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Picture the scene. Your nation has been involved in a lengthy discussion about the pros and cons of the biggest infrastructure project undertaken for a century - a new proposed high speed rail link. Almost every angle has been agonised over and a decision looms. When suddenly, from a capital city 400 miles away comes a last minute intervention. What if the rail link wrecks the landscape? Has anyone thought of that?
The roar of OLD NEWS would be heard as far away as Shetland. But exactly such a "lost-in-time" contribution has just been made by the UK government regarding the Scottish referendum. Have we thought that it should be held sooner than later "for our own good?" Er, yes. A lot.
It staggers me and most Scots that David Cameron and indeed the whole London commentariat could possibly have thought his proposed "deal" to have a speedy binding Scottish referendum - or nothing - would be greeted in Scotland as anything other than a stale bit of last week's bread fit only to be chucked straight back over the fence.
On the "bold call" for an immediate referendum - to paraphrase Monty Python - "we got one already." Wendy Alexander boldly called for Alex Salmond to "bring it on" in May 2008 and was whacked over the proverbial heid by her own boss Gordon Brown - and laughed out of town (and out of office) by then opposition leaders like David "Bring it on this time" Cameron. Folks down south may have forgotten or never known about this "minor" aspect of the story - Scots haven't.
Meantime an election campaign happened here in April with speeches and debates (I believe they do the same sort of thing south of the border) - during one of which Alex Salmond enlarged on the SNP's manifesto promise to hold an independence referendum in the next parliament. It would be in "the second half of the next parliament. Thus by election day no Scot could be under any illusion about the SNP's plans. Once again that detail may have escaped scrutiny down the road - up here everyone and their donkey knew that was the deal. And of course the argument that Scotland is suffering economically because of uncertainty about its constitutional future has also been floated and largely sunk north of the border.
Apparently Dougie Alexander listed a series of such missed investments in Scotland on the Today programme this week. It would be interesting to compare that list with the list of big renewable investment announcements made recently here - and where in the UK is there NOT uncertainty? Thanks to Cameron's Euro fiasco the UK's future in Europe is now completely uncertain. Does that mean Cameron wants a referendum now on EU membership for the good of stability and investment in the UK? No - thought not.
On the issue of two questions or one - we've been debating that since May and would like to welcome London-based latecomers to the ongoing debate. On the issue of the binding nature of the result being null and void unless the referendum is held by a certain date (the sunset clause) - jings. This really is casting the Scots into their own personal Groundhog Day where no-one but us seems to remember the similar 40% rule introduced like a belated spanner in the democratic works by a Labour MP before the 1979 devolution referendum. In effect all that "yes but no" mechanism achieved then was to let Scotland be devastated by full force Thatcherism, delay devolution by 20 years and set up precisely the suspicion and mistrust of Westminster politicians that helped the SNP win a landslide victory last May. Doh.
Besides in practical terms do Scottish voters actually WANT a big election soon after two cliffhangers in 2010 and 2011 and an AV referendum - no. 2014 - or 2015 as an informed little bird suggested to me yesterday --- will do the Scots quite nicely. As I mentioned in yesterday's Scotsman article, the bumbling/bullying and scaremongering nature of the unionist case so far would make any self respecting Scot embarrassed to be on their side - regardless of views on the merits of independence.
I think it was Jack McConnell who warned of Scotland sleepwalking towards independence. Now we know what would cause 5 million Scots to be fast asleep in the first place! If the unionists don't raise their game north of the border WHERE THE VOTES ARE, they'll convince themselves all is hunkydory and tempt undecided Scots to vote yes, partly to give their complacency a kicking. And yet even today Scots Secretary Michael Moore is making his pressstatement about the referendum "deal" in London not Edinburgh. One is so strongly inclined to say hell mend them. At least the stooshie has resulted in some clarity -- despite all the threats coming from Westminster about illegality beyond a 2013 "use by" date, Alex Salmond says the referendum will be held in Autumn 2014.
The whole row reveals a two speed reality in Britain. For a Scot it's like getting a joke 700 times faster than your slow, slow parents. Except, the situation is maddening not funny.
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Scottish independence | Politics | The Guardian
Scottish independence: Alex Salmond sets poll date – and defies ...
Poor Jim Wallace must be wondering what to do with that new chorus you ripped him.
I was almost weeping with laughter at the look on his face.
And to be honest I wouldn't trust a poll from ANY paper considering the state of their industry at the moment, but perhaps you're unaware of the Levinson Inquiry too?
Hope to persuade England to join you both.Westminster is old hat & no cred.since expenses scam.
Good luck with your Refdm.
I put it to you all DC has called his bluff and Salmond is worried he may not win it is no different from W Alexander calling his bluff before she was lost for accepting money. Just get on with it and stop procrastinating. Then we can be rid of the Scottish Mps and the SNP rep who spoke in our parliament in PMQs yesterday if you go independant, also you can get on and build your nation as you wish or not as the case may be.
Nobody can be 100% sure of anything which lies in the future. We're awaiting the voting day in exactly the way we expected to as it was put to the electorate at the last election. Nothing undue about it. We're seeing a governing party keeping a promise. That surely has to be a good thing, taking into account the scarcity of such behaviour. The timing of the vote only seems to be a problem to the nay-sayers and some UK fanatics. Scots are by and large pretty relaxed about that part of it.
Dave C. has been back pedalling rapidly since being handed his arse on a platter this week. He doesnt have a chance of bluffing Eck into anything. Bendy was what could be described as a bit of a flop. She acheived nothing much beyond a certain notoriety for ineptitude and apparent dishonesty.
Post-independece (assuming a YES vote which is by no means a cast-iron certainty of course) you wont be the only ones getting rid of Scots MPs at Westminster. We will too. They are almost universally a waste of space, time and money and most of them have done next to nothing to benefit Scotland or their constituencies in any real way. Building our nation will be the future and it will be our responsibility to achieve what we can, how we can, when we can.
Also today on daily politics the SNP finance minister was asked what currency would be employed upon independence? He stated sterling and all of the fiscal situations as to interest rates and the like would be controlled by the Bank of England. That's hardly independence I was shocked by his answers? It was fair enough him saying RBS would be reverted to a private bank and the UK taxpayers be pepaid, I would have thought as the name suggests RBS would be as it states and serve as your national bank but apparently not?
As for the rest of your comments, spot on as usual!
Also, this referendum is not just about the snp, neither is it about England or any dislike of the English by Scots – I do not personally know anyone who hates English people (it seems to me reading some of the rubbish here that there are more English who dislike Scots than the other way round) – it's a sad person who hates anybody anyway – there are many here who dislike the system that governs us, it is a system we did not choose. There are many Scots who want independence and have no time for the snp. Scots want to decide important socio-political and economic issues for ourselves, just like any other nation. Why is that a problem for you?
Every point you make about the scaremongering can be backed up with hard facts, yet your facts will be twisted, distorted, partially reported or taken out of context. By the end of today this thread will be full of dribbling comments about: Porridge, whisky, shortbread, Braveheart, Ginger, Scotch, Jock, tartan, Loch Ness, subsidy junkies, Shetland's oil, England's Oil, Darien, 'never was a country', Celts, Picts, 'Stronger together weaker apart' , Albania, the Euro, EU, Brussels, chips, chips on shoulders, Banks, 'we bailed them out', Scottish MPs, West Lothian Question, Anglophobia, Bigotry, Celtic-Rangers, Iceland, Ireland, Brown, Darling, Blair, Thatcher and every other time worn ill thought out cliché you would take care to avoid treading in.
The reality is, that there will be a referendum put to the people in Scotland who are registered on the electoral roll in Autumn 2014 and Scotland will with similar numbers as voted in this year’s Holyrood election return Scotland to its natural state of Independence.
Why such animosity towards the Scottish people.....if you lived through what thatcher did to us during the eighties maybe, just maybe, you`d get it
If size was the yard stick to which we must aspire and this bigger is better mentality then why is the USA in such dire straights.
Why is Denmark not begging to be run from Berlin?
Why is Ireland not begging London to govern for them as they are now eating mud and living in huts if you listen to some?
Your condescending tone towards Scots is indicative of who and what you are. These attitudes do not exist in modern Scotland. And certainly not in the SNP. Their is as much grievance being spat across the border at us as we ever mentioned.
There are vested interests in the UK whose only focus is self and the status quo. These are the professional politicians and the apparatchiks that feed of them who have prostrated them selves at the feet of the great overlords of Westminster, their journey to the hallowed halls of Lords and ermine cloaks depends totally on the defeat of the SNP and the failure of the Scottish independence movement.
Scotttish prime ministers run Britain for 13 years 1997-2010 , they had a lax borrowing record which precipated a massive building boom , and a massive increase in public sector spending .
Scottish Banks (RBS and HBOS ) went on an Aquisition trail and were amongts the biggest in the world , untillhey took a step to far and it all collpased .
The present UK govt have the task of reducing the deficit and repairing the damage due to the debts , they are constrained in what they can do .
If they were not follwing that particualr course , surely the Uk would be suffering akin to IReland ., Greece , and Italy now , with record high Interest rates .
True the Scottish Voters did not vote in the present govt , but its turn about in our country , and they had 13 years of boom prior to the bust we are in now .
Which i do beleive would be much worse if we were NOt taking steps to tackle it
Ummm ,,,,,,, he has a mandate from the 25% of the Scottish electorate that voted SNP in the last election.
Overwhelming? Hardly.