What Constitutes a 'Scotsman'?

I see the SNP are getting very worked up about the forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence.  They have now decided that only people living in Scotland or 'abroad' can vote. For their purposes Scots people living in other parts of the UK are disenfranchised and don't count.

For the purposes of this referendum the SNP have granted 16 and 17 year olds a vote so does that now means that the 16 year old child of an immigrant living north of the border now gets precedence over someone like me who can prove his Scottish heritage back to Cameron of Lochiel?

The SNP are stitching up this referendum by 'selecting' who can or cannot vote.  If they win the only benefactors will be the English who will at long last get rid of all the Scottish politicians who affect the voting in Westmonster particularly when it has no consequence on them.

I really hope that the SNP win but frankly I still believe, despite the rigging of the vote, that there is still a sufficient number of intelligent Scots who will tell Salmond to go and boil his head!

 

Scotland's Embarrassment!

The treatment of Nigel Farage in Edinburgh recently is, in my opinion, a national embarrassment for the Scottish people.  They may not realise it but UKIP is currently being supported by at least a quarter of the English people.  Yes I know UKIP does not have a council seat north of Harrogate but even in the Labour heartlands a fifth of the population has still voted for UKIP.

This means that Nigel Farage has leapt in a very short time from political nonentity into the mainstream limelight so to physically harrass him on the streets of Edinburgh demonstrates a political naivety bordering on the fascist. This was a deliberate attempt to destroy democratic process and I was amazed that Alex Salmond did not condemn the behaviour.

I despise many of our mainstream politicians because of their lack of candour and lack of support for the general public. I would never however, deny their right to voice their poisonous rhetoric.  I therefore have to conclude that shutting Farage up was motivated by fear. Fear that his no nonsense straight talking might just resonate for many of the Scots currently disenfranchised by their two party system!

Scotland!

I cannot believe that our political hierarchy have actually done a deal to split up the UK! I cannot believe that our mainstream politicians are even contemplating this action. It is even worse because the SNP politicians have decided that they will use the votes of 16 year olds to make this happen!!

What is going on? How can this nonsense continue? If 16 year olds can vote on this issue who decided that? Who agreed that people of (I am sorry) limited intellect and experience could sway an election of such importance.

I am sorry but this is a stitch up. These seamy politicians are organising a break up of a very strong alliance. Don't get me wrong, my parents were Scots and I had very many arguments with my father about my heritage. The Barnett formula that gave the Scots so many advantages and the popular animosity that the Scots rejoice in still make it acceptable. 

The reason it is acceptable is because when the chips are down we have always put aside our differences and fought together like lions.  The Scots are a major part of our armed forces.  Someone, the very people who are trying to destroy our society, are stoking this issue. Alex Salmond, that paragon of virtue, is taking advantage of national pride.

However, I really don't believe that how many 16 year olds Alex Salmond drafts into the equation the real people of Scotland will know that the break up of the UK would be disastrous. England would survive but Scotland would become a dependent of the EU.

Of course that is why the servants of the bankers Alex Salmond and David Cameron are shaking hands. The unthinkable is happening because they have been told to break up the UK. Otherwise it would never happen... think about it!

How about that for a controversial post? Answers on a postcard or on my comments list! 

Scotland...it's somehow different up here!

I have only been in Edinburgh for a few hours but somehow I detect that the atmosphere is different. There is some frustration but nothing like the seething resentment one sees everywhere in England. The people I have spoken to were shocked by the recent events south of the border but most seem to hold the opinion that it would not happen here.

The reason probably is that the Scottish justice system appears to be still in place and Scottish education is still getting results. There is a sub culture up here but probably nothing like the same numbers as we have south of the border. Even the feral elements are aware that the police would still go in hard if they decided to riot in numbers.

I wonder if Alex Salmond has something to do with it? A view I have heard is that he does what he says he will do. You may not always agree with him but he represents the people. The Scots kids don't have to pay university fees and prescriptions are still free so contrast just those two anomalies with life in England. Of course he can do this because of 'The Barnett Formula' which ensures that Scotland has a certain amount of subsidisation from the English taxpayer.

Salmond is a canny politician so if he can create a feeling of superiority for the electorate then he will also get the so important 'feel good' factor. He is doing something for the people where in England I never get the feeling that any politician cares a stuff for the electorate. However, just in case I am accused  of bias, let me tell you that the Edinburgh city roads are the worst I have seen anywhere!

Red Ed and Scotland!

I read that the Labour MP for the Scottish constituency Inverclyde has died. David Cairns aged 44 had a majority of 14000. At the recent Scottish parliamentary elections the SNP dominated the electorate to such an extent that I believe that NoLab has been rumbled in Scotland. I have posted ever since the inception of this blog that the modern Labour party has no socialist policies to such an extent that very early on I labelled them NoLab.

Alex Salmond realised this and the SNP claimed the left for themselves. This was affirmed for me by Grumpy RN when he pounced on one of my recent posts. I never mind being 'advised' by those who live the problem. We live and learn. So back to the point of this post...if the Scots have become as disillusioned with NoLab as so many south of the border have could we have a real upset in Inverclyde?

This could be a real test for 'Red' Ed Miliband. He is not what I would term a political leader. He comes across as a lightweight. His mentor, Gordon Brown, is holed below the plumbline. In the recent Scottish elections NoLab even lost Kirkcaldy...which I must admit was long overdue. Brown has let them down badly. There is absolutely nothing socialist about Gordon Brown.

So will Inverclyde be the nemesis for Ed Miliband? Can he really lose a 14000 majority in Scotland? If the Scottish vote collapses then what is the future of the Labour party? The people currently leading the Labour party bear no resemblance to Keir Hardie. They have no connection with the electorate in Scotland and the antics of their leadership in Scotland in recent years (Hollie Greig for example) has obviously resonated with the Scottish public. It pains me to say it but the Scots are better educated (generally) and much more discerning than many of the English or the immigrants.

They have rejected the Tories outright, then they rejected the LibDems and finally they have heroically rejected the Scottish Labour party. I just wonder if the salvation of the UK will emerge from Scotland. Once the band wagon rolls then it picks up momentum. The old adage that the king is in the altogether always holds sway. British politics is a lie. The EU is a lie. I even believe that the monarchy is a lie. The truth must eventually emerge but we need leaders to emerge with it.

Will the Scots lead us to the truth? They might if Inverclyde falls to the SNP.

Nationalism

In the scheme of things Great Britain is a very small country. However, within our boundaries we have a very diverse population and I don't mean the newcomers. Britain was very diverse and culturally very rich long before we were forced into accepting immigrants from elsewhere.

Within a relatively small land mass we have accents, attitudes and loyalties which are so utterly different that it almost became our trademark. It exists today and nowhere is it illustrated more than the difference between the Scots and the English. I was reared in England by Scots parents and so I had a foot in both camps from my early childhood. My father was a railway union official and that was expected from a child of Motherwell because almost all the working class were endemically socialist. He could never have dreamed that the modern socialists would be so inept that they would lose Scotland.

The Scots however, have always had that streak of nationalism in their psyche. I was educated by my grandmother about Culloden, Bannockburn and Flodden. It is Scottish history and Scottish nationalism. It is what they do. If the English spoke in the same tones it would be frowned upon. The English do not flaunt their nationality, it is their birthright, it is accepted as their heritage. It has so far been given and so far not been taken away.

So to be a nationalist in Scotland is respected, expected and admired but below that imaginary line from Gretna to Berwick the role of the nationalist is derided. It is a very thin line in attitude and cannot purely be down to geography. The English have that apathetic confidence that their birthright will never be revoked. They close their eyes to the invasion of their inner city areas, the 'mission creep' of their  eroding services and rights and the changing face of England.

So in England the nationalists are termed 'racists' and they may be racists among them because they have more to tolerate than their 'cousins' north of the border. Racism is not an admired trait but the Scots have been 'racists' for years in a strangely acceptable manner. We knew how they viewed the English and somehow we accepted it because they were people who we fought shoulder to shoulder with in two World Wars. They have earned our respect.

The term 'racism' did not enter our society until the Asians arrived. They knew all about racism because they brought it here. The tribal behaviour of the Sikhs, the Hindus, the Muslims, the Buddhists and the Arabs has infiltrated our society. Until they arrived all we had to consider were the Scots/English (delete as applicable). The Scots have rejected Westmonster (even the socialists) we in England must follow their lead.

We in England must learn to become Nationalist before it is too late. We no longer have an option. The EU does not bat for England. The EU does not bat for anyone apart from the EU, the banks, the press barons and the new world order. Someone created the EU out of nothing so now we must create a pride in England out of nothing. We need a leader. At the moment the only candidate appears to be Nigel Farage. Can anyone think of anyone else?

Independence for Scotland?

There is much discussion on the blogosphere about the plans of Alex Salmond and the SNP. Very many people are pinning their hopes on a new Republic of Scotland meaning that we, the English, would have to reapply to retain our membership of the EU. The thinking members of the public realise that we will never again have control of our own destiny whilst paying homage to the unelected, unaudited commissars in Brussels.

Unfortunately I don't believe in fairy tales. Alex Salmond is a mainstream politician and therefore he will have no intention of leaving the EU. He is allegedly an EU supporter (of course) and so he will be mindful not to rock the boat. Already he is playing two ends against the middle by proposing that an independent Scotland would retain the Queen as Head of State. It doesn't sound like an independent nation to me.

I suspect that when the dust settles the Scottish people who voted for independence will suddenly realise that nothing much has changed. Alex Salmond will be in a stronger position personally but he won't go near any type of referendum. The people won't get a say on anything because that is not the way of the EU. The only time that any of the people will ever get a voice will be when they fight for it! One day it will come but I suspect that I will be long gone when it does.