No right in Scotland?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Major poll boost for SNP

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!

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!

SNP on course to win Euro elections!

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%!

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

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!

SNP another step closer to referendum

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!

Is Labour finally DEAD?

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!!

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

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

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.

BREAKING NEWS: Budget voted down!

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!

Poll puts SNP on course to beat Labour!

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

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

HAPPY NEW YEAR

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!

_

I'm backing DotSco, are you?

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!

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!

Secret minutes reveal disarray in Labour

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

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

Canvassing returns point towards an SNP victory in Glenrothes!

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!!