Tuesday 23 September 2014

A Matter of Expediency

For the moment a flame has been quenched. Realistically there was no way that the English Establishment, would allow the dissolution of the British state. Therefore the media, the bankers, the lawyers, the economists, the industrialists and the Queen, were all assembled to oppose the movement for independence and to convince the undecided Scottish voters, by fair means and foul,  of the uncertainties and possible dangers of such a venture. Catalunya, take note, for you face a similar conclusion. 

All means were employed to ensure that the Noes would win the day, and no doubt many underhand methods were in operation, quite apart from the propaganda and scare-mongering tactics which politicians, of whatever persuasion, bring into play to swing the vote. Yet, the people of Scotland who remain loyal to their nation will live to fight another day. The forces of change are inexorable once invoked and only time will be the final arbiter.

Tuesday 9 September 2014

The Disintegrating "No" Campaign

Unionist leaders to campaign in Scotland

The announcment was dismissed as "hype" by Mr Salmond, who said that there was nothing new in the package.
"This is the day that the No campaign finally fell apart at the seams," he said during a photocall outside Edinburgh's St Giles Cathedral with EU citizens who have the right to vote in the referendum.
"This is a retreading, a repackaging, retimetabling about what they said in the spring.
"It's totally inadequate, it's not enough. It's nothing approaching the powers that Scotland needs to create jobs, to save the health service and build a better society.
"The polls at the weekend, which caused so much panic in the breasties of the No campaign, actually showed that independence was the most popular option.
"And of course David Cameron and George Osborne, their one red-line issue in setting up this referendum was not to allow devo max, as it is called, on to the ballot paper.
"So to actually produce something which is far short of that, which is weak, insipid and has already been discounted by the Scottish people with days to go in the campaign, after hundreds of thousands of people have already voted, is a sign of the total disintegration of the No campaign.
"I've never seen a campaign disintegrate in the way that the No campaign is disintegrating at the moment."
With the three party leaders out on the campaign trail tomorrow, the Leader of the Commons William Hague will stand in for Mr Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions.


Withou doubt Scotland will join the European Union

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AN independent Scotland’s membership of the European Union would be secured within the SNP’s 18-month timescale, a former president of the European Parliament has said.
Ireland’s Pat Cox branded opposition claims that Scotland would find itself frozen out of the EU as “sophistry” and said the country’s expulsion would damage the internal market and lead to “chaos” in the EU fisheries sector.
Mr Cox, who was president of the parliament between 2002 and 2004, said the EU has always shown “pragmatism and inventiveness” when dealing with territorial changes such as the re-unification of Germany.
“It has always respected the expressed democratic will of the peoples involved,” he said.
The prospect of Scotland being forced to “go to the back” of an enlargement queue is also dismissed by Mr Cox.
“Such statements, arguably, are sophistry and do not bear analysis,” he added.
“Moreover, it is unclear what would be the common European interest in seeking to expel an independent Scotland. On the contrary, at the limit, such interests could be damaged by the fragmentation of the internal market and not least the chaotic implications for the EU’s fisheries sector, including its Scottish-related access to Norwegian fisheries.”
The Scottish Government says Scotland would secure its EU membership before the new state became fully independent in March 2016. This would be achieved by renegotiating existing treaties, through an Article 48 amendment. Mr Cox says this would be viable and reflect the “past pragmatism and inventiveness” of the EU.
Many experts have warned that an independent Scotland would find itself outside the EU and be forced to re-apply to join, known as an Article 49 amendment.
But Mr Cox adds: “Article 49 is the outsider’s means of applying to get in, not an insider’s means of negotiating continuity of effect in respect of its territory and citizens.”
Scotland’s membership of the EU is seen as crucial economically. It would mean firms retaining access to the lucrative single market and vital EU global trade treaties. But there have been concerns that Scotland could be forced into joining the troubled euro currency union or sign up to the Schengen “open borders” arrangement.
It has been one of the key issues in the independence debate. In order to join the EU, whether through the Article 48 or 49 route, an independent Scotland would need agreement from all 28 EU member states. There have been concerns that countries such as Spain and Italy, which have their own separatist movements, may object to Scotland’s membership.
Just last week a row broke out when former Brussels economic commissioner Ollie Rehn warned that continuing to use the pound without a formal currency union could prevent an independent Scotland from joining the EU.
He said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander it would “simply not be possible” to combine a policy of sterlingisation with EU membership.







Monday 8 September 2014

Scots Independence Poll Puts ‘Yes’ Campaign Ahead at 51%


Photographer: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Yes and No campaigners in Blantyre, Scotland, on September 4, 2014. Scotland’s... Read More
Scotland’s nationalists overtook opponents of independence in anopinion poll for the first time this year, sparking a government promise of more powers for the Scottish parliament less than two weeks before the country votes on whether to break up the 307-year-old U.K.
YouGov Plc survey for the Sunday Times showed Yes voters increased to 51 percent, while the No side dropped