Scottish Nationalist Voice

No right in Scotland?

2010-08-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

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.

The petty Glasgow Vs Edinburgh fight must end now

2009-11-27T12:07:00.000-08:00

Do not get me wrong, there always has been a traditional "rivalry" of sorts between Scotland's two biggest cities. But these have always been light-hearted and nothing more a than a wee joke! What I'm talking about is something which has recently emerged with a vengeance! As you may have noticed, the Labour party used the slogan "anti-Glasgow" during the Glasgow North East by-election campaign, saying that Edinburgh was "ripping off Glasgow" and that the SNP Scottish Government did not like Glasgow! Well, for one thing, I don't see how the Glasgow rail link cancellation is the fault of the good folk of the city of Edinburgh! And to claim that Glasgow is being "ripped off" is completely unfounded, since Glasgow receives more government funding than any other place in the whole of Scotland!

Of course, the reason for Labour's "ripping off" claim is based on simply the fact that the Scottish Government is located in Edinburgh and that some how, because of this, they are "biased" towards Scotland's east coast and will do nothing for the West! So how true is this? Well, let's compare the two cities. Firstly, where does the money go:

Glasgow City Council :- £1,544,70 million

Edinburgh City Council :- £873.00 million

What about other East and West coast areas:

East Lothian Council :- £190.12 million

East Dunbartonshire Council :- £202.92 million

As these figures clearly show, the West of Scotland receives far more funding than the East, especially Glasgow!

But getting away from the facts and figures now, my main point is this: of course making statements to the deprived areas of Glasgow that the other big city, Edinburgh, is "ripping Glasgow off" is going to make people in these areas feel angry and build up resentment towards Edinburgh! What Labour is doing here is merely just making up excuses, and also a distraction, for the decades of neglect to these areas from the Labour party, something which, sadly, people are falling for!

All this is wrong. Playing the blame game between these cities is, and never will be, the right thing to do! We should all be proud that Scotland has two such great cities! Edinburgh - Scotland's wonderful and historic capital city, and Glasgow - the nations largest city and soon to be the proud host to the Commonwealth games!

What we need is for both the cities to work together, to ensure that the best possible outcome is reached for both Glaswegians and Edinburggers! Both cities are intensely proud, and there is nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, but the way things are going, and the way the Labour cronies continue to encourage this, we will soon end up with a situation were all we have is constant sniping and accusations being thrown at each other! Scotland should not become divided like this, and Labour should stop it's campaign of east coast resentment now!

London's offerings will not dampen demands for Independence!

2009-11-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

Labour's real leader in Scotland, Jim Murphy, today unveiled the London government's plans to devolve more power to the Scottish Parliament. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, at first glance aye! Powers over taxation, stamp duty, speed limits, drink driving limits, and most importantly, airguns, all being given to Scotland to legislate on! So, all is well then in the world of Scottish politics! London allows the Scots to add a few more powers to our collection of devolved matters, and now everyone is happy and the question of constitutional reform has now been settled? No chance!

You see, all this is just simply a reaction to the SNP government bringing forward its Independence referendum white paper on Monday next week. London Labour doesn't really wish to give the Scots Parliament more powers, but at the same time they do not wish to appear opposed to change, and so they believe that by doing this they will appease those who want change for Scotland!

So while it's good news that Scotland is getting more powers, it should not be forgotten that for London, it's a two way process, with some powers being given to Scotland, and some being taken back in return!! This includes the regulation of health care professionals, regulations on insolvency practitioners and regulation of the charity sector. Why do we allow this to happen? Why do we allow the government in London to take away powers from us? We shouldn't! But for as long as we remain in the union, this is the sort of disastrous process where London still holds all the power strings will continue to happen!

Giving Scotland a few more extra powers may be a step in the right direction, but until Scotland has the real powers of Independence, the problems that Scotland suffers can not and will not be properly dealt with, and taking powers back will not help either!

The real winner is apathy!

2009-11-13T09:31:00.000-08:00

So Labour have won the Glasgow North East by-election, continuing Labour's 74 year rule over this area! Despite all the problems that make this the most socially deprived area in Western Europe, voters have stubbornly decided to stick with more of the same failed politics that has held Glasgow back! But on a turnout of less than 35%, it is fair to say that the real winner of this election is not Labour, but rather voter apathy! The fact that so few people turned out to cast their votes shows that people have lost faith in politics and, I feel, that is a disaster for democracy, as it shows that people believe that nothing will change and so feel it is not worth them voting! This is something which needs to change and that will only happen when we convince voters that to get change, you need to vote for change!

So I'll say well done to Willie Bain, I hope he'll work hard for the area, but I wouldn't read too much into this result as a feeling of the national mood!

GOOD LUCK DAVID!!!

2009-11-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post tonight to say good luck to David Kerr and the SNP in tomorrows by-election in Glasgow North East! This will be a major election, and most likely the last one before next years general election! In David, the SNP has the best candidate to represent this seat and wont take his orders from the London Labour establishment either! He will be true voice for Glasgow and for Scotland! Despite the significance of this election however, it does look as if turnout will be low, but let me make it clear, no matter what folk might say about being disaffected with politics or politicians being only in it for themselves, there is never any excuse for not voting! It is your democratic right, which our ancestors fought hard to achieve, and to not vote is not only a betrayal to those who fought and died for the vote, but is an insult to themselves and to democracy, as they are not letting their voice be heard and calling for change! So I urge the people of Glasgow North East to not waste their vote by not voting, get off your backside and get out and vote! Wouldn't you feel better knowing you had actually voted than knowing you hadn't!

Too close to call!

2009-11-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

With less than 48 hours to go now until the Glasgow North East by-election, you would perhaps expect me to give an indication of who i think will win, but I'm not going to! My reason? Well, to be honest, it's because I don't know who is going to win. While it looks as if Labour is probably still ahead, the SNP has actually closed the gap significantly over the past few weeks and, no matter what the media or the Labour party say, the SNP does still have a good chance of winning this seat!

A poll for the Telegraph a few weeks ago in the constituency showed that the gap between Labour and the SNP was indeed narrowing, and chances are that gap has narrowed even further since then. This is why I think that it is too close to call! Saying that, however, I would not be surprised if Labour manages to hold on to the seat, simply because their scare tactics and negativity throughout the entire campaign appears to have made an effect on the voters! Saying things like the SNP are "ripping off Glasgow" has scared voters into thinking that only by sticking with Labour will protect them, despite that fact that it is Glasgow City Council which is doing the damage by closing down schools and community centres! And it is the London Labour Government which has just announced the scrapping of the Glasgow to London rail link, despite them continuously attacking us for not building the airport rail link because of funding shortages!

So at this time I'm not going to call it, but a warning that Thursday could be a victory for fear over hope, should Labour hold on to this seat once again even after 74 years of domination!

McLeish: Labour is "in denial"!

2009-10-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

Henry McLeish may already be well known for speaking out against his, apparent, own party, but this latest one is one which Labour ought to closely listen too! McLeish, writing in Holyrood Magazine, has said that the Labour party has fallen into a "culture of Denial" and that the party is failing to offer any real alternatives to Independence for Scotland! Whilst saying this, McLeish has also said that Labour could be out of power for a generation!

Referring to the recent highly successful and optimistic SNP conference in Inverness, McLeish stated that it showed "the political distance the SNP has travelled in the past decade and, in sharp contrast, how little political progress Labour has made since the election defeat in 2007"! Now if Iain Gray doesn't think this undermines his leadership and the Labour party in general then, frankly, it ought too! McLeish also writes "Seeking to transform the sovereignty and authority of Westminster, the SNP has used nationality and identity as a new focus for political and social cohesion and promotes new aspirations of nationhood which transcend traditional social and economic issues and problems. Scottish Labour's combination of a culture of denial and a failure to understand the ethos of nationality and identity could prove disastrous and keep Labour out of power for a generation if left unchecked".

Now of course Labours response to all this was to be expected, stating that the referendum is just an "obsession" of the SNP, despite the fact that a recent poll showed that more than 60% want a referendum! So Labour ought to take heed from Henry McLeish, or they might just lose Scotland for ever! (but thank god for that, eh!)

Lib Dems back referendum!! (well, most of them at least)

2009-10-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

Several Liberal Democrat Westminster candidates are to break party ranks and call out in favour of holding a referendum on Scottish Independence! This comes after Senior elected Lib Dems have called for a referendum to be held, such as John Farquar Munro (MSP for Caithness) and George Lyon (the Lib Dems sole Scottish MEP). Former leader Paddy Ashdown has also spoken out and said, quit rightly, that it is wrong for the Lib dems to oppose holding a referendum!

Now, if a few of his own elected members isn't enough to make Tavish think again, then perhaps today's opinion poll on the very subject will make him! A YouGov poll of 1, 556 people has found that 63% want a referendum on Independence for Scotland, compared to just 26% opposed! And the figure for Lib Dem voters wanting a referendum was a massive 65%, compared to only 28% opposed! So even the majority of Liberal Democrat voters disagree with their leader and want a referendum!

All this is piling more and more pressure on Tavish Scott to change his tune about letting the people of Scotland decide their constitutional future! So will Tavish change his mind? Well at their upcoming one day conference they will hold a meeting to discuss wether to change their policy. If they do, then we can expect the referendum, as planned, to be held on St Andrews Day next year!!
The next few weeks should be very interesting indeed!

Do not be fooled by Labour's election spin!

2009-10-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

Today we witnessed the Labour party launch its campaign for the Glasgow North East by-election. Now, obviously you would expect me to criticize the lies and the misinformation that has been put out by Labour today, but allow me to focus particularly on the New Labour spin machine, something which I am certain will be out in full force throughout this by-election! Spin is something which Labour has always done at elections, and this one will be no different! I am in no doubt that Labour will try to present themselves as the "local champion" and the only party which will "make a difference to this constituency", despite the fact that its Labour which has represented this seat for the past 70 years! But this is what Labour will still do, they will present themselves as the party which will give this seat a "new chance" that will "transform the area", even though they've had 70 years to do so and have failed miserably! Labour will say they have a credible track record, well lets have a wee look at their track record in Glasgow North East, a seat which ranks as being the worst for Poverty, worst for deprivation, worst for poor health, worst for education standards, and worst for unemployment! In fact, a staggering 75% of children live below the poverty line! If Labour thinks that this is a good track record then it is definitely not the party to be given the job of continuing to represent this seat! Never before has the saying "Its time for change" been so relevant than this by-election! So please don't believe any of the spin being put out by Labour, its false and the people of Glasgow deserve better than this!!

John Smeaton to stand in Glasgow North-East

2009-09-25T02:33:00.000-07:00

John Smeaton, the baggage handler who rose to fame after the Glasgow airport terrorist attack, has decided to stand as an independent candidate who is being sponsored by the Jury Team! He says that hes fed up with the "political elite" and is fed up with the way the MPs have fiddled with their expenses. Personally speaking, while he seams like an honest person, I don't think he is really up to the job of being an MP! He is certainly well known and liked, especially in the constituency, but could he really stand up in Parliament and take on the "big beasts" of Westminster? Glasgow north-east desperately needs an MP who is able to stand up and win the arguments and, sadly, I just don't think John Smeaton could do that! As for the by-election itself, it would be nice to have a date!

You can read more about this story here

Why 16 and 17 year old young adults deserve to vote on Independence!

2009-09-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

For all those who don't know, the certain 16 year old constituent who contacted the MSP about lowering the voting age for next years Independence referendum just happens to be this blogger! Yes, I am Euan Purchase! I have to say, when i contacted Aileen Campbell I did not expect as much media and press coverage as has happened, but, now that the story is now making national headlines, I feel I should spell out the reasons for why I think 16 & 17 year olds deserve the vote and why, by speaking out against it, Labour and the rest of the unionist rabble have exposed their true undemocratic side!

Firstly, in a future Independent Scotland, it will be the 16 and 17 year olds who will be living the longest in it and deserve to decide what kind of Scotland they wish to live in, whether that be independent or not. It will be the 16 & 17 year olds who, in the future, could be running the government of an independent Scotland, so shouldn't they deserve to say what kind of government they wish to be running! But all those things aside, the most important argument, I feel, is that we can be trusted to pay taxes, to get married, and even to join the army, then surely it is right that we should be trusted to make a choice about who we elect to make these decisions on how much tax we have to pay and which wars we get sent in to fight!

It is said that the majority of 16 and 17 year olds support Independence. This may or may not be true, but either way, does this not prove that we are able to make that choice if we are able to hold a view on such an important issue? Yes, it does! To say that we are not old or mature enough to make these decisions is just nonsense! It is undermining to the intelligence of all 16 and 17 year olds and should stop now!

Of course, the folk who make these outrageous accusations happen to come from the ranks of none other than the Labour party! I guess I was not surprised to hear them speak out against lowering the voting age, after all, their probably shaking in the boots like hell and just the very thought of giving us the vote! I wonder how many Labour MSP's would lose their majorities if we had the ability to vote them out? Or I wonder by how much the chances of a yes vote in the referendum would increase?

But what this has all exposed is how blatantly undemocratic the views of the Labour monkeys are! They are happy to take our money and send us to fight in wars nobody wanted, yet when its comes to us expressing our views through the power of the ballot paper, their answer is an absolute and resolute NO, NO, NO!!! How can they possibly claim to be the champion of the ordinary person and yet deny us the very freedom which so many fought and died to achieve? The Labour party, years ago, used to campaign for every man and women to have the vote, why won't it continue what its forefathers campaigned so hard for and continue the democratic process by allowing 16 and 17 years old to vote, like everyone else over the age of 18!

We do have views about Scottish independence and our countries place in the world and we deserve the right to express those views through the ballot!

I'M BACK!!!

2009-09-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hi all, long time to see! My computer is now back in action after a summer of being broke! Loads of things happening over the summer which I have been unable to blog about - not least the release of the Lockerbie bomber!

But I am now back and will be giving my usual rants about the goings on of politics in Scotland and why Scotland should regain its Independence, not to mention the run up to next years general election (if were lucky enough to have one)!

Should be good!

Temporarily away

2009-07-03T03:02:00.000-07:00

Hi all, I know it's been a while since I last posted a blog, but it's not because I haven't wanted to or couldn't be bothered but rather my laptop has broken down and I still won't have it back for at least a couple more weeks yet, hence the reason why I'm posting this from someone else's computer. The problem appears to be with the main circuit board, at least according to the guy who's fixing it, and a new part needs to be ordered which apparently can only be ordered from the US, so it will take some time. I will be back as soon as possible and posting my latest ranting about the latest of what's going on in Scottish politics.

Until then, see you all soon!

Labour on course for oblivion!

2009-06-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

After doing campaigning and working at the polling places today, it is clear that Labour are on course for the most devastating election defeat of all time! Very few, if any, actually voted for Labour today and I now strongly believe that the SNP will win the 3 seats and will win the popular vote!

With James Purnell now turning on Brown and the public now so furious with Labour that no one will ever vote for them again, it is now so obvious what the solution is and it is this - GORDON BROWN MUST RESIGN NOW & CALL AN ELECTION!!

His time is up. Our reputation to the rest of the world is now being damaged and the longer Scotland remains in the union with London and their corrupt politicians, the worse Scotland's situation will be.

Election will prove to be beginning of the end for Brown

2009-06-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

It now seems there are literally cabinet ministers resigning every hour! And indeed there are! This has, without a doubt, been Gordon Brown's worst day ever as Prime Minister! Now there is a letter going about the Labour backbenchers calling for Brown to go and is believed to have been signed by as much as 100 Labour MPs! If this is true, and it's looking increasingly like it is, then this is truly the beginning of the end for the PM!

Tomorrows Euro election will nail the final nail in the coffin for Brown! Why? Because Labour is going to lose big, and I mean BIG!!! The latest opinion poll for the Euro vote put the SNP a massive 19 points ahead of Labour! SNP are now above 40%, for both Europe and Westminster! So what about the seats. Scotland has six euro seats (one less than last time) and the result is based on Proportional Representation. My prediction is this:

SNP - Wins 3 seats and wins popular vote

Labour - Will hold on to 2 seats but do very badly in popular vote

Conservatives - Wins 1 seat and better and improved showing in popular vote

Lib Dems - Loses their sole seat and are squeezed in popular vote

This prediction is actually quite a good one for Labour as it is perfectly possible Labour will only win one seat! And what about after the election? Well, we won't know the full result of the vote until Sunday evening as it will take days to count all the votes, but here is how things will likely appear to happen - An email is due to be sent on Friday around the Labour backbenchers calling on Brown to resign. Brown will resist this at first, but pressure will really intensify. On Monday, the Euro result will pile even more pressure on Brown. On Tuesday, I think we will begin to wonder if cabinet ministers are now willing to serve under Brown and I have a feeling that rumours of discontent among the cabinet will emerge. Wednesday will be a big day at Westminster as a vote is due to take place on whether there should be an immediate general election. The motion is being tabled by the SNP and Plaid Cymru and has the backing of the Tories and the Lib Dems and possibly several Labour MPs! It will probably not pass, but the vote will be very close so it will be seen as a vote of confidence in the Prime Minister!

My guess is that Brown now only has about two weeks left as PM! The public are outstandingly angry, the government's own backbenchers are angry and a Tory government now looks certain after the next election! The SNP looks set to win its targeted 2o seats at Westminster, possibly even making it a bigger party than the Lib Dems! Surely things cannot get any worse for Gordon Brown? But they can, and they will! We are looking at a dead PM walking! Not since Margaret Thatcher have we seen anything like this! The people of this country do not deserve a PM who has lost control and authority and a PM who, some, people feel sorry for! A strong Prime Minster is needed! But what this whole thing has revealed is that Westminster has no authority or control over Scotland and Independence is needed more than ever before! The case for independence makes sense. The only way Scotland can get away from all the London sleaze and corruption is by having an independent Scottish Parliament!

Voters tomorrow have a chance to vote for change, let's hope they do that by voting SNP! I'll have all the latest about the election tomorrow and the feeling from the polling places as well! So to everyone out there, good luck crushing Labour tomorrow!

IT'S ON!

2009-05-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

Michael Martin has confirmed that he will indeed stand down as an MP. Not that this news is of any surprise, we all knew that he was going to do it, but now he has confirmed it, which now effectively means that the by-election is now 'officially' on!

He will step down as the MP on the same day as he resigns as Speaker - 21st June. This will give too options for Labour: Hold a quick, election in August OR slug it out and wait until September!

This is going to be a very interesting summer!

Labour chief whip spills the beans on early election!

2009-05-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

Apparently it's been revealed that the Labour chief whip has stated that the new speaker will "only be in the position for a few weeks before the election is called"! So does this mean that we are now looking at an early autumn election then? Of course, he could have been referring to the Glasgow North East by-election, but who knows, he may well be talking about a general election!

Talking about the by-election, latest info about the likely candidates. SNP candidate looks likely to be Councillor Grant Thoms, which would make sense seeing as he represents a wide area of the constituency in the council. Labour candidate looks likely not to be Paul Martin (Michael's son) so looks as if it's going to be Willie Bain, Michael Martins election agent.

Whoever the candidates are and no matter how good it looks for the SNP, I'm not taking anything for granted! At the moment, I think the SNP is probably ahead, but we won't know for sure until the campaign is properly underway and the voting actually takes place. The state of Labour, both locally and nationally, being in such a dire state certainly helps us, as does the fact that a lot of the Labour council school closures are in the area!

Labour sources have admitted that they don't believe they will win this one, but they said that before Glenrothes! Saying that, however, the situation has changed dramatically since Glenrothes and things are more favourable towards the SNP this time!

SPEAKER WILL RESIGN ON 21st JUNE

2009-05-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

Latest update: Michael Martin will resign on the 21st June and a new speaker will be elected on the 22nd June.

Talk of an interim speaker to serve until the next general election is being made. Possibilities for a replacement are Ann Widecombe (Conservative) and Vince Cable (Liberal Democrats).

It was a bit of an anti-climax to what has been one of the most historic days in politics and democracy! His speech was billed to be one of the great events, but instead it was all over in about 35 seconds!

His resignation will be at the start of the summer holidays which will mean that the Glasgow North East by-election will be held during the summer months.

BREAKING NEWS: LABOUR PARTY CONSTITUENCY OFFICE TOLD TO PREPARE FOR BY-ELECTION!

2009-05-19T05:02:00.000-07:00

Latest update: The Labour party constituency office in Glasgow North East has been told to prepare for a by-election during the summer months!

This effectively confirms that there will be a by-election during the summer in Glasgow North East!

He was a decent man but it is about time Michael Martin stood down and allow someone new to take over. Now it will be up to the people of Glasgow North East to have their say what they think of this out of date and out of touch Labour government! It will be a very interesting summer!

BREAKING NEWS: SPEAKER TO RESIGN!

2009-05-19T02:47:00.000-07:00

Just hearing that that the Speaker Maichael Martin is now going to resign this afternoon!

Sky News says that he will make a statement toParliament this afternoon where he will announce that is is to stand down!

Still not heard if wether he will stand down as an MP as well, but will report back with further information and comment later!

By-election in Glasgow North East?

2009-05-19T01:32:00.000-07:00

After watching the Speaker Michael Martins abysmal performance in the Commons yesterday, it is now looking increasingly likely that the Speaker will not only stand down from the Speakership but will resign as the MP for Glasgow North East as well! This would, obviously, trigger yet another likely devastating by-election for Labour!

Glasgow North East is just right next door to Glasgow East, now held by John Mason (Hooray!), and we all know that the last thing Gordon Brown wants now is another by-election defeat in a Labour heartland, and with the decision of whether a vote of no confidence on the speaker is to held or not now entrusted upon the Prime Minister, I'm not sure he will really want to hold a vote.

A vote of no confidence is urgently needed and I think over the coming days we will see various MP's demanding that the PM holds the vote. Of course, it's equally likely that the Speaker will use the threat of triggering a by-election as a way of hopefully persuading the PM not to hold the vote!

Whatever Gordon Brown decides to do, one thing is for certain, and that is that the next few days will be very interesting indeed and the likelihood of a by-election in Glasgow North East will increase dramatically! In the words of one MP, "We are looking at a dead Speaker walking!"

Major poll boost for SNP

2009-05-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

An extraordinary poll has been produced for the next Westminster election which has given a previously unthinkable boost to the SNP! The poll puts the SNP at 38%, compared to Labour who are in a dire state at just 27%! Crucially, this poll is for Westminster, and the fact that the SNP has such a huge lead over Labour for the next general election is hugely significant! If repeated at the next election, the SNP would win 37 Westminster seats! Labour, however, would hold on to just 12 seats! The Lib Dems would have 8 seats and the Tories would have 2 seats.

Remember, just about 1 month ago, Labour had a massive 10 point lead over the SNP for Westminster! Now, after what has been probably Gordon Browns worst few weeks as Prime Minister yet, the SNP has now completely overturned that lead and are on course to become Scotland's biggest party at Westminster, making it not just the SNP's best ever poll for Westminster, but also Labour's worst ever polling result in Scotland ever!

Also, thought I would mention the news that a vote of no confidence is to be held against the Speaker Michael Martin tomorrow in the House of Commons! Personally, I think he should go as he has been speaker for just too long now and is too out of touch! And while were at it, why not call an election, Mr Brown, or are you to scared of the electorate?

Enough is enough! It's time for fundamental change!

2009-05-17T01:29:00.000-07:00

It's been some week, hasn't it! Politicians from every party have been found out for squandering our cash! A mortgage that was already paid off, bookcases, moats, trouser pressers, and even horse manure are all just some of the things our elected representatives have claiming expenses for! So far, the MP who has been found to be the countries most expensive politician is Eric Joyce, the Labour MP for Falkirk, who claimed a grand total of £187, 334 of taxpayers money! What's interesting is that, out of the top 50 most expensive MPs, a staggering 42 of them are all Labour!! It's interesting as, just last year, Gordon Brown stated at his party conference that the Labour party was a party of "moral values" and a "drive for social reform"! Well, nothing could be further from the truth, and the voters know it! Take one constituent from the Speaker Micheal Martin's constituency, who said, she will "never, never vote Labour again"! Remember, it used to be that this was a place that people would vote for a monkey with a red rosette!

But what's happening here is not just a bad time for Labour, instead, what we are witnessing is something very much historical happening! Ever since 1921, the two main parties have been the Conservatives and the Labour party, with Tweedledum and Tweedledee switching from opposition to government several time over that 50 - 60 years! Now, that could all be about to change! Take a recent opinion poll, for example. Labour was put at just 17%, making neck and neck with the UK Independence Party and only three points ahead of the Liberal Democrats! As for the Scottish sample of that poll, Labour was at just 21%, it's lowest ever level in Scotland, with the SNP a massive 19 points ahead of Labour on 40%! Think about it, just a few years ago, a poll like this in Scotland would have been simple unthinkable, but then so was the thought of Labour MPs squandering taxpayers money, like spending £16, 000 on a mortgage already paid off!

What these polls represent is a real desire for, not just any old change of government like we've had over the past 50 - 60 years, but real fundamental change, with a desire for politics to tread on to uncharted ground, with not even just a completely new wrath of MPs, but a desire for a new agenda and a new party of government! We had our first taste of new governance in 2007 when Scotland voted in the SNP for the first time in history! Now, at Westminster, people are just becoming sick and tired of the old political class that has become out of touch and out of time! It is now being seriously suggested that the Labour party could follow the same path as the Liberals did in 1921 by becoming just the third largest party and not having any real chance of being in government for at least 50 years! In a way, it's not really that surprising that Labour should be punished in this way. It is the Labour party that has made democracy in this country a joke and a mockery!

When Labour became New Labour in the 90's, they effectively gave up and abandoned the very thing that the Labour party was set up to do, to help the non-privileged and to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor! People are now asking themselves, what is the point of the Labour party? What do they honestly stand for? What record can Labour claim for the past 12 years? Well, I'll tell you what Labour's record is:-

1 in every 4 children living in poverty
Pensioner poverty increasing by 20, 000 people, making the total number of pensioners in poverty 200, 000
A deregulated market economy that has led us into the worst recession since the 1930's
A centralised and part privatised NHS, which is not even worthy of the name
An illegal war in Iraq
Thousands of students in huge debt after leaving college and University
Rising inflation, food prices and, of course, taxes
Spending £25 billion to replace Trident (think what that money could have bought)
Closure and reduction of vital services - such as the Post office
Introduction ID cards (a total waste of money)
A £1 billion cut in Scotland's budget meaning cuts in Schools and hospitals

What sort of record is this? And the Labour party is "Proud" of this record! It's a disgrace! People are just fed up! Fundamental change is needed as it is the only way the trust between the public and their elected representatives can be brought back! We have two elections in the next 12 months, the European election in less than 3 weeks time and the General election next year. I have a feeling that it will be in these elections that Labour is given the biggest kicking of its life and effectively killed off for many, many years to come! The current political system that has existed for the past 50 - 60 years is about to come to an end and, as a result, Democracy in this country is about to change! We will be the witnesses to history and it will be us that make it happen and I urge every person reading this to make it happen and vote for fundamental change! Of course, that comes with a warning! DO NOT vote for the fascist and racist views of the BNP! Take a lesson from history, where, in the Weimar republic of Germany in the 1920s and 30s, during a time of depression and political upheaval, many voters became fed up and turned to the Nazis! Think of the consequences of that and how NOT casting your vote for the BNP can stop that from being repeated! Fundamental change can happen in other forms and other parties! Of course, the best fundamental change we can create is by voting for Independence and giving ourselves that chance to run our own affairs and create a better system! After all, we can't do any worse than at the moment!

We've got what it takes!

2009-05-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

SNP on course to win Euro elections!

2009-05-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

This will knock the whole MP's expenses saga off the front pages, or at least it should! If not then I'll just be happy if it actually just gets a mention! To be honest, this story was actually in a newspaper so at least it has been mentioned! So what's so big about this story that I believe it should be the main headline grabbing story! Well, it's yet another poll, but not just any poll, an opinion poll for the European election!!!! Oh, the drama! Stop the Press! Call the Palace immediately, quick!!

Actually it is a good poll, for the SNP anyway. The SNP stands for euro voting intentions at 37%, giving us a massive 17 point lead over Labour, who are stuck at just 25%! In fact, Labour, in Scotland, are now only two points ahead of the Tories, who are at 23%! Meanwhile, Tavish Scott's ego party (or for those who care, Liberal Democrats) are pushed right down to a mere 8%! How would this result in seats then:

SNP :- 3 seats

Labour :- 2 seats

Tories :- 1 seat

Lib Dems :- 0 seats

This would result in SNP candidates Ian Hudgeton, Alyn Smith and Aileen McLeod all becoming Scotland's super three MEP's! But one question still remains, will the turnout go beyond 25%!

SNP surges ahead of Labour in wake of budget

2009-04-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

It was only a few weeks ago that Iain Gray told delegates at his Scottish Liebour conference in Dundee (now a fully SNP city) that apparently "Scottish Labour is back"! Oh, how wrong he was!! Today, only about a month later, the SNP has proved once more that not only is Labour in Scotland NOT back but it's now in a worse and dire state than it ever has been before! Seriously, it's just getting embarrassing for them now! And to give you an idea of just how sad a state they're in, have a look at who voter's wanted as First Minister. Alex Salmond leads once again on 37%, a massive 19 points ahead of Iain Gray who is not only in third place (behind Annabel Goldie who is Second on 10%) but is actually only got the support of just 7% of those polled!! That's lower than what Wendy Alexander got!! So great progress Iain, what an achievement! You've actually succeeded in becoming less popular than your predecessor, Alexander the not so great! Think about though, managing to become less popular than Wendy Alexander is definitely an achievement and Iain Gray deserves our congratulations for doing so! Or perhaps not!

In terms of Holyrood voting intentions, in the constituency vote the SNP leads over Labour by 7 points and in the regional vote the SNP leads by 9 points! What this poll actually shows, if you look closely into the results, you actually find that the SNP is actually more popular among Labour voters than Labour is! As for Westminster, both SNP and Labour are neck-and-neck with Labour on 32% and SNP on 30%! This to me says that the SNP is becoming closer to achieving our 20 seat target at Westminster! One seat to watch: Dundee West, a seat now certain to go SNP at the next election! So for Labour it's a sorry state of affairs but, in the end of the day, does anyone really feel sorry for them? Nah, didn't think so!

Labour party is sinking in sleaze!

2009-04-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Well, the story of the "smear campaign" emails appears not to be letting up, which personally I think is great as it allows myself and many other bloggers to talk about the absolutely dire situation in which the Labour party appears to have entrenched itself! It's now becoming a weekly habit, with yet another story of sleaze coming out constantly. It used to be that it was tales of "Cash for honours" when it was Tony Blair, which certainly caused him a bit of bother, to say the least, then Gordon Brown came to power with a "pledge" to end the evil Bogey monster that is spin!! But, just like the story of his life, he broke that promise with devastating consequences, for him anyway! First there was expenses. Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate that expenses are important for MP's who live in Places like Shetland, but how can an MP who lives in London be able to claim expenses for 3 different homes, not to mention all the essential perks that just have to come with those homes such as the 42" widescreen plasma screen HD TV!! Oh, and let's not forget the £300 expenses claims for, wait for it, PLANT POTS!!! Yes, your read it correctly. That's Jacqui Smith for you! And what about the Chancellor Alistair Darling? Well he's claimed expenses for 4 homes, despite the fact that his official home at 11 Downing Street is Rent Free! And for some reason one of the homes he claimed expenses claims for was in the Western Isles! I don't get it, what would an MP who represents an Edinburgh constituency need a home in the Western Isles for? Oh, that's right, it's a "holiday home"!! Well that makes perfect sense now why it would require taxpayers money to pay for it!

Seriously, Labour is sinking in sleaze. Another recent example of this was Jacqui Smith's husband. Yet another expenses claim, though not for a house this time. Instead they claimed taxpayers cash for pornographic movies, or should I say "added features"! This is a disgrace, and what's even more disgraceful is that the money claimed has not been asked to be paid back to the taxpayer! This week, we've had the latest "Big" story with the "Blog-gate affair"! Gordon Brown claims that he did not know about it, but how on earth could he possibly not know about it when he is his closest advisor whom he spends more time with than his wife, Sarah Brown! It's all a bit of a mystery to me, but what it does show is that if the Labour government can't even control it's own advisers, then how can it possibly control the country, especially at a time of recession, one which Labour created!! The end of the New Labour project is near!

The power of blogs

2009-04-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

If anyone out there has ever doubted the power political blogs have then please switch on your TV and watch the news. Recent emails sent from none other than 10 Downing Street have been uncovered which show that one of Gordon Browns closest advisers attempted to launch a 'smear campaign' against the Tories. It is hugely embarrassing for Brown but I'm not going to say anymore about it as it was actually a fellow political blogger who managed to uncover the emails and has announced that he will make the emails public on his blog from tomorrow (12th April). He's been on the TV telling the news reporters all about his find and the story has even made it as the main news headline! The very fact that it was a blog which discovered these emails just goes to show how powerful blogs and there bloggers are! This particular blogger is known for being controversial but is very good and I congratulate him on his find! Personally, I'm eagerly looking forward to the emails becoming public tomorrow. You can find the blog on http://www.order-order.com/

Is Dundee about to become Scotland's first totally SNP city?

2009-03-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

After the stunning by-election victory in Dundee's Maryfield ward last week, negotiations are already under way to secure an overall majority in the council and therefore take over control of it! As it stands, the decisions rests with the one Independent councillor who if he agrees to support the SNP will make Dundee the first SNP city in Scotland, with both the Holyrood seats and one of the Westminster seats being held by the SNP. It's almost amazing to think that it was only just a few years ago when Labour dominated Dundee and, as a result, failed it which is why so many Dundonians have turned to the SNP. So hopefully the Independent councillor will see the light as the Labour party has no mandate or credibility to rule over a city which no longer wants them!

Don't believe the "Gray" man of Scottish politics

2009-03-06T12:10:00.000-08:00

Iain Gray decided to use his party conference and his conference broadcast to, yet again, do down Scotland and the Scottish people. No surprise there then! Iain Gray used the slogan "a better future", but what may seem a better future for the cronies of the Scottish Labour party may not exactly be what the people of Scotland would consider a better future! But let's have a look closer, shall we. What exactly is Iain Gray's idea of a "better future"? Well, imagine that you were Iain Gray (scary, I know, but just give it a try, even if it's unbearable!) and you are trying to think up "new" ideas for Labour to present to the people. Well, firstly, stating that Westminster is right to impose a £500 million cut to the Scottish budget has got to be top of the agenda, oh, and defending Westminster for holding onto the £400m council benefit, after all, it doesn't really matter if the money rightfully belongs to Scotland, does it? Secondly, voting against free school meals is vitally important, I mean, young kids don't really notice, do they? Third, stop the scrapping of the council tax and replacing it with a Local Income Tax, even if it is fairer and would make the vast majority better off! And while you're at it, why not continue to raise the council tax at the same time! Fourth, back your faithful commander & chief and dear leader, Gordon Brown, at all times, especially with plans to privatise the Post Office, and always follow orders from London, after all, we don't want to be "cut off from London", now do we? When asked what Labour would do differently from the SNP and what possible better alternatives you might have, just remember to always say "Were working on it"! Oh, and maybe and on to the end of that "Stop asking us to come up with policies"! Lastly, and most importantly, do not let Scotland gain her Independence!! Say lines such as "cut off" and "isolation" to try and convince the people to think that this is an accurate description of independence. Treat the Scottish people with contempt, stop any referendum coming forward! Tell Scotland that we cannot possible have the intelligence to run our own affairs and Scotland could not possibly handle the recession, even if it was London which got us into it in the first place! As First Minister you must continuously do down Scotland and its people, so to stop them gaining any real self confidence!

So, back into reality now and thankfully leaving the somewhat strange and quirky mind of Iain Gray, do you think that his idea of a better future is a good one? You decide, as I trust you to make the right decision!
Personally, I don't think I really like Mr Gray's idea of a "better future"!

Who are the most undemocratic parties in Parliament?

2009-03-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

The answer is simple: Labour, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives! Why? Because the feeble, childish and absolutely anti-Scottish opposition parties have voted against letting the people of Scotland decide their own nations future!! It is ludicrous, or at least it should be, that even the thought of our own elected public servants can claim that a referendum is unnecessary and therefore vote against it? In these times of economic difficulties Independence is now more necessary than ever before so that Scotland can make it's own decisions and drive itself forward out of the recession! Now while today's vote is not binding, meaning that, thankfully, the SNP government can still bring forward the referendum bill next year, it shows that we do have a battle on our hands to ensure that when the bill is brought forward we have the majority needed for it to pass, a majority I'm certain can be made!

For the opposition to be so stubbornly against the referendum also shows that they are afraid of going to the Scottish people, possibly frightened that the Scots might even vote YES for Independence, perish the thought! One thing is for certain, the people of Scotland will never forgive these "rouge" Labour, Lib Dem and Tory MSP's!

SNP another step closer to referendum

2009-02-27T09:03:00.000-08:00

The prospects of the people of Scotland being given the chance to vote on their countries future has moved yet another step closer today after Liberal Democrat MSP John Farquhar Munro broke ranks with his party leader to call for an independence referendum! He must be brave, as it was only a few day's ago that his so called "great leader" denied that his party would support a referendum. It was during a BBC interview that he revealed his thoughts and actually said "the sooner a vote was held the better". He said that the debate on independence had gone on long enough and it was time to settle it in a straight forward Yes or No question. Speaking on the Good morning Scotland programme, he said "I think the sooner it happens, the better, so we establish a position - clear the air as it were - and we find out whether we are going to go ahead with an independent Scotland or whether the status quo will remain." Now that, to me, sounds like a fantastic step forward! How can Tavish now not let the Scottish people decide when even his own backbenchers are calling for the vote to go ahead? I think recently, more and more people have been speaking out in favour of holding the referendum and in favour of independence, so it's been becoming increasingly harder for the opposition to speak out against, especially when even opinion polls begin to show a rise in support for Scotland gaining independence. It's coming, and it could be arriving a lot sooner than many of us think!

New cigarette laws to be welcomed

2009-02-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

The new laws for retailers about where cigarettes are placed in the shop and the banning of cigarette vending machines are most certainly to be welcomed. Personally, I think it's about time they were put out of sight from prying eyes. Vulnerable young people who see cigarettes behind counters are much more likely to want to buy them. By placing them under the counter, out of sight, we have a better chance of stopping people from taking up smoking in the first place. And the banning of the vending machines is particularly good, as what's to stop children from buying them from them. Recent years have seen a rise in the number of young people starting smoking so we need to try and do everything we can to put a halt to it. The reply from the Tobacco companies was not at all surprising, saying that the government is "penalising them" and taking "unnecessary action", I mean they would say that, wouldn't they, being the people responsible for the deaths of millions of people around the globe! Why people even start smoking is completely beyond me. It's time that we came up with a new campaign to discourage, not just children, but adults as well, from smoking. They are all sending themselves to a very gradual and painful death, at a much younger age than they would of if they hadn't began smoking! To me, cigarettes are simply death on a stick! A slower version of suicide!

Is Labour finally DEAD?

2009-02-18T11:27:00.000-08:00

It's an unusual question, I know. Just a matter of a few years ago, no one would even have thought about asking this question. But a new poll has shown that the Labour party could be suffering a very painful death indeed! The poll, carried out by the Times, gave the SNP a massive 23% lead over Labour!! Unbelievable, but very true!! The poll even put Labour in third place, behind the Tories! What's even more astonishing is that this was a Westminster poll! If this were to be repeated at the next general election, Labour would only have one Scottish MP - Tom Clarke! So, if Labour are dying, somebody better dig their grave quick, after all we don't want the old Labour bogeyman coming back to haunt us, now do we!!

Never trust a UK minister!

2009-02-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

So, government papers revealing how UK ministers attempted to stop Scotland getting its oil and Independence have been discovered through a Freedom of Information request! It isn't the first time this has happened, but perhaps this all just goes to show how frightened they were of the prospect of Scotland becoming a successful and Independent nation that they would even go as far as not only changing the north sea territorial lines - determining who the oil belonged to - but to even attempt to try and break up Scotland in the process! The previously secret papers revealed how UK government ministers were asked to back campaigns for Orkney and Shetland to become Independent, not for the good of the people, but for the benefit of the greedy, selfish and manipulative British government! The rise in support for the SNP and for Independence led to strategists in Whitehall secretly devising plans to stop Scotland laying claim to North Sea Oil! The papers, written in 1975 by Sir David Walker, also said that, and I quote, "Progress towards devolution should be delayed for as long as possible"! And this was despite a referendum on devolution being part of the Labour parties manifesto commitments at the time! The government advisers also suggested the boundaries of Scotland's coastal waters should be redrawn and a new sector created to "neutralise" Scotland's claim to the oil! Once it gets to the point where UK ministers were once happy to manipulate the people of Orkney and Shetland just to stop the SNP and Independence for Scotland, you have to wonder, what are they secretly planning right now? There are still between 25 and 30 billion barrels of oil which could still be recovered over the next 40 years, more than enough, as I'm sure UK ministers know, for Scotland to become an extremely successful and wealthy Independent nation. If they were happy to manipulate people back then, clearly, they would still be happy to do the same to us today! After all, "It's still Scotland's Oil", and they know it!

Bashir Ahmad - a rolemodel for many who will be deeply missed

2009-02-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

I've just heard the shocking news that Scotland's first Asian MSP, Bashir Ahmad, has died. This news will come as a real shock especially for Scotland's Asian community as he was a role model for many of them and many young Asians were inspired to follow in his footsteps.

I send my deepest sympathy's and condolences to his family & friends. He was a fantastic MSP and great campaigner for Scotland's Independence who will always be remembered and sadly missed.

Budget passed - eventually

2009-02-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

Great news to hear that the budget has been passed. I was surprised to hear that even Labour had voted for it as well. No dought this will put the SNP in a strong position, perhaps even at the next election as it will be difficult for Labour to criticise spending plans, as they voted for those spending plans. Once again, I am disappointed with the media for their coverage of the budget being passed. For one thing, it wasn't the main story, and secondly they didn't even mention one thing that is inside the budget! They seemed to be more interested with the budget being voted down than when it is passed, and when it is eventually passed they fail to mention one thing that the budget be doing! So for those of you who were wondering what's in the budget, here is the fantastic list of what is going to be delivered by the SNP:

- Help for households to beat the credit crunch, providing extra funding for councils to freeze the Council Tax for another year.
- Another cut in the cost of single prescriptions from April, down from £5 to £4... with 12-month pre-payment certificates cut by £10 to £38.
- Business rates for 120,000 small businesses will be abolished, helping shops and local firms cut costs and protect jobs in these tough times.
- £230 million of accelerated infrastructure spending to keep the Scottish economy moving and support 4,700 jobs. - Extra funds to help train 1,000 additional police officers, to put more bobbies on the beat and improve safety on our streets.
- £15 million to help provide home insulation for 90,000 homes - targeted on those most in need. - £16 million to recruit 18,500 new apprentices. PLUS: - - £300 million more for the NHS. - £70 million more to invest in affordable housing. - £60 million more for town centre renewal. - £40 million more in funding for free personal care for the elderly.
- A total of £1.8 billion in additional expenditure - securing a total of 35,000 jobs!

Sounds good, eh! Back soon.

Budget set to be fast tracked

2009-02-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

Many of us will be giving a sigh of relief after hearing the news that the second budget now looks all but certain to be passed by parliament. It's great to see all the parties, except Labour, working together to produce an even better budget. But, Labour now just seems adamant to keep refusing even the possibility of contemplating supporting the budget! And why is this? Well, my guess is as good as yours, but one possible reason is that the budget includes policies which have been proposed by other parties, so won't support it just for that reason, even if they originally supported that particular policy anyway! Well, whatever the reason one thing is for certain, Scottish Labour is the loser and the voters are definitely not liking them for this. A poll conducted by the Sunday Times showed that not only does the SNP have huge support over the budget – with all the other parties on negative ratings – but that the SNP would extend its Scottish Parliament lead over Labour to six points, compared to 1 point in the May 2007 election. In terms of who is the best person to make the right decisions in tough economic times, both Alex Salmond & Gordon Brown were at 33%. And what about who would make best First Minister, well that's an obvious one! Salmond was at 35% and Iain Gray was at 15%.

So, with the SNP government at such a strong position, it's hardly surprising that the opposition don't want an election. The budget will be passed tomorrow, so don't expect too many big surprises.

BREAKING NEWS: Budget voted down!

2009-01-28T10:46:00.000-08:00

There has been shock and turmoil today after the Scottish Governments budget was voted down in parliament. The votes eventually came down to this - the SNP, Tories and Margo MacDonald voting for the budget and Labour, Lib Dems and Greens voting against! This created a tie vote of 64 - 64 meaning the Presiding Officer had to cast a vote and, with convention, voted for the status quo! First of all, lets be clear, no one seriously expected Labour to vote for the budget, nor the Lib Dems, but the way that the opposition have acted is, frankly, childish! They have been playing party politics and in a time of economic crisis and recession this is not the time to be creating unnecessary problems which could escalate into an even bigger crisis and put even more people's jobs on the line!

My guess now is that over the course of the next couple of weeks there will be discussions to win the support of the Greens and, depending on how quickly the Greens decide to support it, a second budget will be presented and will be passed.

The people of Scotland will not take kindly to the way the opposition have acted and will remember this the next time they go to the ballot! I think it's time all the parties got their act together and worked in the Scottish national interest and vote in favour of this budget!

A guid Burns night tae ye

2009-01-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

Hi all, good see that Burns night is a success this year, especially since it's the Bards 250th birthday. Anyway, here's an extract of a letter Burns sent to Mrs Dunlop in 1790:

Alas, I have often said to myself what are the boasted advantages which my country reaps from a certain Union that counterbalance the annihilation of her Independence, and even her name!

Never a truer word spoken!

Obama gets off to a smashing start

2009-01-23T11:06:00.000-08:00

What happened in Washington was historic. The inauguration of the first ever black president has undoughtably caused a sensation, and already he has made a great start by reversing some of the Bush legacy. The closure of Guantanamo Bay and secret prisons are a fantastic move, due to their breech of humans rights and not to mention breaking several other laws. I have a feeling that Barack Obama is going to make a good President and has already restored Americas reputation to the rest of the world.

Poll puts SNP on course to beat Labour!

2009-01-19T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hi all, I start of first off all by commenting on how it looks as if a few of the predictions I made for 2009 look set not to come to be, such as George Osborne being replaced and Gordon Brown calling an early election! I suppose it just goes to prove that 2009 is set to be a very unpredictable year. So why is it unlikely that Brown will call an election? Well, it's the obvious answer - the polls are beginning to go against Labour again. First of all in terms of UK polling, the Tories now have 45% while Labour are down to just 32%! If repeated at an election Labour would be trumped! Now, what about here in Scotland? Well, the poll for Scotland 2 polls were released at the weekend. The two combined made some very interesting reading. Both the SNP and Labour are put on 30% making it 'head to head'. What was really interesting however is that the poll put the Tories on 24% in Scotland! I know, it's a shock! The Lib Dems are really in a dire state as they are placed on just 12%. The two individual polls went like this:

YOUGOV POLL FOR SUNDAY TIMES

Conservatives - 28%
Labour - 28%
SNP - 27%
Lib Dems - 14%

COM RES POLL FOR INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
SNP - 33%
Labour - 31%
Conservatives - 12%

Personally, I don't feel that the first poll is an accurate reflection of actual voter feeling in Scotland where as the second poll does look much more accurate! However, what this simply shows is that only the SNP can beat Labour in Scotland in a general election! Feel free to leave comments.
Also, looking forward to the Inauguration of Barack Obama tomorrow! You can catch it live on BBC One from 4pm. Come back for a round up of the day's historic events in the post tomorrow.

Labour must admit it is no longer a left wing party

2009-01-12T12:11:00.000-08:00

Well, many people thought they would never see the day! But now we can now truly say with complete honesty that New Labour is no longer the party of the working class! Why? Because it has emerged that the UK London Labour government has spent over £5 million on legal fees to fight against the claims of sick miners! A Labour government fighting "against" the miners! Many miners thought they would never see the day, but now they can see the Labour party for what it really is - a party which is more interested in having power and would rather pay lawyers to block claims, than pay compensation to miners left with industrial injuries!
So what are the miners asking for? Well, As many as 1,000 former miners are suffering from coal miners knee, Osteoarthritis, and chronic lung disease from dust inhalation, and what they are calling for is compensation. A reasonable claim I would have thought. But not Labour! These miners were not included in previous compensation schemes and are being forced to take their battle to the courts. This is disgraceful what Labour is doing and should be stopped immediately! They should give the miners they compensation which they deserve and the last thing we need is a lengthty legal court battle! Action needs to happen now, or some of these miners who are suffering from these injuries will have died by the end of such a legal battle! And, surely, after acting like this, Labour should admit that it is no longer a party of the left!

Further info on this can be found at:http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jan/12/government-miners-compensation-costs

The "Official" Predictions for 2009

2009-01-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

Hi all. Now that were now all back to our usual routines again I thought I would offer some predictions for the year ahead. 2009 is certainly going to be an interesting year, there's no dought about that, but what exactly are the things that are going to make it interesting? Well, we are now 5 days into the new year and over those past five days I have been looking at what other people have been predicting, what the newspapers are predicting, what news presenters on the TV have been predicting and what various different websites and blogs have been predicting. Now, your probably wondering why I've done this. Well, I did it so that I could bring together all the different predictions which have been made to make some predictions which (hopefully) could happen! So here they are, the "official" predictions for 2009:

1. UK wide opinion polls over the next few months will continue to show a slow and steady rise for Labour which will eventually lead to Gordon Brown calling a snap general election in either May or June. He may try to hold it at the same time as the European elections. Labour will just very narrowly hold onto power at Westminster, but without a majority which will mean Brown will have to try and go into what will be difficult negotiations with the Lib Dems to form a coalition but it's likely that even with the Lib Dems they may be still just short of a majority which will mean they will have to try and get agreements with the SNP & Plaid Cymru who will have both increased their number of seats (with the SNP possibly doubling their seats).

2. Although there will be difficulties in getting it through, the SNP will succeed in getting the Local Income Tax being passed in the Scottish Parliament thanks to support from the Liberal Democrats. There will be relief in the public that the hated council tax is being rid off, however Westminster will try to stop it happening by refusing to give Scotland the council tax benefits back which will cause a huge political row between Holyrood and Westminster.

3. Sticking with the Scottish Government, the SNP will manage to get its budget through parliament, however their is likely to concessions gained for Labour this time. This success for the SNP will lead to some changes in the cabinet but unlikely for their to be many new faces or big surprises.

4. Going over to the US now, Barack Obama will be faced with some very tough decisions as to handle with the state of the economy. It's most likely that the rest of the world, with some countries now on their knees, waiting eagerly to find out what he intends to do. I suspect that the secret service will also have it's job cut out as the try to protect him from assassination attempts (all of which I hope do not succeed)!

5. Coming back, the Tories will begin a big reshuffle of their opposition front bench which will see George Osborne being replaced by Dominic Grieve (previously Shadow Home Secretary). A surprise, I know, but I think that's what's most likely to happen

6. By the next Labour conference, Labour will be at their lowest poll showings for years as they slip below 30% as the true scale of Gordon Browns mishandling of the economy becomes clear and more and more people lose their jobs and realise how much national debt has to be paid off through higher taxes!

7. Back in Scotland, there will be another big by-election, this time for Holyrood, up in the Highland's, so it will be a Lib Dem seat. The SNP could, despite Glenrothes, expect to do very well in this!

8. Homecoming Scotland will be as success but perhaps not quite as big as some would have liked with not as many tourists coming to see Scotland as the economic problems begin to bite

9. Labour will begin rise in the polls again as we begin to approach 2010 but will remain far behind the Conservatives. By this time Nick Clegg will have stepped down as leader of the Liberal Democrats after what has been a difficult year for him and his party. Meanwhile, here in Scotland, the SNP will still be leading in the opinion polls and Alex Salmond will have now begun the campaign for the Independence referendum in 2010. Jim Murphy will still be Scottish Secretary but will be told to try his best not to steal the limelight away from Iain Gray.

So there we have it! Feel free, of course, to comment and let me know what you think and feel free to add your own predictions for 2009 as well!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2009-01-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

Happy new year everyone! I trust you all had a nice Christmas & Hogmanay. 2008 has been a rather strange year! It was the year that saw the crash of the economy, the rise & fall of fuel and food prices, the disappearance of many well-known high street stores, victory for the SNP in several elections (including a certain by-election in the east end of Glasgow) with just one Labour win, the downfall of Wendy Alexander, the Prime Minister claiming he's "saved the world", the historic election of Barack Obama as the first ever black US President, one of the wettest summer's on record, and the biggest pre-Christmas sales ever! But, despite all the economic gloom and an inconvenient incident in Fife, I think 2008 has been a very good year and I certainly look forward to 2009! And for those who are thinking about calling a general election, all I can say is "Bring it on"!

Have a guid 2009! Let's hope it's a good one!

Miserable failure

2008-12-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a wee teatime teaser. Go to Google and search the words 'Miserable failure'. What do the results show?...... Well they should show soon to be ex-US President, George W. Bush! Wonder what Bush would think if he tried it! LOL!

I'm backing DotSco, are you?

2008-12-14T08:56:00.000-08:00

Scotland should have its own Internet domain name. The Spanish region of Catalonia has it's own (.cat) so why shouldn't Scotland? Scottish Ministers aim to create a Scottish web domain - ".scot" or ".sco" - and have set up a working group called dotSco. The group is making preparations to bid for a new domain in 2009, when the body responsible for Internet naming will invite applications for new ones. I'm backing the group, so why don't you? Just click on this link to go to the website and give your support :- http://www.dotsco.org/

Massive swing to SNP in Labour stronghold!

2008-12-13T03:41:00.000-08:00

The SNP has gained yet another seat from Labour, this time the Kilbirnie and Beith council ward in North Ayrshire. The result presented a massive 15% swing from Labour to the SNP in what has traditionally been seen as a Labour stronghold! The SNP vote rose from 23% in May 2007 to 49% today whilst Labour fell back to 34%. Last year, even as the SNP won Cunninghame North by 48 votes, it was a massive 831 votes (14.68%) behind Labour in Kilbirnie and Beith, Labour's strongest area in the constituency. Despite Labour holding onto the other council seat in East Ayrshire the Labour vote was down and the SNP vote was up! These results prove that the SNP is still the favourite party amongst Scottish voters!

HBOS shareholders back takeover

2008-12-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

This is a sad day for Scotland! Why? Because it is the day that Scotland lost one of its biggest historic icons! Today, HBOS shareholders voted to give the go-ahead for the Lloyds TSB takeover, plummeting HBOS shares down 22%! Lloyds shareholders had already backed the deal in November, and HBOS shareholders had been widely expected to follow suit, despite the vast amounts of people working for the bank and from various Trade Unions being very against the takeover. I congratulate the Merger Action Group (MAG) for making their points clear and, despite not succeeding, they managed to win public support and let people know why the UK government had acted wrongly.

TRIBUNAL LATEST: Action group press release

2008-12-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

Hi all, thought I would post a (shorter version) copy of the press release from the Merger Action Group today about the latest of what is happening in the competitions tribunal, so here it is:

Neither the Prime Minister, the Chancellor nor the Business and Enterprise Secretary had the power to waive competition law when they allowed the proposed merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS to proceed, a court heard today.

For the full press release on the first day of the CAT, please click the link below. http://www.mergeractiongroup.org.uk/updocs/MAG-PR-7-081208.pdf

SAVE THE BANK OF SCOTLAND - SAVE BANK JOBS

Mandelson sends threatening letters to MAG

2008-12-06T14:20:00.000-08:00

Hi all. Thought I would just update you all on the latest revelation being revealed today. It's been revealed that Lord Mandelson, or "Bully Boy" as he's now being referred to as, has been criticised after his lawyers apparently sent threatening letters to those in the Merger Action Group (MAG for short). In a statement on today, SNP MSP Alex Neil and Independent MSP Margo MacDonald said the letter had threatened MAG's six key members for legal costs unless they halted their court action. Ms MacDonald added: "I find it breath-taking that a group of responsible people whose only motive in taking this legal action is what best serves the public interest can be subjected to such threats and intimidation by a member of the UK Government." To me, it just looks as though Lord "Bully Boy" Mandelson and his team of cronies at Westminster are scared that the legal challenge might actually work and will now try anything to try and derail it!

SAVE THE BANK OF SCOTLAND - SAVE BANK JOBS!!!

HBOS can and should be saved!

2008-12-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

I came home this evening to find out that the merger action group, set up to put forward a legal challenge to the HBOS and Lloyds TSB merger, has successfully passed its first hurdle and will be allowed to present their case to the competitions commission. I really hope this legal challenge succeeds and stops the merger going ahead. Not only would the merger mean the loss of a Scottish institution, but also potentially thousands of jobs! According to the group, they now have just 3 days to save the bank so they need all the support they can possibly get. So please follow this link to support the group: http://www.mergeractiongroup.org.uk/

Remember, Westminster will try to do everything it can to ensure that the takeover goes ahead and I am certain that the dark hand of Lord Mandelson is right behind the deal, as well as Darling and Brown! We cannot let them get away with this! Support the group now and save the Bank of Scotland!

Happy St Andrew's Day

2008-11-30T07:42:00.000-08:00

Happy St Andrew's Day everyone! Today is the day we all celebrate our Scottishness, and as I walked through my home town of Carluke today everyone was doing it, either by wearing something Scottish or eating something Scottish! Not long before typing this post I went onto the BBC news website where they had a selection of pictures of buildings across the nation being lit up in blue to celebrate as well as a story about the number of parties going on. I think it's fantastic that we now celebrate our national day like this, and long may it continue!

Also, reading through the paper this morning I was reminded that it will be two years today that the people of Scotland will vote in the Independence referendum! This will be an historic vote, possibly the most historic in our nations history, and will decide whether we move forward to control our own affairs or let Westminster run Scotland! The choice, as it should, rests with the Scottish people and as far I'm concerned the campaign for the referendum has well and truly started!

HAPPY ST ANDREW'S DAY!!!

Homecoming Scotland launches TV ad

2008-11-29T05:16:00.001-08:00

Hi all. I thought that with St Andrews Day tomorrow, being the start of the winter festival which runs right up until Burns day, I would post this video of the new Homecoming Scotland ad asking Scots from around the globe to back home to Scotland to celebrate the 250Th birthday of Burns with over 200 events throughout 2009! So here's the ad here, enjoy!

Darling's big gamble! What does it mean for you?

2008-11-25T12:12:00.000-08:00

First of all, sorry I haven't been blogging for a while but I'll try and get into the habit again. As you all know, yesterday Alistair Darling unveiled his pre-budget report, something which usually doesn't make huge news but this time was different! This time, Darling made possibly the biggest gamble of his entire career! If it works (which is unlikely), it could possibly mean a fourth term for Labour at Westminster (God forbid!). If it fails, which looks as if it could be likely, it could result in a Tory government (again, God Forbid!). Either way, it's going to end up with every tax payer in the country having to pay 7 years of higher taxes! Why? Because the governments idea of getting us out of this crisis is to borrow billions of pounds! All of which, of course, has to be paid back! And it's us the taxpayer that's going to have to give the London government all this extra cash! So, basically, while it will mean a tax cut at the moment and a cut in VAT (all of which is to be welcomed), at the end of the day it's going to mean us paying seven years of higher taxes just for the government taking a penny of a Mars Bar! It's going to be the younger generation which is going to be hit hardest, as are many of small businesses which will result in thousands of people losing their jobs! It's also going to mean a cut in the next Scottish budget! Once again, it just goes to prove that Scotland is being short-changed by Westminster! All in all, I think this is just too big a gamble for the Chancellor, but, we shall just wait and see exactly what happens.

Even Alex does his bit for Children in Need!

2008-11-15T01:31:00.000-08:00

Brown says no to giving Scotland more powers

2008-11-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

When I picked up my Sunday newspaper this morning I already knew that there would be all the rubbish about so-called "SNP infighting" after losing Glenrothes (none of which is true) but I was admittedly shocked to read that Gordon Brown is to not give the Scottish Parliament ANY new powers!! He said that, due to Labour winning Glenrothes, he had no need to give the Scottish people any extra powers! This is just one of the consequences of when Labour win an election in Scotland, especially a by-election! They begin to believe that everything they are doing is right and continue to so. By not giving Scotland any new powers they are effectively halting Scotland moving forward! Then again, could we really expect anything better from Labour!

Glenrothes By-election update

2008-11-06T16:22:00.000-08:00

Hi again, latest news is that it appears Labour may have just held on to the seat but with a much reduced majority! I will be gracious in defeat, I do congratulate them, but I believe that they have won by scaremongering and negativity about the local council. I still believe that Peter Grant was the best candidate and would have made the best MP. Let's also be blunt, the SNP vote is up and Labour's is down, but the swing just wasn't quite enough to win. Is this a victory for fear over hope? I sincerely hope not!

Glenrothes by-election update

2008-11-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

Hi again, I can now reveal that the turnout is good- 52%! Sadly, while there has been a significant swing to the SNP there is talk that Labour might have pulled it off! But it's not confirmed yet and we shall still wait and see. By the way I'm not getting my news from the count itself but rather just from bbc scotland's coverage so I don't have all the gossip I'm afraid.

Glenrothes by-election update!

2008-11-06T15:15:00.000-08:00

Hi again, talk going about that the Lib Dem vote has collapsed. Once again, still awaiting a turnout figure but certainly enjoying BBC Scotland's coverage where Jim Sillars is speaking as I write!

Glenrothes by-election update

2008-11-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

Hi again, next update just to let you all know that the feeling in the count is that the SNP has won!

Still waiting on a turnout figure.

Glenrothes by-election update

2008-11-06T14:32:00.000-08:00

Well, the polls are now closed and a declaration is expected between 12.30 and 1am.

Early indications show that the SNP might just snatch it! So things are looking good so far!

Can we win? Yes we can!!

2008-11-05T10:27:00.000-08:00

First of all I would like to congratulate Barack Obama on becoming not only the next President of the USA but also the first black president! This truly is history! It presents a shift in American politics forever! This is a new era, not just for America, but for the world as well!! Only a few years ago, few would have even dreamed that a black man could become President! But now it has come true! It shows that anything is now possible! It also shows that the world is ready for change! Enough of the old! Enough of the same, old tired message!! Things, now, will change for the better!

And just as America has voted for change, so will Scotland! I am certain that, as the rest of the world moves forward, Scotland will too! This, I hope, will begin tomorrow as the people of Glenrothes go to the polls to elect their next MP! I am sure that the ruling Labour party is in for a shock! Already, Glasgow East delivered a message for change! Scotland, as a nation, is moving to a future of significant change! And what exactly that change will be is ours to decide! But tomorrow, as Glenrothes votes, I urge them to usher in that change! Follow what America has shown us can be done! Vote for change, vote for Peter Grant and the SNP! When we win, you win! And can we win? Yes we can!

I'm certain were in for another thrilling night!

Secret minutes reveal disarray in Labour

2008-11-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

We already knew that the Labour campaign in Glenrothes was in complete disarray, but I don't think any of us could have believed just how badly they were doing! Indeed, it has been revealed in several of today's Sunday papers that secret minutes from the Labour Party show them in disarray as they planned the by-election in Glenrothes. The minutes showed that even Labour's own activists believed the photo of Gordon Brown with Margaret Thatcher was "a big mistake". They also admitted, what we've known all along, that the Labour party in Fife wasn't geared up for modern campaigning. The minutes, which were written by Gordon Brown's election agent Alex Rowley, also said that "across Fife there is a 5.5% swing to the Nationalists!" He also said "They (SNP) work hard to identify their support and get them out!" Labour activist Judy Hamilton claimed that Labour had lost touch, had no attraction for young people and the party ethos was that of the South of England stating "It does not resonate in Scotland"!! Councillor Ian Crichton admitted that the SNP has momentum! And as if that just wasn't enough, a senior Labour campaign organiser said that the party reckoned they were 3000 votes behind!!!

Well folks, with only a few days to go till Thursday and the Labour party acting like this, I think we can all guess which way it will go! Anyone wish to place a bet :)

Glenrothes - Last few days of campaigning

2008-10-31T15:00:00.000-07:00

With only a few days left of campaigning in Glenrothes things are certainly hotting up! What I found out in Glasgow East is that the last week of the campaign is the most crucial as it's usually the last few days before the by-election when voters finally decide who they intend to vote for! Now, obviously we would like as many as possible to vote SNP, but I'm not going to pretend that it's not going to be a fight to win! However, I am pretty confident. So far I have campaigned in the constituency five times, and I'm making my next journey tomorrow, and the response which we have had has been incredibly encouraging! Even if we're just delivering leaflets through doors people have come out of their houses just to tell us that we can count on their vote! People, even in Cardenddon, have been coming up to us and asking for window posters! Cyclists whizzing past us are giving us thumbs up! And, as if that wasn't enough, a report in today's Scotsman newspaper said that both the "SNP and Labour agree on one thing - Glenrothes will go Nationalist"!! The report even went on to state that one Labour source conceded "If the SNP are predicting a win, they are being more realistic than hubristic"!!

So while I'm not taking anything for granted and I'm not saying that it's in the bag for the SNP, once you get your opponents conceding defeat this close to polling day you just can't help but feel good!

SNP - Moving Scotland Forward

2008-10-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

Send a message on November 6th

2008-10-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

If you ever needed any further proof that a message really does need to be sent on November 6th from Glenrothes then all you need to do is click on the link to watch this video:-

Glenrothes by-election - Wondering how to vote?

Canvassing returns point towards an SNP victory in Glenrothes!

2008-10-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

It has been revealed that internal polling from ALL the parties has shown the SNP are on course to win the Glenrothes by-election! This news comes on the day Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy said that the SNP are "still favourites" for Glenrothes! Despite the recent good press that the PM has been receiving lately the people of Fife have not been fooled, especially when their bills come thumping through their letter boxes!! Also revealed yesterday was that apparently Gordon Brown is backing the SNP and will be placing his vote for Peter Grant on November 6th!! That's right, Gordon Brown, a 21 year old skilled worker from Glenrothes!! Bet the PM didn't see that coming!!

Sarah Brown visits Glenrothes, stays for only 12 minutes, and refuses to even speak to the media!

2008-10-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

You would have thought that the wife of the Prime Minister would have done much more than this. But, as usual, the Labour party spin machine decides that it is better to be seen on TV rather than actually hearing what the voters are saying! While her husband, Gordon Brown, may have been enjoying some good press recently for his bank bail-out plan, the people of Glenrothes, along with the rest of Scotland have not been fooled and know that while he may be doing all he can to save the banks he is doing very little, if anything, to save the tens of thousands of ordinary people who now risk losing their jobs!! It is disgraceful to see that, from a party which used to pride itself on being on the side of the working class, has now not only abandoned them but seems to be doing all it can to harm them and make their life's as hard as possible, as well as having the odd jibe on Scotland and Scottish self determination! If anything is clear now it is which party is on your side and that party is the Scottish National Party! The SNP is standing up for you and, as the Scottish Government, is doing all it can to protect people from the current financial crisis and putting money back in your pockets, such as freezing the hated council tax (which will soon be replaced with a much better Local Income Tax) and fazing out prescription charges! While the SNP Scottish Government is working hard for ordinary Scots, the Labour Westminster Government is doing all it can put down the Scottish People! It's not just that people have left labour, it's that Labour has left them and Glenrothes will send that message to London Labour and demand a cut in fuel prices and VAT!

If your from Glenrothes then please, don't vote for a party which has and will continue to leave you behind, vote for a party which is ON YOUR SIDE and stand up for you and for Scotland! Make sure you send Labour the message, put Glenrothes back on the map, VOTE FOR PETER GRANT! VOTE SNP ON NOVEMBER 6TH!!!!

"Now is the time for an Age of Responsibility"

2008-10-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

"Scotland's destiny is Independence"! Just a small sample from what was, as always, a great speech by our First Minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond! He hit back brilliantly at the Prime Minister for saying that Scotland is too stupid to go towards Independence and also, rightly, said that it was wrong of him to bad mouth other countries! But not only that he also came forward with the facts and figures and proved that Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark (all small independent countries with similar populations to Scotland) are all forecast NOT to go into recession! Something which Gordon Brown failed to mention when attacking Independence. "Sub-Prime! More like Sub-Prime Minister" was the way Alex put it! He also called for an end to the age of irresponsibility of the past decade under Brown and called for the beginning of an Age of Responsibility! After all, it is the reckless borrowing and not saving up for a bad day by Gordon Brown that has in no dought caused this financial crisis! Alex also said that the millions of Scotland's money that is currently held by Westminster in an ofgem bank should be released back to the Scottish people where it rightly belongs! So, all in all, it marked an end to yet another fantastic conference which saw the SNP get its 15,000th member!! As Labour continues to lose and abandon its members, the SNP continues to gain and, as a recent study which was presented to conference has shown, all of that previous Labour support had gone directly to the SNP!!

And as for Gordon Brown questioning Scottish Independence, my message to him is this - It doesn't matter how big or small your country is! All that matters is how smart your people are and for the Prime Minister to be saying that Scotland is too stupid and too poor to run its own affairs is not only insulting, but depressing as well!!

Conference approaches

2008-10-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

Well, just one week to go until national conference and what a good time to be having it! Just a couple of months since the Glasgow East By-election, opinion polls showing the SNP strong for both Holyrood & Westminster, and the possibility of yet another SNP victory - this time in Glenrothes! However, I wouldn't be too surprised if the conference was dominated by the current global financial crisis. It hasn't exactly been the best time for the Scottish economy, what with HBOS and all, but one thing that is certain is that while Gordon Brown & Alasdair Darling have dithered & dithered, Alex Salmond has been statesman like and has shown that him, along with John Swinney as Finance Secretary, are the best people we have to lead us through this current financial mess!

Also, a quick Glenrothes update. The Lib Dems have launched their campaign today and the funny thing is they actually believe they are the front runners! Plus, Labours campaign seems to have got off to a terrible start! Labour's headteacher candidate, Lindsay Roy, marched his troops straight into the bus station to start leafleting. Shortly after, suffering a rejection reaction, Labour troops marched off into Postgate to campaign there. Trouble is, as all of us know, party political campaigning isn't allowed in Postgate and security soon appeared and frogmarched Labour's campaign right off the premises.

It's just gaffe after gaffe with Labour these days! Finally, I won't be blogging until after the conference as I'm off on holiday for a while then it's off to conference!

So back soon!!

Remember, Remember the 6th of November

2008-10-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

It's the by-election in the Prime Ministers own backyard and after weeks of waiting the date has finally been set - November 6th. According to recent bets the SNP are strong favourites to win the seat as SNP were placed on 1/3 to win compared to Labours 11/4! Also the SNP has been ahead in recent polls for the by-election with a commanding lead over Labour.

So will it be a night to remember? I think it just might well be!!

BREAKING NEWS :- DATE SET FOR GLENROTHES BY-ELECTION

2008-10-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hi all, just a quick post to say that the Glenrothes by-election will be held on November 6th.

This was expected, not just because Labour activists have already been told about it but also because it is at the same time as the US election!

But all I can say is - BRING IT ON!!

John Mason MP arrives at Westminster

2008-10-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

Today, almost 10 weeks since the famous Glasgow East by-election, Westminster has finally met again. And, of course, this meant the signing in of John Mason as the new MP for Glasgow East!

After years of neglect and being let down by a Labour government and ineffective Labour MP's, the East End now has an MP who is on their side and will make the people of the East End matter by taking action on rising food and fuel prices and by making a fresh start for the East End!

To watch the video of John Mason's arrival, click on the link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7654971.stm

Bank of Scotland takeover

2008-09-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

By now, I would think that every Scot would know about the HBOS merger with Lloyds TSB. To me personally, this is just the final straw! The takeover of Scotland's oldest and most respected bank is a loss of a national institution. As The Scotsman put it, it is "The darkest day in Scottish Banking"!! But the worst part of all this has to be the fact that so many people now risk losing their jobs! While the exact number of possible job losses has most likely been exaggerated, it doesn't disguise the fact that any job losses are terrible and should NOT be happening! First Minister Alex Salmond, today, at First Ministers questions, was doing exactly what any First Minister should be doing and that was standing up for the Scottish national interest by doing everything he can to secure the jobs of workers at the Bank of Scotland, ensuring that as few branches as possible, if not none, are closed and making sure that the Scottish bank notes are protected! All in all, his performance in FMQ's today was true statesman like and was miles better than either Iain Gray ( who had his first FMQ's today) or Gordon Brown could ever do! And things just got even worse for Labour today after a new poll put the Tories on 52%!! A massive 28 points ahead of Labour who were on 24% while the Lib Dems were on 12%. This, alone with the loss of the Bank of Scotland today, can only increase support for Independence for Scotland!!

David Cairns resigns

2008-09-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

Hi again. Just a wee quick post this time, as I've just heard the news that David Cairns has resigned as a minister in the Scotland office. David Cairns, who also played a big role in Labour's failed Glasgow East by-election campaign, resigned in a protest against Brown (at least it looks that way) and has now made yet another major blow to the Prime Minister, esspescially after a weekend where a total of 12 Labour MP's and ministers rebeled against Gordon Brown by asking for a leadership contest!!

Now let's be honest, I dought anyone really expects there to be a leadership contest anytime soon, but what it has shown is that even his own MP's have lost faith with him!!

This will definitly not help his chances of avoiding defeat at Glenrothes!!

Iain Gray becomes new scot labour leader

2008-09-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

On a very dull and dreach Saturday (no change there then), there was something unusal happening - the results of the contest to be Scottish Labour Leader! It was, as expected, a rather boring & lifeless contest, always failing to grab the attention of the people. And their hustings were much quiter than ever before! In the end, however the party chose to go with Iain Gray. The man who currently stands on just 3% in the opinion polls (to be best First Minister)! In his victory speech he attempted to make a comparison between his own background and that of Alex Salmond's. This has already proved to be too much of a gamble, as it has been revealed that while he had no trouble of mentioning his time of being a teacher & working for Oxfam, he failed to also mention his time at Inverness Academy and an elitist club in Edinburgh! Not a great start, I think! And, as if that wasn't enough, it's also been another bad day for Gordon Brown after 7 Labour MP's called for a leadership contest! It's a bit ironic, as the Scottish party finishes its leadership contest, there could be about to be one at Westminster - which would without a dought trigger a general election - one which the SNP could expect to do very well in!!

I look forward to watching this weeks FMQ's

What to expect at the weekend

2008-09-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

So it's now Friday, it's the end of another busy week and we can now look forward to the weekend! But what can we expect? Well, first of all, we have the results of the contest to be leader of the Scottish Labour Party. Cathy Jamieson, Iain Gray and Andy Kerr are all contesting for what looks like a close race! Ian Gray is apparently the front runner to succeed Wendy Alexander, but to be fair I don't think any of them could stand up to and match First Minister Alex Salmond! He is certainly enjoying a prolonged honeymoon, and rightly so! The SNP Government is proving to be, possibly, the most popular government Scotland has ever had! Saving hospital A&E departments, abolishing prescription charges along with bridge tolls and student fees, freezing council tax, cutting business rates, axing government departments and quangos such as Scottish Enterprise, rejecting nuclear power, opposing Trident, replacing PFI, and ending private involvement in the NHS are all just a few of the achievements made so far and, trust me, there are a lot more still to come! Meanwhile, compare this to the record of the 3 Labour leadership contenders - Cathy has proved that she is unable to put on a strong performance at FMQ's (as shown just this week as she resorted to party politics rather than the real issues). Iain Gray showing in the opinion polls are not great as he polled just 3% in a poll for who would make the best First Minister (Salmond scored 41%). And, as for Andy Kerr, well as the Health Minister in the previous administration, he spearheaded the very unpopular closure of the Ayr & Monklands A&E departments!

So, all in all, it will be interesting to see who wins the highly poisonous gauntlet (or Scottish Labour leader), but, to be frank, none of them are up to the job of taking on Alex Salmond!!

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!!!

New Scottish TV channel to be launched

2008-09-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

I was delighted to hear the news yesterday that Scotland is to at long last get it's own TV channel. For far too long Scotland has been short changed by the BBC by having incredibly few programmed actually made in Scotland! But that now could be about to change with the new "Scottish Network" which has been recommended by the Scottish Broadcasting Commission (SBC). It will feature all the things which you would expect any decent channel to have such as news, drama, comedy etc. Blair Jenkins, who led the commission and is a former BBC executive, said that the new channel would have an annual cost of £50m - £75m, but did not say whether this would come from the television license fee.

As usual, Labour has given its objection to the proposal, which is just typical of them as anything which can remotely give Scotland its own voice is, for some reason, a bad thing. David Cairns seems to believe that this is the "breaking up of Britain" and that "Scottish broadcasting should remain as part of the UK"! This is ridiculous! For years Scotland has been looking for its own TV channel, and by opposing it, it only goes to show just how out of touch the Labour party is.

Bad news (again) for Labour

2008-09-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

When I picked up my paper this morning I didn't really expect to read anything big, but, as if things coudn't get any worse for Labour, a new You Gov poll has put Labour a massive 16 points behind the SNP for the Scottish Parliament. And, as if that wasn't enough, the poll also gave the three contenders for the poisioned gauntlet (also known as the Scottish Labour leadership) very poor results. The question asked who would be the best First Minister. Cathy Jamieson had a dismal 8%, Andy Kerr on 5% and front runner Iain Gray on a completly useless 3%. Meanwhile, while Tory leader Annabell Goldie came second with 9%, Alex Salmond was put on an impressive 41%. That's SIX TIMES more than Cathy Jamieson!

It just goes to show who is winning the popularity battle and who is winning the hearts and minds of the Scottish People. As for Independence, the poll showed that, under a Conservative government at Westminster, support for Independence rises to 50%, while support against independence is put at 42%. This leaves me only one thing to say, 2010 - "BRING IT ON"

WELCOME

2008-09-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my new blog - Scottish Nationalist Voice

I'm a huge SNP supporter and supporter of Scottish Independence! So I decided to start up this blog to keep you all up to date with all the happenings of Scottish politics, events plus anything else which may be interesting from a Scottish Nationalists point of view.

Hope you'll enjoy!!