The Tory cesspit runs deep...

If you don’t already know who this is, please let me introduce you to James Heappey.  Mr Heappey is the Tory candidate for Wells in Somerset.

This ball of charm was talking to a group at an all-girls school, when one of them, who was Scottish, said that she supported independence (wise girl). Did Mr Heappey just have a laugh with her about this? Oh no, not him, this guy decided to tell her to, “f**k off back to Scotland then”.  That’s right, he actually told a school girl to f**k off.  When talking to the Sunday Mirror he said it was meant as a joke and that no offence was intended.

You’d think an ex Army major would have more sense and be a bit more courteous to a young lady. Putting aside the misogynistic attitude of what he said, there lies the more serious problem that the Tories just cannot hide their contempt for Scotland or indeed the Scottish, which begs the question, why would any self-respecting person in Scotland vote for the Conservatives?

I know that the Unionist vote up there seems to be gathering under their banner, but, and again, I have to ask, why would they?  I know that I couldn’t vote for a Party that holds my country in contempt. Indeed just look at the Tory talent-free that is their list MSP’s.  Murdo Fraser and Adam Tomkins. They have never hidden their disdain for Holyrood, yet they don’t seem to  mind taking a very good salary for being members of it.   Yet, and yet, incredibly they are given air time to spout their nonsense.

We have had almost a week of various Tory Councillors either being suspended or getting embroiled in one scandal or another; usually around the topics of racism or sexism.   We have rape-clause Ruth trying to politicise   Irish politics for her own opportunistic gains (she failed rather spectacularly).

I’ve tried to think of reasons why people in Scotland would vote Tory or against independence and I have come to some rather stark conclusions (all of which could be wrong…it does happen from time-to-time). You’ll vote Tory because:

• You don’t really care about what happens to Scotland at all as long as it stays in the UK.
• You don’t care that the Tories despise you.
• You’re British – not Scottish regardless of how ugly being British looks like right now.

If, like me, you wouldn’t vote Tory, even if it was the only option on the ballot, then please, any Unionists who vote Labour, do not, DO NOT, vote for a Party that hates you.

These excellent videos are worth watching:



Mant thanks to Phantom Power for making these.

It's Official...

So…Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are not really all that important when it comes to matters of the UK.  Thank you Supreme Court for clearing that up.

Just what is the UK?  We were told that we were a family, a collective, a better type of togetherness.  Well, I think we can safely say that the cat is out the bag and we really aren’t anything at all.   We can do what we’re told, we can go where we’re told to go, but make our own political decisions?  Hell no!

If today’s decision is not enough to sway any Unionists in Scotland to finally see that they are thought of as nothing more than a subject by the British State and they’d be better off in an independent Scotland, then nothing will, and I will always feel sorry for them.

What now though for the SNP, Greens and the broader Yes movement?

The SNP need to really consider their word carefully and make their next move decisive.  Do they or don’t they push for a second referendum?  Sooner or later (preferably sooner) they are going to have make that decision.

The Greens need to keep doing what they are doing: support where necessary and criticise where it’s warranted.

The Yes movement…hmmm well that’s a completely different puzzle altogether.  It can’t be seen to be centred around the SNP, but at the same time I don’t want to see it hijacked by the vacuous mouth-pieces that are Cat Boyd or Angela Haggerty and their ilk.  Who should head it up?  Finance it?  Give it direction?  When some made the battle cry of ‘get the old band back together’ my initial reaction was ‘No! Let’s not”.  They failed the last time.  They didn’t resonate enough with the public.

The Labour Party in Scotland are in terminal decline, The Conservatives in Scotland are very arrogant considering they have 1 MP and a bunch of list MSP’s, as for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, well, one word sums them up – woeful.  We need to look to the SNP, Greens and any independents to look after the best interests for Scotland.

This really is a crucial time for Scotland.  She’s being pulled out of the EU against her will, she’s been slapped down and told that her voice, where Brexit is concerned, is not important.

What happens here, today, will determine the type of country that Scotland will be in the future.

Well Scotland...

You blew it big time, didn't you?

The referendum for Scottish Independence ended almost four weeks ago, and it is only now that I feel I can write anything down.  What I am about to write is from the perspective of a 'Yes' supporter.  As I live in England I was not allowed to vote.

So here are my ramblings about various aspects of the referendum.

First of all, let's look at the 'Better Together' campaign.

I have never witnessed such an awful campaign in all my life.  I had to watch, sometimes open-jawed, at the sight of Labour sharing a platform with the likes of the Conservatives, UKIP and the Orange Order.  They told us (including Labour Scottish MP's) that we could not be a country on our own.  We would have no currency.  In fact, Johann Lamont, the leader of the Scottish Labour Party, told us it was not in our genes to make political decisions.  Unbelievable!  The media threw everything at Scotland, except the kitchen sink in the way of lies, lies and more lies.  It was a relentless and uninspiring campaign.

On a much brighter note, the 'Yes Scotland' campaign was much more positive.

They sold us a vision of aspiration.  We can be, we can do and we are good enough.  Sites on the internet such as; Bella Caledonia, Newsnet Scotland and Wings over Scotland proved to be invaluable sources of information and insight.  The energy and buzz created by the Yes movement was never ever matched by Better Together.

To prove my point, here are two images depicting outdoor gatherings from both sides of the debate:


Better Together

Yes Scotland

Now, which one do you think looks like the kind of event that you'd go to?

Despite the fact that the No vote won it in the end, my real, problem is with the three so-called leaders of Westminster coming up a few days before polling to make some rash promise to offer more powers to Scotland if the people voted No.  This was never about more powers, it was about self-determination.

I genuinely believed that when the No vote won that that would be the end of the Yes movement.  I couldn't have been more wrong.

Membership for the SNP has trebled to over 100,000 members, whilst the Greens and Scottish Socialists have doubled their membership numbers.  All great to see.  In fact, I myself joined the SNP because I want to help and contribute to my country gaining self-determination.  So, I need to see what else I can do.  Bella Caledonia, Newsnet Scotland and The Common Weal are all looking at expanding their services to help combat what is seen as the established media's biased coverage.  Things are positive and moving in the right direction.

I am no political pundit but I think that Scottish Labour are in trouble, to the point where I believe that they are finished in Scotland as a political force.  I expect to see the Green Party make great in-roads.  The Scottish Socialist Party are a bit of an unknown quantity to me, but it will be interesting to see that they do.

So, all-in-all I feel lifted from that crushing disappointment and I am full of enthusiasm and optimism that Independence for Scotland will still be achieved.

If anyone thought that the no vote would send the Yes voters running, they were wrong.

We are not going anywhere! 

Scotland Yet...

 

I was born and bred in Scotland. I moved to England almost 17 years ago, and yet, now, after all this time, my thoughts drift to a song written and performed by my dad. He was a folk singer and his name is Davy Steele. He was passionate about Scotland and Independence. He wrote a song called, 'Scotland Yet'. The lyrics are:

'Gie noo a thocht to what we hae in this land o’ the leal 
The Highland glen, the Doric stream the fertile Lowland field
They seem tae offer different views when looked at from within
Can strangers be the only eyes to see us a’ as yin 

Chorus The choice will be upon us soon, tae set oor destiny
I’ll drink a toast tae Scotland yet whatever yet may be

Oor mither tongue spoke different weys that past tae present ties
Each separate and yet entwined that’s where oor real strength lies
For should one strand unwind itself the others tae forsake
Then a’ would be forever lost fur a’ the strands would break

While we still seek to blame oor woes and pains on someone else
We’ll never have the strength tae solve oor problems for ourselves 
In truth we fought each other mair learn this from oor past
Then together we can choose fur oorsells at last'

I think this is an exciting for the people of Scotland, and by that I mean everyone who lives there regardless of their country of origin.

The debate has not quite set fire yet in England, but from what I read this is basically how I see it. The 'No' campaign has been one of negativity and a great deal of scaremongering. The 'Yes' campaign seems like it wants to engage as many people as it can in this very important debate.

I remember that a few months before dad was told he had tumours in the brain, we had a discussion about this song.  I had asked him why he never performed it any more on stage. His reply was that the people of Scotland had made their choice with devolution. He had felt that politicians had spoiled a political movement he had been involved in (I am sorry but I have forgotten the name of it).

So, if there any piece of useful advice I would give to the people of Scotland, it is this; please don't allow the politicians to hijack this debate. Like dad, I would like to see an independent Scotland. A country that has it's own Parliament, voted by and for the people.

So here's a toast to Scotland yet, whatever yet may be!