The Road to London

 


Sic a parcel, aye rogues you are and stubbornly remain

neo Englander, new Labour, just about accepted by the middle

as long as principles deeply held are dropped as readily as R's.



Denying the wealth of nations, well your very own at least

you propagate your stories of dependence and ineptitude

mouthing too wee and too poor and too stupid with equal appetite.



Your Southerly migrations of body and mind are powered by gravespinning

the genesis of your parliamentary life soon followed by an exodus

both Scotland and socialism becoming far and fearful places.



Then your bitter leavings insinuate onto Holyrood front benches

those badly-tempered yarddogs growling on their long London leash

cynically pulling the chain on neebours, lest their own be Yanked.



Your chromatic careers spin red tie to blue then red hide to green

all spent hacking benefits from those on colder benches than your own

no longer happy to be Tamson's bairns, you become our uncle Tams.



Bob Duncan

The Lie at the Heart of the No Campaign

No campaign Monger-in-Chief, Alistair Darling

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.

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.

1. The national hypothesis

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”.

The 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.
Are we to leave the United Kingdom in 2014 then join the United Federation of Planets instead?

They're jamming all channels

The House Next Door

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.

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.

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.

Imagine the Benefits of an Independent Scotland

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.

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.

Iran and the reputation of the BBC

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.

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.

The Last Chance for the Unionist Case?

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.

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.

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.

So, What the Hell is Wrong with Devolution.

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.

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.

Independence (Devo Ultra)

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.

Let our Independent Nation be an Example to All

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.

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.

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.

Scottish Independence: The Dark Side

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.

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.