No right in Scotland?

I read an article the other day which I thought made some interesting reading. It suggested that the SNP, and the independence movement in general, should make much more use of the 'No right in Scotland' claim.

This is the claim that the British Government has no right in Scotland, never has had any right in Scotland, and never will have any right in Scotland. It is the claim which asks why a British government, currently a Conservative administration which was elected without the support of the Scottish people, should have the right to rule Scotland!

Personally, I believe there is much credibility to this claim. In effect, we are actually in a situation where our country is being ruled by not only what many Scots regard as a foreign government, but one which has been elected without the electoral support of the Scottish people. Therefore, is it not right that much more of the no right claim should be made in order to convince more Scots of the necessity for independence? I believe it is.

It has always been my firm belief that the British government has not right to govern Scotland, simply because of the corrupt and, I believe, illegal way in which this Act of Union 1707 was made.

Any of you who have read Scottish History will know that the treaty of union, which followed the Acts of Union, were brought about after an extensive period of bribing of Scottish politicians by English parliamentarians. Bribes included the likes of gold and even estates in England. The Scottish politicians of the time we corrupt also, and gave in to the bribing, and so doing sold out Scotland's sovereignty in the process. It's were the famous sayings, "Bought and sold for English gold" and "Such a parcel of rogues in a nation", were both based upon.

Now, of course, there were other factors at play, not least the Darien scheme, which, as we keep getting informed of, did not go to plan. But in the cold light of day, it was the corrupt way in which the treaty of union was handled, with the independence of our country being given up for the sake of some gold and land, and with the approval of the acts being made without the approval of the Scottish people even being sought, that makes my believe that the union is an invalid one, and the claim that the British government has no right in Scotland, being a credible claim.

There were some politicians who viewed events correctly and attempted stop the union taking place. One example is Andrew Fletcher, who was a leading opponent of union with England, and on his deathbed said, 'Lord have mercy on my poor country that is so barbarously oppressed'. And, of course, Robert Burns, although a poet, is well renowned for his political views, and spoke of what he believed would become of Scotland after union - a country which lost it's own sense of identity, culture, and self-confidence. Now, while I believe Scotland has managed to regain it's own culture and, to some extent, regained it's full identity, you can begin to see where Burns was right in terms of a loss of self-confidence, when there are people living in this country today who do not believe Scotland is capable of being independent.

So there were those who opposed the union. Indeed, in the days following the signing of the treaty, rioting broke out in the streets, and church bells rang in anger at what they perceived as being a sell-out, which it was. In the end, however, it was those who could wield power who had the final say and made union take place. So here is a reason why the union is not legitimate, since it was made without the Scottish people, who were sovereign not the monarch, giving it their approval.

As for today, with the Tories back in government, now is the ideal time to bring back the no right claim, and use it to it's full advantage!

Just as the article I read the other day said, the Labour party has no official response to give to this. After all, how can they possibly prove the British government has any right in Scotland when that government does not have the electoral support of Scotland?

With Salmond now promising to make Independence the forefront of the election campaign, hopefully the no right claim will take prominence, and hopefully more Scots will realise that Independence is the only right and proper way forward to a modern Scotland, which acts not as part of an out-of-date union past it's sell by date, but acts like a good citizen of the world and looks after itself rather than allowing someone else to look after us.