having the power to divert spending to fill
the gaps in provision which exist here. Otherwise, spending will
always be concentrated in what is viewed by the UK as the centre,
which is normally the south eastern corner of England, with
occasional magnanimous gestures to 'the North' or 'the Midlands'.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Inequalities in
resource allocation aside, the trend today is for nations to share
such resources and for athletes (and national teams) to follow the
facilities. Many of the Team GB athletes study and/or train in other
countries and the bulk of the GB athletics team just spent a couple
of months in Portugal preparing for the games. Teenage Andy Murray,
limited by poor provision for tennis in his homeland, headed for
Spain as the Spanish youth circuit offered the best facilities and
opponents to support his development.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<i>Scottish sports
authorities would not have the expertise or experience of their
British counterparts</i>”. This assertion has been particularly
made in reference to the hugely successful cycling team and I will
label it the “too stupid” argument.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This argument is
premised upon the assumption that Scottish institutions are
intrinsically inferior to English ones. This is an example either of
English arrogance or of Scottish cringe, depending on the source.
Clearly Scotland's ability to compete at the highest international
level depends on our decisions regarding national goals and resource
allocation. We could take of the might of English cycling team if we
wished to make it a priority, and we may well do so.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Additionally, there are
many small countries who do very well in those sports which they
prioritise. The Jamaicans and sprinting, the Ethiopians (and now the
Kenyans) in middle distance running, the Australians in swimming.
There is no reason to suppose that Scotland could not excel in those
sports it chose to prioritise, and much evidence, football aside, to
suggest we would.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We have also seen, as
so often before, a conflation of Britishness and Englishness to the
extent that each of the three main broadcasters, BBC, ITV and Sky,
have been guilty on numerous occasions of referring to Team GB as
England, or 'England's women'.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
This demonstrates an Anglocentric bias
in the largely Metropolitan media which should surprise no-one, but
is indicative of the differing attitudes on both sides of the border.
Unionist Scots see themselves as a valuable part of a greater whole,
while many in England see Scotland as a small part of Greater
England, a minor county whose inhabitants tend to be a little chippy
and ungrateful. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's all, of course, a
matter of the UK's hugely uneven distribution of population,
property, pounds and political power.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Alongside the “too
wee, too poor, too stupid” arguments described above, a couple of
other phenomena have occurred in the media, both of which are quite
illuminating in their own way. </div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Before the competition
began, LOCOG announced that Scottish Saltires, along with the Welsh
and Cornish flags, would be banned from the games, including the
Saltire permanently flying above Hampden. The Hampden ban was soon
overturned after huge protests from Scots, who seem to have also
disregarded the general ban as many Saltires were evident in the
crowds, including the one proudly waved by Chris Hoy's English dad.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
On Tuesday, the BBC
repeated hourly a piece which stated that Yorkshire, had it been a
country in it's own right, would be sitting at no 11 in the medal
tables. No mention was made of Scotland, which is a country in its
own right, and would have occupied position number 6 on the same day.
The latter comparison would never have been countenanced on the Beeb,
even though it had already appeared in some of the Scottish press.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
On Wednesday, the BBC
commentary team were discussing the Black Panther protests of the
60's and concluded that they were a very good thing to have done, but
could never happen today. No mention was made of Kim Little an<span style="font-weight: normal;">d
Ifeoma Dieke refusing to sing the English national anthem, nor of the
Welsh members of the men's football team doing the same. Presumably
the former protest was safely long ago in another place, and the
latter rather too close to home. Oh the irony.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However, even though
all these arguments are a mirror of the independence debate, they
have little to do with it in reality. The purpose of Scottish
independence is political and economic self-determination, not to
show how fast your citizens can run, or decide what colour of kit
they wear to do so. The statements being made at present that doing
well in the Olympics is an argument against a Scottish Parliament are
facile at best, and consciously disingenuous at worst. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The games and the
jubilee are simply not relevant to the referendum. To base an
argument in favour of continuation of the union on such frippery is
to misunderstand the groundswell of Scottish opinion which favours
(or demands) political change. <br />
<br />
If there turns out to be an enhanced feeling of
Britishness among Scots as a consequence of this Summer, it will soon
be forgotten and, in any case, will be balanced by the Commonwealth
Games and others taking place in 2014, just before the referendum,
when Scottish identity will be to the fore.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As we approach the end
of this last great Hurrah of British Nationalism, the polls are
showing the highest ever support for the SNP and have independence
more popular than either devo max or the status quo in a three way
fight, and independence almost as popular as No change in a bilateral
contest. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That's not a bad place
for the YES campaign to be with two full years to go.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Bob Duncan</div>
</div>
Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-54305334703057641352012-07-30T13:55:00.000+01:002012-07-30T17:43:12.713+01:00Independent Thought in the "Better No" Campaign?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZh2RzWpaQ17eRU4gppIR8GfHQuKksShRIpGxv6CeWgeOFKS0PWIRgHaZp6m1G4VDDAf0ui_UDKaOuk_46-Gcs9lEJFGNiPwHMWiUmQSq3h1qpq8mZEniRsljCXrlL7zBupwKwcu5NIhQ/s1600/parcelforce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZh2RzWpaQ17eRU4gppIR8GfHQuKksShRIpGxv6CeWgeOFKS0PWIRgHaZp6m1G4VDDAf0ui_UDKaOuk_46-Gcs9lEJFGNiPwHMWiUmQSq3h1qpq8mZEniRsljCXrlL7zBupwKwcu5NIhQ/s400/parcelforce.jpg" width="400" /></a>The independence debate
appears to be cautiously entering a new phase as the battle lines
drawn between the pro- and anti-independence political parties begin
to blur.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Before the last
Holyrood elections, the minority SNP administration tried to host an
independence referendum, but were prevented from doing so by a wall
of opposition from each of the three London-based political parties.
Labour, Tories and LibDems were united in their view that Scots must
not be asked their views on the constitutional future of their
country.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a name='more'></a>When the SNP gained a
majority in the Scottish Parliament in 2011, the opposition of the
anti-referendum parties became ineffective and the Holyrood
government promised a referendum would be held in the second half of
the parliamentary term.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The three unionist
parties U-turned faster than Wiley E Coyote approaching a
cliff edge, and began to call for the referendum to be held
immediately in a reprise of Wendy Alexander's “bring it on”
speech which, just a few years earlier, had led directly to her being
deposed as leader of the Labour MSPs.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
After half a year of
soul-searching and brow-beating the unionist parties each tried to
come to terms with their respective defeats and searched among their
remaining Scottish parliamentarians for new leaders of their North
British franchises. As anyone with a vestige of talent had long ago
headed straight for Westminster, each of the three parties found they
were fishing in a very small gene pool, and their respective choice
of leaders was consequently uninspiring.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The start of 2012 saw
the reaction to this as senior figures from the London headquarters
of the unionist parties ventured North of the border to knock this
independence nonsense on the head. We learned that the
anti-independence campaign was being led by a gang-of-four in the
cabinet, with Gideon Osbourne as its chief strategist.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Expert witnesses of
impeccable loyalty were questioned by a special Select Committee on
Separation for Scotland and each was asked to provide 10 reasons why
Scotland would be bankrupt within a year of independence, then to
describe the exact species of grass that all Scots would soon be
forced to eat. Most winesses dutifully complied, demonstrating to
everyone in Westminster what a thoroughly silly idea separation was
and reassuring themselves that it would never, ever happen.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then the Yes campaign
was launched and suddenly it was not just the SNP who were backing
the call for independence. Other parties, including the Greens and
SSP, joined the campaign along with people from all walks of life who
were not politicians or even political. Notably, a number of the more
visible Yes campaigners were ex members of other political parties,
who had become convinced of the need for Scottish self-determination.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPiEx4-Ybm8DTU-qLl8_rA7xQfpShwlXv0Mlbr8rS-NuGTazda7PMb1_nGM8NPpFLW0oB1G1gtVsJDXhTM7md-xoyA2GNhrlZXv_m4fJFj0DOviLjWgmSx0Lcxx6XL29FnVHgF-rYa9tL/s1600/Ruthy+darling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPiEx4-Ybm8DTU-qLl8_rA7xQfpShwlXv0Mlbr8rS-NuGTazda7PMb1_nGM8NPpFLW0oB1G1gtVsJDXhTM7md-xoyA2GNhrlZXv_m4fJFj0DOviLjWgmSx0Lcxx6XL29FnVHgF-rYa9tL/s400/Ruthy+darling.jpg" width="400" /></a>The unionists fought
back briefly with the launch of their “better together” campaign,
which stressed that the positive campaign for the union was that
Scots should “be afraid, be very afraid”. Disgraced former
chancellor Alistair darling told us that there was now
incontrovertible scientific proof that Scotland was “too wee, too
poor and too stupid” to be trusted to look after its own affairs.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This campaign became
silent, however, when it emerged that it was being fronted by an ex
Labour politican, quickly dubbed “The Abominable No Man” by
independent MSP Margo Macdonald, but was bankrolled by a Conservative
dining club in London with most of the contributors being City
bankers. Alistair Darling became silent when he was pulled into the
LIBOR fixing scandal which had happened while he was Chancellor and
the No campaign curled up in the foetal position and waited for a
figurative Summer to come.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then something quite
strange began to happen. Members of all the unionist parties began
asking why their leadership were so adamantly opposed to
independence. Was this for the benefit of the people or the party.
Was it even for the benefit of the party in Scotland, or that in
London? And, in any case, who decided that Scottish independence was
something to be fought at every opportunity?</div>
<br />
Polls began to show
that not all SNP members supported independence, and not all members
of the unionist Troica were opposed to it. The party lines were
becoming ever more transparent on this issue. Additionally, members
of Labour and the Lib Dems were becoming increasingly concerned at
the prospect of sharing a platform and a campaign with the hated
Tories.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Labour's roots were
firmly embedded in home rule, and it was under their watch that
the Scottish Parliament was finally re-established. The Liberal bit
of the Lib Dems had long been a federalist party, and had also been
great supporters of home rule. Even the Tories, formed from the ashes
of the Scottish Unionist Party, had almost elected a leader who
proposed breaking links with The London party and re-branding the
Scottish right.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Recently, web sites and
Facebook groups have begun to emerge in support of those members of
the No parties, disaffected or not, who are in favour of Scottish
independence or who simply believe that more powers should be vested
in the Scottish Parliament. This is a new phenomenon and may provide
an inkling of how the referendum vote will be manifested.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Perhaps the most
notable of these movements is the Voters Alliance for an Independent
Scotland (VASI), which provides a platform for members of all parties
to campaign for a yes vote, along with others of no political
persuasion. Through VASI, emerging groups within the various
political parties are beginning to find common cause with one
another. Expect this to be a growing trend.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Articles in the
Scotsman and Herald have highlighted one of these groups, Labour for
Independence, and both papers try to dismiss it's significance by
painting it as a crowd of SNP activists egging on a few misguided
Labour members. However, the movement behind this and other sites is
real, and represents a genuine grass roots campaign, which the
leadership of the unionist parties will ignore at their peril.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Labour for Independence
features an interview with Yes Scotland chief executive Blair Jenkins
in which he states: "We know there are many voters, of all
political persuasions and none, who support an independent Scotland.
In fact, the principle of independence for Scotland is above and
beyond any party political interests.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
"It's the people's
referendum. Whether people support Labour, the Conservatives, the
SNP, the Greens or any other party, there are many who are attracted
by the possibilities that independence offers to build and shape the
kind of society that is in line with their core beliefs and values.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
"Another major
plus side of independence is the prospect of the best of the talent
from the various parties serving at Holyrood rather than
Westminster."</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0bB9jasgVwUcL2nHFIEnYHu3EOQomjKu412y49qU_WKQ1uICMHHd2aFAAUomhHIxJFXKEouR_crCg5okpCRrPhw7ollqQkGROyYFs2772HmMSkNjYgCBOvf1xxC-SX_VM_Fo9c34rHlW/s1600/Lamont+Milliband.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0bB9jasgVwUcL2nHFIEnYHu3EOQomjKu412y49qU_WKQ1uICMHHd2aFAAUomhHIxJFXKEouR_crCg5okpCRrPhw7ollqQkGROyYFs2772HmMSkNjYgCBOvf1xxC-SX_VM_Fo9c34rHlW/s400/Lamont+Milliband.jpg" width="400" /></a>While it is (almost)
unthinkable that the Scottish Labour leadership would suddenly
embrace independence, controlled as they are from the main party in
London, they will need to head off the Yay-sayers in their own ranks
to have any hope of securing a No vote in 2014. A great many of the
undecided section of Scottish voters are supporters or recent
deserters of Labour and the Lib Dems. They will be targeted by the
Yes campaign and are ready to be persuaded.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The purpose of the
independence campaign is not the empowerment of the Scottish National
Party, but rather the empowerment of the Scottish people themselves.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Whatever happens in the
immediate wake of the referendum, a Yes vote is not a vote for an SNP
government. Each of the parties currently active in Scottish politics
will continue, albeit in an altered form, after a Yes vote. There may
be a realignment, and new parties may well form to close any gaps
which appear, but the SNP will be just one of a number of Scottish
parties.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Many members of the
three unionist parties are now beginning to see the opportunities
which exist to shape Scottish society, once the government and their
party hierarchy, are free from London diktat. In the case of Labour
and the Lib Dems, this may be the only opportunity for them to
progress true social democracy. For the Tories, it is a chance to
emerge from the ugly chrysalis of Thatcherism.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There is an opportunity
for the Labour and Lib Dems, over the next few months, to come up
with a defined set of powers which will be on offer in the event of a
No vote, and to demonstrate a mechanism by which these can be
delivered. This mechanism must be one the people of Scotland can
trust absolutely; we have been betrayed by Labour and Tories in 1979,
and the Lib Dem record in coalition is hardly reassuring.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But an opportunity
exists to redefine the status quo as something a majority of Scots
may be able to support. The window of opportunity is brief, and the
trust of the people will be difficult to capture, but it could be
done.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If the unionists fail
to grasp this particular thistle, and experience strongly suggests
that they will fail to do so, then the independence debate risks
being polarised so that many of their members and supporters will
vote Yes. Whether the numbers are sufficient to achieve a majority,
we will need to wait and see.</div>
<br />
Bob DuncanHeb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com065 A935, Brechin, Angus DD9, UK56.733342 -2.655288955.617331 -5.1821444 57.849353 -0.12843340000000003tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-91840477892979319712012-07-18T15:31:00.000+01:002012-07-18T16:12:35.078+01:00The only way is Ethics<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAi1ww1WeroAyHYGSEMR7goFKNiHmljae3t4CXAb7KUP9qvxO9w1eyGGpYEOuog3INeRHNckzbXkWHPWcWsIYoxSqTPe5QeUb_nfPKPtg0x5nOy5T0-sWY5lRca2t0MzhFwWfuc0dGm5ZW/s1600/banks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAi1ww1WeroAyHYGSEMR7goFKNiHmljae3t4CXAb7KUP9qvxO9w1eyGGpYEOuog3INeRHNckzbXkWHPWcWsIYoxSqTPe5QeUb_nfPKPtg0x5nOy5T0-sWY5lRca2t0MzhFwWfuc0dGm5ZW/s400/banks.jpg" width="400" /></a>Recent revelations of
corrupt practices in the financial service sector are eroding even
further public respect and trust for the organs of state. The
combination of government collusion and incompetence which is also
coming to light only serves to exacerbate this process.</div>
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Over the last fortnight
we have discovered the fiddling of the Libor rates by at least 20
international banks, apparently with the knowledge (and inaction) of
the Bank of England and treasury. This was combined with the
admission that interest rate swaps had been mis-sold to small and
medium businesses to the extent that many had been forced out of
business, at the same time as the banks were deliberately failing to
meet business lending targets. <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now details are
emerging of billions of pounds of international money laundering
which was carried out by those very same banks, where money from the
sale of illegal drugs and from Iranian sanction busting activities
was illegally “cleaned up” by hiding the origin of the
transactions concerned. No doubt there will be many more such stories
of unethical and illegal practices as the onion layers continue to be
peeled back.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In most of these cases,
the main culprits are emerging as London-based international banks,
particularly their “investment” arms, and the various regulatory
bodies based in the City along with their political masters. The
financial sector and the UK government seem to operate in a clubby
atmosphere where almost anything is permissible as long as no-one is
caught out.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
While this is hugely
damaging to the economy and reputation of the whole of the UK, and is
sure to lengthen, if not deepen, the current financial crisis, it
actually represents a wonderful opportunity for an Independent
Scotland.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Scotland, too, has a
very significant financial sector - actually one of the most
important in Europe - for all that it is constantly overshadowed by
its larger sister in London. Before the crash of 2008, the Scottish
industry had a reputation for efficiency, honesty and probity, but
was viewed as a little dull.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Even the troubled HBOS
and RBS were mainly the preserve of the City of London. HBOS in 2008
was run entirely from outside Scotland, with much less than 10% of
its activity being generated in Scotland. In the case of RBS, much
decision making was taken in the Edinburgh headquarters but, again,
considerably less that 1/10 of the bank's activity was based in
Scotland. <br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Despite attempts by UK
government and political parties, along with a pliant media sector,
to place the blame for the banking crisis in Edinburgh, the reality
is that the problems which led to the crisis were made in London and
New York. Light-fingered banking practice and light-touch regulation
were the two parents of the crash.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The culture within the
Scottish sector is much less tainted than that in London. RBS aside,
Scottish-based financial institutions continue to have a superior
reputation than their Southern counterparts. This tends to escape the
public attention due to their being fed a constant diet of London
scandal, and there is a real risk that the reputations of Scottish
firms could be damaged by association.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Additionally, the
Scottish Government was set up to be much more open and transparent
than Westminster and, to a large extent, this has been achieved. It
is also largely free of the medieval, and often corrupting,
traditions and conventions which plague the UK parliament and civil
service, and which are proving all but impossible to change in any
meaningful way.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The people of Scotland,
at least, are far more likely to trust the Scottish than the UK
Government to look after their affairs.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And it is those two
factors, the reputation of the Scottish financial sector, and the
openness and competence of the Scottish government, which together
provide the opportunity post-independence.<br />
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When, as it must, the
backlash against the City of London occurs, international capital
will begin to search for two things: <br />
<br />
The first is a properly
regulated and vibrant financial centre with a very different
reputation from the City of London. <br />
<br />
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The second is a financial centre
which is as much like the City in every other way. That is, in
language, currency, infrastructure, geography and culture it should
be as close as possible to the City in order to minimise the shock
(and cost) of the new.</div>
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As a small country,
Scotland does not need to capture much of the business which will
flee from London, in order to benefit substantially. If we were to
gain around 5% of the business currently transacted from London, our
financial sector would double in volume. Even a small proportion of
this would be hugely beneficial to the Scottish economy.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However, there are two
key factors that need to be in place for this to work, and these can
only be obtained through full independence.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There must be a demonstrably effective scheme of banking regulation in place, which
is not subcontracted to Westminster, and which can ensure a continued
ethical culture in the Scottish sector. This requires a change in SNP
policy if this is to be managed within a currency union or Sterling
zone, as current policy is to leave bank regulation with Westminster
and the Bank of England.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There also needs to be
a constitutional guarantee that future governments will not be able
to reduce or remove this regulatory safety net for political or
commercial ends. This would need to be added to a written
constitution, which itself must be a priority for the first
independent administration. It is largely the lack of such guarantees
at Westminster which has allowed such outrageous levels of abuse to
occur over recent decades.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
While the SNP will not
form a government in perpetuity after independence, despite the
apparent belief of the unionist parties, they will be in control as
independence negotiations take place and while new Scottish
institutions are established along with the legal framework which
will underpin them.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It is, therefore,
essential that the SNP's upcoming policy white paper establishes the
type of environment within which Scotland can take full advantage of
such opportunities, while guaranteeing an efficient and ethical
future for both the government and the economy of our new independent
nation.<br />
<br />
<br />
Bob Duncan</div>
</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com1Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-48341454288919766082012-07-15T15:05:00.004+01:002012-07-16T13:00:37.174+01:00How I answered the West Lothian Question<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaO8MEf0VT3GNlZKD9PhiuP7PU22OV6MWby0_ZZQcIB689JAQuUZPdzHr_sp0LcI8On1e2fe_Zidrp0Yf7XX40NZzqdaoFgpJox8bkye1jxiPvMogoNZIrd_ebb9sf6Vi35AYTnteMasZs/s1600/Barra-Airport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaO8MEf0VT3GNlZKD9PhiuP7PU22OV6MWby0_ZZQcIB689JAQuUZPdzHr_sp0LcI8On1e2fe_Zidrp0Yf7XX40NZzqdaoFgpJox8bkye1jxiPvMogoNZIrd_ebb9sf6Vi35AYTnteMasZs/s400/Barra-Airport.jpg" width="400" /></a>Over recent weeks there
seems to have been renewed interest in the so-called “second
question” or “third option” on the 2014 independence
referendum, at least among the chattering classes. The “Better No”
campaign and the separate (but strikingly similar) political parties
which form its membership have become increasingly loud in their
opposition to the very idea of devo max, and to its inclusion as an
option on the referendum ballot paper.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Over the first half of
this year, there has also been an attempt by many to define the
possible types of devolution which might be on offer. I even <a href="http://hebtalk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/what-hell-is-wrong-with-devolution.html">had
a wee go myself</a> a few weeks ago. The options seem to range from
Calman plus, through Devo Plus to Devo Max or Full Fiscal Autonomy,
with the Lib Dems muddying the water with talk of finalising their
federalist proposals after a century of dithering.</div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
All of these proposals,
however, share a single underlying template, no matter how much they
may differ in detail or scope. That is, they all involve the
continuation of the UK state, with Westminster at its hub, and some
power/responsibilities/revenues being devolved (and by their very
nature of devolution, devolved temporarily) from Westminster to
Holyrood.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Because of this, none
of the models so far proposed is particularly radical, and it is not
surprising that they should be a little uninspiring as a consequence.
They also share the common factor that, beyond the extremely limited
shift of powers contained in the recent Scotland bill which will
become the status quo by 2015 if Scotland votes No, none of them is
capable of being enacted, even if supported by a majority of the
Scottish electorate.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is because each of
them requires a majority of UK MPs to vote in favour of their
implementation, since devolution is entirely in their gift, and those
MPs are extremely unlikely to do so. This will be particularly true
in the aftermath of a No vote, which would be seen by MPs as a defeat
for the SNP and for the wider independence movement, making them even
less sympathetic to the concept of extended powers for the Scots.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In addition, almost all
MPs represent English constituencies and even our own Scottish cohort
include some of the most vehement opponents of further devolution. No
political party, the SNP included, holds a mandate to implement devo
anything at all, nor do they appear to have the political will to
acquire such a mandate. How then, in the unthinkable event of a no
vote, do we ensure that the devolution experiment does not stagnate
and die?</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Let me suggest the
following solution.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There is a growing
voice within England for the establishment of an English parliament.
The democratic deficit which was so evident in Scotland, and which
remains to this day, is now becoming visible south of the border,
particularly in relation to the infamous “West Lothian question”.
This question is not, as you might suppose, “What is Westminster
doing to help keep Halls of Broxburn going?”, but rather, “Why
can Scottish MPs vote on English issues when English MPs can't
reciprocate?”
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The bitterness evident
among English MPs has been compounded by the increasing gulf between
the quality of public services offered on both sides of the border,
particularly since the SNP took over the Scottish Government in may
2007. This has led to louder cries of “subsidy junkies” and a
general belief that Scots are being given a superior level of service
at the expense of their over-taxed English neighbours.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My proposal, therefore,
is that we lobby for a temporary rearrangement of UK government and
parliamentary affairs, as a sort of educational experiment.
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nTKZT2QQn-Fsjepq9QPQ_gFUJ_LiXCmblrjLqpRN5J3r0azGzRdUW6ZwCjNt52YqFifHF1EZoWYSx6tvNaIUTa-EWuR7hjU7heMXzZiSV5L0ibERZM_GhRYELDdNFQXkRVc0JtAeSSih/s1600/Weather+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nTKZT2QQn-Fsjepq9QPQ_gFUJ_LiXCmblrjLqpRN5J3r0azGzRdUW6ZwCjNt52YqFifHF1EZoWYSx6tvNaIUTa-EWuR7hjU7heMXzZiSV5L0ibERZM_GhRYELDdNFQXkRVc0JtAeSSih/s400/Weather+map.jpg" width="400" /></a>This would involve
shifting the focus of the UK from the City of London to the City of
Stornoway.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For a limited period,
say a decade beginning in 2015, the UK parliament would move to the
Western Isles. After all, Stornoway is in a similar geographic position in
relation to most of England as London is in respect to the bulk of
Scotland, so this location would seem fair. Additionally, the Hebrides could
do with the jobs.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The bulk of civil
service jobs would need to move as well, with a great many local
candidates being used to fill the gaps left by those who choose not
to relocate. As a nod to modernism, some of those posts could be
located in Harris or even as far away as the Uists, Barra and
Benbecula. Obviously the local communications network would require an
upgrade, on the model used to accommodate the Olympics, perhaps.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Proceeds from the
residual financial sector in South-Eastern England would be used to
build a motorway network between Inverness and Ulapool, and from Ness
to Barra. A bypass would be needed around Stornoway itself, so the
Barvas Orbital Motorway would be built. The CalMac ferry service to
Ulapool would be augmented by a tunnel, <i>le tunnel sous la Minch</i>,
connecting Inverness to Arnish by high speed rail link.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The internal structure
of the parliament would need to change, of course. 9/10 of MLPs
(Members of the Lewis Parliament) would represent Scottish seats,
with about half of their constituencies being located in the Hebrides
and Northern Isles. A second parliament would need to be constructed
in Barra to accommodate the House of Lords of the Isles.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The criterion for
membership of this second house would be a highland accent and
ownership of a Hebridean croft. Naturally, 30 or so Free Church
ministers would be members by right, to ensure that late night
sittings on a Saturday evening did not inadvertently overrun.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Royal family would
be rehoused in Kisimul castle, and all tourist flights rerouted to
Barra airport. Sand would be imported from Luskentyre to build a
second runway in order to cope with the increased traffic. A new
gate, to be known as “Angus MacNeil International Airport - Terminal 2, will stop
sheep from invading the air strip. It is expected that queues at
terminal 2 will be considerably shorter than has been the case at
Heathrow.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Westminster
parliament would continue, under its new title of English
Administrative Executive Assembly, and would be responsible for
selected English-only affairs, upon which people with Scottish
accents or wearing tartan of any form would have no right to vote.
These responsibilities would include cricket, morris dancing, the
upkeep of both Hadrian's wall and the Thames submarine base and the privatisation of public services.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It would receive a
block grant from Stornoway to help with its costs, with all income
generated in England being surrendered to the Finance Department of
the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I am now accepting
wagers on the precise number of months into the 10 year term of the
Lewis parliament that demands for English independence become audible
from the standing stones of Carloway, even over the traffic noise from the Barvas Orbital Mororway.<br />
<br />
<br />
Bob Duncan</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com6Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-84570909717771110642012-07-03T13:18:00.001+01:002012-07-03T16:38:35.715+01:00The Road to London<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8nFsKmz7Y3ULd3u6cJ3kqYp-HuBbuhktfmL0NYctJCYHPIXMVRYi3upY44krgBZ88Z7a5lUefWtr_MyFwp5PavWQZRuw2eVIfYePwDgknMWOXK0x9ZUi7uVugtrNQVij_PCjoAkY5tsa/s1600/city-of-london.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8nFsKmz7Y3ULd3u6cJ3kqYp-HuBbuhktfmL0NYctJCYHPIXMVRYi3upY44krgBZ88Z7a5lUefWtr_MyFwp5PavWQZRuw2eVIfYePwDgknMWOXK0x9ZUi7uVugtrNQVij_PCjoAkY5tsa/s320/city-of-london.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8nFsKmz7Y3ULd3u6cJ3kqYp-HuBbuhktfmL0NYctJCYHPIXMVRYi3upY44krgBZ88Z7a5lUefWtr_MyFwp5PavWQZRuw2eVIfYePwDgknMWOXK0x9ZUi7uVugtrNQVij_PCjoAkY5tsa/s1600/city-of-london.jpg"> </a><br />
<br />
<br />
Sic a parcel, aye rogues you are and stubbornly remain<br />
<br />
neo Englander, new Labour, just about accepted by the middle <br />
<br />
as long as principles deeply held are dropped as readily as R's.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Denying the wealth of nations, well your very own at least<br />
<br />
you propagate your stories of dependence and ineptitude<br />
<br />
mouthing too wee and too poor and too stupid with equal appetite.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Your Southerly migrations of body and mind are powered by gravespinning<br />
<br />
the genesis of your parliamentary life soon followed by an exodus<br />
<br />
both Scotland and socialism becoming far and fearful places.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Then your bitter leavings insinuate onto Holyrood front benches<br />
<br />
those badly-tempered yarddogs growling on their long London leash<br />
<br />
cynically pulling the chain on neebours, lest their own be Yanked.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Your chromatic careers spin red tie to blue then red hide to green<br />
<br />
all spent hacking benefits from those on colder benches than your own<br />
<br />
no longer happy to be Tamson's bairns, you become our uncle Tams.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Bob DuncanHeb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.5073346 -0.127683151.3492066 -0.4435401 51.6654626 0.1881739tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-86839625098615908292012-06-30T14:49:00.002+01:002012-06-30T17:26:46.930+01:00The Lie at the Heart of the No Campaign<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-f-K04vbQLvgUgoRFcXmSwSIPooSec01XGU2gl6mcpDe9bUYVzIBxPFAuctWPez9Wc5e041ljX30Pu5lRrP9YtwBbJgD_Yn4yloEmUsShrGA-yw7t2-ii9e_0K0o_c0JR_oh-X6G6b2dG/s1600/Alistair-Darling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-f-K04vbQLvgUgoRFcXmSwSIPooSec01XGU2gl6mcpDe9bUYVzIBxPFAuctWPez9Wc5e041ljX30Pu5lRrP9YtwBbJgD_Yn4yloEmUsShrGA-yw7t2-ii9e_0K0o_c0JR_oh-X6G6b2dG/s1600/Alistair-Darling.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No campaign Monger-in-Chief, Alistair Darling</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There is a theme
developing in the unionist camp(aign). A leitmotif with an
irresoluable contradiction at its core. An ambiguity so fundamental
to unionist thinking that it underpins almost every question to which
they demand an answer, every dubious objection they pose, even every
scare they monger.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I would like to propose
the following hypotheses which can be used to test each pronouncement
made by the no campaign and its media associates as we approach the
referendum on Independence in 2014.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<h2 class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
1. The national
hypothesis</h2>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
On the one hand the
union is presented as a partnership. A marriage between two nations
(or four regions). An arrangement between equals which enhances the
stability, the security, the prestige and the economies of its
participants. The very antithesis of “too wee, too poor, too
stupid”.</div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>This is the view
implicit when perceived benefits of the union are expressed. The seat
on the UN security council. The big stick in Europe. The world's
<strike>sixth</strike> seventh largest economy.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In practice these are
normally phrased, not as benefits of membership of the union, but as
disbenefits of leaving. “You will lose your veto in the UN. You
will lose your influence in Europe. You will lose access to the UK
economy.”</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The assumption is that
not only are these things of tangible benefit to Scotland (as opposed
to the UK or England), but also that we have influence over these
matters to the same degree as others in the union. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<h2 class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
2. The regional
hypothesis</h2>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
On the other hand, we
are told the ending of the union would inevitably result in both a
new Scottish state and the continuation of the United Kingdom, the
rest of the UK, the rUK. In this scenario, Scotland is a junior
partner at best and its exit leaves the UK diminished but intact.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
In this 'them and us'
scenario, Scotland is merely a region of Britain which, Quebec-like,
proposes to cut itself a slice of the motherland. We are now no
longer a nation but are reduced to an autonomous region.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The assumption here is
that the rUK, as the senior partner, would inherit all of the
'properties' of the UK, and consequently that we would not. Thus the
rUK keeps its seat on the UN security council and we do not. The rUK
remains in the EU clutching it's rebate, and we are kicked out. The
rUK keeps the pound and we do not.</div>
<h2 class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
3. The combined
hypothesis (national/regional duality)</h2>
<br />
The hypotheses above,
although mutually contradictory, are routinely combined in the form
of an assertion such as:<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Inside the union
you have influence over the foreign policy of a world power (The UK)
with a veto in the UN but, if you separate, this veto will remain
with the rUK and you will lose all influence and status in the
world.</div>
</li>
<li><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Inside the union
you have a voice in Europe as part of a large and influential member
but, if you separate, you will need to reapply for membership and
lose your influence, your rebate etc.</div>
</li>
<li><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Inside the union
you can use the pound and the Bank of England but, if you separate,
these will belong to the rUK and you will either be denied them, or
you will lose your influence over them.</div>
</li>
</ul>
Hypothesis number
three, by virtue of its internal contradiction, allows us to reject
any statement in which it is implicit. Each of the three examples
fall on that criterion alone. National/regional duality is thus a
useful tool with which to winnow out the chaff of unionist arguments.
It essentially says, “you can't have it both ways”.<br />
<br />
This national/regional duality is the 'big lie' at the centre of the anti-independence case.<br />
<h2 class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
4. The unequal
partner hypothesis</h2>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The reality is that
Scotland's relationship with the UK lies somewhere between hypotheses
1 and 2.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Scotland is, indeed, a
partner in the union. A partner with England. At the time the union
was formed in 1707/08, Wales was part of England and Northern Ireland
was part of Ireland, which in turn was not part of the union. It was
a union of two, previously independent nations.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Consequently, when
Scotland leaves the union, England will also, <i>de facto</i>, leave
the union. Like the Pythonian parrot, the union will be no more.
There will be no rUK. There will be Scotland and England, independent
nations once more.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There will also be the
principality of Wales, which is administratively so tied to England
that it will effectively remain part of it, for now. And there will
be the province of Northern Ireland whose constitutional position, as
former enclave of a state (the UK) which will no longer exist, is
much more ambiguous.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That these three will
decide, almost automatically, to stay together in some form of union
is certain. At least in the short term. They may well decide to name
this union the United Kingdom, although there will be but one kingdom
in it. But it will not be the successor state to the <i>current</i>
United kingdom. There will not be a successor state. Two brand new
states will be constituted, or reconstituted in the case of Scotland.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For convenience, and with no disrespect to the other members, I will
refer to this new union of England, Wales and Northern Ireland as
Greater England.</div>
<br />
<h2 class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The state of the
union</h2>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We did not choose to be
part of the UK. The manner of our abduction into the union is largely
responsible for the gross inequality of the partnership which has
ensued. Indeed, this may help to explain the “Stockholm syndrome”
of many Scottish unionists from 1707 to the present day. Though we
are undoubtedly a partner, it is clear that some partners are more
equal than others.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It is this asymmetry
which gives the lie to the national hypothesis above. We are much too
far from Westminster for out voice to be audible there. At best, our
aspirations are only met when they randomly coincide with those of
the 'senior' partner. And this is happening less frequently as
neo-liberalism and insularity prevail at Westminster.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As viewed by the
international community, our opinions and aspirations are distorted
by the dark lens of the Westminster bubble, through which they must
always pass.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But symmetry will be
restored by our secession from the union, as both of the resultant
states will be starting afresh. The ending of the United Kingdom, and
the (presumably) two new states which emerge phoenix-like to face the
world alone, give the lie to the regional hypothesis.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Not only can hypotheses
1 and 2 not <i>both</i> be true, being contradictory, but now we see
that <i>neither</i> is true. The unequal partner hypothesis is the
only one of the four which survives even the most cursory scrutiny, and its
resolution through independence gives us a useful tool with which to
examine, and hopefully refute, the protestations and
assertions of the unionists.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Let us examine each of
our three examples of unionist doublespeak from above.</div>
<br />
<h2 class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Example 1 – The UN</h2>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Inside the union you
have influence over the foreign policy of a world power (The UK) with
a veto in the UN but, if you separate, this veto will remain with the
rUK and you will lose all influence and status in the world.</i></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Scotland has no
influence over UK foreign or defence policy. We cannot move trident
from our shores, despite that being the policy of the Scottish
Government and the view of a large majority of Scots. The Scottish
parliament, under a Lib/Lab coalition, voted against the illegal
invasion of Iraq, and was ignored by a Labour Uk government. We are even charged (uniquely) when our own
embassies are used to promote whisky sales. The national hypothesis
fails this test.</div>
<br />
While an independent
Scotland will certainly not gain a permanent seat on the UN security
council, it is by no means clear that Greater England will gain one
either. They will need to renegotiate this with other members, using
trident as a lever, and they may well be unsuccessful. The regional
hypothesis thus fails too.<br />
<br />
While it is difficult
to see why an independent Scotland would miss it's proxy UN veto, or
would even notice it's loss, it is likely that Greater England will
attempt to keep and replace trident, and will lobby to regain the now
vacant seat in the security council. <i>But they will not have it by
right.</i><br />
<br />
Australia is currently
speaking of a constitutional crisis because their head of state, the
Queen, is such by virtue of first being the head of state for the UK,
the old colonial power. Since the UK will be dissolved, and the Queen
will become the head of state separately for both Scotland and
Greater England, where does that leave Australians and all of the
other commonwealth countries and dependencies which have a similar
arrangement?<br />
<br />
<h2 class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Example 2 – The EU</h2>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Inside the union you
have a voice in Europe as part of a large and influential member but,
if you separate, you will need to reapply for membership and lose
your influence, your rebate etc.</i></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As in matters of
defence, Scotland has little say in UK policy on Europe. For decades,
Scottish fishing rights have been used as a bargaining chip to secure
better deals for English dairy farmers. EU regional development funds
are stripped of their match funding before they cross the border,
reducing their value by half. Again, it is only by chance that the UK
policy ever corresponds with Scottish aspirations.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As the UK is currently
a member of the EU, both Scotland and Greater England will remain
members, and both will inherit the rights and responsibilities of the
old UK. There is no mechanism for either to be expelled, and since
neither is a successor state, so there is no asymmetry to the
membership of the two new states.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The details of the
relationship between each of the new states and the EU will be a
matter of negotiation but, crucially, <i>both</i> states will need to
negotiate.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<h2 class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Example 3 – The
Pound</h2>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Inside the union you
can use the pound and the Bank of England but, if you separate, these
will belong to the rUK and you will either be denied them, or you
will lose your influence over them.</i></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Clearly, the first
assertion is true, the use of the currency and the right to print
banknotes are enshrined in the acts of union, but this ignores the
reality of how little influence we have on monetary or fiscal policy
at present. Inflation targets and interest rates are set entirely for
the benefit of the city of London and we have no representation
whatever on the Monetary Policy Committee.
</div>
<br />
UK economic policy
takes no account of national differences, never mind of regional
factors within Scotland. With the exception of the 8% of Scottish tax
income which is currently devolved, we have no real influence in the
one-size-fits-all solutions which emanate from Westminster. <br />
<br />
A fine
example of this is that, although we are the country with the richest
energy reserves in Europe, we also have the most expensive energy
prices and the highest rate of fuel poverty, and as a direct result of taxes and duties set in London.<br />
<br />
The assertion that an
independent Scotland in monetary union with Greater England would
lose influence over both monetary and fiscal policy is ludicrous.
<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
While it is correct
that the MPC would control monetary policy, and that restrictions
would be placed on Scotland's fiscal freedom by Greater England,
Scotland would equally apply the same restrictions to the Fiscal
Policy of Greater England, and would have direct representation on
the MPC itself.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Each partner would have
some fiscal control over the other, for the protection of the
currency. A sterling zone could not work in any other way,
particularly if <a href="http://www.france24.com/en/20120625-anglo-scot-sterlingzone-must-cut-both-ways-eu-official">both
parties wished to remain in the EU</a>. In addition, Neither Scotland
nor Greater England would “own” either the currency or the
(unfortunately named) Bank of England.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, the next time you
encounter a scare story, an objection to independence or an assertion
of a union benefit, apply the tests above to see what is really going
on.<br />
<br />
Bob Duncan</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com3Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-75577472519568380272012-06-29T20:29:00.000+01:002012-07-03T16:40:09.878+01:00The Federation says "Aye Captain".The following endorsements were beamed down to the YesScotland campaign headqaurters. These are believed to be an endorsement for the future of Scotland, from the future of Scotland.<br />
Are we to leave the United Kingdom in 2014 then join the United Federation of Planets instead?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpl4Gi1krWQqOZ2xx9ZyScLHHgHW-RR2i78-NHqGSmP6vHQmZGnyB5AoA0DbBOhlUGfcEybJBu4JC3PZey4JUuquD7UrtB5nd_UAVkxaKtukRIVouE_57Zsx7Y0hdmwE-tM365GeZ0j1K/s1600/Uhuru.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpl4Gi1krWQqOZ2xx9ZyScLHHgHW-RR2i78-NHqGSmP6vHQmZGnyB5AoA0DbBOhlUGfcEybJBu4JC3PZey4JUuquD7UrtB5nd_UAVkxaKtukRIVouE_57Zsx7Y0hdmwE-tM365GeZ0j1K/s400/Uhuru.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They're jamming all channels</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP7l6yiWeRZogX0_EkW4WYymvZlIZ0YA3Y8gIS8FMLndCA2olyCh4t-XVtbQDegBAVCs4zgGM8Yrhd62sU8pBrIoXnpv5q9zG-AMLvjujDLGCxxjCJNaRFos7VroteXPcQdjiESmCR8lwE/s1600/Logic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP7l6yiWeRZogX0_EkW4WYymvZlIZ0YA3Y8gIS8FMLndCA2olyCh4t-XVtbQDegBAVCs4zgGM8Yrhd62sU8pBrIoXnpv5q9zG-AMLvjujDLGCxxjCJNaRFos7VroteXPcQdjiESmCR8lwE/s400/Logic.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr Spock - He is never wrong</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkygVuhkt0gNQnfSITuUFEa3fyCGjGGTl5E5n16L56rxK45nyr3KCkSP2oxb2_DxiQERd41QYfQMHIcii2O6M58aIrTjImfD4sdonCbEm0qkYrWVBIMI7ZofzVEpsX7pe5lCSSaKb64Q5/s1600/Chekov2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkygVuhkt0gNQnfSITuUFEa3fyCGjGGTl5E5n16L56rxK45nyr3KCkSP2oxb2_DxiQERd41QYfQMHIcii2O6M58aIrTjImfD4sdonCbEm0qkYrWVBIMI7ZofzVEpsX7pe5lCSSaKb64Q5/s400/Chekov2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is too good to have been inwnted by anyone else</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86Wud9v6S-76CufdWPVtnYPZsGrFe5nR-Gxr_dFclQPKLDyc9veSQUlqG7KXIp1TQdI_AcUoHQxdDC1Ga9S1zV49YwWBa9vEKki3VqVQdFruGqDHeUgW7HFIRbLtM2bR7gSEzDojVo8zd/s1600/Kirk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86Wud9v6S-76CufdWPVtnYPZsGrFe5nR-Gxr_dFclQPKLDyc9veSQUlqG7KXIp1TQdI_AcUoHQxdDC1Ga9S1zV49YwWBa9vEKki3VqVQdFruGqDHeUgW7HFIRbLtM2bR7gSEzDojVo8zd/s400/Kirk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let's boldly go where Scotland has gone before</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslQ0UyyrNbBmvjcP_MLxQ7ENdJKK7a0J8gKqVjwDxJm2bbeRxEUgz37KoSaM-1qNGZ8gULYmyxmAnEBgOCqgRjIeQS4XEa3if6DFw1uDHPuUx4Gsy5hZQayAbh3OJYhSkNCsKeO3yI6Eo/s1600/Picard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslQ0UyyrNbBmvjcP_MLxQ7ENdJKK7a0J8gKqVjwDxJm2bbeRxEUgz37KoSaM-1qNGZ8gULYmyxmAnEBgOCqgRjIeQS4XEa3if6DFw1uDHPuUx4Gsy5hZQayAbh3OJYhSkNCsKeO3yI6Eo/s400/Picard.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lay in a course to escape the Klingons, Mr Data</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGXm_30wXEjjli-Ln3GoQWyVefMKOuBsYOC-6rX1Sxj04MM6wqz1KQSJoBTG3u9K-qrVjdfp1mj24REQdNIrlXy_IKvgBKTYVHmCyZLTQ6Rc66iRW0K5ByI-kXDMYiNth1F-g55poeFbg/s1600/Sarek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGXm_30wXEjjli-Ln3GoQWyVefMKOuBsYOC-6rX1Sxj04MM6wqz1KQSJoBTG3u9K-qrVjdfp1mj24REQdNIrlXy_IKvgBKTYVHmCyZLTQ6Rc66iRW0K5ByI-kXDMYiNth1F-g55poeFbg/s400/Sarek.jpg" width="341" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The elders exhibit great wisdom</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitrSpsg246R3FsnEctYVqXnwbsbGOXtVZvQ4fLfUvNrCehihQXoAVPv0AOwDqngWsRLGppu1bxN4c6yYwEWEqYTgUPl-YNhJQVztuykm4appceO-BIvVFH6IkViXeiR1-9JZhFSvB1m-mj/s1600/Scotty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitrSpsg246R3FsnEctYVqXnwbsbGOXtVZvQ4fLfUvNrCehihQXoAVPv0AOwDqngWsRLGppu1bxN4c6yYwEWEqYTgUPl-YNhJQVztuykm4appceO-BIvVFH6IkViXeiR1-9JZhFSvB1m-mj/s400/Scotty.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah cannae give ye any more, England...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTG1JJ7AaZ65F7W_DitiRCZZulE08UblvugQQOn3qBvS15zSe1L4Kyi-5K5UvU8Uo8Olj1_bKrLgq3sFhq2-zQtymVmElvIgnZVxq2QYBtnJbLzdDZhHX6v872WrMqxU5-amSAiuT35Dq/s1600/Sulu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTG1JJ7AaZ65F7W_DitiRCZZulE08UblvugQQOn3qBvS15zSe1L4Kyi-5K5UvU8Uo8Olj1_bKrLgq3sFhq2-zQtymVmElvIgnZVxq2QYBtnJbLzdDZhHX6v872WrMqxU5-amSAiuT35Dq/s400/Sulu.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warp factor 10 to independence, Captain.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCOOu4br3qitZ52ua-XhPnlY0uBrEG8wvGaqC8xNOAcgYGZEEbeeCuCeJsXXiVdBvVq3SXfrCzZ2PQmI96jm-rIhAQ7sBlh6iGHRhfOUOk-fnnNEnRd3ZVwFBz0oE-3eMsBpR64_Ym2z8/s1600/bones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCOOu4br3qitZ52ua-XhPnlY0uBrEG8wvGaqC8xNOAcgYGZEEbeeCuCeJsXXiVdBvVq3SXfrCzZ2PQmI96jm-rIhAQ7sBlh6iGHRhfOUOk-fnnNEnRd3ZVwFBz0oE-3eMsBpR64_Ym2z8/s400/bones.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm a doctor, Jim, not a unionist!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0Federation space28.0852612 -80.617329128.0712522 -80.6370701 28.099270200000003 -80.59758810000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-83338909488947351812012-06-25T21:09:00.001+01:002012-06-30T17:58:28.897+01:00The House Next Door<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8iV1ximlNpRipu3PXEhyphenhyphenoZZJKVRzECboTaciCnQAjaa2xVL5NoOJqfWzuQWOnIwOAU2RPwBc5yHaDhJ_NRrWOBlrnOm5cuBHJAuY05s_RM2Leu20hw0zTDBr23TNJuVtOGxCzpml1Ua4/s1600/Townhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8iV1ximlNpRipu3PXEhyphenhyphenoZZJKVRzECboTaciCnQAjaa2xVL5NoOJqfWzuQWOnIwOAU2RPwBc5yHaDhJ_NRrWOBlrnOm5cuBHJAuY05s_RM2Leu20hw0zTDBr23TNJuVtOGxCzpml1Ua4/s320/Townhouse.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
As a young boy, my
father would tell me the story of my family in nightly instalments,
with many repetitions of my favourite bits. As our odd history is
possibly unique, and may well be illuminating to others, I will
précis it for you now, with your permission.<br />
<br />
We live in a large
sandstone house with a substantial garden behind. These days the
garden is mainly given over to apple trees, but it once held plants of
every kind imaginable. Although we did not build the house, my family
has owned and lived in it for many years, right back to the days of
my grandfather.<br />
<br />
Next door to us is another
house which is similar to ours, but has been extended to the rear and on the roof so
that it is almost twice as large. It was broken up into flats, long
before I was born, so there are many more people there than live in
our house. The house next door does not really have a proper garden, however, just a yard which
is mostly paved over.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>When my grandfather was
the head of our household, he was rumoured to have had a mistress,
the daughter of the woman who owned the house next door. Mother and
daughter lived on the first floor in the largest and best appointed
of the flats. When the matriarch died, the rumour was confirmed, as
my grandfather quickly moved next door to be with the daughter,
leaving us to fend for ourselves.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We heard that he had
become the head of the residents' committee, which collected all the
rents and service charges from those who lived there, and which paid
for the upkeep of the building. This must have kept him very busy, as
we seldom saw him any more. It certainly seemed to provide him with a very
nice income, judging by how well he lived.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The family missed my
grandfather, but they coped rather well without him. Despite being on
their own, they were spared destitution. They had no rent to pay, had
apples in the season which were stored in the cellars, and my father's and my
uncle's income kept them all from starving. They also had the run of
the large, almost empty house and its extensive garden.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This easy life didn't last long. When
my father was still just twenty-one, my grandfather gave him and my
uncle an ultimatum. They were to hand over all of the family income to the
residents' committee, and they would receive food, coal and some
other benefits in return. If they refused, everyone would be forced
to stay inside the house and, unable to work, they might all starve to
death.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The brothers discussed
the threat and disagreed on what to do. My father wanted to stand up
to my grandfather, but my uncle did not. As the older brother, my
uncle had his way, but not before their disagreement turned to an angry
fight. A few weeks later, my father discovered that his brother had
been won over by the promise of a flat in the house next door, into
which he had installed his girlfriend.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Over the years the
family became used to the arrangement. There were many times when they
almost starved to death, but most survived and made the best of it.
Several members of the family left the house and moved away, mostly
losing touch with those of us who stayed.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Not long after I was
born, my grandfather and uncle evicted some of my cousins from the
house, because they wanted the top floor to grow their<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">cannabis plants</span>.
The cousins had little choice but to leave and we had no idea what became
of most of them. This was amongst the hardest of times for us.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When I was a school
child, the price of apples rose so high that my uncle decided we would collect all of our apples for him, even those which had
fallen to the ground, and we would be given back just a few baskets, and then
only if we behaved. My father was afraid to rock the boat in case our
meagre food supplies were withdrawn, as they had been before, so he
agreed to the arrangement.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One morning, we
discovered that the small fence between the two gardens had been
repositioned overnight, so that many of the apple trees were now on next door's
side. This seemed pointless to us as all the apples now belonged to the
residents' committee, but I remember still feeling that something
important had been taken from me.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Following the death of
my father, which occurred shortly after I had completed my university education, I became the head of the household. When I thought about
how we were living, I could not see why we had allowed such an inequitable situation to continue
for all these years. I organised a family meeting and asked if anyone would
like to join me in taking back our income and regaining control of
our household. There was a good deal of fear and heated discussion but, in the end, most
were persuaded to follow my lead.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Last year, we told the
residents' committee that they had received their last payment from
our family. The committee members made all sorts of threats, and
tried to tell the family that they would surely starve on their own. Some
were unsure but, once we discovered that the law was on our side, most of us remained resolute and carried through our
plan.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We collected and stored
our own apples, and even moved the fence back to where it had originally been, reclaiming the annexed apple trees. I
arranged to have my salary paid into our joint bank account for the
first time. None of us had any idea that a doctor earned so much money. We soon discovered that we were not only far better off than we had been before, but we were richer by far than we had even expected to be.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now that we are back in
charge of our own affairs, we are actually on better terms with the
residents of next door. There was some initial annoyance among the
older residents, but they got over that fairly quickly. Now they even
buy most of our spare apples from us, at a price we negotiated.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The one thing I regret
was that we didn't do this years ago.<br />
<br />
<br />
Bob Duncan</div>
<br />
<br />Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com2Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-50591298314001515512012-06-23T13:06:00.002+01:002012-06-25T21:10:25.853+01:00Imagine the Benefits of an Independent Scotland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonaafNSXtJ3Na6nAX6bqJX0GlcoBPFgS_cAviNxM8WSAoULatdf-SFCEo6nVhXnbJfhqhNzyQeEfH0z0SnjPGS16aJiQ5fGKphZbEMD5nm9s6OhRb2GZ7sdvgFOmHpPrRyp8zEoX8ohcd/s1600/Vision.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonaafNSXtJ3Na6nAX6bqJX0GlcoBPFgS_cAviNxM8WSAoULatdf-SFCEo6nVhXnbJfhqhNzyQeEfH0z0SnjPGS16aJiQ5fGKphZbEMD5nm9s6OhRb2GZ7sdvgFOmHpPrRyp8zEoX8ohcd/s320/Vision.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I would like to take a few minutes of your precious time in order to imagine a Scotland very different from today's. A Scotland which could only come about once we no longer need to seek the permission of the Westminster before acting to create our future. A Scotland which could never come about under devolution, whether min, max, plus or sugar-free.<br />
<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
Imagine a Scotland where every citizen has a right to a basic guaranteed income, funded by the state. An arrangement very like a state pension, but paid from birth, with its value rising from infancy to adulthood. </div>
<div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div>
Just to make it easier to envisage, let's say that each adult receives £100 per week, and parents get £50 per week for each child. That would give a family of four an income of £15,600 pa, and a single adult an income of £5200 pa. The numbers are merely indicative.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
This income, let's call it Civic Credit, would be untaxed and would be paid to every citizen, regardless of their income or employment status. It would replace all forms of basic income support such as income support, tax credits, jobseeker's allowance, child tax credit, child benefit etc.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
This would be funded by a progressive income tax, designed to be redistributive. Income tax would be payable on all income, other than benefits, and there would be no tax-free thresholds and no social security.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Banding would be used to ensure that those on middle incomes would retain around the same post-tax income as now, less the amount of the Civic Credit, giving them the same approximate disposable income as at present.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The lower band might be set at 30%, the middle band (say above £40k pa) at 45% and the upper band (say over £100k pa) at 60%. At these rates and bands, a single person would pay the following effective rates of income tax, taking the civic Credit into account:<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Salary of £20,000 pa – 14% tax </li>
<li>Salary of £60,000 pa – 32% tax </li>
<li>Salary of £150,000 pa – 47% tax </li>
</ul>
<div>
<br />
These figures are provided solely to make the proposed system easier to visualise, and are not intended as a serious proposal of a worked out system. They do, however, demonstrate the progressive nature of the tax system which would result.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The main advantage of this system is that it would remove the need for most of the benefits paid by the welfare system, while providing a safety net for everyone in the country. <br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Child poverty would be eliminated immediately. Administrative overhead would be markedly reduced. It would also substantially wipe out fraud, as there would be little scope or point.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Combine this with a simplified taxation system, provided by a brand new Scottish Revenue without the baggage of HMRC, and a legal framework which mitigates against tax avoidance. We could construct a combined tax and benefit system which is in line with the progressive aspirations of the majority of Scots.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Might that not be a compelling reason to vote yes to independence.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
I offer this sketch, not as a template for a future Scotland, but as an example of the sort of vision which can be contemplated when starting afresh. The referendum on independence offers us a once in a lifetime opportunity to rethink everything we have taken for granted for centuries.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Just as crucially, perhaps, we risk the failure of the referendum, if we fail to inspire. <br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Presenting an anodyne view of independence which minimises the shock of the new will do little to inspire those who are currently undecided. The more aspects of life we assert will be unchanged by independence, the less compelling the need for change will appear. <br />
<br />
<br />
Why take a leap of faith when the place you will land looks so much like the place you are standing.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
And that will leave the game to be won by the nay-sayers, the scaremongers, the fearties and the self-interested. Those who Margo MacDonald has dubbed the “abominable no men”.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
That is not to say that it is wrong to counter unionist fears with well-laid plans, nor that is it wrong to fight just one battle at a time. <br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
But surely this is also the time for radical, creative, visionary thinking which demonstrates the purpose of self-determination by showing us what we might use it to achieve.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
And what could be more inspiring than that.<br />
<br />
<br />
Bob Duncan</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com7Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-14470095952627136942012-06-06T20:32:00.000+01:002012-06-06T22:04:26.514+01:00Iran and the reputation of the BBC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZU6PMqTv3yMczLqB6XazLJo9ag9wsJRojlT7LMh3FB13NUXIdRxz_1HowthbFRvQjLr9JWiJWjx9JjPrGE_D7FJyDPVI11fqxzrfC9m41liP_t5Fq6OqXVl-iV80YI6tuHFpZndfSTdJ1/s1600/Iranian-Revolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZU6PMqTv3yMczLqB6XazLJo9ag9wsJRojlT7LMh3FB13NUXIdRxz_1HowthbFRvQjLr9JWiJWjx9JjPrGE_D7FJyDPVI11fqxzrfC9m41liP_t5Fq6OqXVl-iV80YI6tuHFpZndfSTdJ1/s320/Iranian-Revolution.jpg" width="320" /></a>At the beginning of the
1980s, I met the lovely girl who would later become my wife. She was
a Persian student who had become trapped in Scotland by the Iranian
revolution. Susan's family were all back in Iran and she, with no
immediate prospect of being able to return home, was completely cut
off from them. In those days they shot dissident students as they arrived at Tehran airport.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This was when I first
came into regular contact with the BBC World Service. We both
listened to the English language news service nightly, trying to
get a clear view of events in Iran as they unfolded. News
was difficult to come by as foreign journalists were extremely
unwelcome. The Iranian state broadcaster carried nothing but propaganda. During those years, the BBC was a lifeline for Susan and the many other
Persian exiles we knew back then.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We later heard that the
Farsi language version of the World Service was equally important to
those inside Iran. The first act of the Islamic revolutionaries was
to take over the radio and television stations and so control their
output. This is standard practice in all revolutions and military coups. The BBC then became the main source of news for huge numbers of
ordinary Iranians, despite the severe punishments awaiting those who
were caught tuning in.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Since then, I have met
people from a wide range of troubled countries. Many of them had similar tales
of praise for the BBC World Service as their main source of unbiased
news coverage, particularly concerning their own country. Despite
recent cuts in the Worls Service provision, the BBC has, to this day, an unparalleled
reputation as a fearless and impartial international news
broadcaster and is relied upon by millions of people worldwide.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Naturally, both the BBC
and the people of the UK are justifiably proud of this reputation.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However, the one thing I did not
expect, when listening to those 80's radio broadcasts with Susan, was that
I would find myself in the same position thirty years later. My
state broadcaster, along with the rest of the main stream media in
Scotland and throughout the UK, is so heavily partisan in favour of unionism that large
sections of the news are effectively state propaganda.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Scotland and the wider
UK are in a state of political and constitutional upheaval, due to
the rise of the SNP and the independence movement, and particularly
due to the imminence of the referendum. It is hardly armed
revolution, but the parallels with Iran are clear. The most obvious
of these is that I now find myself increasingly reliant on foreign news
broadcasters, such as Al-Jazeera and Russia Today, as I search for a
full and impartial report of what is happening in my own country. And
I am not alone in doing this.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It is particularly
damning in the case of the BBC. At a UK level we are subjected to
relentless sycophancy on matters of monarchy and an oppressively
metrocentric view of the world. The beeb is being used as a weapon by
a UK government which is desperate to keep the union together at any
cost. The independence movement is subject to a war of attrition and,
as in all wars, the first victim has been the truth.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
BBC Scotland, however,
is guilty of a degree of bias which is simultaneously far deeper and
endemic but also more subtle than the “national” BBC. We are subjected to
regular doping of interview panels and audiences with Brit Nats,
negative spinning of news to the advantage of the unionists and the
effective censorship of stories which could reflect well on the SNP
or independence movement.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There is a level of
partiality here, and a growing realisation of its extent, which is
beginning to gnaw away at that enviable BBC reputation which was built up by
the World Service over so many years.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And that, I believe, is the key.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A concerted popular
campaign to embarrass BBC Scotland could well help to reduce, if not
remove, this bias. It will need to undermine the reputation of the service,
not only in Scotland, but throughout the world, for it is their
international reputation for impartiality which the BBC holds so dear.
And it is that very worldwide prestige which will be at risk if Scots begin to use their international
connections to reveal the dreadful bias of the institution at home.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The complaints we have
made thus far may already be having an effect. Recently there has
been an apparent (slight) increase in positive stories and even the
occasional balanced panel. The last-minute insertion of Nicol Sturgeon into a shockingly imbalanced Question Time panel for Inverness, would seem to have been a response to pressure from Cybernats and the SNP. The substitution of Green MSP Partick Harvey for the
usual LibDem on the recent Big Debate may have been a cynical attempt
to expose divisions in the indie camp, but the balance showed how things could
and should be.<br />
<br />
It seems we may also see the end of the constant use
of pejorative language by BBC correspondents and presenters,
including the use of separation, divorce and break-up and their ilk. So far so good.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This rebalancing, if
that is what it is, is very tentative and quite subtle but it might
represent real progress. We should keep up the pressure, at home and
abroad, and see if the BBC can be pushed back closer towards impartiality, as
we begin the independence debate proper. It is just possible that all is not yet lost at
Pacific Quay.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Meanwhile, Iranians are
still imprisoned for listening to foreign news. but Susan can now speak with her family on Skype, keep
up to date on Facebook, and share family photographs in emails.
Iran may be largely unchanged, but this is no longer the 1980s.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is 2012 and we are winning the argument online and in the new media. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Let us
see if we can also win the ability to present our case on the old
ones too.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Bob Duncan</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-44904514094194888212012-06-02T16:43:00.002+01:002012-06-02T17:52:44.696+01:00The Last Chance for the Unionist Case?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5727c5tiFr2zNK7hJ-coSmf8fUFJ6xJfn7JceyMacck7_LDQTT-4JNvNV6o1PL2p-lZxWWh9MI1wkta9KpQyEDj7JrymXKwY2DUGJj162lRdqWJa_tEuVOl3DhVgwpirsZ1mtz2uWW3E/s1600/pods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5727c5tiFr2zNK7hJ-coSmf8fUFJ6xJfn7JceyMacck7_LDQTT-4JNvNV6o1PL2p-lZxWWh9MI1wkta9KpQyEDj7JrymXKwY2DUGJj162lRdqWJa_tEuVOl3DhVgwpirsZ1mtz2uWW3E/s320/pods.jpg" width="263" /></a>As I predicted a couple
of weekends ago, the independence debate is beginning, at long last,
to move from the procedural to the political. The argument over
referendum dates, wording of questions etc. is quietening while
attention is turning to more substantive issues such as the shape of
an independent Scotland, her institutions and infrastructure.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The SNP and Scottish
Greens, at least, have begun to outline their own visions for Scotland
after the union, and are listing those aspirations which believe will become
possible in an independent nation state with the full set of powers
that entails.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The unionist parties
remain predictably negative but have also, if reluctantly and haltingly, started
to define the independent nation they would like to see – most
noticeably by voting in Holyrood to retain the Queen as head of state
in Scotland, once the Act of Union has been dissolved. It has been a
slow start but it is, unquestionably, a start.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, in a spirit of
cooperation, I am offering several pieces of constructive and
helpful advice to assist the unionist parties and their supporters
throughout the remainder of the pre-referendum debate. They will
realise that they have not made the best of starts - Cameron,
Osborne, Moore et al. having so far only managed to increase support for
independence and membership of the SNP.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Independence, however, is not
inevitable - not this time around anyway - and there is scope for unionists
to engage from now in a more thoughtful and adult manner. So here is my
advice.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Stop</b> repeating
that it is time to make the positive case for the union and get on
with actually articulating it. Vacuous slogans such as “stronger
together, weaker apart” will gain no traction with voters unless
they are explained in terms of concrete examples, demonstrating why
this is the case and, more importantly, to whom it refers. Otherwise,
the assumption will be that this slogan applies only to the position
of England, within or outwith the union.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Stop</b> using the
word “separation” as a synonym for independence. None of the
nations who have thus far gained their independence from Britain
commemorates their “Separation Day”. Ask the United States what
they celebrate on the 4<sup>th</sup> of July. The continual use of
pejorative terms like this just emphasises the paucity of your
argument. Sadly, this use of language is a legacy of decades of spin.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Stop</b> trying to
insinuate that Scotland would not be economically viable as an
independent state. This myth was busted long ago and attempts to
resurrect it do you no service. Scotland has, for decades,
contributed much more to the UK exchequer than it receives back,
Scots are not “subsidy junkies” and we will not become Bangladesh, Albania or even Skintland after independence.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Stop</b> referring
to the part of the UK which is left after Scotland secedes from the
union as the UK or rUK. The UK was formed by treaty between Scotland
and England and when Scotland leaves so will England, as the UK will
then cease to exist.
The Act of Union was a bilateral agreement and, regardless of population or political gravity, and despite appearances, there was and is no senior party in the union.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Whatever the nation of
England, the principality of Wales (which is constitutionally part of
England) and the province of Northern Ireland (which is not) wish to
call themselves, even if that is (perversely) the United Kingdom,
they will not be the successor state of the UK any more than Scotland
will be. <br />
<br />
England may well argue successfully to keep the UK seat on the UN Security Council, for example , by virtue of population size (civilian and military) or nuclear capability. It is hard to see why Scotland would even try to oppose this. But if England does this it will be by negotiation, not by right.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Stop</b> attempting
to imply that an Independent Scotland would need to ask Westminster
for permission to continue using Sterling and the Bank of England.
Despite the historical misnomer, the BoE is the central bank of the
UK, not of England.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The BoE is independent
of government, it is partly owned by Scotland, it has been
nationalised for decades and it controls Sterling which is the
currency of both countries (plus Northern Ireland). Each of those
conditions will continue to be true after the union is dissolved.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Although Sterling was
established as a UK currency by the 1707 Act of Union, the BoE as a
central bank is a 20<sup>th</sup> century invention and its status,
including the status of its currency, will not alter post
independence, except by negotiation.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Stop</b> hiding
information from the public whenever it supports the case for
independence. The burying of the McCrone report in the 1970s, with the
subsequent collusion of all successive UK governments, along with
their colleagues in the first two Scottish Executives,
was a betrayal of the people of Scotland of which all should be
justifiably angry.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Stop</b> pretending
that North Sea oil and gas reserves are almost exhausted and will
soon run out. This lie has been peddled since the 1970s and each
decade we are told the there is only enough left for another ten
years at most. UK government estimates of the value of existing
fossil fuels in the Scottish sector exceed £1.5 trillion and this
does not take into account the potential for new discoveries,
particularly on the Western seaboard.</div>
<br />
<b>Stop</b> ignoring or
denying the possibility of Scottish Independence and begin planning
for the consequences of a YES vote in 2014. Within 18 months of the
referendum, there will be a general election which may well elect the
first government of the new independent Scottish state. <br />
Unionist
parties will need to start planning now if they are to be in a
position to engage with the electoral process and form part of this
government. Simply assuming either that Scotland will vote NO, or
that the SNP will suddenly fracture into schisms after a YES vote,
will leave unionists unprepared for the realities of the
post-referendum period, potentially disenfranchising many of their
supporters.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Stop </b>inventing
and promulgating ridiculous scare stories in an attempt to instil
fear in the electorate. Our airports will not be carpet bombed by
England, our defence and shipbuilding industries will not be
destroyed, we will not be left open to invasion by some unnamed
bogeyman, we will not need to learn Gaelic to gain a civil service or
council job and the pandas will not be taken from Edinburgh zoo.
No-one believes these any longer and public opinion is turned against
those who peddle them.</div>
<br />
If unionist parties
begin adult campaigning now, explaining exactly why they believe
Scotland would be better off remaining under the rule of a parliament
in another country, then they may or may not win the debate, but they will
certainly do better than if they were to pursue the combination of
scaremongering and negativity which has characterised their argument
so far.<br />
<br />
Personally, if a definitive and compelling case for the status quo could be made, I suspect that it would have happened long ago, so I remain unconvinced of its existence. If, on the other hand, it can be made, then surely this is the time to do so, before time finally runs out for the NO campaign.<br />
<br />
With groups such as the
BNP, English/Scottish Defence League, National Front and Orange Order
beginning to man the ramparts alongside the London-based mainstream
parties, any well argued and articulated case may soon cease to be
audible against the background noise from the barrage of hatred,
sectarianism and ethnic British Nationalism which will inevitably be
launched by this New Model Army of the right.<br />
<br />
It may also prove impossible for the Labour Party in particular to gain any ground whatsoever, once it is so visibly ensconced with not only the hated Tories, but with their ultra-right friends as well. For Scottish Labour, independence may well come as a blessed relief from the ignomony of those overly pragmatic and ill-considered pre-independence alliances.<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Only time will tell.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Bob Duncan</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-52228382906056724032012-05-30T19:21:00.002+01:002012-06-02T16:59:54.502+01:00So, What the Hell is Wrong with Devolution.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pmSF0JsIES4vIbroPURXEFocKDuEydp9CfYPiAkbjuIdVdTV0avTO1aZdh6PF6tJB8HJo2hddMMbrvBm0LIhXOLiLXK-P-Tz2WyRPnhD1CyE7D3KsEUyaUTC_K5NYF7MhDrYmEOEKScT/s1600/devo-plus.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pmSF0JsIES4vIbroPURXEFocKDuEydp9CfYPiAkbjuIdVdTV0avTO1aZdh6PF6tJB8HJo2hddMMbrvBm0LIhXOLiLXK-P-Tz2WyRPnhD1CyE7D3KsEUyaUTC_K5NYF7MhDrYmEOEKScT/s320/devo-plus.gif" width="240" /></a></div>
Ever since the SNP won
a majority in the Scottish parliament in May 2011, there has been a
great deal of discussion in the media about the possible alternatives
to independence which might be offered as part of the referendum in
2014. I have tried to categorise the main variants below, in order to
examine some of the major issues they share.<br />
<br />
I have attempted to use the now standard "Devo" nomenclature, even though this reads like a soft drink menu. I have also given a brief description of each option. These are deliberately short, so I am sure many will take exception to my definitions.<br />
<br />
<b>Independence (Devo
Ultra)</b><br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As currently proposed,
this involves Scotland becoming a sovereign nation with all taxes and
duties being levied by Edinburgh. Scotland would retain the pound, as
well as partial ownership of the Bank of England, and the Queen would
be the Head of State. Scotland would receive the full benefit of its
natural resources, including oil and gas revenues. There would almost
certainly be some cooperation with the rUK, for example on currency
and defence matters, but sovereignty would rest with Scotland.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Devo Max</b></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This has several
variants, but is essentially full fiscal autonomy. Scotland would
raise all (or most) of its taxes and pay the UK for common services.
London would retain control over currency, foreign policy and
defence, with everything else controlled from Edinburgh. Scotland may
(or may not) get all its oil & gas revenues and may (or may not)
control areas such as pensions and welfare.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Devo Plus</b></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This has been defined
by Reform Scotland and is essentially an extension of the status quo
to give Scotland more control over tax collection, including (some or
all) of income tax and Corporation tax. Everything else would be
collected by London and spent “on Scotland's behalf”, with
responsibilities being split between the two governments in a similar
way to the status quo.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<b>Devo Lite</b><br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is the current
settlement (once the Scotland Bill has been fully enacted in 2015),
and might better be described as Calman Lite as it represents a
watered down version of the proposals made by the Calman Commission.
Under this settlement, the Scottish government receives a block grant
from London, calculated using the Barnett formula, and almost all
taxes and duties are levied directly by London, including all oil and
gas revenues.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Devo Zero</b></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
This may seem like an
unlikely option – a reversion to the pre-devolution state where
there was no Scottish parliament – but it was the norm for 292 of
the last 305 years and has been recently advocated by Tam Dalyell,
the original poser of the West Lothian Question. If Scotland votes NO
in 2014, this may be the mechanism chosen by the UK to avoid any
future referendums.<br />
<br />
<strong>The Discussion</strong><br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The current proposals
for the referendum by the Scottish government would include a single
question to choose between independence and Devo Lite (no change),
with the possibility of a second question on Devo Max or Devo Plus,
if one of these is adopted by one or more of the unionist political
parties.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There are several
issues which will need to be dealt with by proponents of these
options, and I will attempt to look at the most important of these
below.</div>
<br />
<ol>
<li><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Of each of the five
options described above, only the first - Independence - is in the gift of
the Scottish people or government. A YES vote in 2014 will deliver
independence – it is unthinkable that the UK government would
simply ignore a YES vote, and it would surely lead to UDI if it did.
However, each variant of Devo would need a bill to be passed in
Westminster to enact it, and this would require the assent of English MPs
who may not be keen to give it. <br />
<br /></div>
</li>
<li><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Currently, none of
the unionist parties is offering anything other than the status quo
(Devo Lite) and all three are insisting that the referendum must be
limited to a single question.<br />
<br />
The Lib Dems are consulting on
a federal settlement, but this will not be on offer before 2014. The
Tories in England are promising a review, but only after the
referendum with no detail given, and their Scottish leadership is
insisting that Devo Lite is a “line in the sand”. The Labour
Party in Scotland is offering a post referendum commission, while their English
leadership has yet to make any proposal.<br />
<br />
It seems unlikely that
any of these positions will change sufficiently before 2014 to make
one of the other options viable, but we will need to wait and see.
Additionally, as we will not see the details of any of these offers
before the referendum, voters would be asked to support a “pig in
a poke” if they opt for a devolved settlement.</div>
</li>
</ol>
<ol start="3">
<li><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Any devolved
settlement, being in the gift of the UK government, can be altered
(or reversed) by that same government. As Winston Churchill famously
said, “<i>Power devolved is power retained</i>”. So any
devolution is necessarily temporary, lasting only while it suits the
purposes of the UK. </div>
</li>
</ol>
<ol start="4">
<li><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Advocates of any
particular form of devolution, with the exception of Devo Zero
(which is not actually a form of devolution), must explain which
powers are to be retained by the UK and why this is so. Each power
retained limits the freedom of choice of the Scottish people, so
must be justified by showing that any disadvantages caused by
retention are demonstrably and significantly outweighed by more
powerful advantages. And these must be advantages for Scotland, not
merely for the UK or England (or Westminster).<br />
<br /></div>
</li>
<li><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Independence is a
relatively simple concept, so only the major details need to be
spelled out before the referendum. Lower level detail will need to
be negotiated as part of the cessation activity, and longer term
policy will depend on which party wins each post-independence
election, beginning with the one in May 2016.<br />
<br />
Augmented
devolved settlements such as Devo Max or Devo Plus will need to be
worked out in fine detail and included as a manifesto commitment to
implement in full. Even then, unless the commitment is made by each
of the UK parties, the referendum result may become meaningless if
the party making the commitment is unable to form the government in
May 2015, the date of the first UK general election after the
referendum.<br />
<br />
There seems to be little point in voting for a
referendum option which will only be honoured following a particular
result in a subsequent election which takes place in another
country.</div>
</li>
</ol>
<ol start="6">
<li><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Finally, any
outcome in the referendum, other than a YES vote for Independence,
is likely to lead to a backlash from the next UK government,
regardless of its colour. The UK state is not likely to risk a
series of referendums (a neverendum), having managed to defeat the
current one, and will probably take steps to ensure that no further
plebiscites are possible.<br />
<br />
This may be done through a change
in the Scotland Act to outlaw referendums altogether, or by scaling
back or rescinding the powers of the Scottish parliament. Anyone who
watched the Lords debates on the Scotland Bill earlier this year, or
the Westminster committee on the referendum for “separation for
Scotland”, will know the appetite there is among the London
parties to curtail the aspirations of the Scottish people. <br />
<br />
If
we do not prevail this time, we may not be forgiven soon for our
hubris.</div>
</li>
</ol>
Given the above, I
would conclude that it is unlikely that any of the options will be
deliverable by the 2014 referendum, beyond those of Independence and
the status quo. The Zero option would be clearly unacceptable to the
Scottish electorate, while the Devo plus and Devo Max offerings will
not be offered by any party which could guarantee to deliver it, and
it is unlikely that either will be adopted in any case.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The default position of
the Unionist parties, therefore, would also seem to be the most
likely to occur. That is, the referendum will consist of a straight
YES/NO question on Independence versus the status quo (Devo Light),
with several rather vague hints about “jam tomorrow” from the
unionist parties, but no concrete or developed offers beyond the
Scotland bill.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If this analysis is
accurate, that leaves us in a straight fight between the YES and NO
camps, with the race now on to convert the 20%-30% of voters who are
currently undecided. For those of us in the YES camp, we know just
what we need to do. two years of reassurance, two years of dispelling
fears, two years of making the positive case for self determination
should bring us what we wish.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The world's newest, shiniest
independent nation.<br />
<br />
Bob Duncan</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com1Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-75096033176149273962012-05-19T18:21:00.000+01:002012-05-19T20:43:48.834+01:00Let our Independent Nation be an Example to All<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpvA3vMyfXkV1AlXTVWsyCS5TOD87WaAjyDSZexiofK74L0WxLkpECisPeVBjDS_tTx8wQyo6vIPvIJHr3ocOS2O64OFa0lEEuSj-5aqkeICOLZJVQhQpKTXYvoKyUOD2b3YfmVDevb94/s1600/YS-book-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpvA3vMyfXkV1AlXTVWsyCS5TOD87WaAjyDSZexiofK74L0WxLkpECisPeVBjDS_tTx8wQyo6vIPvIJHr3ocOS2O64OFa0lEEuSj-5aqkeICOLZJVQhQpKTXYvoKyUOD2b3YfmVDevb94/s320/YS-book-cover.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
Allow me to share with
you a simple tale of how the Law of Unintended Consequences can
sometimes act with almost karmic irony. I offer this story, not
simply for amusement, though I dearly hope it does amuse, but with a
more serious purpose in mind, as those who persevere to the end will
discover.
<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My story involves an
officer of the Western isles Council (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar), who
will remain unnamed in order to spare his blushes, who worked for
many years in the department of Education.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For decades, fourth
year students of the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway have been given a talk
intended to help provide them with a set of life skills to aid them
when they leave school. As part of this activity, each pupil is supplied
a copy of the “Young Scot” information handbook, a magazine which contains a great deal
of useful advice on topics such as how to apply for a passport, pay
your bills, register to vote etc.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a name='more'></a>A few years ago,
following a shake up in the department, the responsibility for giving the talk and
distributing the magazine fell to our protagonist. When perusing a
copy of the magazine, he spotted an advert for a gay helpline
service for young people.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Our man was so offended
at the concept of this helpline that he refused to countenance the
distribution of the magazines, locking them away in a cupboard where
they would be unable to poison the minds of the island's children. From his
point of view, that was the end of the matter.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However, pressure from
his boss and fear of a parent-led revolt forced him to perform a
<em>volte-face</em> and he reluctantly agreed to distribute the magazines
after all. But not before spending a day with a ruler, carefully
removing pages 11 and 12 from every copy of the publication. That
year, the fourth year pupils were given no talk, but each did receive
a copy of (most of) their Young Scot Magazine.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Of course, as soon as
the pupils opened their magazines, each fell open naturally between
pages 10 and 13, exposing the absence of the missing sheet. Being
inquisitive and intelligent young people, they immediately went
online to look at the electronic version of the magazine, and see
what had been removed from their copies.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Meanwhile, the charity
which had placed the advert for the gay helpline noticed a spike in
the number of pupils reading their web site. They published
their conclusions in their annual report, stating that young adults
in the Western Isles were three times more likely to access their
web site than those living in the rest of Scotland.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Our officer, and his
boss, were reported to be less than pleased by the ensuing publicity.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now, you may think that
this is a simple parable of one rather over-zealous godly individual,
exceeding his authority then receiving his just deserts. And on one
level it is. <br />
<br />
However, intolerant attitudes like our protagonist's are still
prevalent across Scotland, particularly in the Highlands and
Islands, and they do our nation no credit whatsoever.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Last year, for example,
the Labour Party candidate for the Western Isles seat at Holyrood
campaigned for hotel and guest house owners to break the law by
denying access to potential guests whom they considered to be gay (or
Sodomites as they were described during the campaign).
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Thankfully, this led
(in part) to the SNP winning the election with the second highest
vote in Scotland. But it is indicative of the underlying intolerance
among some members of our society that the Labour party would think a
man with such views a suitable candidate for high office.
Though still a member of the Labour Party, he is now an "Independent" Councillor on the CnES, which says much about politics in the islands.</div>
<br />
I was present at hustings that year when a
phalanx of some 30 black-suited, red-tied Labour activists cheered
wildly (on cue) each time their man advocated such homophobic lawbreaking then
jeered noisily (to a man) when the SNP candidate appealed for
tolerance, social justice and equality.
<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Two weeks later,
ironically once more, one of the youngest members of the thirty Labourites finally came out as gay
himself. Statistically, at least two of his colleagues must have also felt
pretty uncomfortable during that election.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I bring this to your attention because
such intolerant and hypocrytical attitudes are the antithesis of the way most of us in Scotland
would like to see ourselves. <br />
<br />
Ever since the Declaration of Arbroath with its insistence on the sovreignty of the people, we have felt
ourselves to be at the forefront of democratic liberalism. This was
particularly reinforced during the Scottish Enlightenment, a time
when we were truly a beacon for the Western world.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the late 19<sup>th</sup>
century, it was Scotland and the Scots who formed the fledgling
socialist movement. In the 20<sup>th</sup> century, we fought
Fascists in Spain, Nazis in Germany and Thatcher at home. Then, just for a
moment, the Red Clydesiders showed us that there was more than one
way to play the game.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When, at the close of the century, the Labour Party
lurched to the right under Blair, the Scottish National Party took up
the mantle of social democracy in their stead, and hold it to this
day. This was exemplified by the comment of the late and great Jimmy
Reid who stated “I didn't leave the Labour Party, the Labour Party
left me”, before finding a home within the body of the SNP.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Socialist leaders, long
dead, from Keir Hardy to John Smith, would birl in their graves at
the attitudes shown by the “Scottish” Labour Party in the 21<sup>st</sup>
century. However, the values these heroes espoused are kept alive
within the Nationalist movement today and it is now up to us to carry
the flag for social democracy, tolerance, equality, fairness and
inclusiveness.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But, if we wish to set
an example to the rest of the world, then we must be careful to
practice what we preach, even when it is uncomfortable for us to do
so. The release of Al-Megrahi was a prime example of this, and one of
which we should be very proud. The provision of free Higher Education
is another, as is the protection of the National Health Service in
Scotland.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Consequently, I appeal
to all Scots (by which I mean everyone living in Scotland, whatever
their origin) to use the opportunity of our forthcoming independence
to help create a country of which we can be justly proud.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But much more
importantly, to forge a new nation of which others will say, “It
doesn't need to be like this. Look what the Scots have done since they
gained their freedom. Surely we can do that too”.</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com1Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK58.210821 -6.38540658.194091500000006 -6.4248879999999993 58.2275505 -6.345924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-21473156852882712572012-05-15T15:57:00.001+01:002012-05-15T19:31:05.655+01:00Scottish Independence: The Dark Side<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinfarYzVkskUeDY9tFd268XANEAMbyZ4czxEApss7KtwQJoiXAq_Z36TVgsr9xjN8_jPSe2ZBhOaP4J2qC8dHRXhTU65jCs7Uln_tM6XwxX8QbQv8_ha34JuODLF9fr91i4plv3s8qPl0/s1600/the-dark-side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinfarYzVkskUeDY9tFd268XANEAMbyZ4czxEApss7KtwQJoiXAq_Z36TVgsr9xjN8_jPSe2ZBhOaP4J2qC8dHRXhTU65jCs7Uln_tM6XwxX8QbQv8_ha34JuODLF9fr91i4plv3s8qPl0/s320/the-dark-side.jpg" width="320" /></a>The local authority
elections are finally over and the SNP has emerged as the clear
winner, at least from an arithmetic point of view. Assuming the
ConDems manage to hold onto power at Westminster, only the European
elections of May 2014 stand between us and the independence
referendum and those are likely to be little more than an opinion
poll for the referendum itself.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We hear from the
leadership of the SNP that the launch of the “Yes” campaign is
only days away, and we can expect a “No” campaign to begin soon, if somewhat tentatively, as the pro-dependence parties begin
their communal dance, circling one another as they reach towards some
form of coalescence. It would seem that the phoney war is about to
end, allowing the debate to pass from the procedural to the
political.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<br />
It is often claimed that Scottish independence will bring with it a number of highly undesirable consequences, notably a significant decrease in national income, the end of progressive social democracy, serious questions over national security and an uncertain future in the geopolitical arena.<br />
<br />
One may be forgiven for
dismissing such concerns as the usual scaremongering by those with
little positive to offer, but in reality these are the completely
predictable outcomes of Scottish Independence - not for the newly
independent Scottish state itself - but for the rest of the UK, as it comes to
terms with its post-Union future. <br />
<br />
These dire consequences for the rUK are also the primary reasons
why the Westminster will resist Scottish self-determination with all of the means at
its disposal, despite recent claims that the incompetence of the
Unionist camp demonstrates a secret wish to finally be rid of us. That
may be true of a number of Tory back benchers, but is clearly not the
view of the UK establishment.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Allow me to explain.
Take first the prediction of a decrease in National income. The UK has bolstered its
current spending using Scottish oil revenues for almost forty years,
avoiding national bankruptcy at times, and considerably reducing its
budget deficit at others. This income stream has also allowed large
capital projects in South Eastern England to be funded, such as the
Thames barrage, Crossrail and the London orbital motorway. Do not forget, also, that 25% of all UK corporation tax comes from oil-related businesses.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Almost all of this is
about to disappear from the rUK balance of payments in a very few short
years. At a time when energy resources are likely to be the key to
national success, it is Scotland which is holding all the cards. With
between 1 and 2 Trillion pounds of oil reserves, around a quarter
of Europe's renewable energy potential, and even the prospect of enough submarine methane hydrates to dwarf oil revenues, Scotland's economy is set to
outstrip that of the rUK in a way first predicted back in the 1970's
by the long-suppressed McCrone report. Over the same period, hard financial times await those
South of the border.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then what of the end
of progressive social democracy? The loss of the thirty-odd Labour
MPs from Scotland will not, as is often suggested, lead to a continual
dominance of the Conservative Party in the rUK. Even without MPs from
Scotland, the present administration in Westminster would need to be
a coalition.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However, the two main
parties in English politics are chasing a centre-right
electorate in the South-East corner of the country, against a background of
a rise in the far right, as exemplified by UKIP and the BNP, and the
disintegration of the Lib Dems. The future of English progressive
politics does not look rosy, and it is English politics which will
dominate the rUK due to simple force of numbers.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And those questions
over national Security? The location of all of the UK's nuclear
weapons in Scotland, with no obvious alternative site in England (under the circumstances, we
can probably discount Wales as an option) must place the continuation
of the rUK as a nuclear power in some doubt. Even if those nuclear
facilities are eventually re-sited, this may make their replacement
impossible and could lead to their eventually being scrapped. The renewal of
Trident, in any case, may be an unaffordable option for a
cash-strapped, energy-poor economy, increasingly forced to import
most of its fuel, water and other raw materials.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Finally, we come to the
question of the rUK's uncertain future in the geopolitical arena.
Westminster's claim to World Power status is based primarily on
having a veto in the United Nations, an historical anomaly that is
hardly merited by its current influence or military might. The loss
of Scotland must put continued permanent membership of the UN
Security Council in serious jeopardy, if for no other reason than its
providing a unique opportunity for a realignment of the current membership.
The rUK would need to renegotiate its way back in, and from a position
considerably weaker than that which it currently enjoys. On the
surface, that seems quite ambitious.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, given all of the
dire consequences of Scottish Independence, for what is left of the
UK at least, we should not be surprised if the fight to keep control of
Scotland is a hard one. All of the dirty tricks will be brought into
play, from the biased media to scare tactics, and even the security services, and the “No”
campaign will not be a positive one. Misinformation, propaganda,
fearmongering and much worse will characterise the lead-up to the
referendum and no dastardly deed will be left untried.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We must be ready for
this form of opposition if we are to win the popular argument, and must fight negativity
with a consistently positive message. We must concentrate on the
solutions to poverty, deprivation and ill-health which will be made
possible by self-determination, and not advocate independence
for its own sake. We must dominate those new media to which we are
not denied access, and we must use them wisely and use them well. And, most of
all, we must win the battle on the doorsteps, in the workplaces and
in the pubs.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If, over the next two
years,each of us overcomes the fears of just one other person,
inspiring that individual with the vision to vote for her or his own
freedom, then we will prevail. It is the individual voices of those
who share a positive vision for the future of this country that will
make this happen. Not the political parties, not “Civic Scotland”,
not the governments in Edinburgh or London. It is you and I,
face-to-face, online, in print, making the case for
self-determination wherever and whenever we can, that will finally
win our people their freedom.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And the campaign starts
right here, right now.<br />
<br />
Bob Duncan</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-77742906208815362012-04-26T23:23:00.000+01:002012-05-15T19:39:21.803+01:00Lies, Damned Lies and Labour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5mRlrwjaDPKnR8SExfpU4dnz_YdQNdW-WR7Mj2ucc3gDsfLcSljMClryQq1IHMu_yTVwL-37lwmqejtVwqH3LDt5S9iQR9-BeSlommjVUekGy7jgSnMuMiWEUCWnV_s2sQnynEGJxe3N/s1600/pinocchio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5mRlrwjaDPKnR8SExfpU4dnz_YdQNdW-WR7Mj2ucc3gDsfLcSljMClryQq1IHMu_yTVwL-37lwmqejtVwqH3LDt5S9iQR9-BeSlommjVUekGy7jgSnMuMiWEUCWnV_s2sQnynEGJxe3N/s320/pinocchio.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
In the stunningly beautiful Western Isles
six brand new schools have recently been completed or are nearing
completion, including a replacement building for the famous Nicolson
Institute. All six are due to accept pupils by the start of the new
academic year in October 2012.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The outgoing council
was responsible for the commissioning of the schools and senior
members have begun quoting the concurrent completion of all six
schools as a triumph in their re-election literature. The schools
building programme has become highly controversial, however, due to
the decision to build all six schools in parallel. Here is what
happened.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />Soon after the SNP
Government was elected in 2007, the SNP group of councillors in the
Western isles contacted the Scottish Government and asked if it would
be permissible to stage the school programme over 4 or 5 years,
effectively building one school at a time, with some overlap. This
was to permit individual contracts to be let for each school, thus
allowing local building firms to form consortia and bid for the work.
The staging would also have allowed the time for dozens of modern
apprenticeships to be completed as part of the programme.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Government replied
that they would have no objection to this plan, and actively
encouraged it. Apart from anything else, it eased the cash flow on a
project costing many tens of millions of pounds. As Donald Manford,
leader of the SNP group described it, “John Swinney practically bit
my hand off when I suggested staging the building programme”.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The SNP group then
advised the Chief Executive who passed the advice on to all
councillors. However, when the vote eventually came to approve the
building programme it was now in the form of a single contract for
all six schools to be built in parallel. This effectively guaranteed
that no local businesses could hope to bid for the work, and that no
apprenticeships would be completed under the contract.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The SNP group responded
by tabling an amendment which would have split off a single school,
Balvannich, and suspended the rest of the programme. This was a last
ditch attempt to phase the developments, but it was voted down by all
the non-SNP councillors, 27 to 4, and the single contract option was
approved. FMP, a firm from Northern Ireland, won the bid and brought
their own people across to carry out most of the work.
</div>
<br />
Not a single
apprenticeship was created by the project and over £50 million of
project spending was made off island, from a total budget of £80
million. Several long-established island building firms went bust and
over 70 local tradesmen were registered with the local JobCentre Plus
(There are 90 Irish contractors on the project). The larger of the
surviving local contractors started chasing smaller projects, forcing
the smaller businesses down market in turn, and squeezing the self
employed tradesmen out of the market completely.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There was a suspicion
that the dominant group of councillors, independents who were mainly
members of and/or activists in the Labour Party, wanted to be able to
boast about completing the schools project when up for re-election.
Recently, Donald John MacSween, who stood as a Labour parliamentary
candidate in 2010, and is now standing for re-election as an
independent councillor said, “This year, when we go in to the new
school session, nearly half of the pupils in all of the Western Isles
will be in new schools. I think that's a major achievement.”</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Under pressure from the
local SNP and the community, those “independent” Labour
councillors have recently started to claim that it was the Scottish
Government, and not the council, who set the timetable for the
programme. Cllr. MacSween stated, “A major disappointment, of
course, in the last five years, was the way the Scottish Government
would not allow us to parcel up the schools in individual packages to
give local companies an opportunity to tender and to secure the work.
They were quite emphatic that that could not happen, they didn't
allow us to do it and it caused quite a lot of controversy in the
community.”</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This statement, whilst
reinforcing the potential benefits to the local economy of a staged
development, directly contradicts the SNP group's assertion that it
was the council and not the Government, who set the timetable for the
project.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A recent enquiry by the
leadership of the Western Isles SNP led to the following statement by
a Scottish Government spokesman, “The Western Isles Schools Project
was tendered by Western Isles Islands Council. Scottish Government
and Scottish Futures Trust did not play any part in the tender
process, <i>including the timescales of the project,</i> and it was
the Council’s decision to award the contract to FMP.”</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This statement entirely
backs up the SNP group's version of events and is entirely
incompatible with the statement made by Cllr. MacSween, and with many
similar assertions made recently by his colleagues in the local
press.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There appears to be
nothing in the Scottish Government tendering regulations which would
preclude the setting of separate sequential contracts. In the light
of this, it seems unlikely that the Government would have forced the
council to construct the contract in a particular way, nor has the
council group who claim government interference managed to produce a
single document to back up their claim.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Bob Duncan, campaign
organiser for the Western Isles SNP, and a candidate for Stornoway
South, the ward in which the Nicolson Institute is located, had this
to say,
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“There is tremendous
anger in the community that the ruling group in the Comhairle nan
Eilean Siar has, either deliberately or through incompetence, allowed
so much money and so many jobs to be lost to the islands.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“This £120 million
project will not be repeated in our lifetimes, and the opportunities
it offered have been lost to us for ever. Our kids have gained new
schools a little faster than they might have, but at the pointless
and unnecessary cost of the jobs and livelihoods of their parents.
The schools would have been rebuilt either way, but now the fragile
local economy will need to be rebuilt too, and this may take us
decades.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“It is no wonder
there is so much anger in the community and no wonder that the old
guard of the Labour Party are facing annihilation in these elections.
Theirs has surely been the most expensive, damaging and dishonest
election stunt in Hebridean history.</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-8460297324375771652012-04-16T23:27:00.003+01:002012-05-15T19:40:34.481+01:00A Very Reasonable Supposition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJoRu1HZnsmXAQBmmyzCFwcbcj6UQyPbAA9nRgveDIAMVccdCK4JnfuhflHcu6pGpv7NnMtHqUAKSoSi6fkdAo1tNDukRoCyW5gCnLMTNhLKmBwOQXSuNssmsoxN2M8iaY4ucmyrE606V/s1600/Kaye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJoRu1HZnsmXAQBmmyzCFwcbcj6UQyPbAA9nRgveDIAMVccdCK4JnfuhflHcu6pGpv7NnMtHqUAKSoSi6fkdAo1tNDukRoCyW5gCnLMTNhLKmBwOQXSuNssmsoxN2M8iaY4ucmyrE606V/s320/Kaye.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
A few weeks ago, I was
listening to Call Kaye on BBC Radio Scotland. The subject for
discussion was the launch of the 'Friends of the Union' as part
of the Tory conference in Scotland. With the customary impartiality
of BBC Scotland, listeners were asked to call in if they were friends
of the union, and to explain just why they were feeling so friendly.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
By this time of day, I
was already enjoying my third mug of strength 5 coffee, so I felt
reasonably up for the challenge. After 15 minutes of listening to
various reasons why Scotland was still too wee, too poor and too stupid to
survive alone, I finally picked up the phone and dialled in. The usual
slightly bored researcher answered and took my name,
location and number.</div>
<br />
“And what would you like
to say?”, she asked. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />“I would like to state that I am a friend of
the union, and explain why I will be an even better friend after
independence”, I replied, a difficult feat when your tongue is so
firmly embedded in your cheek. Some sounds of typing were followed by
a short pause, then “Thank you very much”, beep beep beep.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
"Oh well”, I thought,
“at least I tried” and went back to finish that third mug. Before
I could even reach for it the phone rang and I picked it up, slightly
bemused by the possibility of getting a callback from the program.
Sure enough, I was talking to one of the show's producers. “Would
you like to take part in the discussion?”, she asked. “Yes
please, I replied. “You are third in the queue”, she responded.
Hold on.”</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“Wow”, I thought,
“It must be my Birthday”, realising suddenly that it actually was my
Birthday and I had forgotten all about it. Then my chance came to speak and I used my
carefully rehearsed line, “Good Morning kaye, I would like to state
that I am a friend of the union, and that I will be an even better
friend after independence”.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This seemed to throw
her a little. “Do you mean independence within the union “, she
inquired, “some sort of Devo Max?”. <br />
<br />
“No”, I replied, on a
definite coffee-fuelled roll now, “I mean after we get a Yes vote
in the referendum and become independent, I will be a much better
friend to what remains of the union, England Wales and Northern
Ireland that is, than I am at present. That's because the union
won't have power of attorney over Scotland, taking all of our income,
and giving us back some pocket money. We'll all be much better
friends once that has all passed.”</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But now Kaye had the
measure of me. “Ah, but don't you think we will fall out during the
negotiations over who gets to keep what?”
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“Not at all”, I
replied, “I'm sure that they will be conducted in a friendly
atmosphere, as both sides have much to gain from this.”
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“Well", she
interjected before I could finish, “you really are a very
reasonable man, Bob. Goodbye”. <br />
<br />
And I was left with more beeps –
and no riposte! Don't you just hate it when
you have a great line, good enough to close down the opposition
completely, then you don't get the opportunity to use it. This was
one of those times. I had overplayed my hand and was disconnected. <br />
<br />
So
this is going to be my chance to use that line.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Given the chance, what I would have said,
was: “Kaye, do you remember when David Cameron
came to Bute House a month ago and there was a big yellow map of
Scotland on the wall behind Alex's head? A big yellow reminder of the
majority and the mandate that the Scottish Government enjoyed.
A big fat yellow middle finger, right in the eye-line of the UK
delegation.”</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“Well, when they all
meet up again after the Yes vote, and start to negotiate who gets the
CD collection and who gets the kids, one thing is certain. The room
will be decked out with pretty pictures of the Clyde submarine
base at Faslane. Just in case anyone forgets that, at least for a while, we have
all the nukes.”</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“And that is the one
factor that should ensure that EVERYONE is very reasonable indeed.”</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFRtxB-8a9iaQBv0olmUqX0U2TOaSlISDOjTp41X9u2zFUsaALo5Il1VbtVFdecFjOPuo5abDki5xoKklCD0MxRLoyZP5aLuxSWfpS3QH35cCw7_TpaAncSJuGY6GyiNdhhoYyXkBj6Ua/s1600/salmond-cameron2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFRtxB-8a9iaQBv0olmUqX0U2TOaSlISDOjTp41X9u2zFUsaALo5Il1VbtVFdecFjOPuo5abDki5xoKklCD0MxRLoyZP5aLuxSWfpS3QH35cCw7_TpaAncSJuGY6GyiNdhhoYyXkBj6Ua/s640/salmond-cameron2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some subtle visual hints help to keep independence negotiations on an even keel.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK55.953252 -3.18826755.8821325 -3.3461955000000003 56.0243715 -3.0303385tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-44192292486064485032012-04-06T15:10:00.000+01:002012-05-15T19:40:52.842+01:00Nocturnal Unionists Fiddle Scotsman Poll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5oX3Z0HpCcKhTKQbpMQTunz60fgB9AXRntez86XzEQN3oiSF8gprYNpfu_Q-ZjdkaL7z5hCoFEkJdLk0smoaCAp4PsfyMsF1atY1m0Q_zGBQYHHxuUxE3XSqx_mxYI96uxyG-TbGosI7/s1600/Easy+Poll+Creator.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5oX3Z0HpCcKhTKQbpMQTunz60fgB9AXRntez86XzEQN3oiSF8gprYNpfu_Q-ZjdkaL7z5hCoFEkJdLk0smoaCAp4PsfyMsF1atY1m0Q_zGBQYHHxuUxE3XSqx_mxYI96uxyG-TbGosI7/s320/Easy+Poll+Creator.gif" width="277" /></a></div>
Yesterday Evening, 5<sup>th</sup>
April, I was reading a story in the online version of the Scotsman.
It was a <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/holyrood-decisions-may-cost-snp-in-western-isles-warns-council-leader-1-2215843" target="_blank">rather pointless little piece</a> about the leader of the
Western Isles council and how he had opined that the SNP would not do
as well as they expected to in the May elections. The comments were
almost universally antagonistic to the content of the piece, so I
refreshed the page a few times over the next couple of hours, just to
see what else might appear.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
While reading the
comments, I noticed the online poll which was on the subject of
“Shou<em>ld the independence referendum be brought forward from 2014?</em>”
It was running at about 61% No vs 39% Yes - much as it had been for
several days. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />Interesting, I thought, how this seemed to directly
contradict the claims of the UK consultation, which was published
that same day and suggested 75% were in favour of an earlier
referendum. Even the heavily unionist readership of the Scotsman appeared to be on the Scottish Government's side of this issue.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Later that evening, I
refreshed the page again, and was astonished to see that, while the
No vote had remained static (in numbers), the Yes vote had suddenly
advanced by several thousand and now showed a majority in favour of
an earlier referendum date. By the following morning, this had climbed by
thousands more, showing 72 % support for Yes, and 28% for No.
Amazingly, the poll had swung to support the assertions of the UK
consultation in just s few hours, and overnight at that.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
At first I checked the
date, but All Fools Day had long passed so another explanation was
required.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Had the poll been
linked to a proforma on Labour Hame, perhaps? I searched, but I could
find no such link.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Were Scottish Office
staff putting in some overtime to keep Michael Moore happy? But no,
the number of new votes were in the thousands and the slimmed down
Scotland Office surely can't muster those numbers.</div>
<br />
Had some BritNat hacker
discovered a way to spam the poll and provide some much-needed evidence for
the UK government's position? Possibly. This would need further
investigation.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then I discovered an
insomniac blogger with sharper eyes than my own, <a href="http://asairfecht.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/be-prepared-for-unionists-to-ask-for.html">A
Sair Fecht</a>. He had spotted that, during the wee small hours, the
Yes vote count had been reset to zero for a couple of minutes. This
makes it look much more likely that the fiddling, if that is what it
was, took place inside the newspaper itself, as database access would be
required to reset the count.</div>
<br />
In truth, I don't recall witnessing such energetic fiddling since last year's Olympics. I mean the Whisky Olympics in Stornoway, of course, not the expensive distraction of similar name in London.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Whenever I suspect a
conspiracy or fraud, I always look first to see who benefits from it. In
this case, the Scotsman avoids the embarrassment of hosting a poll
which contradicts the UK consultation “findings”. That apparent benefit, along with the
resetting of the count, would seem to point squarely at the staff of
the Scotsman as being the most likel;y suspects.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Think about that for a second. A
major national newspaper blatantly faking the results of its own poll
to back up a discredited consultation, which the Scottish Secretary
is selling as some sort of opinion poll. Has the whole
anti-independence movement dropped to a new, and previously unplumbed
depth? Or is it simply time for me to reach for the tin-foil hat? <br />
<br />
You
be the judge.<br />
<br />
Bob Duncan (from a darkened room)</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-56006809312456646482012-03-29T17:27:00.000+01:002012-05-15T19:09:34.395+01:00Local Government Candidates for Western Isles<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>LOCAL
GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS: 3 MAY 2012</b></span></div>
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<div align="CENTER" class="western">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>NOTICE
OF POLL</b></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>ELECTION
OF COUNCILLORS</b></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1. Polling
will take place between the hours of 7am and 10pm on Thursday 3 May
2012 for the election of the number of councillors indicated below
for each of the under-mentioned electoral wards, there remaining in
each case more validly nominated candidates than the number of
councillors to be elected.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2. The name, description (if any) and
address of each candidate remaining validly nominated is as follows:</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.western-isles-snp.org/images/lg-notice-of-poll-landscape.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Click here for the list of candidates</span></a><br />
<br />Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0Outer Hebrides, Isle of Harris, Na H-Eileanan an Iar HS5, UK57.75 -757.733054 -7.039482 57.766946 -6.960518tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-88714715960329865852012-03-27T13:42:00.000+01:002012-05-15T19:09:48.196+01:00How The West Was Won<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XQwhUsP1I0_lUjd_OiUj5yB042fDysSpxTuveoIOxxayVHMguy39Uul3a-GeyQ9Q0aMlRecCW0v3Zqp1sBe8BQUXv4Q5pIJCOmqaRG_rxSB5S8SscAssvIbE-gVh9sVqV572p1MpbeJo/s1600/Emergency+Towing+Vehicle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XQwhUsP1I0_lUjd_OiUj5yB042fDysSpxTuveoIOxxayVHMguy39Uul3a-GeyQ9Q0aMlRecCW0v3Zqp1sBe8BQUXv4Q5pIJCOmqaRG_rxSB5S8SscAssvIbE-gVh9sVqV572p1MpbeJo/s1600/Emergency+Towing+Vehicle.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Emergency Towing vessel which was withdrawn from service by The UK government on cost grounds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last week the Stornoway
Emergency tug was mysteriously withdrawn for the second time in six
months, with no indication as yet from the British Government as to
when and if it might be restored. This has left a huge area of
coastline, with many of the busiest, roughest and most complex seas
in the UK, with no emergency cover whatsoever.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To the casual observer,
this might seem like a serious blow for the beleaguered people of the
Western isles and the North West mainland of Scotland. It would seem
to demonstrate the total indifference of the ConDem administration to
the needs of this part of the UK, underlining the argument for
self-determination. What could be more damning for proponents of the
union as they try to persuade Scottish voters to vote no to
independence?</div>
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Westminster, however,
is nothing if not resourceful. In a few weeks time, just before the
Council elections as it happens, they are planning a major military
exercise in the very waters which have had their emergency cover
removed. Not only will fishing boats and other vessels be
“challenged” by warships and military aircraft, but they will be
treated as “targets” by the war gamers.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And just in case this
does not increase the danger to seafarers and our coastline far
enough, the MoD is planning to jam both the marine GPS signal (vital
to inshore trawlers in particular) and even the emergency Mayday
radio service which instantly pinpoints the position of a vessel in
distress so coastguards can immediately activate a rescue.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
According to an MoD
briefing document, “Denial of GPS services through the jamming of
the GPS signal is an essential part of preparation for military
operations and is a possible risk to both military and civilian
maritime and air users.”</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is not the first
time such war games have been held around the Western Isles and,
during one of last year's exercises, at least one vessel was
grounded on rocks and the entire West coast fleet was put in danger
of similar accidents. At least there was an emergency towing vessel
in place then, which could have stopped a crisis from becoming a
disaster. Not so now.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In a similar vein,
another recent exercise in Lewis simulated an attack on Stornoway
Airport by a dozen military jets. Two of the jets simulated a
strafing attack on the incoming passenger plane, causing the pilot to
take emergency action by aborting the landing. Apparently the
military planners had omitted to warn the airport authorities or the
Air Traffic Controllers that the exercise was going to take place.
This incident was reported to the Civil Aviation Authorities as a
“near miss”.</div>
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The above incident was
brought into sharper focus over recent days, by the announcement by
Lord Fraser of Carmyllie that the MoD had been planning to bomb
Scottish airports in the event of our becoming independent, just in
case they could be used as a staging post by some unnamed future
enemy of England. The above incident certainly lends credence to his
claims.<br />
<br />
All Labour MPs and MSPs, in common with their coalition colleagues, have so far been silent about the Emergency Towing Vehicle withdrawal and it's uncertain future. It would seem that UK Government indifference on this issue runs very deep indeed.<br />
<br />
In stark contrast, SNP MP for the Western Isles, Angus MacNeil has been demanding of London Ministers that they make a statement on the future of the EMV service, but he has yet to receive a response. <br />
<br />
Angus said, "I note that the Treasury can find 70 million pounds to give, what seems, as a pre-election sweetener to Boris, while failing to find 2-3 million pounds to maintain cover for maritime safety in Scotland. Unfortunately, because the coastguards and maritime safety are reserved the UK Government is the only entity that can do anything about this issue."</div>
<br />
At the very least, it
is difficult to see any evidence of the “respect agenda” in the
way the West of Scotland is being treated by Westminster at present.
The benefits of the union are even more elusive, unless you count the
benefit to Westminster of having remote landscapes, bereft of Tory
voters, where they can practice their war games without concern for
the safety of the local population or environment.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Bob Duncan</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0Outer Hebrides, Isle of Harris, Na H-Eileanan an Iar HS5, UK57.75 -757.733054 -7.039482 57.766946 -6.960518tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-47351889261638692272012-03-24T20:43:00.000+00:002012-07-02T18:04:02.194+01:00First Minister's Questions<strong>Editor's note: </strong><br />
<strong>This post was written in late March 2012, following a First Ministers Questions where Johann Lamont brought to the chamber 2 pensioners who had experienced difficulties getting blankets whilst in hospital. This cynical attempt to embarass the covernment backfired completely.</strong><br />
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PRESIDING OFFICER: We
now move to First Minister's Questions. Question number one, Johann
Lamont.</div>
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<br /></div>
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JOHANN LAMONT: Thank
you very much, Presiding Officer. Can I ask the First Minister what
engagements he has planned for the rest of the day?</div>
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<br /></div>
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PRESIDING OFFICER:
First Minister.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
ALEX SALMOND: Welcoming
the announcement of hundreds of new jobs, and generally making
Scotland a much better place to live and work, as per usual.</div>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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JOHANN LAMONT: That's
all very nice, but the increasing number of Scottish hospital toilets
left unflushed are not so nice, particularly those containing wee
joabies. Can the First Minister explain the two-fold increase in
hospital floaters since this SNP Government came to power?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
ALEX SALMOND: Might I
just say to Ms. Lamont, in the kindest possible way, that given the
collection of MSP sitting behind her, the subject of wee joabies may
not be the safest for her to mention. I would add that the subject of
floaters might be best taken up with the management of the hospitals
concerned, rather that being brought to the Scottish Parliament.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
JOHANN LAMONT: As
usual, the First Minister tries to avoid the question put to him. So
I will put it to him again. How does he explain the massive increase
in floater incidents that has been recorded by Glasgow Health Board
over the last few years. And when is he going to finally take action
on this most urgent and important of matters.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
ALEX SALMOND: I would
caution Ms. Lamont, in the kindest possible and most gentle manner,
to ensure that she has her facts right before making these
accusations. After all, she will be aware that her Health
Spokesperson made a statement only last month concerning bears
shitting in the woods, only to be reminded that the last wild bear in
Scotland was killed years ago by a previous Conservative
administration, and that her own party did nothing to protect these
animals at the time of their extinction.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As I pointed out to Ms.
Baillie at the time, several previously extinct species have been
reintroduced by this administration, from the otter to the timber
wolf, but the reintroduction of the bear would require land reform
only possible with the full powers of an independent nation. We are
still waiting for Ms. Baillie's apology for this gaffe.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
JOHANN LAMONT:Yet
again, the first minister avoids answering the question. Well, my
constituent, Mrs. Ephemia MacLumpher, a 98 year old pensioner and
great grandmother from Paisley, would like to hear the First
Minister's answer. She was confronted by one of these floaters when
trying to use a hospital toilet last week. And Effie and her husband,
Jock, are sitting in the visitor's gallery right now.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
What is more, I have
the offending toly right here in my hand, as indisputable proof of
the callous disregard paid by this government to the very real
problem of hospital-based flushing failures.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
ALEX SALMOND: I would
very very gently ask Ms. Lamont to put the offending log away as it is stinking
out the front benches and, frankly, does nothing to advance her
argument. My Health Minister and I would be more than happy to meet
with Mr. and Mrs. MacLumpher, after this session is complete, and as
soon as the opposition leader has washed her hands.<br />
<br />
And finally, can I implore Ms Lamont to keep this sort of shite for her party conferences, and away from The Scottish Parliament which has more weighty matters to discuss.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRQFqBQB0e7UFW_qgd35dPx7kwtR2RBmm3uoYosw0jg3zYA2awfgNs9lPzJqcs60fLxtlWuD38xa2WolSu5QEDiD1HGu-SXYjH_u2-8Mq9cikZtlVmEW3pA1bRPayofCGQU0PfriLoKrb/s1600/johann-lamont-at-holyrood-toly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRQFqBQB0e7UFW_qgd35dPx7kwtR2RBmm3uoYosw0jg3zYA2awfgNs9lPzJqcs60fLxtlWuD38xa2WolSu5QEDiD1HGu-SXYjH_u2-8Mq9cikZtlVmEW3pA1bRPayofCGQU0PfriLoKrb/s640/johann-lamont-at-holyrood-toly.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johann Lamont, "What is more, I have
the offending toly right here in my hand"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>Bob Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17883090021745511828noreply@blogger.com1Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK55.953252 -3.18826755.8821325 -3.3461955000000003 56.0243715 -3.0303385tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958379746062731866.post-55023907388544782072012-03-20T22:19:00.001+00:002012-05-15T19:10:16.514+01:00Cllr. Donald Manford Slates CNeS Leader on RET<span lang="en-GB">The SNP Group at Comhairle nan Eilean is saddened by the position statement on RET issued on Monday 19</span><sup><span lang="en-GB">th</span></sup><span lang="en-GB"> March 2012 in the name of “all Councillors". </span><br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One of the things that makes people tire of the current way things are done in the Comhairle is the lack of willingness to accept the existence of different views that you would expect to be evident in any democratic body.<br />
<br />
So when a highly politicised statement goes out during the Purdah pre-election period, supposedly in the name of "all Councillors", based on no more discussion than an email round Councillors on a Friday afternoon with a warning that if you don’t disagree with the wording on a pre-prepared draft text by the Monday lunchtime, the Comhairle will presume to speak for everyone, we know something is wrong.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<span lang="en-GB">The statement quotes Comhairle decisions of 15</span><sup><span lang="en-GB">th</span></sup><span lang="en-GB"> February 2012, but fails to make any reference at all to the significant events which have taken place since.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The SNP Group supports RET - it was an SNP Government that brought in RET - and we have supported Alasdair Allan MSP in his efforts to secure recent concessions such as the £2.5 million transitional relief for hauliers in the first year alone, reduced ferry fares for carriers of live shellfish <span lang="en-GB">(less than a quarter of the pre RET cost) and agriculture transport</span>, and the extension of RET to vans up to 6 metres. </div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB">What is much worse is the complete failure of the Councillors who backed the RET statement to comment on reports that George Lyon MEP has called on the European Commission to investigate the legality of the Road Equivalent Tariff. This endangers the entire project not just commercial vehicles but passengers and private vehicles too.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB">The obvious question which needs to be answered urgently is as follows. Should the commission decide to investigate this complaint from an MEP representing this community, will the RET concession need to be suspended pending the outcome? This would increase the cost of a shellfish lorry from approx £450 on the longest routes to the pre RET £1400.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB">Instead of calling for the LibDem MEP to withdraw his threats and supporting RET, the Councillors concerned are tacitly supporting the investigation calls by remaining silent.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB">We call on the Councillors concerned to support the SNP Group in demanding the Liberal Democrats remove their threats against Road Equivalent Tariff, or give solid explanations for their reasons not to. </span> </div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB">It also has to be said that had the Comhairle supported the SNP Group in working with the government RET could also now be operating on the Sounds of Harris and Barra. It would have cost less than the sum the Comhairle is using to fight a legal action to close schools.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span lang="en-GB">Cllr Donald Manford</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
SNP Group Leader</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar</div>Heb Talk Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095927094669150912noreply@blogger.com0