Independence White Paper

I think I will read it before commenting

In the meantime, happy St Andrew's Day and a wee word from the doyen of Tory bloggers Iain Dale!

Scottish Parties Are Blind to the Obvious
Iain Dale, 30 Nov, 2009

Blinkered. That's the only way to describe the idiotic decision by the three main parties to oppose a referendum on Scottish independence, which the SNP promised in their manifesto and are delivering on today, when they issue a white paper. If there's one way to whip up separationist tendencies Tavish Scott, Iain Gray and Annabelle Goldie appear to have found it.

The SNP have a mandate for the referendum. Perhaps I am missing something, and no doubt you will tell me if I am, but the SNP would lose a referendum of it were taken within the next year, so what have the three main parties got to lose by allowing the SNP to press ahead? If the vote is lost it would kill the SNP's electoral fortunes for a decade or more.

The simplest path when it comes to a vote in the Scottish Parliament is for the other parties to abstain. But it looks as if they will continue to act like ostriches and use the referendum as a stick to beat the SNP with. Alex Salmond may have had a bad year, but he is not to be underestimated. As a political tactician he is in a different league to his opponents, and they would do well to remember that."

Read more...

Pre-Revolutionary Scotland 2009

Bring Out The Bikes!

Just been reading some interesting stuff on Monatgue Burton’s fine blog The Universality of Cheese .

Specifically, he has summarised well recent revelations that in 1975 the UK Civil Service openly conspired to downplay the real value of Scottish oil, tried to delay a referendum on devolution ( despite it being the only reason labour in Scotland was not wiped out in the October 1974 General election) and who – yes neutral good a stiff upper lipped civil servants - even planned funding Orkney and Shetland separatist movements to undermine Scotland’s strategic case

Great reading, as was finding our precisely who was behind this and where they are now

But did anyone that knows anything about the British State, the British establishment and its pre and post-independence strategies in close to half the countries of the globe think any different?

That it would play fair, that the Civil Service, was honourable, remotely neutral ?

What do people think the Holyrood building project was really about for starters?. Are we really that inept?

Back to 1975. To me the most interesting question is this:

If this is what the Civil Service were up to in 1975, when objectively the threat of independence was pretty remote, what are they up to now?

And I don’t just mean the London based civil service, but the one in Edinburgh, the one that advises Alex an co on just about everything, advice nine time out of ten SNP ministers implement without hesitation.

Indeed - and I have direct and very recent experience of this- slavishy backing Civil Servants and in some cases openly conspiring against those trying to help them, trying to point out the obvious traps being set for them

From Tartan Day to housing policy. From Creative Scotland to the National Conversation. In your own office Alex....open you eyes, pal

Waken up - read what the British state did in Ireland, pre and post independence. Read what they did here in 1975

“But they aint doing it here and now" ? - not these nice pleasant Edinburgh-Oxbridge London appointed types . Not that nice man who bought me a Saltire tie for Christmas and gave Moira these lovely flowers......oh no not him, them...They are the nice unionists - the ones that advise us professionally with no hidden agenda…., and then go home to their New Town terraces to read Sir Wally Scott and listen to Puccini.

Bring out these bikes and Mick Collins' boys I say - Leave Nicola and co to pose around on Newsnight debating with Lord Foulkes.... out of harms way - our way,

Poor people gonna rise up and take what's theirs

Read more...