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.

The petty Glasgow Vs Edinburgh fight must end now

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!

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!

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!!!

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!

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"!

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!)