I'm rather touched that Peter A Bell keeps posting such flattering photos of me on his blog, but just on a point of clarification, he's wholly wrong to suggest that I've "changed my tune" on Scotland declaring UDI - something which I basically think is a bad idea, although I've always stressed I wouldn't totally rule it out in extreme circumstances where absolutely every other possible remedy has been completely and genuinely exhausted. Peter is implying that my support for the principle of a consultative referendum is tantamount to support for UDI, but of course it isn't - the point of a consultative referendum would be to reverse the 2014 result, establish a mandate for independence, and use that as leverage to bring the UK government to the negotiating table. Ideally, the negotiation would be over an independence settlement, but less ideally it could result in a further agreed referendum to put the mandate beyond dispute.
As I understand it, Peter's own position is to passionately advocate for UDI while pretending to oppose it vociferously. The wheeze is to rebrand UDI as "dissolving the union", and to make out that if you call it that, it somehow becomes an entirely different concept. But of course any attempt to dissolve the union without Westminster's agreement is by definition a unilateral declaration of independence. I remain baffled as to what the point of all the semantic game-playing is.
Declarations of independence are by their very nature unilateral.
ReplyDeleteUDI is a meaningless and pejorative acronym, the U is superfluous.
Scotland needs no agreement from Westminster to declare its independence.
All Scotland need do is demonstrate to the international community of nations that independence is the will of the majority in Scotland.
"Declarations of independence are by their very nature unilateral."
DeleteOf the many countries that have become independent from London, how many declared UDI? Off the top of my head, I can think of only two: the USA and Rhodesia. In the case of Rhodesia, it was reversed and Britain recolonised the country for a few months before granting legal independence on an agreed basis.
Waves.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Declaration_of_Independence
And in the fight that followed, England ran away like the big chickenshit cowardly country it is (hence no section 30).
What worked in Ireland in 1919 hadn't worked in 1916, the difference being in popular support. Ultimately that is the basis for any move to independence, not in the deployment of weaponry. The real struggle is for "hearts and minds", and always has been. When the time for an idea has come, it is unstoppable. We are on the cusp of that now.
DeleteAbsolutely agreed.
DeleteThe 'no Section 30' approach is only realistic if Scots still don't actually support independence and by a decent margin. It's still anti-democratic as hell (if Holyrood has backed a vote), but London at least could point at polls and say 'But Scots don't support indy!'.
That all collapses in the face of majority support for Yes which will, in a good part, be generated by refusal of a Section 30.
The UK is now in a downward spiral where the increasingly desperate 'blocking' actions of a cowardly, chickenshite, pathetically feeble England, only serve to accelerate the break up of the UK.
"All Scotland need do is demonstrate to the international community of nations that independence is the will of the majority in Scotland."
ReplyDeleteAnd at that point, its game over for the union.
Which is why the tories are illegitimately doing all they can to block democracy and deny us our right to self determination.
Peter's article appears to explicitly endorse UDI, but I do recall a time previously when you had the impression Peter and Craig Murray wanted UDI and Peter got quite cross at the suggestion.
ReplyDeleteIt reads like he's changed his mind since then, but his point previously was, as you say, semantics.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnd let's keep on plugging what the Scottish Gov is doing for us that is different from england like free university education.
DeleteEngland doesn't live in splendid isolation, and neither do we.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/09/sinn-fein-to-try-to-form-ruling-coalition-after-irish-election-success
Sinn Féin to try to form ruling coalition after Irish election success
The world is mocking England right now (e.g. Tusk on live TV, cartoons & articles in newspapers) over its pathetic cowardice at being too scared of life without Scotland.
The jokes will get funnier now, as England needs to ask Sinn Fein for a trade deal. Oh the irony.
If England had the courage to actually stand on its own two feet (and so respect border polls in Scotland and Ireland), life would be much simpler for it. However, it's own pathetic weak, feebleness / insecurity means it faces trouble ahead, with eventual break-up anyway.
..And continued mocking from much braver countries globally, including tiny little Scotland sized ones.
Section 30 order - BLOCKED by UKGov
ReplyDeleteConsultative Referendum - BLOCKED by UK Courts.
What then? Worth saying again - "What then?"
If as likely the polls show continuing support for independence then the only route is UDI.
UDI is very much on the table, in fact it never left the table. It was ignored, pushed to one side to collect dust.
That has to change. It should be opened up discussion. A plan for implementation should be produced. It should be broadcast around the world. International support should be gathered.
When Yugoslavia descended into crisis both the US and UK governments warned Slovenia and Croatia not to declare UDI they would not be recognised and crippling sanctions would be imposed. Despite all these threats a few days later both Slovenia and Croatia declared UDI.
Not being open and honest about the growing prospect of UDI is being dishonest to Scotland.
The answer to "what then?" is a plebiscite election followed by negotiated independence.
DeleteWooahh! UDI is only worth considering if you have a big majority of people in favour - 60-65% IMO. We are nowehere near that figure, so other approaches have to be taken. For now, at least!
DeleteBollox to that sort of thinking that Scotland has to wait until some arbitrary figure in future polling before Scots can discuss UDI.
DeletePreparation, preparation and preparation.
UDI should be discussed now, proposals formulated, international consultation saught and broad agreement reached.
Let's make one thing clear, UDI is not a stick to beat the unionists into granting IndyRef2. It is the final.act in ending Westminster rule.
When the UK 'Supreme' Court rules that indyref2 is illegal, which, of course, it will, at least then we come to the nub i.e. supplication to the only possible arbiter in the matter, the UN and its judiciary the ICJ.
DeleteSupplication to that body can only be taken when it has been demonstrated that all 'local remedies' have been exhausted.
The UK 'Supreme' Court will refuse to refer an appeal to the ICJ.
So it will be up to us to make the case in the UN. It needs to be a people group or person, political parties cannot do it.
You and I have been here before Holebender.
The other route is epitomized by Kosovo, which declared UDI without even a referendum. Serbia took them to the ICJ expecting to win but lost. Kosovo's UDI being ruled lawful. Kosovo is now on the pending list for EU membership and already de facto members of various EU institutions like the ECB.
So the UK, having learned from the Kosovo case, will not take a UDU (Unilateral Dissolution of Union), a much stronger case for independence, to the UN/ICJ.
So unless we bring the case to the UN ourselves, probably the best option, we will be reliant purely on recognition by other countries, especially in the EU if we want to accede to it.
For sure, it means England = lazy ersed subsidy junkie nation freeloading off Scotland's taxes and too scared to stand on its own two feet, hence no Section 30.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/MalcolmChishol1/status/1226571962778050560
Malcolm Chisholm
@MalcolmChishol1
It’s several years since I studied the Block Grant Adjustment but if most of extra money raised in Scotland from higher rate taxpayers is offset by reductions in Block Grant,as Gordon Brewer said
@BBCScotPolitics
today,then there’s something far wrong with Block Grant Adjustment.
Politics is about power.
ReplyDeletePower holders almost never give it up willingly.(Rare exceptions Richard Cromwell & Mikhail Gorbachev).
The whole history of the Scottish indy movement has been based on the assumption that the 1707 union was voluntary and could therefore be ended by parliamentary democratic means. The biggest difference with Johnson is not that he is an overtly, incoherent, hypocritical, lying arse but that he is quietly pushing the "voluntary" nature of the union aside.
Like it or not indy is a revolutionary aspiration - but with a movement that never 'signed up' for the implications of that!
Broadly we either have to wait for an equivalent of Cromwell or Gorbachev in Downing St (odds heavily against), or train ourselves to see that 50% + 1, or even 60% in polls no longer has any magic in it. That doesn't mean that working for more support is pointless by the way.
The way to do that is to work through every democratic possibility and draw the conclusions out when the lardy narcissist says, no.
Either the SNP leadership has lost direction or that's what they're doing. They probably don't know which themselves.
We are in critical times. Indy is an historical process. History is messy. What's needed is a strategy - there ain't no such thing as a 'blueprint' !
Scot goes Pop. Google agreements between Scotland and England before signing the Treaty of the Union of the Parliaments in 1707. These apply to the sovereignty of the Scottish people, and the sovereignty of the English Parliament.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteScottish politics at the moment is infested by figures furiously advocating all sorts of remedies for problems they don't understand and they're miffed because not enough people in positions of power are paying attention to them so they infect their own dialogue with bitterness about the people they want to listen to them, and they're all online Bloggers insisting everything's wrong but whatever they say, and if the SNP don't dae sumthin then it's because Nicola Sturgeon's too this or too that, and that's when we see the jealous bitterness pour out of them
Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP have got the job, it's up to them, not some shower of online bitter buggers moaning because they don't like her or because they're male chauvinists and think they're more entitled to louder voices and they're smarter as well
We all know who they are and we all know their agenda, and folks I promise you, their agenda has nothing to do with Independence, what they want is for people to send them money so they can continue to moan about something they can do nothing about anyway
These people are not part of the solution, they're part of the problem, and the more you listen to them the more they'll ask you for money so they can keep on keep on moaning
I remain baffled as to what the point of Peter Bell is these days. A man without a plan, apparently consumed by bitterness, attacking everyone who is anyone in the independence movement.
ReplyDeleteI am at the table. I have never left the table. Yet I have been pushed to one side.
DeleteEverything is on the table until it is dispatched. My fellow-countrymen and -women require an appetite stimulant.
I am a table.
DeleteMy neighbour has 7 different types of spoon in her kitchen including a spoonette. But she is not a spoon. I never said that.
But does she have spoon long enough to sup wi the NeoNasties?
DeleteI'm enjoying this morning by looking at the expressions on the faces of N. Irish unionists.
ReplyDeleteA picture shall we say.
You will be claiming to be a God next if you can see a million faces.
DeleteThe BBC is showing different examples. Arlene Foster etc.
DeleteI would feel some sympathy if they hadn't tried to use brexit to harden the border in Ireland against the will of the N. Irish people, who voted in a landslide for remain.
DeleteThe English backstop betrayal and the Sinn Fein win is their comeuppance.
Maybe Mrs Foster was thinking about her father who was murdered in front of her by Sinn Fein PIRA. Good memory for a child! And here is you Skier bumming up Sinn Fein.
ReplyDeleteThe DUP are the political wing of the UDA British terrorist group.
Deletehttps://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2017/dup-chief-arlene-foster-met-uda-boss-days-after-loyalist-murder-in-bangor-35776873.html
My father was not murdered.
DeleteThe English partitioned Northern Ireland and promoted sectarianist bitterness in order to hold it, the English started it to sew division, it's what they've always done throughout the world
ReplyDeleteThere were killings on the Island of Ireland attributed to either side but were carried out by the English to keep the pot boiling, the Irish have learned that lesson now and are beginning to join together to rid themselves of the English infestation who caused the problems
And damn good luck to them, take back control Ireland
What do you think about holding a consultative referendum as part of the 2021 Scottish elections. It won't be boycotted, though some people might refused to answer it. I like it because it saves expense (and thus criticism), and the turnout will be heightened because everyone is going to the polls anyway. It would be like an "extra question" at the same time one is carrying out a normal democratic process.
ReplyDeleteThe Holyrood elections happening on the same day as the indy poll might also blunt London’s Shock and Awe a bit.
DeleteAnother possibility opening up is holding the referendum on the same day as the Irish border poll. London would then have to split its Shock and Awe between two fronts. Then we could dare Johnson to respect the result of Ireland's referendum but not ours.
If the redoubtable Arlene had any sense of history beyond being trapped by it (as you obviously are), she could do worse than copy the example of South Africa's former leader F.W. de Klerk, and in her case reach a rapport with the Irish Republic while she can still extract strategic concessions from it.
ReplyDeleteBecause Irish reunification is going to happen anyway, it's just a question of how and when. Better to be ahead of the curve than to crash right off it.
On a scale of 0-10, where 0 = no measurable effect and 10 = earth shattering in terms of Scotland's political / constitutional future, we have the following:
ReplyDelete0 - Derekmackaygate
7 - Sinn Fein win Irish election
It could turn out to be an 8-9 yet of course for the Sinn Fein win, but that's not clear right now.
Certainly, the red saltire will be coming off the union flag very soon it would appear.
What we really need is to hammer home the fact that the Irish are entitled to a vote every seven years. So why not the Scots?
DeleteTime for some creative posters, stickers and other paraphernalia with references to "time zones", "time warps" etc.
mr bell would not have anything to say if he didnt have "semantic game-playing".
ReplyDeleteHo ho ho.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.rte.ie/news/election-2020/2020/0210/1114378-ireland-election-uk/
UK looks forward to working together with Ireland
The UK's close relationship with Ireland would continue regardless of the outcome of the election which has seen Sinn Féin emerge as the most popular party in the country, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
"We are of course following the results of the Irish election carefully," the spokesman said.
"The UK and Ireland are close neighbours and friends and we look forward to continuing to work together."
James Kelly: "But of course any attempt to dissolve the union without Westminster's agreement is by definition a unilateral declaration of independence."
ReplyDeleteThe difference, James, is 'UDI' is about a part of a nation seceding from the whole, and that upon that secession the nation state continues to exist sans the seceded territory. That is demonstrably not the case here.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain is a legal and political entity formed by the Union of two and only two countries – the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England (incorporating Wales). It was created by a bilateral internationally recognised treaty. If in any doubt that it was the UK of GB that was formed, please read the Treaty (Acts) of Union, where references to the creation of the UK are abundant.
It is the case that upon dissolution of the Treaty of Union, its associated enabling acts of parliaments, and any subsequent CONTINGENT intra-state treaties and agreements DERIVED THEREFROM, the United Kingdom of Great Britain will cease to be.
As you might expect, two and only two successor states will emerge from its discarded husk – the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England (incorporating Wales). There can be no continuing state of an extinguished voluntary union of two nations. It is on its face a daft proposition.
Consider the tautology: When the Union is dissolved, the Union ceases to be.
Each will inherit the rights and responsibilities of any inter-state treaties entered into collectively on their behalf by the (by then) defunct United Kingdom.
Each successor state will be heir to their share of the accrued assets of the United Kingdom, and responsible for their share of the liabilities incurred by the United Kingdom during the tenure of their union.
There will be no UDI because there can be no UDI. 'Dissolve-the-union' and UDI are not synonymous. Scotland's constitutional position is not that of any People or nascent state that separated from the UK. Scotland's constitutional position is sui generis. Scotland will not LEAVE THE UK because Scotland is the co-creator of the UK. Scotland can only dissolve its treaty with England thereby extinguishing the UK. This is a divorce between two parties. The marriage cannot exist once the marriage contract is terminated.
The current UK was created by the Anglo-Irish Treaty of about 1926. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of about 1926 was based on revising the treaty of union of 1800. I think the 1707 thing is about as relevant as documents about the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and my word there is a lot of obsessive nonsense about it on social media.
DeleteAye. Some people think the UK is this 300 year old union when in reality, it's less than a century old. There are people alive older than the UK. It's very far from some ancient state carved in stone.
DeleteYou Scottish Nat sis are lamentable. You have lost in Scotland now you turn to a foreign country to get solace. One thing about Sinn Fein is they tolerate no dissent or opinions not to their liking. You get the first bullet in the back of the leg and when you go down the bullet in the neck.
ReplyDeleteI am thoroughly enjoying your current discomfort with the Irish election outcome.
DeleteJohnson has said he'll work with Sinn Fein as they are England's friends, as per my post above.
He's preparing for some serious SF feet kissing to get his deal!
Lamentable? It's you who are really dredging the depths now, with all this verbal violence. Poor old you, it must be bitterly galling to be so on the wrong side of history, and steadily sinking down, down, down...
DeleteThere is no wrong or right side of history only history you fake Jock plonker.
DeleteAh, so now the mask slips and the truth is revealed, you're not even Scottish. So for fakery, you take first place.
DeletePoor wretched thing, nothing better to do with your life than try in your own pathetically small way on here to resist the tide steadily coming in. Glug, glug, glug...
I believe they are doing exactly this.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/sinn-f-in-should-be-thanking-boris-johnson-for-their-election-surge-a4358281.html
Sinn Féin should be thanking Boris Johnson for their election surge
Sinn Fein will do to England what England did to Ireland, Mary Lou McDonald will compromise on nothing with Englisher Chancellor Johnson if she gets the chance
ReplyDeleteTake back control Ireland and shove it right up them
I thought Irish priests were shoving it right up them or is that another sore subject.
DeleteCongratulations to Sinn Fein and their supporters. The so-called united kingdom continues to disintegrate.
ReplyDeleteWestminster 4th July 2018. Claim of right for Scotland was debated on in the chamber. The Speaker closed the debate and asked the people left if they wanted to vote on the motion, it was passed without a vote.
ReplyDeleteThe Tories, Labour, Liberal and DUP must have been told it would not be legal to vote against the Scottish claim of rights.
ReplyDeleteYou have to laugh at Herr Johnson when he says "Ireland are our friends" The length and breadth of Ireland babies at their mothers knees are taught what the English British are, Johnson doesn't have enough money to buy a friend in Ireland
ReplyDeleteThey teach history in Irish schools
Yea Irish Catholic history.
DeleteAye, and they teach Anglican English history in England.
DeleteWell at least Anglicans eventually accepted religious freedom. When did the Inquisition eventually end or will it!
DeleteChristian Wright in an earlier post is implying that we need dissolve the act of union as opposed to UDI .What is the legal mechanism for this? Does the SG have to have a mandate from its electorate
ReplyDeleteAlly,
DeleteI'd have thought so.
If, we, the Scottish electorate were given a straightforward question at, say, the next Hollyrood election:
"In" or "oot"? Let's leave the consequences aside for a moment.
If we win that vote the baws on the slates.
It would be a direct challenge to the idea of what democracy actually is. Assuming we won.
Is it them or is it us?
That would be 'interesting' and perhaps a minefield. I don't think we'd be without allies, perhaps many amongst the 'New Commonwealth' though maybe less amongst the 'Old Commonwealth'.
UDI is not an option because Scotland is not a region of a state, to agree that Scotland would consider UDI is to admit that Scotland is not a country
Delete"James Kelly
ReplyDelete14m
Ways of telling you're on the Boris Bridge -
a) You're floating
b) You hear an underwater explosion"
Or it could mean that you're "Big Eater" breaking wind in the bath.
Boris knows how to get jockos talking shite. He is a Scottish Nat si in disguise. And Knickerless was over in Brussels offering to suck Barniers Cock. He said wait in the queue.
DeleteYou've finally spotted Johnson's real motives.
DeleteTalk moving to Mary Lou MacDonald being the next Taoiseach.
ReplyDeleteJohnson preparing the red carpet for her.
With a name like that she would get the blue carpet at The Grand Old Oprey, Paisley Road Toll.
DeleteOprah Winfrey?
DeleteI have a scratched vinyl copy of Tom Devine's Greatest Hits.
DeleteI have some of Fran and Anna's toenail clippings in a matchbox.
DeleteSo you failed to get the complete set.
DeleteKnickerless is putting the real Scottish people to shame with her naked grovelling to the EU. She must have a pathological hatred for our English neighbours when she would sell out Scotland to the EU would be Empire. She does not speak for Scotland which she should emphasise to the EU but only the English hating Nat si reactionary mob.
ReplyDeleteEveryone hates a coward. It's not just Sturgeon.
DeleteEngland is pathetic. A joke of a nation, so used to freeloading off Scotland it's terrified of having to stand on it's own two feet. Everyone is mocking it internationally for it's pathetic feebleness.
England needs to quit being the lazy ersed cowardly bully and agree to a Section 30 ASAP if it wants to regain any self respect.
Quiet, you stupid racist
DeleteAll sounds very familiar from our chickenshit, cowardly subsidy junkie neighbour.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/britain-stole-45-trillion-india-181206124830851.html
How Britain stole $45 trillion from India - And lied about it.
There is a story that is commonly told in Britain that the colonisation of India - as horrible as it may have been - was not of any major economic benefit to Britain itself. If anything, the administration of India was a cost to Britain. So the fact that the empire was sustained for so long - the story goes - was a gesture of Britain's benevolence.
New research by the renowned economist Utsa Patnaik - just published by Columbia University Press - deals a crushing blow to this narrative. Drawing on nearly two centuries of detailed data on tax and trade, Patnaik calculated that Britain drained a total of nearly $45 trillion from India during the period 1765 to 1938.
Strange how India is in the Commonwealth, its army structure is based on the British Army and both Armies have close ties. Both fight Islamic nutcases. The UK will invite more educated Indians too the UK since brexit. So how more friendly can we get with Indian when Scottish Nat sis want to isolate themselves from their close neighbour most of whom were not around during the Empire.
DeleteI near pished masel at the 'Boris bridge' story on the radio oan the way hame. An engineer fella on tae discuss costs etc was struggling to contain his laughter at times.
ReplyDeleteSoon wull hae blue buses drivin aroond promising £350m a day fir oor NHS if we vote fir the onion.
Or at least if were actually allowed to vote for the union; something Boris has said he won't allow people to do any more (which has the Scots Toris in a flap).
The difference between Jock and Paddy Catholic Nat sis is Paddy loves bloodlust, martyrdom and a guaranteed place in heaven. Jock just talks about it and is not sure about heaven. Jock is cautious.
ReplyDeleteAnd the English are just plain chickenshit cowards; hence no Section 30.
DeleteSure it is not you Nat sis who are chickenshit! Paddy went out and about torturing and murdering Protestants for their Utopian Catholic State and you only have verbal diahorea to offer hiding behind your PC.
DeleteNo, I voted Yes, would do so again tomorrow. It's the English who are too cowardly to let people vote.
DeleteImagine being scared of wee Scotland. England is a pathetic, weak nation right now. Tusk was just mocking it like every country in the world is right.
Wherever Boris goes, people giggle behind his back about how he's scared of wee Nicola and Scotland. Some just openly mock him, like Tusk.
WTF else did you think would be the result of him bursting into tears and running away with the baw because lost another election? Did you think people would impressed with such cowardice? Christ, Scotland is 1/10th the size of England. It just looks like a jilted lover having a tiff in the street in front of everyone.
Give the English the vote if there is another Jocko referendum. You Nat sis are scared of winning.
DeleteIt's very clear who the chickenshit wankstains are; those too scared to agree to a referendum.
DeleteThe wank stains are from those EU officials and all over the grovelling Knickerless who is intent on selling Scotland to the brothel.
DeleteSeems blogging can be a tough game, sometimes a thankless task.
ReplyDeleteMaybe every poster should become a blogger, and we could all go and troll the trolls' blogs.
Nicola Sturgeons visit to Brussels included talks with Michele Barnier on Scotlands continuing trade with the EU where the FM told Mr Barnier that any trade negotiations with the UK could not include any portion of Scotlands existing trade with the EU as her government in Scotland has legislated for a referendum on Independence and if successful and led to Scotland's Independence would render any deal with the UK meaningless
ReplyDeleteMichele Barnier left the meeting for further discussions with EU leaders and Ministers and answered no questions
I am sure Barnier reminded Knickerless that future trade would be with the UK after she got off her knees.
DeleteI suppose the obvious reason why consultative referendum does not equal UDI is because we may still lose it. And, indeed, the possibility of losing it would be very real, and it should be.
ReplyDeleteBut that's not a reason not to have one. The point would be to establish that it is not Westminster who gets to say if Scotland wishes to remain part of the United Kingdom. Otherwise, it isn't a union at all.
-------
The path to me seems reasonably clear. It's just not clear any longer if the SNP really have the gumption to go for it.
You ask for a S30 order.
If not granted, legislate to hold a consultative referendum off your own bat. If WM doesn't like that, fight it in the courts to establish the legality either way.
If you lose the court battle, you have a plebiscite election where you stand on a mandate for independence itself (and absolutely nothing else in that mandate), not to ask again for an indyref.
If you win the election then you declare independence. If you lose the election then there's no real reason to confidently think you'd have won a referendum anyway.
I do think for everyone's benefit the SNP need to show that they have the courage of their convictions of standing for an independent Scotland, and not merely settling for 2nd prize of being competent administrators of a mini parliament to try and prove to everyone that ultimately independence makes sense because it's just a better version of good devolved administration.
There wasn't anything wrong with trying that approach initially as the SNP have. But they can't expect to be in government in Scotland for 15, 20, 25 years endlessly getting ever more popular whilst slowly but steadily converting folk to independence just by running the budget and legislating well in whatever other areas they have control over.
It's not realistic, even if it was it might convert some folk to independence but for many others all it would likely do is show folk they have the cake-and-eat-it option of keeping in the union but also having a good anti-Tory or anti-Labour voting option, and in the worst case scenario everyone ultimately gets bored of or pissed off with the other domestic policies and the SNP fall from power anyway. There is a window where popularity of a single party will align with popularity for the broader concept of independence. One does not guarantee the other. The SNP have a shelf-life like all political parties in any power have.
At some point the SNP either have to accept that they are just trying to be good administrators or they are actually trying to lead a movement to independence. In the short-to-medium term, maybe, but they can't do both over the long-run.
Very well said. I do think that the SNP have to up the stakes pretty quickly now. Noone can accuse them of opportunism after three years of trying to find a Brexit solution suitable for Scotland. Unsuccessful unfortunately. Indeed the next indy ref may not be won but it has to be held to resolve the issue of 62% of scots voting against Brexit. Nature abhors a vacuum and if the SNP don't start fighting hard, then a new pro-indy party will emerge next year IMO. The warning signs are already there.
DeleteIt shows the lack of self confidence that the Nat sis are using the corrupt EU as an excuse for another referendum. The Nat si should argue their own case.
DeleteSo what benefits in an independent Scotland will the working and lower classes obtain from the Scottish Nat si?
ReplyDeleteCould be we might remove you and your Orange Lodge head cases the right march around hating people of other colours and religions
DeleteThat would be a good start
Removing is a Nazi word, kind of like removing the Jews. Not unexpected that a Scottish Nazi would use it. For instance let's remove the English from Scotland.
DeleteThere is nothing wrong with the majority of English people, i have dozens of English friends. Its the useless Government they elect.
Delete"Of the many countries that have become independent from London, how many declared UDI?"
ReplyDeleteThe difference with Scotland is that all of those countries were dominions. Scotland is not a dominion. Scotland IS the Uk.If Scotland walks away the United Kingdom of Great Britain is finished. In other words, the UK of Great Britain exists because Scotland gives it legitimacy to continue existing. Without Scotland, what is left of the UK is the kingdom of England and being equal partners, both have the same right to become the successor state.
As an equal partner in a voluntary, political union Scotland cannot "UDI", but dissolve unilaterally the voluntary union and it is in its right to do so. Plenty of tory MPs ahave claimed that a state cannot be held against its will in an international treaty. Well, Scotland entered this Treaty of Union as an independent, sovereign state and shall live with the same status.
I think Peter Bell is right. Asking for independence is falling for the game of the English ruling elite. It fuels the concept that Scotland is an integral part of the kingdom of England, a tiny region over which the kingdom of England holds some kind of ownership. There is nothing tiny about Scotland. Its landmass is 60% that of England, has a longer coastline, holds most natural resources of the UK and some of the biggest deposits of oil and gas in the entire EU.
What we should be asking and shouting at the top of our lungs is for the revocation of the treaty of union. Because that will not only give us automatic independence but also the legitimate right to claim our ownership share in all assets present on Scotland's territory including territorial waters in line with international law plus a share in all common assets. Pretending we are a colony gives some how legitimacy to the kingdom of England to claim ownership over the resources that are in our own territory. Why should we give our rights on those assets away?
Somehow and since the Scotland Act 1998 we are being expected to believe Scotland has become a region of the kingdom of England - the plans of federalism by Labour and others aim at the exact same thing, to transform Scotland in a region in paper.
In my personal and cynical opinion is because the kingdom of England wants to retain all the perks the UK currently has in terms of seats in different places and make a claim in our own territorial assets ie our oil and gas - the McCrone Report already hints at this as it was clear already at the time it was written that the separation of Scotland was very real possibility and the kingdom of England wanted to take that lovely asset that was discovered in Scotland's waters.
As a matter of fact, the McCrone Report hints at ways in which the Kingdom of England could get hold of "all" the asset, and that includes the change of the territorial boundaries that has already happened under Blair's watch and also the devicing of a way of dividing the asset on the base of population because the kingdom of England holds most of the population.
They have already been doing this ever since in the form of the barnet formula and by London sucking all the revenues directly and then sending us a portion of the revenues not on the basis of what is extracted from our waters but rather on the basis of our diminished population. Since that oil was discovered, they have been preparing themselves against the dissolution of the union for the last 4 decades and taking as much of our asset as they possibly can. So far they have succeeded.
I think it is time the Scottish government and MPs started reasserting Scotland's popular sovereignty, powers and rights in this union rather than simply giving them away In agreement with Mr Bell, I also think it is time we stopped asked only for independence and we started demanding instead the end of the union and the recovery of our rights, powers and assets in full.
But you want to hand Scottish sovereignty to the EU. Your long winded comment above has no credence unless you want an independent Scotland.
Delete"But you want to hand Scottish sovereignty to the EU"
DeleteScotland's popular sovereignty will always lie with the people of Scotland. Yes, I want to see Scotland in the EU. I rather restrict a bit of that sovereignty for the sake of being able to trade with 27 partners, bearing in mind that Scotland will always have control over that sovereignty than having to surrender it all to a cartel of crooks in control of the Kingdom of England and with egos bigger than the EU itself so as to satisfy their delusions of power and the pretence that they own Scotland and its assets.
"Your long winded comment above has no credence unless you want an independent Scotland"
You are ineffectively attempting to distract and persuade that independence is what Scotland needs. Independence is only a section of what Scotland needs. Scotland needs to end the union. By doing so it will not only gain independence but it will recover its status as a sovereign state with control over all its territory including territorial waters, all the assets in its territory and its share of the assets of the UK.
Sorry, you are not fooling me. Scotland is not a colony nor the property of the kingdom of England. Scotland is an equal partner in a voluntary internationalunion and therefore with as much rights as the Kingdom of England to become the successor state.
Exactly.
DeleteIf 80% of English MPs wanted to revoke the union it would be done and dusted.
The best avenue left now if to make England decide we are more trouble than we're worth.
But as we know, English MPs are chickenshite cowards terrified at the prospect of England having to stand on its own two feet, hence no Section 30.
DeleteThe Chinese authorities are concerned about the Scottish whisky virus that has arrived in China. People are falling over after drinking a bottle of the Amber water and some are sticking the heid Scottish fashion on innocent passing strangers. China will not tolerate outside violence and reserve the right to mass murder our own citizens in our own time. We sympathise with the Scottish Comrades and Auld Lang Mao.
ReplyDeleteThe opinion on Irish reunification is that yes, the Republic would like to see Ireland reunified but, and the big but is that Northern Ireland is by comparison to the Republic extremely poor and to bring the province up to the standard of the Republic would cost billions and the Republican opinion is that it may have to be a slow process as they would have to foot the bill for it
ReplyDeleteMary Lou McDonald said Scotland is in a different position to Northern Ireland because they already have a great deal of wealth potential as a result of smart SNP devolved government over the last ten years bringing Scotland up to EU standards while Northern Ireland as a province of the UK has remained poor under the British government
Ding dong Bell, Pussy's in the Well.
ReplyDeleteDeng Shou Ping, Pussy's got a Ring.
As an aside, how might the Irish results have differed if they'd come through a d'Hondt set-up? (Clumping seats together in reasonably natural "list" areas like Dublin Metro and South Leinster.)
ReplyDelete@unknown 12:56am. You would be prepared to forego the trade with RUK to trade with the EU. Knickerless has now conceded there would be border controls. How would Scotland transport its good to the EU?
ReplyDeleteBy the same ways it does now.
DeleteIf goods were simply passing from an EU Scotland through a non-EU England and on to mainland EU, no customs charges / tariffs would apply as goods would be classed as 'In transit'. It's only when they arrive at the final destination do goods become liable for any such charges. Everyone with half a brain knows this.
The Boris bridge is the other option of course. That would bypass England completely.
Oh Dear Skier you seemed to have rattled a few BritNat cages today. Ye see you are supposed to duck up to their imperial masters (like they do) not bloody call em out. They don't like it up em that's for sure. :)
ReplyDeleteI think anyone with any sense knows exactly what I mean by my posts, and why I keep saying it.
DeleteI'm not going to stand silent in the face of such bullying.
It was Johnson with his No Section 30 that made England a cowardly nation in the eyes of Scots and the world, humiliating decent, brave, democratic English folks.
There is nothing strong nor brave in No section 30, only cowardice.
Skier, I thought you were being deported today tae sunny Jamaica.
DeleteA sense of balance:
ReplyDelete"The leader of Birmingham City Council has welcomed the HS2 announcement, describing it as a "once in a generation opportunity to rebalance the UK economy."
Birmingham is in the south of England.
DeleteSkier, in the event that the UK does a trade deal with the USA will you Nat sis refuse to participate?
ReplyDeleteCan you make funny sounds with your teeth and cgeeoks? I can. I can play the William Tell overture by flicking my fingers against my cheeks and tightening them. This helps me when I do trade deals with Swiss people. Like they say, Nothing some money, nothing some Swiss.
DeleteI asked you a civil question. Answer please.
DeleteScotland already trades with the US of A within International recognised standards
ReplyDeleteYou should remember GWC that America does not want English beef they want Scottish beef because of it's safety record but they want it cheaper
UK beef is all regulated. Over 60% of Scottish trade is with RUk, why wil Scottish Nat sis not acknowledge this. 20% of trade is with non EU countries.
DeleteIt's better that Scotland diversifies away from the UK and starts trading with the wider world. The UK market is in decline.
DeleteBBC now openly discussing options for Irish Unity. With Sinn Fein heading for office in Dublin, the game's up. The red saltire is being unpicked from the union flag as the border forms down the Irish sea.
ReplyDeleteThanks Boris. You're making it all happen so much quicker than I could have ever hoped for.
And thanks to that Cummings fella tae. I'm all up for him advising you on Holyrood 2021 strategy too; see if he can lose you half your MSPs like he did your Scots MPs.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51456404
Could EU's attitude to Irish unity mirror approach to German reunification?
Mary Lou McDonald's confirmation to BBC Newsnight that she would ask Ireland's fellow EU member states to take a more active role in backing Irish unification won't surprise anyone who read Sinn Féin's election manifesto.
The section of the document which deals with Irish unity talks about the need for a future Dublin government to "engage with our friends and neighbours in the EU".
It specifically mentions the precedent set 30 years ago when "the EU financially and politically supported German reunification".
The EU will not interfere in UK internal politics. The Germans paid a unification tax from their earnings. The German ruling classes have got richer since unification and the workers are still in austerity. The German ruling class still use the fear of the Nazis to keep the workers pacified.
DeleteIt's not the EU you need to fear. It's England. It is the threat to the union you love.
DeleteMy country has left the EU due to a democratic referendum so no fear and never was. If the Union ends then life goes on. You are the person who seems to have fear of the English. Sad man at a computer.
DeleteI'm not at all scared of cowards, no.
DeleteYour frog Mrs must be bored but not by you.
Delete"My country has left the EU".
ReplyDelete"My country" ???????
Must be England!
Ha ha ha ha ha.
Democracy in action? Aye right!
Scotland iz ma Country ya tally wop immigrant. You are probably related tae Berlusconi and Mussolini.
DeleteOh Dear yer a wee bit confused.If Scotland is yer country it voted 62% remain. How exactly did ye square that circle? Ho Jo.
DeleteIt was a UK election. Scotland doesn't get a say.
DeleteThe trouble with Britnatz has always been geography and history and, well education in general really
ReplyDeleteOh they do present unflinching servility and obedience to their masters though, the little house Jocks that they are
Quite embarrassing for us real Scots to see them bum licking their Royals and their English betters
"Ma country has left the EU due to a democratic blah blah!"
ReplyDelete"Scotland is ma country blah blah!"
Oops Doh! Homer Simpson moment.
Hoisted by yer own petard. Ho ho.
ReplyDeleteBag of chips, brown sauce and two pickled onions please.
DeleteBroon sauce is Edinburgh. In Glaesga it's vinegar.
DeleteDon't ye want a Cornetto?
ReplyDeleteNaw a bag a chips wie gravy an a can a diet Irn Bru please.
Delete@ GWC And a roll up fur efters fur maryhills maist famous stoat the baw , GWC .
DeleteSinn Fein Mary Loo aka Ms Whiplash to publish glorious IRA deeds in photographic colour of the dead and wounded done in their name. Be warned this is not a butchers shop window it is the remains of human beings.
ReplyDeleteEnglish are traitorous scum. Never trust them. They betrayed us British and now Ulster will be Irish in a few years.
DeleteYes the English are what you say they are that's why they created you to subvert an entire country so they could own it
Deleteand now you have the cheek to be annoyed about a people taking back what was rightfully theirs, is it just OK for England to *take back control*
Forget about religion, your country and freedom come first, I kinda don't think even the perverted religion that you really don't follow says anywhere in that doctrine that a people should be prisoners in their own land in order to worship anything they choose, or don't choose
Ireland was Ireland before the English got their dirty mitts into it, Christianity is only 2 thousand years old and the folk who divided it up into different rules to follow so they could benefit from the division is a lot less than that
Ireland the land was there before all of that and will be there after you're gone, religions are just a new fad as far as the land is concerned
It was the Normans that invaded Ireland after beating the Anglo Saxons.
Delete@ GWC Was it norman who invaded ireland all by his self wis it? Yer history is as shite as your comments on this page yan auld roaster.
DeleteAye the norman french did invade in the 12th century , but the irish later assimilated them and they became more irish than the irish. That was why englands rule by the 16th century was reduced down to the pale of dublin , and the english tudors had to try and reconquer all the land they had lost .
Yer english hero fat henry the eighth set up his own mini kafflick religion so he could be the head of it , called it the church of engerlund , so he could get the leg over pam and her five sisters.
When he invaded scotland GWC , you would have been standing at the border wae yer wee white feather welcoming him , tugging yer forelock and tugging yer foreskin at the thought of being english at last.
The Pope gave authority for the Normans to invade Ireland. The Scottish Bruce invaded a bit later. Henry V111 was a good guy who gave us Elizabeth 1 both the scourge of the ersebandit papes. OK Govan rent boy.
Delete@GWC Just as the pope , Innocent the 11th , supported william of orange and gave him catholic troops and funds to put james 7th to flight in Ireland.
DeleteJust as william of orange forced a quarter of a million presbyterians to flee his "religous freedom " , back in the day when protestants of the wrong sort were banned from holding any office or postiton in the military or law and presbyterian schoolmasters were liable for three months prison for teaching.
Long before the days when henry cooke begged the high tory conservative elitist orange ludge to lift the ban on ordinary presbyterians to divide and conquer the catholic irish and protestant irish dissenter to british rule and allow dirty wee muck racking foreskin lickers like you into the ludge and make ye feel important.
Whats a so called scotsman like you concerned wae english kings and queens for ya wee girls blouse ye!
I am told you troll around the Mary Barbour memorial at Govan X and you are cheap.
Delete@ GWC yer maw wis cheap when a stranger gave her a stairheid ride and she fell pregnant wae you yan auld helmet licker.
DeleteS/S, Kelly and all.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thejournal.ie/sinn-fein-left-surplus-5001343-Feb2020/
One in the eye for J. Kelly
How? surely in a transferable vote election you need to transfer your vote? now if we could have that for the Scottish Parliament...
Deletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-51458215
ReplyDeleteFormer Conservative and pro-union Aberdeen sex assault councillor 'will not step back from duties'
The former deputy provost of Aberdeen who was found guilty of sexual assault has said he will not be stepping back from his duties.
Former Conservative Alan Donnelly had denied kissing and touching a man who was working at an event in the city.
Donnelly was ordered to pay £800 compensation last month and will be under supervision of the social work department for eight months.
He is still considering his position but has now said he will not hide.
The councillor has so far resisted calls to quit as an elected member.
Erm, well why isn't the article entitled 'Countess of Strathearn visits...' then?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-51474866
The Duchess of Cambridge has helped out at a cafe run by a homelessness charity in Aberdeen.
The Duchess of Cambridge has helped out at a cafe run by a homelessness charity in Aberdeen.
Catherine - known as the Countess of Strathearn when in Scotland - was at Social Bite.
Because that's what the PA titled it.
Deletehttps://pa.media/royal-family-collection/
As for the why its pretty simple, Duchess of Cambridge, is a more searched term than 'Countess of Strathearn.'
It seems you missed my point entirely. Sure, scots sensibilities are not important to the ebc.
DeleteBut why undermine the union like this? Just a little chip, but one of so many.
As an indy supporter, I think its fine, but why do the BBC undermine unionists in this way, ie by making them have to defend little slights?
It makes no sense to me.
You must of missed the bit were I said the peice was written by the PA?
DeleteYou know how the Pa operates right , they write the piece (including headline) that then gets published by news organisations.
Its nothing to do with Scots sensibilities, unless you are saying The National cares nothing for Scots sensibilities:
https://www.thenational.scot/news/uk-news/18230244.duchess-cambridge-visit-homelessness-charity-cafe/
Anyhow must be a quiet news day if this is the best that you can find in your daily trawl of 'UK bad' stories.
The national is pro-indy, so would naturally not encourage unionism by pushing her Scottish title. As broadly a republican, I'd be disturbed by the national going all 'Scottish' royal loving.
DeleteBy contrast, if I saw the BBC starting to call her the Duchess of Strathearn every time she was in Scotland, I'd be like 'WTF, clever bastards' as that's exactly the kind of thing that would promote the union, rather than the usual anglo centrism.
There's lots of examples. Like these two:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22031264
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22015368
Only down the bottom are their real, legal Scottish titles mentioned.
And people are forced to pay for the BBC. If folk don't like the national, they can simply not buy it. The 'English' BBC threatens you with fines and even jail.
Like I said. I think that's great though! It's got Scots disliking the BBC more than any other UK nation, which I'm really pleased by.
Oh, and do you know why the English NHS uses the twitter handle 'NHSuk'?
DeleteIt's not the UK NHS.
https://twitter.com/NHSuk
It just undermines the union by trying to claim England = UK.
Its been using that handle since 2007. Cant see it causing any outrage upto now. As I said slow news day, I get it you have nothing to look forward to (the Scot Gov is too chickenshit to call a ref that is in their powers) but really is royal titles and twitter handles the best you have.
DeleteIt was enough to get you on the defensive, so as effective as hoped for.
DeleteI see English Johnson is openly trousering bribes now. Nice. A real Scot nat asset.
SNP cabinet yet might turn out to be chickenshit, but England as a whole is chickenshit. MPs could easily overrule Johnson on an S30, forcing it through, but they're not because they're mostly cowardly, pathetic, freeloading wasters it seems, representing every part of England.
The Duchess of Cambridge - known as "Who?" when in Scotland - was on another jaunt to get away from her children and draw attention from Prince Andrew, who wasn't asked to babysit.
DeleteShe should join up with princesses Beatrice and Eugenie who were great when they used to appear in the Les Dawson Show as the Roly Polys.
DeleteAh, now I see where the Kintyre - Coleraine Causeway fits in...
ReplyDelete"A Dutch government scientist has proposed building two mammoth dams to completely enclose the North Sea and protect an estimated 25 million Europeans from the consequences of rising sea levels as a result of global heating.
Sjoerd Groeskamp, an oceanographer at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, said a 475km dam between north Scotland and west Norway and another 160km one between west France and south-west England was “a possible solution”.
In a paper to be published this month in the American Journal of Meteorology, Groeskamp and Joakim Kjellsson of the Geomar centre for ocean research in Kiel, Germany, say the idea is affordable and technically feasible – if intended more as “a warning of the immensity of the problem hanging over our heads”.
The cost of building a so-called North Sea Enclosure Dyke, estimated at between €250bn and £500bn, amounts to barely 0.1% of the combined GDP of all the countries that would be protected by it, they calculate.
Groeskamp said it also appeared technically viable. The depth of the North Sea between France and England rarely exceeded 100 metres, he said, while between Scotland and Norway it averaged about 127 metres, peaking at just over 320 off the coast of Norway."
(fae The Girniad)
This project seems to be about saving humans. Is it worth it when we have Skier and Govan young team.
DeleteI think we should make the Dutchies sweat and extract maximum reparations for AbellioRail.
DeleteOr you could volunteer to be buried in the foundations as a tribute to their one-time king.
@ GWC Av jist boat 8 legs ae venison fur forty quid. Dae ye hink That’s two deer?
DeleteThat's an auld wan wis it Chic Murray?
DeleteAs I said, a freeloader.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-51482220
Businessman pays £15,000 towards Boris Johnson's holiday
The cost of Boris Johnson's accommodation for his New Year's holiday was covered by the co-founder of Carphone Warehouse, David Ross.
Mr Ross is named in the MPs' register of interests as donating £15,000 towards the PM's private Caribbean break with his partner, Carrie Symonds.
Mr Ross was one of Mr Johnson's aides in City Hall and was appointed to the Olympics organising committee.
Do you really think brexit will be a success with this cowardly shyster in charge?
'Take back control from the elites who are ripping us off' lol.
DeleteAgain is that it. Shock horror leader of a country gets stuff paid for him. Anyhow 15k is nothing its 12 hours work at Ian Blackford's going rate.
DeleteAs I said must be a slow 'UK is bad' day.
I'm sure most Scots voters will be happy at Johnson using his position to trouser £15k in a brown envelope.
DeleteAfter all, rich businessmen give such some to politicians all the time and expect nothing in return!
51% has maybe edged up by 0.2, 0.3%...
Johnson is a gigantic union wrecking ball. £15k towards the holiday for favours to big business. Sweet. That's many people's wage for f'n year. A deposit struggling young folks can't put together for a house. And English 'I'll take your vote off you jock scum' Boris just pockets it with a sly smile.
ReplyDeleteI love the guy. He's the best thing that's happened to the indy cause in years.
Bus contracts to the Scottish stonhenge company must ammount to a lot. Especially to stop nationalisation. Tory Busman has Nat sis in his pocket.
DeleteI see Stephen Gerrard lost another game of football and has become a Fenian Bastirt, it didn't take them long did it
ReplyDeleteNow he understands why folk warned him
Latest on Johnson's reshuffle.
ReplyDeleteTank commander to become parachutist.
Seems disrespect for Scotland has reached new levels.
Baroness Davidson has nae shame, but we knew that.
Scots Tory voters hate freeloaders.
DeleteAfter SNP voters, they are by far the most opposed to their taxes being spent on England's HS2 (Yougov Scotland).
Skier, just reading that the May Day Holiday 2020 has changed to Friday 8 May 2020. This is to commemorate VE Day 75 years on since the Nazi surrender. Lots of parades and ceremonies to be held across the UK including Edinburgh and Glasgow. This will surely upset your Nat si flagwavers. You would not want to offend your new Nazi German sponsors.
ReplyDeleteThe Nazis refused section 30's for all countries the third Reich took control of.
DeleteOh look it was a pattern of behaviour, shocker.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/5266960/derek-mackay-shaun-cameron-police/
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteErm, that's an old article talking about even older news.
DeleteMackay's gone and the world has moved on.
If Mackay was still in cabinet and the SNP were running around trying to protect him, then the scandal would go on and could start to damage them. But they dumped him immediately, so Jock public no longer cares unless they're a bit of a weirdo pervert like yourself who's fixated by other people's (possible, maybe in this case, but not proven) gay fantasies.
This is in the news now:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-51458215
Former Conservative & Pro-union Aberdeen sex assault Councillor 'will not step back from duties'
Which is just a wee bitty more serious (unless Mackay is actually charged with something).
And of course 'Brown envelope Boris' is the main headline story.
Mackaygate won't have won unionists a single % point in polls (we can be absolutely confident of), just like e.g. Bill Walker didn't.
People vote for delivery of positives. Negatives are rather useless, and can even harm you if that's all you offer.
In mackaygate, the public can clearly see unionists don't give a shit for the young man concerned or children of real abuse. Instead, they are showing contempt by using the issue simply in an attempt to attack Scots and allow the English to continue to subvert democracy so Johnson can line his freeloading pockets.
To be clear, despite all your bluster, I very much doubt you'd call me a 'weirdo pervert' to my face. You'd be walking away from the interaction with a broken nose if so.
DeleteI'm not taking sides in the dispute between you and Scottish Skier, but I think I'm right in saying that you identify as a radical feminist? I remember having discussions with you years back about "game" and so on. What do you think it is about men who self-identify as feminists making threats of physical violence? I've noticed this again and again. It's a really odd phenomenon.
DeleteYou are incorrect, I do not identify as a radical feminist.
DeleteI am probably a somewhat more sympathetic to the trans side of the current debate on bathrooms, though I do recognise there is room for legitimate concern about self-ID.
There is a whole broad spectrum of feminisms. Radical feminism is rather too essentialist for my liking, and I see separatism as a dead end. As a man, it'd be hard for me to do otherwise. I do not remember any conversation with you about 'game', but, assuming I know what you mean by that term, I think it's more than possible to criticise the PUA (pick-up artist) universe and its attitude towards women without being a radical feminist.
I think it's a pity you have chosen to pick me up on this, but not a word to Scottish Skier about libelling me on your blog with use of the term 'weirdo pervert'.
I'm sorry you think it's a pity I picked you up on your threat of violence. I'm even more sorry that you haven't reflected upon your error of judgement and apologised for it, or at least stepped back from it. As I said, your slanging match with Scottish Skier is a matter between you and him, and I'm not remotely interested in policing playground insults. But a threat of violence is very different territory, and is distinctly odd coming from a male feminist (I gather it's only the word 'radical' you're quibbling about).
DeleteLatest on this headline story.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-51487701
Conservative and Pro-union Sexual assault councillor case 'must not become a witch hunt'
Total bloodbath at No. 10.
ReplyDeleteJohnson has sacked the 'best N. Ireland Secretary in decades', with the province now up in arms over it, both nationalist and unionist alike.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-politics-smith/johnson-sacks-minister-who-restored-northern-ireland-power-sharing-idUKKBN20713T
England has given up on NI and the union now it seems following the SF win.
Javid has quit too. He was barely competent and that's all the Tories had for the post.
UK's fucked. Johnson's lost it.
Ha Ha Ha Ha. No wonder Ruthie seems to be heading for the HoL. They will need her soon enough. Not that she is any good, but BJ is running out of options Ho Ho.
DeleteWait for it:
Ruthie for Chancellor of the Exchequer!
Now that WOULD be a larf. Ye never know. :)
Questions from a Yougov poll received today about the SNP include:
ReplyDeleteIn the past few weeks,several negative stories have emerged about senior SNP politicians, including about the conduct of Alex Salmond and Derek Mackay. Have these stories changed your opinion about the SNP at all?
Yes, it makes me less likely to support them
No, it hasn’t affected my view of the party as a whole
I haven’t seen these stories.
When considering which party to vote for, which of these is most important?
Their policies on things like healthcare, the economy, and education
How trustworthy and capable their leader is
Their vision for Scotland
That they are competent and responsible
Their position on independence
None of these
What are the most important issues that would influence how you would vote if the Holyrood election was held tomorrow? (Please tick up to three)
Cracking down on large multi-national companies
Taxation
Housing
The Environment and Climate Change
The NHS
Managing immigration
Devolution and constitutional reform
Jobs and employment
The cost of living
Keeping Scotland in the Union
Ensuring that we maintain close links to the EU, with a pathway to rejoining
Public finances and the deficit/debt
Terrorism, defence and national security
Obtaining Independence from the UK
Transportation
Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour
The economy
Maintaining and increasing Pensions and Benefits provision
Education: Schools & Universities
Poverty & Inequality
Healing division and restoring faith in political institutions
Ensuring that Scotland leaves the EU
Public ownership of energy, water and the railways
Social care for the elderly and disabled
None of these
Don't know
Generally speaking, do you think Scotland is heading in the right or wrong direction?
Right direction
Wrong direction
Don’t know
Here are several pairs of statements. In each case please indicate where, on a 10-point scale, best represents the type of Scotland you want to live in. 0 means you completely agree with the first statement and 10 means you completely agree with the second.
FIRST STATEMENT: For Scotland to work together with other countries on shared objectives
FIRST STATEMENT: For anyone in the UK to access essential services, such as hospitals and schools, anywhere in the UK, including Scotland
SECOND STATEMENT: For only Scots to be allowed to access essential services, such as hospitals and schools, in Scotland
FIRST STATEMENT: Where people are free to act as they wish
SECOND STATEMENT: Where there is order in society
FIRST STATEMENT: For the Union
SECOND STATEMENT: Against the Union
FIRST STATEMENT: Government benefits readily accessible to people who are struggling to get by
SECOND STATEMENT: Government benefits less readily available to people who have never contributed anything in return
FIRST STATEMENT: No legalisation of cannabis as it is a gateway drug to more serious narcotics
SECOND STATEMENT: Legalisation and taxation of cannabis
FIRST STATEMENT: Less government spending on the NHS and a re-think of more sustainable ways of funding a Scottish-only healthcare system
SECOND STATEMENT: Increased funding for the NHS even if it means higher taxes
SECOND STATEMENT: For Scotland to protect its own interests
FIRST STATEMENT: Less regulation to help businesses and assist growth
SECOND STATEMENT: Greater regulation to protect workers, consumers and the public
FIRST STATEMENT: Fiscal responsibility
SECOND STATEMENT: Increased government spending and borrowing
FIRST STATEMENT: A justice system that is more about rehabilitation than punishment
SECOND STATEMENT: Harsher sentencing and longer jail time for criminals
FIRST STATEMENT: Decreased funding on foreign aid
SECOND STATEMENT: Continued spend of 0.7% of gross national income on overseas development
FIRST STATEMENT: Individual rights are protected
SECOND STATEMENT: To look out for the common good
Yougov cont'd.
ReplyDeleteFIRST STATEMENT: Less expenditure on the military as it won’t lead to lasting peace
SECOND STATEMENT: Increased military spending in these uncertain times
FIRST STATEMENT: Zero hour contracts offer useful work to those who need flexible working hours
SECOND STATEMENT: Abolishment of zero hours contracts
FIRST STATEMENT: Less immigration
SECOND STATEMENT: Greater immigration
FIRST STATEMENT: The Scottish government should prioritise governing for Scottish people born in Scotland
SECOND STATEMENT: The Scottish government should be encouraged to create a society that is open to all - particularly those from outside the U.K
FIRST STATEMENT: Increased taxation, bigger government and more spending in public services
SECOND STATEMENT: Lower taxes, smaller government and less spending on public services
FIRST STATEMENT: Less expenditure on the military as it won’t lead to lasting peace
SECOND STATEMENT: Increased military spending in these uncertain times
FIRST STATEMENT: Zero hour contracts offer useful work to those who need flexible working hours
SECOND STATEMENT: Abolishment of zero hours contracts
FIRST STATEMENT: Less immigration
SECOND STATEMENT: Greater immigration
FIRST STATEMENT: The Scottish government should prioritise governing for Scottish people born in Scotland
SECOND STATEMENT: The Scottish government should be encouraged to create a society that is open to all - particularly those from outside the U.K
FIRST STATEMENT: Increased taxation, bigger government and more spending in public services
SECOND STATEMENT: Lower taxes, smaller government and less spending on public services
What makes you proud to be Scottish and/or British? (Please tick all that apply)
Renewables sector
Our expanded welfare state (eg. free prescriptions)
Our sense of humour
Business
Our Food and Drink (eg. Whisky, Haggis, agricultural products)
Our NHS
Our potential in the world
Our political system
Our standing on the world stage
Our history
Our culture, film and music
Our sports teams
Our Monarchy
Our open society / tolerance
Our multi-culturalism and diversity
Our universities and education system
Our armed forces
None of these
YouGov cont'd
ReplyDeleteDo you see the following institutions as more British or Scottish?
More British Equally Scottish and British More Scottish Don’t know
Our multi-culturalism and diversity
Our Monarchy
Our culture, film and music
Our open society / tolerance
Our history
Our universities and education system
Our political system
Our NHS
Our sense of humour
Business
Our expanded welfare state (eg. free prescriptions)
Our Food and Drink (eg. Whisky, Haggis, agricultural products)
Our potential in the world
Renewables sector
Our armed forces
Our standing on the world stage
Our sports teams
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 means you feel negatively towards the region/nation and 10 means you feel positively towards the region/nation, how do you feel towards each of the following regions/nations?
0 - Feel negatively towards the region/ nation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 - Feel positively towards the region/nation
England
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland
South of England
The North of England
London
The Union
The Republic of Ireland
Great Britain
The United Kingdom
In which ways do you interact with England, English people, and English institutions? (Please tick all that apply)
I am English
I have family in England, and I speak to them or am in contact with them
Some of my friends are English
I sometimes travel to London for work
I connect with some English people via social media
I went to university in England
I watch English TV programs
I have lived in London at some point
I sometimes travel to England (but not London) for work
I sometimes go on holiday to England
I have lived in England (but not London) at some point
I grew up in England
I went to university with English people
I watch English football
I don't interact with England, English people, English institutions
Don't know
Regarding Scotland’s place within the United Kingdom, which phrases best capture your opinion? (Please tick all that apply)
Irrespective of what you think about independence, the SNP are the wrong people to bring it about
ReplyDeleteI think there are some benefits to the Union, but on balance, today, given the last 10 years, I think the benefits of independence are stronger
I think on balance Scotland should be within the Union, but I understand why some people support Independence
Scotland once had a place within the Union, but I don’t think it makes sense to be part of the UK any more
I strongly think Scotland should definitely be within the Union
Scotland should never have joined the Union, and has been damaged by its relationship with the UK over the last 300 years
I think Scotland needs to find a new place either within the Union, or just outside, but I don’t know exactly how
I am don’t have strong opinions about the Union, and Scotland’s place in it
I have changed my mind repeatedly on this issue, and still don’t know how I will vote
None of these capture my opinion
On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely is it that you would vote in a referendum on Scottish independence?
0 - Certain not to vote
10 - Absolutely certain to vote
If another Scottish Independence Referendum were held today, how would you vote?
No to an independent Scotland
Yes to an independent Scotland
I will not vote
I am not registered to vote
On a scale of 0-10, where 0 means ‘I completely support Scotland and the UK remaining part of the EU’ and 10 means ‘I completely support Scotland and the UK leaving the EU’, what number would you choose yourself to be?
0 - I completely support Scotland and the UK remaining part of the EU
Which of the following hypothetical scenarios do you think would be a price worth paying, if it meant that Scotland achieved independence from the UK? (Please tick all that apply)
Lack of access to British public services for specialist healthcare
Hard border with England in the Scottish Borders
Total breakdown in relations with England and parts of Northern Ireland
Immigration controls between England and Scotland
Scotland as a whole gets substantially poorer
I myself personally lose my income and get substantially poorer
Moving goods and people between Scotland and the rest of the UK becomes difficult
The party I support breaks apart
Sectarian disruption
A Scottish Government has to carry out decades of austerity to balance the books
Shetland and Orkney, and the Borders becoming more separatist against Scotland
The party I support loses the next general election
None of these would be a price worth paying
Don't know
That reads like a poll for a university, or something like that. I'd dispute the premise of one or two of the questions - there have been negative stories about Alex Salmond, certainly, but in the last few weeks? All I can think of is a routine court hearing.
DeleteHow you would feel if...
ReplyDeleteDelighted Angry Satisfied Surprised Indifferent Scared Relieved Confused Disappointed None of these
Scotland became Independent?
Scotland became a federal state within a new federal British state?
The status quo was maintained?
Scotland received more law making powers from Westminster?
Scotland voted again to remain part of the United Kingdom?
Scotland had a new Independence Referendum?
The Scottish Parliament was abolished?
What statement do you agree with the most?
Scotland is a united country
Scotland is broadly united
Scotland has some divisions
Scotland is deeply divided
Who is responsible for these divisions? (Please tick all that apply)
All politicians
Alex Salmond
Ordinary English people
Unionists
The 2016 European Referendum
Westminster politicians
Labour
Boris Johnson
Everyone bears some responsibility
Scottish politicians
The European Union
Conservatives
The 2014 Scottish Referendum
Nationalists
SNP
The prospect of a second Independence Referendum
Nicola Sturgeon
Social Media
None of these
Don't know
Which of the following comes closest to your view?
ReplyDeleteWe've always had political disagreements in Scotland, division is nothing new
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 means you do not identify with that group at all, and 10 means you fully identify with that group, for each of the following, how do you identify?
0 - Do not identify with this group 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 - Fully identify with this group
Scottish
Highlander
Catholic
Protestant
Ulster-Scots
British
Central Belt
English
Islander
Northern Irish
Lowlander
Irish
Borderlands / Borders
Glaswegian
European
We are divided now, but it will blow over in time
The divisions in Scotland on independence and Brexit will last for a generation, and may never be healed
None of these
Should the Scottish Parliament be able to unilaterally call a referendum on independence?
Yes – as long as there is a majority in the Scottish Parliament for a referendum it should be allowed
No – it’s right that a referendum has to be called in conjunction with the UK Parliament
Next page
The was a page on when the next Independence ref should happen -
next question -
If the 2021 Holyrood Scottish Elections turn into a Referendum on whether Scotland should have a Second Independence vote, how will you vote?
SNP
Either SNP or Scottish Green, whichever helps get a pro Independence majority
Scottish Labour
Scottish Conservatives
Scottish Liberal Democrats
Either Scottish Labour or Scottish Tories , whichever stops a Second Referendum
Either Scottish Labour or Scottish Liberals, whichever stops a Second Referendum
Either Scottish Conservatives or Scottish Liberals, whichever stops a Second Referendum
I won’t be voting on the issue of Independence
I thought it would only be a couple of question - but it was very long. Look like an anti-independence organisation poll.
ReplyDeleteMaybe powerhouse MP (sorry, ex-MP) Pamela Nash got some pocket money from her bosses in London and chose to spend it on a fun quiz for her and colleagues in the Tory Party to mull over in deep contemplation while understanding not a word.
Delete