Woman of Substance Can Deliver for Scotland

Last September, the people of Scotland made their collective choice in the independence referendum. Although 45% of those eligible voted Yes for Scotland to be an independent nation, 55% voted No. That, it seemed to me at the time, was that. Scotland had a chance to become independent but the majority of its people didn’t want it.

Last Thursday, the UK General Election produced an astonishing result in Scotland. At the last UK General Election in 2010, the Scottish National Party (SNP) took 6 seats as the Labour Party was kicked out of office, effectively bringing to an end the New Labour years of firstly Tony Blair then Gordon Brown. It seemed to me that Brown, then Prime Minister, suspected his party wouldn’t be elected with a majority and gambled on Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats joining him to form a coalition government. Clegg did form a coalition government – but with David Cameron’s Conservative Party – a party despised in Scotland, a legacy of Margaret Thatcher’s regime and its intention on destroying a working class nation.

Two days ago, the SNP took 56 seats in Scotland in the UK General Election. As there are only 59 UK Parliament seats in Scotland, this was a phenomena not witnessed before. The Labour Party were routed north of the border. For decades, Scotland has been a Labour stronghold, particularly the central belt where it was widely believed that the way to rid the UK of a Conservative government was to vote Labour. Now, this view has changed – and in dramatic circumstances.

It has always been the case that, no matter who the people of Scotland voted for, they would end up with a government the people of England chose. During the Thatcher regime most of Scotland voted for Labour, hoping leaders Michael Foot then Neil Kinnock would save them from Thatcher’s anti-Scotland policies. It didn’t happen. The Labour Party in Scotland were powerless to prevent the affluent south east of England electing Conservative governments with their policies aimed at the free-market and ignoring the poor.

Gradually, the people of Scotland have realised this. Scotland is a different country to England. Socialism still means something here. Thatcherism stoked the feelings of fury felt by Scots and a determination they would no longer be treated like second class citizens. As New Labour moved from a left wing, socialist movement into a pale imitation of the Conservative Party, Scots realised the SNP could be their saviour. The idea of Scotland going it alone and becoming independent has been touted as romantic idealism but, gradually, this idea has gained credibility. The prospect of Scotland ridding itself of a Conservative government for ever is very much an appealing one.

In 1999, Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair recognised Scotland was different and a Scottish Parliament was set up with some – although far from all – powers devolved to Scotland. If New Labour thought this would appease the Scots they were to be proved wrong in the decade and a half that followed. While the Scottish Parliament has proven to be a success, it’s the SNP government north of the border that has driven real change – and for the betterment of the Scottish people.

Scots now realise that their country should be governed by its people. However, it’s reasonable to say that while many admired the SNP, some were unsure about independence - and some disliked the first SNP First Minister Alex Salmond.

Salmond is a gifted orator but there was a Marmite effect about him – people either loved him or hated him. Salmond drove the independence referendum and no sooner had the SNP formed a majority government in 2011 than the referendum was in its plans for governance. Some thought the referendum was pushed too soon. Perhaps it might have been better to let the nation see what a SNP government could do for them first before deciding on whether our country should become independent.  Nonetheless, the independence referendum went ahead in September 2014 – and while it was a close run thing the result was a ‘No’ vote. That, then, was surely that for independence for Scotland? Not quite.

Salmond stood down as First Minister and Leader of the SNP. His place was taken by his deputy Nicola Sturgeon. And what an impact she has had on not only Scotland but the rest of the UK.

Sturgeon is as equally gifted a politician and orator as her predecessor. And she is tough, a no-nonsense leader who will do things her way and for the good of her country. She has been mighty impressive since she took over last September and outshone and out-manoeuvred the likes of Labour’s Ed Miliband and Jim Murphy in the build-up to the general election. She spoke from the heart and Scotland knew she understood the needs of the nation. The Labour Party was hopelessly out of touch with the people of Scotland; Sturgeon recognised this and appealed to Labour’s core supporters to support a party that understood them and fought for their rights – the SNP.

While Alex Salmond spoke passionately, he could, as we say in Scotland, start a fight in an empty room. Nicola Sturgeon respects others while getting her forthright views across. As well as knowing what to say, she knows what not to say – and her views, passion and determination to fight for the working class people have resonated with the people of Scotland – and beyond.

Scotland is now a changed country. Last September, its people stepped back from choosing independence, some influenced by the scare tactics of the unionist parties with Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown making the now infamous ‘vow’, promising there would be more powers for Scotland if the people rejected independence. The day after the result of the referendum, Cameron stood outside Number Ten Downing Street and spoke about more powers for England. Scotland had been metaphorically booted in the balls by a Tory Prime Minister – not for the first time.

This week, Scots have at last seen through the unionist claptrap. They want the SNP to make decisions that will affect their lives. However, as is usual, they are stuck with a government that England has voted for. David Cameron, though, will ignore the views of Scotland at his peril. He spent last summer telling Scots how they would be ‘better together’, how better they would be as part of the UK. If he does as Margaret Thatcher did before him and ignores the Scots, it could be calamitous for him and his party. The thorny issue of membership of the European Union will soon be the next issue he has to deal with. And the decision Cameron has to make is whether to appease the views of many Conservative backbench MPs. If the UK leaves the European Union it will be because middle England wants us to. And the wishes of the Scottish people will be ignored. More powers for Scotland? The Scots language famously has two positive words coming together to form a negative phrase – ‘aye, right’.

The European Union referendum could have far-reaching implications for Scotland and the rest of the UK. Scotland’s First Minister has already shown she is a formidable opponent and will fight for what is best for Scotland. The Scottish people have backed Sturgeon and have elected an army of 56 MPs to make sure the fight is won.

As this week has proved, no one would back against Nicola Sturgeon or the SNP. A woman of substance, a party of substance. Independence for Scotland is back on the agenda. The message to Prime Minister Cameron and his Conservative government is – you’d better believe it.

Trident and the Tories - Scotland Says No Thanks

The British Prime Minister has said the UK would be "foolish" to abandon Trident in the face of the potential threat of nuclear attack from North Korea and Iran. David Cameron said the country still needed the "ultimate weapon of defence".

Mr Cameron is committed to maintaining a round-the-clock submarine-based nuclear missile system of the kind Britain has had since the late 1960s and also stressed his commitment to Trident, which is based on the Clyde, during a visit to the west of Scotland.

"The world we live in is very uncertain, very dangerous: there are nuclear states and one cannot be sure of how they will develop," he told workers at a defence contractor in Glasgow.

"We cannot be sure on issues of nuclear proliferation, and to me having that nuclear deterrent is quite simply the best insurance policy that you can have, that you will never be subject to nuclear blackmail."

From the BBC News website.

Nuclear weapons have no legitimate purpose. Civilian casualties would be unavoidable. They are genocidal and completely immoral. When confronted with any of today's real security threats nuclear weapons are irrelevant: they cannot address the actual threats the government has identified – terrorism, cyber warfare and climate change.

Not only do nuclear weapons kill indiscriminately but the radioactive fallout from their detonation means that their effects know no geographical boundaries. Immediate survivors in the vicinity of any nuclear exchange face devastating long-term ill effects or death. Recent research shows that even a so-called ‘small exchange’ of 50 nuclear weapons could cause the largest climate change in recorded human history and potentially could kill more people than were killed in the whole of the Second World War.

The annual cost of Trident is estimated at over £1 billion per year to the British taxpayer. In a country that lurches ever more towards poverty and social depravation, how many new schools and hospitals could that money build? The British Government - led by the Tories and LibDems - are more intent on cutting benefits to those living on the poverty line than saving real money by banishing these weapons of mass destruction.

David Cameron says Trident is a deterrent to any country wishing to launch a nuclear attack on Britain. This hasn't stopped North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un threatening to strike the west coast of America - and the USA has more of a 'nuclear deterrent' than anyone. Cameron says having Trident at Faslane in the west of Scotland makes Scotland a safer place. Oh aye, so it does. North Korea or Iran will look at the UK and think 'well, we won't bother striking Scotland - there's no point in targeting where they keep their nuclear arsenal...'

In my view, having nuclear weapons is just wrong. It didn't act as much of a deterrent to Al Qaeda when they bombed the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in 2001. If, as Cameron says, it's vital to have Trident missiles why doesn't he move them south of the border - to England? The answer that screams back at me is, as with the hated Poll Tax more than two decades ago and the destroying of the coal, shipbuilding and steel industries in Scotland by the despised Tory PM of the time, Margaret Thatcher, Scotland does not matter to the Conservatives. Very few people in Scotland vote for them - there are more pandas at Edinburgh Zoo than Tory MPs north of the border.

September 2014 will soon be with us. It will soon be time to banish the Tories from Scotland for good. Foolish to abandon Trident? The Tories abandoned Scotland years ago.

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Damaging Scotland's Economy

David Cameron has indicated that he intends to seize the initiative over a referendum on Scottish independence. He told Andrew Marr, in a BBC interview, that "in the coming days" the UK government will set out the legal position concerning a vote on Scotland's constitutional position.

The prime minister said uncertainty was damaging Scotland's economy.

From the BBC News Website

So Dave has decided to 'seize the initiative', eh? Well, he wouldn't be the first Tory Prime Minister to treat Scotland as an irritant that needs to be dealt with. Back in the 1980s/90s, the despised Margaret Thatcher 'seized the initiative' when she shut down traditional Scots industries such as coal mining, steel and shipbuilding and, in doing so, tried to destroy so many communities. She may have destroyed the working traditions of thousands but she could not do the same to the spirit of the Scottish people.

Thatcher also used Scotland as a guinea pig for the poll tax. Thousands of Scots refused to pay this most unfair method of local government taxation but this didn't stop her then trying it throughout the rest of the United Kingdom - the ensuing riots meant this was one of her idiotic schemes that was doomed to failure.

Nowadays, Scotland is a very different place. It has a devolved parliament run by the Scottish National Party which has achieved so much in a short space of time to make Scotland a better place to live for hundreds of thousands of people. The Tories - and the Labour Party to a certain extent - are running scared. David Cameron knows the people of Scotland are seriously considering independence rather than see him and his clueless class-obsessed party damage Scotland the way Thatcher did decades ago.

'Uncertainty damaging Scotland's economy?' Any damage to Scotland's economy will come from London and a Prime Minister and coalition government who care not a jot about the Scots or their country. We certainly don't need a lecture from an old Etonian who doesn't speak for our nation - and a man who said last week that dealing with the shadow chancellor Ed Balls was like dealing with someone who has autism.

Stick to what you know best, Dave. Which, going by the last few months, certainly isn't running the country.

David Cameron's Return Makes a Difference

The prime minister says police admit they got their riot tactics wrong, as he announces a raft of measures to help homeowners and businesses....

Standing Up for Scotland

Scottish ministers and officials have turned down a request to attend a US Senate hearing next week over the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and the Scottish Prison Service's medical chief Dr Andrew Fraser were invited. Senators also invited Westminster former justice secretary Jack Straw.

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was jailed for life for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 which killed 270 people, most of them Americans. He was released by the Scottish government in August 2009 and allowed to return to Libya on compassionate grounds, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. The Scottish government maintains that the release was solely because of Megrahi's terminal illness and had nothing to do with a prisoner transfer agreement between the UK government and Libya.

From the BBC News Website

It's almost a year since Mr al-Megrahi was released from Greenock Prison. Yet still the controversy over his release rages - mainly from our cousins across the pond. The recent explosion from the BP oil rig off the east coast of the USA has caused environmental disaster for parts of the country - and has turned into a political football. Some US senators suspect that BP lobbied for Megrahi's release last year to aid its chances of getting oil deals with Libya. It is, therefore, open season on BP in the States and some US politicians see any link, no matter how tenuous, between Scotland's decision to release Mr al-Megrahi and the now hated BP as a means for political gain - a chance to make a name for themselves.

Even the Prime Minister of this country - David Cameron - declared on his visit to his chum President Obama - that releasing Mr al-Megrahi  was 'completely wrong'. Then again, Cameron is leader of the Conservative Party and is maintaining a party tradition which began under Margaret Thatcher of sticking the boot into the Scots at every opportunity.

The Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has rightly turned down the 'invitation' to go to Washington to explain the actions of the Scottish government. MacAskill released al-Megrahi on the basis the Libyan is terminally ill. There is an argument for suggesting al-Megrahi was the victim of a miscarriage of justice and was wrongly convicted in the first place but that's another debate. As it did this time last year, Scotland has stood up to the USA. It was a decision devolved to the Scottish government. Whether they agree with it or not, US senators and David Tory Boy Cameron should respect that decision instead of jumping on whatever political bandwagon happens to be passing this week.

Amidst the growing anti-British - and perhaps anti-Scots mood - in the US it's worth remembering there are British soldiers dying in Afghanistan and Iraq in the so-called fight against terrorism. And it's perhaps also worth recalling how many US dollars found their way to the fighting fund of the IRA in the 1970s and 80s.

The so-called special relationship between the USA and UK is showing signs of strain. David Cameron could alleviate this by giving those 'Scots upstarts' what we really want - independence. Then he could lap dance for the President until his heart is content...

The (not so great) Election Debate

Tonight there will be a television first for the UK. The three leaders of the main political parties in the UK will take part in a debate, live on television, answering questions in front of an invited audience. This practice is commonplace in other countries such as the United States (so, inevitably, it had to happen here eventually) This will be the first of three such televised debates; tonight it's being shown on ITV (so expect plenty of advertisements and a sponsor's message) with the other two being shown in the coming weeks on Sky Television and the BBC.

The theme of tonight's debate is 'domestic issues'. As the media works itself into a frenzy, many Scots will smile wryly at tonight's debate. Domestic issues include health, education and policing. These three examples are now devolved to the Scottish Government - currently led by the Scottish National Party. So can the nation expect to see SNP leader Alex Salmond take the floor with messrs Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg? Not a chance...

It's another example of how Scotland is treated with disdain by Westminster. Yes, it may be interesting to hear the Prime Minister's views on health and how he plans to improve falling education standards. But it doesn't matter one iota to people living in Scotland because Pa Broon has no say in the matter north of the border.

I've little doubt tonight's programme will be little more than a charade. So much so I'm surprised Lionel Blair isn't taking part (he used to present Give Us A Clue on television in the 1980s, younger readers) Compo, Foggy and Clegg will read from a prepared script and will do what politicians do best - avoid giving a straight answer. Count how many times the phrase 'we've made our position absolutely clear' and 'the fact of the matter is' will be heard tonight.

Meanwhile, those who really care about Scotland will be conspicuous by their absence. The elected Scots government (not invited) And the people of Scotland (not considered)

Here's to independence - I can't wait...

Political Spin

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Tory leader David Cameron have apologised after claims they used an Armistice Day service as a photo opportunity. Officials at Westminster Abbey raised concerns that the leaders had failed to notify senior staff they were to be pictured in its Field of Remembrance.

Mr Cameron's photographer pictured him inspecting tributes on crosses. Mr Brown was also filmed there. Mr Cameron said: "It shouldn't have happened... I want to make that clear."

From the BBC News Website

Doesn't this just sum up our politicians today? Spin, spin and more spin. It wasn't enough for Messrs. Brown and Cameron to pay their respects in a dignified, unobtrusive manner. They just had to ensure someone was there to record them doing so.

'New' Labour has been spinning like a Catherine Wheel for more than fifteen years now. When Tony Blair was Prime Minister he was the perfect front for Labour lies and conning the British public into thinking the country was great again. Nice Tony, smiling Tony, caring Tony - how could anyone disagree with him? Until the weapons of mass destruction fiasco and losing soldiers lives unnecessarily in Iraq and Afghanistan showed his true colours...

The Tory Party are no better. David Cameron comes across as a smug, know-it-all politician who is desperate to show he's the new, improved Tony Blair. The prospect of the Conservatives getting back into power again is a truly frightening one, particularly for Scotland. Few Scots will ever forget how Margaret Thatcher - who was shaking the hand of Gordon Brown outside Number Ten Downing Street the other day - tried and damn near succeeded in destroying our country. Something Cameron should think about next time he thinks it's a smart move to head for Glasgow to campaign for his party in a by-election (will he be in Glasgow for the general election a few months from now? Probably not...)

What a pity Jim Hacker isn't still around. The fictional MP and Prime Minister from the BBC comedy Yes Prime Minister, along with his civil servant Sir Humphrey Appleby, probably knew more about politics than Brown and Cameron put together...