Far from ever being accused of praising the political leanings of Ruth ‘ermine’ Davidson I will however say this. I’m pretty sure that over the last few months of the absolute and unprecedented chaos that has engulfed the party of selfishness in the UK, that she is a member of, she would have had something else to say at various points in time publicly other than just dredging out the words ‘I fully support X, Y and Z. This is entirely the right thing to do and I’m right behind them’.
What a wilting dreep wee DoogIe the linesman, VAR with the batteries removed, is. The man has no backbone. I’m pretty sure the Tories could sit a rhododendron bush in the hot seat in 10 Downing Street and Rosco would immediately speed dial a hovering nearby BBC Scotland reporter and camera crew so that he could pledge his unwavering support for a shrub.
I know for the likes of Ross of Moray, or Murray Ross as auld bawheid once called him in his usual unprepared manner, life is all about getting loyalty points in the bag, stored up and accumulated until, instead of having enough coupons to pay for a flight to Bristol, they hit the magic total where they measure you up for a cloak of deid stoat’s fur and a signing on stipend of three hundred and fifty quid a day, between snoozes and subsidised five star meals.
The lack of integrity, charisma or personality that the fella brings to political life in Scotland creates a gap in a democratic process in Holyrood which, in all fairness, requires an active, coherent opposition to the government of the day, providing checks and balances and holding power to account.
Stand up for yourself sometime man. You would at least command some respect if you did. Your deference on all occasions to your masters in London does you no favours in Scotland.
Then there’s that other guy, you know, the one with the extremely vital job, the Secretary of State against Scotland. An individual the average Scot couldn’t name, or pick out of a police line-up, or even tell you what it is he’s supposed to be doing for a living……. Ooft!
How do these people expect to survive in politics once Scotland returns to Its rightful state of independence if they slavishly follow what they are told to do by a political party in and of another country?
The self-governing parliament of Scotland will surely require representatives of the people across the political spectrum. Our citizens of a Conservative view will be as equally as entitled to representation as anyone else. In in terms of what will be, eventually, a fully codified democratic Constitution underpinning our sovereignty it is vitally so that they do.
Healthily, a new crop of such individuals with conservative views, but not wedded to the past and dysfunctional former relationships, will emerge, I am sure. I figure the current band of comic singers and ermine -chasers will have made themselves pretty much anonymous by then.
Independence is normal. Independence is coming. Independence is inevitable.
I’ve heard it said in the media and on social media many times. I heard it again yesterday from some pompous eejit with absolutely no understanding of Scotland or Wales, or anything really, apart from how to hoover up wealth off the backs of the misery of others from a large mansion-style house in Berkshire.
A typical example……The challenge for this government is to take on and defeat the rising tide of divisive ‘nationalism’ in Scotland and now in Wales, which threatens to engulf our great nation. We must preserve our Union from these sinister flag waving blood and soil elements.
Do they ever actually stop for one moment though to consider what it is they are talking about? Have they ever considered what it is that has caused the gaping crack in the foundations of the born-of-deceit Union they so adore?
You would think that even the merest smidgeon of self-awareness would surely reveal the truth of the desperate situation of which these public school, private club, hedge fund, Cayman Island cash hoarding elitists seem to fear? Either these folk are pretty thick (they aren’t) or they are deluding themselves, and ignoring the obvious slippery slope towards extremes, as long as the leading political doctrine of the day continues to further assist in their personal enrichment.
There has been no rise in blood and soil populist nationalism in Scotland, or more recently in Wales (as far as I’m aware, I’m Scottish). Nothing has changed for us. We have stayed exactly where we were, where we have been and where we will continue to be, politically, as a left of centre social democratic, socialist-leaning, progressive outgoing country. We’ve never moved an inch, now even a baw hair either way.
But yes indeed, definitely within the membership of the alleged partnership of equals which constitutes the current United Kingdom, there has been a disturbing rise of flag waving blood and soil divisive and sinister nationalism. It isn’t in Scotland or Wales. It is firmly and unequivocally in the power politics of those based in England, who have taken the worst elements of Thatcherism and moved them into mainstream political policy, becoming successively extreme as they draw governments from the crack pot elements of the right of the Conservative Party, who were previously considered too far out-there to matter.
Add to that that under the guise of modernisation, beginning with Kinnock and expanded massively under Blair, a once great movement for change, deeply rooted in Scotland and Wales, has been wrenched off to an uninspiring centre-right position in order to appease English middle class swing voters. They left us. They have betrayed us.
A party in which the word socialist is now a dirty word. A party which would, for all intents and purposes, pass for a Conservative government if handed power. A party ‘of the people’ led by a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. A party who all but pander to the extremes of the government for the few which sits opposite them and amongst them in both Chambers of parliament, lest they upset a policy focus group of Daily Mail and Telegraph readers and lose a few potential votes.
Brexit was a huge triumph for the blood and soil British nationalist elements who used to frequent the fascist National Front, its equally sinister offshoots, the BNP and then the despicable Farage and his UKIP bully boys. Initially winning enough seats in the English Council Elections to frighten Cameron into agreeing to a referendum on EU membership, bringing xenophobia, nationalistic fervour for a long-lost empire, overwhelming and hugely exaggerated criticism and hatred towards immigrants and suspicion of all things European.
The promotion of an unhealthy inward-looking exceptionalism is more than assisted by a malleable media and in particular, a hate-filled news media who have helped twist so many minds that you wonder if they are putting something funny in the water down there.
What did all of that achieve, apart from removing the people of Scotland, against their will, from receiving the benefits of being a member of a huge free-trading, widely advantageous economic and culturally diverse community?
The benefits of Brexit? The increasingly extreme UK government can now deregulate standards which underpin the provision of goods and services and dissolve hard won protections for workers which they previously enjoyed as citizens of a European Union country. Then there’s the small matter of the UK’s wealthy and entitled class, with their cash squirreled away in tax havens around the world, being able to avoid new EU legislation on disclosure and tax avoidance.
In short, even more corners can now be cut to exploit the many to the further enrichment of the few, and those who have benefitted enormously from the sweat and effort of others can continue to avoid the taxation responsibilities the rest of us have. That’s it. That’s the only benefits of Brexit and only for the few, who manipulated the many into voting for it.
The right-wing element of politics in England have poisoned the well of government in the UK. It’s horrible.
Who, even in Thatcher’s time, would not have baulked at the laughing, joking face of Sue-Ellen Braverman as she held court at a Tory Conference fringe event, egged on by the audience, talking of her dream to send desperate survivors of war, persecution and misery, human beings like ourselves, off on aeroplanes to Rwanda to effectively be out of sight and out of mind, without even considering their human rights? (Incredibly Braverman is an individual who, in the current circus that is government, resigned last week having been caught breaching security protocols, only to be returned to the position of Home Secretary in the brave new same as before Sunak government. A farce.)
Yet such actions, such jingoistic xenophobic extreme pronouncements are now accepted, without the battering of an eyelid. Reported mundanely in the news as a government policy, trumpeted as triumph for good old Britannia in the right-wing print hate mail. Disgusting. Something is wrong there folks, very wrong.
No, dear friends, we haven’t risen in any form of divisive hate-filled nationalism. We haven’t changed our political beliefs at all. But we are witnessing it happening to a very close neighbour and for that reason we are most certainly off as soon as we possibly can. Scotland will return to self-government and as a progressive social democratic country whose governments will be focused, as a principal guiding rule, on ensuring that the policies they develop are centred on benefitting all of our citizens, we will become a prosperous outward-looking contributor to the family of nations and a member of the European Union.
Then perhaps we can act as an example to others, a beacon to help bring our closest neighbour back from the brink of what currently is sliding them towards the extremes that so many sacrificed their lives to defeat in the first half of the last century.
So, he’s loaded. His wife is the heiress tae mair wealth than the ‘firm’ known on street corners as ‘The Windsors’ made oot of skimming the bookies and the gin stalls at Royal Ascot.
He’s no’ sure if he has ever had a friend who could be described as working class, but he’s pretty sure he’s met one, and just a few weeks after he came second in a leadership race to clearly the least possibly able candidate to be the Prime Minister of the UK, incredibly, even less competent than Boris Johnson, he finds himself the democratically unelected head of the Tory poo-pile, and the new occupant of the now revolving-doored, Airbnb residence at 10 Downing Street.
Rishi Sunak, saviour of the wealthy, if ever the poor wee darlins needed saving, is on the case. Ready to steady the ship, calm the horses and try to do absolutely nothing similar to the mad antics his predecessor engaged in to send the economy of the UK into freefall.
The nerve shattering image is clear in his mind of Liz Truss, as she bounded around the Treasury building, guffawing hysterically in that strange way she does, shouting at the top of her voice, ‘What does this one do?’ as she grabbed several levers of power in turn, yanking them as hard as she could, without ever noticing the bold signs above each lever which read ‘Do not under any F*^*ing circumstances touch this F **•ing lever’.
On a progressive level and trying to always find the positive in most situations, it is good to see a person of colour arise to such a lofty position at Westminster. Credit where credit is due and hopefully this is another striking blow to the blight and horror of the underlying racism that exists and bubbles below the surface of society.
What to do about the Scots? We are but one of a long list of major almost-crisis issues which he faces. If he has any sense he will not do as his arrogant, or perhaps aware that she was out of her depth predecessor did and ignore the First Ministers of the devolved nations.
He’s talked about creating a dynamic UK-wide government. If the faceless none-entity (but handy with a bow and arrow at funerals) current Secretary of State against Scotland is still in post by the end of this week we’ll know that’s just more hot air and Tory bluster.
I can’t help feeling us independence-minded folk are missing an opportunity here. I know we are still waiting on an English court telling us that we can’t have a referendum, thus preparing the ground for the next General Election to be the ultimate poll of the views of the people of Scotland (I’m hoping the legal answer is yes to a referendum next year, but 300-odd years of jiggery pokery would suggest otherwise).
The First Minister is calling for an early General Election but if that were to happen, and before the result of the Supreme Court case was known, would we be running a campaign to send our chosen representatives back to Westminster, or a campaign to bring them out?
It wouldn’t be beyond those in the corridors of the London-based established power, should a date be fixed for a snap General Election, to hold off just a wee bit longer in handing down a decision on the legitimacy of the Scottish Parliament passing laws to facilitate a referendum on independence, until after the General Election.
Dismissing the empty noise about other means by which it could be achieved, I understand that the only way our independence will be ratified and recognised by the international community is by following legal channels to do so, through a democratic process, by majority decision.
I can’t help thinking though (and I know that there is an old Napoleon saying about never interfering with an enemy when they are making a mistake) that there is so much chaos and calamity surrounding our political opponents right now that we are missing a shootie-in, empty goal situation to further our cause.
They are down, why let them get back up? Legitimately though what our response should be as the circus continues to play out at the Palace of Westminster, apart from wait for the Supreme Court decision, I do not know. Yet more frustration.
Independence is coming. Independence is inevitable. Independence is normal.
It’s almost like they are reporting on a subject that they feel should be kept secret. Free democratic will in Scotland. The BBC and their pals still can’t seem to come to terms with it, unable to recognise that politically, things have changed in Scotland.
It’s been a long while since this changed and you’d think at some stage they’d switch on that they better start providing some sort of reporting of events which, if even only roughly, accurately describe what’s going on, but no. Stick firmly to imperial propaganda. All threats to the status quo, large or small, debunk with scary falsehood, sow doubt, minimise or ignore in the hope that it all just goes away.
It feels like, in the blinkered consciousness of the British state’s news and current affairs coverage of their subsumed Scotland, they are soothing themselves, providing self-comfort, by speaking to a mystical group of Scottish viewers in their reporting who now do not exist.
A group who somehow never rumbled that British New Labour’s representatives in Scotland and their current crop of phonies are just an extension of the late 20th century’s neo-liberal ambition, and then attainment of becoming just as much Tory in self-serving policy and blood lust as the Tories themselves.
A mystical group of viewers from the past who would have absolutely no problem with their Labour representatives saying in public that they detest the Tories and all they stand for.
A group which in fact would fiercely criticise anyone representing them in the chambers of power who had anything more favourable to say about Tory values other than they are heartless self-serving post-imperial nationalists (of the bad kind).
It feels like Mr Campbell, wee James, and the rest, start every report involving the SNP, independence generally or even anything that puts Scotland’s resources, industry, innovation or culture in a good light, with a subliminal message for the viewer.
That message is along the lines of ‘Look, I’ve got to report this, It’s not really for you and me, If we hang around long enough all of this will go away and we can get back to good old Labour versus Tory down in London again, the expenses will be great, all of our jobs here at Non-Specific Quay will be safe, in fact many of us will get back on the corporation promotion ladder again seeing as there’ll be no threat to our broadcasting services up here, you can relax and we’ll never need to bother about these separatist nutters again, but just bear with us, will you.’
The just-finished SNP Conference is one of dozens of examples of this that you could point at every single day. Speeches and important motions being passed, many to try and ameliorate the despicable damage caused by years of London mismanagement and incompetence, initiatives to put food in the bellies and heat in the bones of our children and auld folk. Projects to move us towards the targets for a greener economy.
All of it muzzled, not reported, minimised and ignored, due to a lengthy repetitive non-news witch-hunt to ‘out’ the First Minister of Scotland as a hate speechifier for saying publicly what every right-minded person with a heart and a conscience would naturally say about the Tory Party, a sentence that was a damn sight less controversial than most of us would say about them.
The sight of various members of the Union-flagged lapel badge-ringing Detestoclast, faking that they’ve been put off their foie gras and Bollinger by such an insult, was more than pathetic.
We see you. I think what the BBC and others are missing about this fictious audience they think they are providing a service to, is that audience is…… us.
As if it isn’t bad enough that celestial beings, or perhaps even just good luck, haven’t protected us from the horrid new age extra-strong-heartless latest version of a Tory leader.
As if it isn’t intolerable enough that we aren’t saved from her wild, manic-laughing sawdust-headed persona, her constantly flickering eye movements as she tries desperately to remember whether the next line in the pre-written script is to use the words ‘I delivered’ or ‘growth’ (from an individual with little or no understanding of leadership or economics other than a sense that further enriching the rich gets her a gold star with her campaign- supporting corporate buddies and putting the boot into the working poor and vulnerable is in some way a means to grow an economy (eh?) and keeps the great unwashed in their place.)
As if it is hardly possible to conceive that it was even feasible that there was ever likely to be a Prime Minister of the UK with less competence for the job, than the dunder-heided posh boy Boris Johnson, which we all almost immediately found out was entirely wrong because all evidence so far suggests that Liz Truss is way out there in terms of being even more of a dangerous liability than him.
As if all this isn’t enough, the brave new Chicabethan Britannic world has unleashed Sue-Ellen (she changed it to Suella because it sounds less common) Braverman as Home Secretary in this flip flopping, spinning circus act disguised as a government.
If you thought Priti Patel, the previous incumbent of the job, was a nasty piece of work, who seemed to be unable to mask that she rather enjoyed inflicting misery upon others (she is, and she did) then you’ll be shocked to know that evidence shows that Sue-Ellen’s views and attitudes make the smirking Patel look like Julie Andrews dancing around a herd of goats on an Austrian mountain.
During the Tory conference in Birmingham the other day this inhumane creature, who professes to be a believer in a religion which preaches love and tolerance, jocularly informed a fringe event of a room full of red-faced right-wing gammons, that it is her dream to see a frontpage Daily Telegraph (hate mail) photograph of an aeroplane loaded with asylum seekers taking off for a journey to Rwanda, to much clapping and cheering.
‘I would love to be having a front page of The Telegraph with a plane taking off to Rwanda. That’s my dream. That’s my obsession’ Home Secretary Suella Braverman pic.twitter.com/BxuEoR1lrU
Her ‘dream’. Think about that. The slow-moving incremental steps away from political moderation, from centre right, to right-wing, to far right, to acceptable full on fascism have just taken another jolt to the right. Her comments were accepted in the mainstream media, considered normal, not a BBC commentator or TV news anchor turned a hair, her obvious glee in making such comments roundly applauded by the audience, communicating their joy back to her,signalling their approval that such views are now considered normal.
Such odious horrendous opinions, where the persecution and expulsion of other human beings, who have suffered extreme hardship, many who may have experienced, and be fleeing, war, genocide, famine, torture, rape,, the horrors of life that we in the West have luckily been sheltered from, before being preyed upon by gangsters robbing them of their last possessions in order to give them false hope of a new life in peace and with opportunity, before being whisked off like criminals to a far-off country with a volatile history of war and torture itself, being celebrated, celebrated? This is despicable, unforgiveable. Where is the humanity?
This my dear friends must surely one of the very final of the final straws for us in Scotland. Any right-minded person must surely see this as yet another clarion call that it indeed is time to go. The paths of our two nations have diverged to an extent which is not sustainable.
With a very loud screech and the distinct smell of burning rubber the Tory mini-budget from hell, which nearly sunk the economy like a stone, has, a week later, been flung into reverse with the sudden cancellation of the planned cut in the 45% tax rate.
Chaos reigns. The village of Ecclefechan has now had to set up a temporary tented village in a local park as thousands of BMW, Mercedes and Range Rover owners, their vehicles packed to the gunnels with framed prints of their credentials, gold bars and copies of their last tax return, nerves shot to pieces, got themselves caught in a slow creeping mass traffic jam, encompassing two nearby junctions of the A74.
The early morning scene, once the news was leaked, of migrating motorists coming off, like a row of sheep, at one junction, turning, and coming back on again in the other direction over and over again, unable to decide whether they should be heading south or back north again made great television for the hovering BBC news eye in the sky, who, of course, have placed the blame for the temporary blockage of this main artery south squarely at the door of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who last week refused to further enrich a small section of the Scottish population, and reduce available funding to vital public services for the rest. Thus, causing the stampede south in the first place. What a heartless creature.
The tension was visibly seen to rise somewhat in the late morning when a drone owned by a local rambler, (reported later on lunchtime Reporting Scotland as being an actual SNP voter) made contact with a mobile phone tower close to the village, which resulted in several heated conversations between the meandering herd of professionals and entrepreneurs and estate agents in the Home Counties being cut short before any agreements to return home deposits could be made.
Then back in the real world none of this actually happened, apart from the Tory flip-flop on the tax cut. None of it happened because the Project Fear brain-drain scam that the media have now, to my memory, used three or four times since 2012, is plainly malicious and a myth. Scots who have reached the top of the tree in their professions or fields of expertise will never be deserting their country in any great numbers to England because of levels of tax levied. The majority of these Scots, like most of the rest of us have beating hearts and are content to make their contribution to the services which benefit all of Scotland’s people.
Be under no illusions either that today’s crash bang U-turn is anything to do with the leadership of the Tory party suddenly developing a conscience. No. It is only happening because they know that once the necessary draft legislation hits the chambers of the Palace of Westminster they’ll never get enough votes to pass the change into law anyway.
Boris Johnsons administration was a circus act. This lot threatens to be even worse, far worse, if that is possible.
Independence is normal. Independence is inevitable. Independence is coming.
itisintruthnotforglory 
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