POLES APART
There is one thing that the SNP and Labour are poles (or should that be polls!) apart on and that is Independence. Labour, despite all the evidence to the contrary, continue to berate Scotland’s chances of becoming an independent prosperous nation, whilst the SNP would openly embrace it.
So much so, that they have indicated precisely when they would go to the Scottish people to ask them if they share the same vision. That referendum is pencilled in for 2010 and even the exact wording of it has been agreed.
Just the small matter of gaining a sufficient number of seats in the elections in a little over a month’s time to overtake Labour and become the largest party. However, the way every opinion poll is looking, this may be the easy bit. The hard bit might be to persuade a coalition partner to come on board.
What will happen to Jack McConnell if Alex Salmond does become First Minister? If last week was anything to go by, I wouldn’t look to any of my colleagues for help if I were him. Ironically, in an event to show how well Westminster and Holyrood was working together, Patricia Hewitt, a senior Labour figure, continued to get his name wrong. McDonald? McConnell? Scotland?
Never mind Jack! We still trust you. Well that is according to Margaret Curran MSP who told the Newsnight Scotland presenter last night that of course the Scottish electorate still trusted Jack. Well I trust that you will show up to a debate being hosted by STV for party leaders on Sunday, Jack. No excuses now.
However, I probably won’t be seeing Jack at the Independence First march tomorrow, given his antiquated views on independence. However, I will be there at 12.30 to lend my voice for the campaign to have a say on our future. Another person due to be there and perform his song "Caledonia" is Dougie MacLean.
Hopefully it will be a good day and you can discuss this and a lot more at Our Scotland.
Friday 30 March 2007
Friday 23 March 2007
The Choice Is Yours
What do the following events have in common?
Event 1 – Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, questions people’s intelligence when he says, "It is not as straight forward as people suggest. They sleep soundly in their beds at night because we have nuclear weapons."
Event 2 – Margaret Becket, Foreign Secretary, saying that it is a, "complete nonsense," in response to the internationally respected Hans Blix’s comments that other than the removal of Saddam, everything else in Iraq has been a disaster.
Event 3 – Tony Blair’s comments after Sir George Mathewson, former chairman of RBS, came out in support of independence. Blair said that Mathewson’s comments were, "self indulgent and absurd."
Event 4 – Gordon Brown trying to fool everyone with his 2p cut in the basic rate of income tax, yet because he scrapped the 10p lowest rate, there is effectively no difference.
What have all these events got in common? Yes that is right it is Labour’s latest attempt at pulling the wool over our eyes and completely losing its grip on reality.
For a start, the RBS is the fifth largest bank in the world. I think that a former chairman of such a bank would be pretty well qualified to talk on the financial merits of independence, yet Blair disregarded them out of hand.
Similarly, Hans Blix, the former Chief Weapons Inspector, has more than enough experience to know what he is talking about when it comes to international affairs, especially Iraq. Yet Margaret Beckett seems to think that hundreds of people getting killed each week is not a disaster.
Then we have Des Browne and Gordon Brown who have both in their own inimitable way tried to show that they are a cut above us mere mortals. Browne trying to suggest that Joe Public does not understand the intricacies of nuclear weapons whilst Brown tries to pass off a tax rise as a tax cut.
So what has this got to do with Scotland? Well for a start, the above mentioned Labour politicians are amongst the most powerful people in British politics, controlling the items that are not devolved to Scotland.
They are also the people pulling the strings of that political puppet, Jack McConnell, our very own First Minister.
Why do we still want to be represented by these political megalomaniacs?
Scotland has a choice in six weeks.
Make it count.
Event 1 – Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, questions people’s intelligence when he says, "It is not as straight forward as people suggest. They sleep soundly in their beds at night because we have nuclear weapons."
Event 2 – Margaret Becket, Foreign Secretary, saying that it is a, "complete nonsense," in response to the internationally respected Hans Blix’s comments that other than the removal of Saddam, everything else in Iraq has been a disaster.
Event 3 – Tony Blair’s comments after Sir George Mathewson, former chairman of RBS, came out in support of independence. Blair said that Mathewson’s comments were, "self indulgent and absurd."
Event 4 – Gordon Brown trying to fool everyone with his 2p cut in the basic rate of income tax, yet because he scrapped the 10p lowest rate, there is effectively no difference.
What have all these events got in common? Yes that is right it is Labour’s latest attempt at pulling the wool over our eyes and completely losing its grip on reality.
For a start, the RBS is the fifth largest bank in the world. I think that a former chairman of such a bank would be pretty well qualified to talk on the financial merits of independence, yet Blair disregarded them out of hand.
Similarly, Hans Blix, the former Chief Weapons Inspector, has more than enough experience to know what he is talking about when it comes to international affairs, especially Iraq. Yet Margaret Beckett seems to think that hundreds of people getting killed each week is not a disaster.
Then we have Des Browne and Gordon Brown who have both in their own inimitable way tried to show that they are a cut above us mere mortals. Browne trying to suggest that Joe Public does not understand the intricacies of nuclear weapons whilst Brown tries to pass off a tax rise as a tax cut.
So what has this got to do with Scotland? Well for a start, the above mentioned Labour politicians are amongst the most powerful people in British politics, controlling the items that are not devolved to Scotland.
They are also the people pulling the strings of that political puppet, Jack McConnell, our very own First Minister.
Why do we still want to be represented by these political megalomaniacs?
Scotland has a choice in six weeks.
Make it count.
Friday 16 March 2007
Who is bankrupting who?
With less than seven weeks to go until polling day, the independence movement is riding on the crest of a wave.
But what is this?
Surfing up alongside is none other than Sir George Mathewson, the former Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland. He has added his credence to the independence debate by declaring that he sees, "no circumstance where independence would be a serious disadvantage." Now this guy knows what he is talking about having guided the Royal Bank of Scotland to become the fifth biggest bank in the world.
There are other prominent businessmen surfing alongside Independence, but a glance over the shoulder sees Tony Blair, dangerously close to a Trident submarine, surfing a board that is shaped like the United Kingdom with Scotland cut off the top. He is not doing very well as he and his UK surf board appear to be sinking.
"Help, help," splutters Tony, "we can’t manage without Scotland. We would end up broke without them," he says as he did in his speech in Edinburgh today.
How can that be possible though Independence asks? Your recent argument for Scotland not going alone was that Scotland was bankrolled by London. Was this just a myth all along? Now Scotland could bankrupt Britain if it went alone? How do you answer that Tony?
But it’s too late, because Trident, which the UK parliament voted to keep this week, despite the majority of Scottish MPs voting against it, has destroyed Tony.
Those pesky rogue states with nuclear weapons Independence utters as he surfs towards a safe and exciting independent future.
Discuss all this and much more at Our Scotland
But what is this?
Surfing up alongside is none other than Sir George Mathewson, the former Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland. He has added his credence to the independence debate by declaring that he sees, "no circumstance where independence would be a serious disadvantage." Now this guy knows what he is talking about having guided the Royal Bank of Scotland to become the fifth biggest bank in the world.
There are other prominent businessmen surfing alongside Independence, but a glance over the shoulder sees Tony Blair, dangerously close to a Trident submarine, surfing a board that is shaped like the United Kingdom with Scotland cut off the top. He is not doing very well as he and his UK surf board appear to be sinking.
"Help, help," splutters Tony, "we can’t manage without Scotland. We would end up broke without them," he says as he did in his speech in Edinburgh today.
How can that be possible though Independence asks? Your recent argument for Scotland not going alone was that Scotland was bankrolled by London. Was this just a myth all along? Now Scotland could bankrupt Britain if it went alone? How do you answer that Tony?
But it’s too late, because Trident, which the UK parliament voted to keep this week, despite the majority of Scottish MPs voting against it, has destroyed Tony.
Those pesky rogue states with nuclear weapons Independence utters as he surfs towards a safe and exciting independent future.
Discuss all this and much more at Our Scotland
Friday 9 March 2007
History In The Making
It has been an historic week. The House of Commons voted in favour of electing members to the House of Lords, bringing about potentially a huge constitutional change.
However it may not be the constitutional change in the air as the SNP are still riding high in the polls. Is this partly due to our very own First Minister instructing everyone to vote for them. He is quoted as saying, "There isn't a safe vote for Nationalism. If you believe it, vote for it."
With such a glowing endorsement, Alex Salmond has been busy deciding how he is going to spend his time when he takes over as First Minister. As well as marching Scotland towards independence, he will retain his seat at Westminster, according to the Herald. Is this to ensure Scotland gets a good deal in both parliaments?
One party not getting a good deal at the moment is the Tories. In a memo published by a daily paper, despite it being eight months old, Shadow Scottish Secretary, David Mundell has criticised the lack of talent amongst Tory MSPs.
However, some people with plenty of talent are those at Independent First who are busy organising their second march, which is taking place on 31st March. If you believe in Scottish Independence make sure you are there. Will there be any media coverage? Let’s hope so.
But one thing is for sure, all this and much more will be covered at Our Scotland.
However it may not be the constitutional change in the air as the SNP are still riding high in the polls. Is this partly due to our very own First Minister instructing everyone to vote for them. He is quoted as saying, "There isn't a safe vote for Nationalism. If you believe it, vote for it."
With such a glowing endorsement, Alex Salmond has been busy deciding how he is going to spend his time when he takes over as First Minister. As well as marching Scotland towards independence, he will retain his seat at Westminster, according to the Herald. Is this to ensure Scotland gets a good deal in both parliaments?
One party not getting a good deal at the moment is the Tories. In a memo published by a daily paper, despite it being eight months old, Shadow Scottish Secretary, David Mundell has criticised the lack of talent amongst Tory MSPs.
However, some people with plenty of talent are those at Independent First who are busy organising their second march, which is taking place on 31st March. If you believe in Scottish Independence make sure you are there. Will there be any media coverage? Let’s hope so.
But one thing is for sure, all this and much more will be covered at Our Scotland.
Monday 5 March 2007
Posted Missing
In the last month, lots of things have gone missing and at Our Scotland we have done our best to try and locate them.
For a start, in the recent BBC Question Time programme from Edinburgh, every major Scottish political party had their leader present on the forum except the Labour Party. Where was Jack McConnell? In the run up to the election, you would have thought that politicians would be only too glad of the air-time to express their views. Is this a shrewd political move by Mr McConnell, or is he scared of sharing the same platform as Alex Salmond?
Also gone missing was some common sense. With Jack McConnell unwilling to accept the Question Time invitation, Lord Foulkes took his place and used the platform to announce that the SNP were xenophobic. This was barely a few days after the Lib Dem MSP Jamie Stone had to make a public apology for a similar remark.
The Scottish Lib Dems also seems to be missing an internet link to their very own website. For in that website they claim to “champion freedom”, they believe in “fundamental values of liberty” and they want individuals to “take part in decisions which affect their lives”. Yet Nicol Stephen, their Scottish leader has said that they would block a referendum unless pro-independence parties gained a majority at Holyrood.
If it wasn’t lost already, Tony Blair’s credibility was also shot to pieces this month when he pleaded with Alex Salmond to stop calling him names and stop mentioning the Iraq war.
Finally the last thing to be posted missing is subtlety. With an election just two months away councils have announced an average council tax rise of just 1.9% which is below the rate of inflation. Are councils efficiently using our money, or is this just an enticement to give them our vote?
However, it is not all bad news as a few things have been found during the month. We found out that the final bill for the Scottish Parliament was $414 million. Was this money well spent? We also found out that MSP expenses have risen by twice the rate of inflation to £9.8 million. Are they value for money?
The next two months could potentially be the most important in recent history for Scotland. There is a strong wind getting behind the independence movement and this could potentially deliver significant gains come election time.
Discuss this and much more at Our Scotland.
For a start, in the recent BBC Question Time programme from Edinburgh, every major Scottish political party had their leader present on the forum except the Labour Party. Where was Jack McConnell? In the run up to the election, you would have thought that politicians would be only too glad of the air-time to express their views. Is this a shrewd political move by Mr McConnell, or is he scared of sharing the same platform as Alex Salmond?
Also gone missing was some common sense. With Jack McConnell unwilling to accept the Question Time invitation, Lord Foulkes took his place and used the platform to announce that the SNP were xenophobic. This was barely a few days after the Lib Dem MSP Jamie Stone had to make a public apology for a similar remark.
The Scottish Lib Dems also seems to be missing an internet link to their very own website. For in that website they claim to “champion freedom”, they believe in “fundamental values of liberty” and they want individuals to “take part in decisions which affect their lives”. Yet Nicol Stephen, their Scottish leader has said that they would block a referendum unless pro-independence parties gained a majority at Holyrood.
If it wasn’t lost already, Tony Blair’s credibility was also shot to pieces this month when he pleaded with Alex Salmond to stop calling him names and stop mentioning the Iraq war.
Finally the last thing to be posted missing is subtlety. With an election just two months away councils have announced an average council tax rise of just 1.9% which is below the rate of inflation. Are councils efficiently using our money, or is this just an enticement to give them our vote?
However, it is not all bad news as a few things have been found during the month. We found out that the final bill for the Scottish Parliament was $414 million. Was this money well spent? We also found out that MSP expenses have risen by twice the rate of inflation to £9.8 million. Are they value for money?
The next two months could potentially be the most important in recent history for Scotland. There is a strong wind getting behind the independence movement and this could potentially deliver significant gains come election time.
Discuss this and much more at Our Scotland.
Thursday 1 March 2007
9.2 Billion Reasons For Change
Water. It is plain. It is simple. Yet it keeps life on this planet alive.
You would imagine that such a vital item to the very survival of human life would be free and readily available. However, just like every other basic human need such as shelter and clothing, water is just another commodity in this capitalist world in which we live.
This is the same capitalist world that openly embraces The Royal Bank of Scotland’s (oh sorry that should be RBS) announcement that they have made profits of £9.2 billion in one year.
Out of this £9.2 billion, £2.29 billion has been screwed out of the average man on the street.
How on earth can this be justified when Scotland as a nation has a third of children living under the poverty line?
How many hospitals would £9.2 billion be able to build? How many people would it take of Scotland’s streets? How many new schools or affordable housing would it build? It would even build 22.2 new Scottish Parliament buildings.
Not to be outdone, the Bank of Scotland (oops sorry I mentioned Scotland again, business types don’t like that word, HBOS) announced profits of £5.7 billion. However business analysts were "disappointed" with those figures. They expected HBOS to fleece more money out of us.
These two companies alone made £15 billion PROFIT this year alone. Now think of how many companies you deal with in the year. Now that is a lot of companies charging us a lot more for products than it actually costs. Where is all this profit going to? Whilst a very small amount may go to good causes, the vast majority goes to shareholders and big bosses, who will have more than enough money than they know what to do with already.
So why do we allow this to continue happening? Why do we blindly hand over our hard earned money and get very little in return?
Fairer wealth redistribution may not happen over night, but incremental steps can be taken to step towards this goal. For instance, changes to the council tax system, could bring about significant change for a lot of people.
With the Scottish elections now only 9 weeks away, perhaps it is time to vote for parties that are looking to change Scotland for the better, instead of voting for parties that will keep it as one of the most unhealthy, impoverished nations in Europe.
You would imagine that such a vital item to the very survival of human life would be free and readily available. However, just like every other basic human need such as shelter and clothing, water is just another commodity in this capitalist world in which we live.
This is the same capitalist world that openly embraces The Royal Bank of Scotland’s (oh sorry that should be RBS) announcement that they have made profits of £9.2 billion in one year.
Out of this £9.2 billion, £2.29 billion has been screwed out of the average man on the street.
How on earth can this be justified when Scotland as a nation has a third of children living under the poverty line?
How many hospitals would £9.2 billion be able to build? How many people would it take of Scotland’s streets? How many new schools or affordable housing would it build? It would even build 22.2 new Scottish Parliament buildings.
Not to be outdone, the Bank of Scotland (oops sorry I mentioned Scotland again, business types don’t like that word, HBOS) announced profits of £5.7 billion. However business analysts were "disappointed" with those figures. They expected HBOS to fleece more money out of us.
These two companies alone made £15 billion PROFIT this year alone. Now think of how many companies you deal with in the year. Now that is a lot of companies charging us a lot more for products than it actually costs. Where is all this profit going to? Whilst a very small amount may go to good causes, the vast majority goes to shareholders and big bosses, who will have more than enough money than they know what to do with already.
So why do we allow this to continue happening? Why do we blindly hand over our hard earned money and get very little in return?
Fairer wealth redistribution may not happen over night, but incremental steps can be taken to step towards this goal. For instance, changes to the council tax system, could bring about significant change for a lot of people.
With the Scottish elections now only 9 weeks away, perhaps it is time to vote for parties that are looking to change Scotland for the better, instead of voting for parties that will keep it as one of the most unhealthy, impoverished nations in Europe.
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