A Difficult Time

Everywhere we see evidence of our broken society. Whether it’s the litter-strewn, rat-infested streets of the capital or the spiralling energy costs or the outbreak of strikes by public sector workers fighting for a decent wage. In the last year, the price of energy will have increased by 178% – taking the price cap to £3,549. This is “the biggest attack on living standards in decades”.

This is a social crisis on top of an ecological one. They are converging. What these emergent crises have in common is they represent problems ignored and deferred and left to fester for years, often decades. As the urgent blame-game goes around and round its important to recognise that this is a failure of the entire political class. Elite rule has failed.

We have known for years (decades) the need to transition to renewable energy, and we have failed to do it, because to do so would mean confronting the corporate power of the fossil fuel industry. We have known for years (decades) that we need to have an energy descent plan, but we failed to do it, because energy was privatised and seen as a means of profit, not a public need, and anyway we needed to be sold loads more gadgets to keep us occupied. We have known for years (decades) that fuel poverty was a massive issue in our part of cold northern Europe, and we needed to secure energy costs and insulate peoples homes and maximise fuel efficiency, but we have failed to do it because we don’t really care that much about climate change and it was only the really poor who suffered, so, who cares?

These problems have escalated and been left because they were too difficult. Dealing with them would have meant challenging corporate power and private greed – and pouring resource into society and addressing massive structural inequality. That’s not something any political party really cared about, and we, now facing the perfect storm of socio-economic meltdown, went along with it. We are complicit with the endless triangulation, lies, propaganda and the obvious contradictions that we could have low taxes and high public services, that we could afford to let companies and ‘high-end’ individuals haemorrhage taxation offshore in industrial-scale tax evasion. The private good-public bad orthodoxy of the past forty years lies broken and battered, a dead meme, a broken mantra exposed as a lie.

As Labour Liberal and Tory politicians crouched in front of the bins in the Grassmarket trying desperately to capitalise on SNP failure the following facts remain true. Yes Scotland has restrictions on borrowing power; yes the Scottish Government has a finite budget; yes the 3.5% pay offer was derisory and yes 5% not much more, but it’s also true that failure to reform the Council tax has starved local authorities of resources.

The political blame is shared. It cannot be stuck like the tail on the donkey on one single party or government. This is a crisis and a farce that has long been coming and for which blame needs to be shared.

Frontline workers, who were given brief and grudging recognition during the pandemic, have been sidelined, ostracised and under-paid for too long. Hard-working teachers, nursery staff, binmen, train staff, nurses and public sector workers have been stuck on low wages as the cost of living spirals. We live in a society where essential workers, those who clean up after you, get you to work safe, wipe your granny’s bum and teach your child – are treated with contempt – while those in peripheral work, whose labour you wouldn’t miss for a second if they didn’t exist, are exulted and paid handsomely. It’s crazy and it can’t continue.

We have now reached the perfect storm after years of intransigence and political failure.

But we still talk as if everything is transitory. We still talk about ‘fixes’ and ‘policies’ which will alleviate hardship. The whole narrative about what we are experiencing is deluded.

The Conservatives announce plans to dole out hundreds of pounds to offset the very worst impacts of fuel-poverty, Labour talks of ‘one-off windfall taxes’, But the problem is systemic and chronic, not passing and temporary. This is the culmination of political failure not just the by-product of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. We have normalised extremes of inequality and got used to foodbanks. We have allowed whole communities to be disfigured by poverty and shamed and brutalised people through the benefits system, all while cherishing and deifying the propertied classes. Now millions face poverty for the very first time. The system is broken and it’s time now for revolt not party-political point scoring. We need to change the system not elect a different party.

The socio-ecological collapse we are living through is a system failure, of that there is no doubt. But we are complicit in this. We want to live in a magic world where we watch the breakdown unfold but wish for no change to happen. We don’t want to stop flying, we don’t want to stop driving, we want to eat whatever we like wherever we live at whatever time of year. We elect politicians who lie to our faces and explain that nothing really needs to change at all. Let’s ban plastic straws.

Shocking new analysis from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that the average low-income family will pay four and a half times more for energy in 2023/24 compared to 2021/22, based on the latest forecasts for energy bills.

Some will have it worse than others. Nearly three quarters of households which include a person with a disability have been pushed into debt this year because of increases to energy and food prices, according to Richard Kramer, chief executive of the charity Sense.

Single parents will hand over almost two thirds of their income after housing costs, creating a very real risk that their children will go hungry. And some single adults will see their finances wiped out by stratospheric energy bills that make up almost 120% of their income after housing costs, leaving many destitute – forced to cut down on energy just to meet bills, with “no money whatsoever left over for food or other essentials”.

As if living on another planet Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi today said on energy consumption: “The reality is that we should all look at our energy consumption. It is a difficult time.”

 

 

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  1. Katie Nicol says:

    You have said it exactly as it is and it is shocking that we have come to this sorry state

  2. Alex McCulloch says:

    Is it equitable to say the political blame is shared ?
    The SNP / Green Scottish government , endorsed by the electorate are offering our fellow citizens the option of choosing a different future and to shape a new system by evolution or revolution – our choice!
    Any significant step change is not possible with finite powers and limited borrowing.
    To demonise those who can lead us to a different future does not help , in any way, persuade those we need to join us in choosing Independence as the means to a new beginning

    1. 220828 says:

      Call me an auld cynic, but I doubt the Scottish establishment, endorsed by the electorate, is offering us any such option. I see nothing in Scottish government’s prospectus for independence that suggests any change in the whole matrix of official and social relations within which power is exercised in our society; the whole process of independence is being managed by that establishment to ensure the survival of the status quo.

      1. Alistair says:

        Dear Auld Yin,
        Canny disagree, but would say that after independence we have a real opportunity to createa democracy with true political accountability at its heart. And we’ll have opposition parties {and hopefully a wider range of them} with only a Scottish agenda. Hopefully that will be a significant change and a significant benefit. We’ll hae brocht them back fae Lunnon tae whaur aince mair we kin peeble them wi’ stanes when they’re na’ guid bairnies.

        Yours aye,
        Anither auld curmusgeon.

        1. Dave says:

          Hullo Alistair.

          Under the current admitted British/English NU-S.N.P. leaders, FM Sturgeon and Blackford, Scotland will never be independent. They have done nothing for independence since 2014 except beg to the English MP Leader Boris to hold a referendum which we as a SOVEREIGN Country don’t need.

          All we need is a DECLARATION of independence which we Scots authorized by voting in the NU-S.N.P. with a landslide of SEATS in last years election. F.M. Sturgeon then said that the win was for another referendum. Unfortunately the S.N.P. members and supporters meekly agreed.

          ALBA with the help of ISP are the only ones capable of getting our independence. They are true Independence parties. I left the NU-S.N.P. a few years ago when it was obvious that Ms. Sturgeon had no intention of our independence. She has never ever declared that she supports independence. Did you know that ? Last year I’m proud to say I joined ALBA.
          All the best.
          Dave.

          1. 220830 says:

            ‘All we need is a DECLARATION of independence which we Scots authorized by voting in the NU-S.N.P. with a landslide of SEATS in last years election.’

            Naw ‘n’ we didnae. 30% of the electorate in the constituency vote and 31% of the electorate in the regional vote endorsed the pursuit a second referendum. A unilateral declaration of independence was not part of the manifesto on which the current Scottish government was elected.

            Moreover, less than a third of the electorate hardly adds up to ‘we Scots’.

        2. 220830 says:

          ‘…after independence we have a real opportunity to create a democracy with true political accountability at its heart.’

          But will we, Alistair? There’s nothing in the Scottish government’s prospectus for independence that sets out how such an opportunity will be delivered. All we’re actually being guaranteed is the greater empowerment of central government in Scotland that will be accountable only to our own wee bletherhoose at Holyrood; the so-called ‘Westminster system’, in other words, applied parochially. F*ck*n brilliant!

  3. Graeme Mccormick says:

    The SG has the power within the existing Devolution Settlement to introduce AGFRR which can raise so much public funding that every Scot could have a Universal Citizens Income of £200 a week and more.

    AGFRR can be applied to treating energy installations as a separate land type charged at a special rate on the producers and suppliers.

    The leadership of the Independence Movement must not delay addressing the despair and hardship confronting so many people until independence is achieved.

    1. Dave says:

      The SG doesn’t need the few devolution powers which the British/English ‘gave’ us. Now that the NU-SNP F.M. Sturgeon has admitted that she is BRITISH it explains why she has refused to declare independence and never, ever said that she herself wants independence. Since 2014 over 8 years, that’s right 8 years has been wasted under her begging to the English Tory Boris along with her British NU-S.N.P. leader at Westminster to hold a referendum which Scotland does not need as we are a SOVEREIGN nation.

      A British/English leader Ms. Sturgeon will never lead Scotland to independence.

      Proof: The British S.N.P. F.M. leader Sturgeon has turned down every opportunity to declare independence by coming up with every lame excuse not to and hasn’t.
      The last glaring example was the two ALBA MP’s who stood up for Scotland’s independence and were thrown out of the English Parliament. Not one of the NU-S.N.P.’s stood up with them. They just sat bowing their heads ashamed and embarrassed of the 2 Alba MP’s who were representing SCOTLAND.. The British NU-S.N.P. leaders at both Holyrood and Westminster made it very clear that that they would never allow any NU-S.N.P. to protest on behalf of Scotland rather just sit there and be ridiculed and laughed at by their accepted superior 600 English MP’s.

      Scotland has only TWO MP’s from the ALBA party standing up for Scotland at Westminster.
      If any poster can advise of any action taken by the British NU-S.N.P. Leader Sturgeon to get independence please do. In over 8 years the YES vote is still around 50%. A dismal failure engineered by our British NU-S.N.P. Leader Sturgeon.

      1. 220829 says:

        Love it!

      2. Ewen+A+Morrison says:

        We, readers, are in full agreement with your entirely accurate comments; and I suppose describing the present “The British NU-S.N.P. leaders at both Holyrood and Westminster” is, at least, recognisable for what IS an ineffable body of the so-called ‘Scottish National Party… A political party which had won a growing and respectful following; from which many of us left, but are still fully committed to and in favour of Scotland regaining its independence, as soon as possible!

        Many of us – if not most of us – had only a faint understanding of The Claim of Right (c. 28) and the Convention of the Estates, etc., in April 1689. and It is one of the key documents of United Kingdom constitutional law and Scottish constitutional law… Thank goodness for Wikipedia and similar online sources of information! I’ve always been an avid believer in the eventual resumption of Scotland’s independence; regardless of London’s English government’s disrespectful and less than honourable political behaviour! Nowadays, we have more and more English people that are recognising that the UK is actually the Unravelling Kingdom!

        Scotland’s biggest mistake happened more than 315 years ago; yet, Scotland’s population is gradually recognised this fact – However, England’s population is NOT going to universally change their mindsets in the near future. So far, there has been a realisation and/or understanding in Scotland’s population – perhaps an inevitability? Otherwise, who can speculate about how England’s population might feel and what their reactions might be? The nations on this archipelago are entirely different from each other and this will surely determine very different reactions to the likely changes!

        Here’s hoping for a calm and realistic future for our neighbouring nations and a mutually prosperous future for all concerned! Thanks for your time,

        Ewen

        1. Dave says:

          Hullo Ewen+A+Morrison. Thanks a lot for your reply.
          Following England’s direction the British NU-S.N.P. leader Sturgeon has blocked Scotland’s true economic condition.
          An in-depth study of countries in the world with approximately the same population of Scotland’s ( 5.6 Million + -) shows the staggering wealth of Scotland.
          Here is the information/report ( highlights)which I sent to Ms. Sturgeon a few years ago. It was refused twice by her snippy assistant and I was told not to try contact Ms. Sturgeon again. I was told to send it to the NU-S.N.P. HQ which I did. twice, and I received a thank you. The information never came to light. That was the final straw and I left the NU-S.N.P. as my suspicions were confirmed that the Murrells had no intentions of independence.

          Wealthiest country and rating : #2 Norway, POP 5.4 Million. #4 Eire or Southern Ireland, POP 5.0 Million. #5 Iceland, POP (point) .3 Million. #8 Denmark, POP 5.8 Million. #14 Finland, POP 5.5 Million.

          NONE OF THE ABOVE COUNTRIES HAVE ANYWHERE NEAR SCOTLAND’S RESOURCES. Scotland’s resource list is twice or more than some of the others combined.
          As England has complete control of Scotland’s financial condition and refuses to give Scotland’s GNP/GDP numbers they simply lie and give GERS numbers which they compile in London and are never challenged by the British F.M. Sturgeon of course.

          Another very important issue is the de-nationalization programme of Scotland. Since 1707 Scotland’s history and culture has been buried by England and the SG British Sturgeon at Holyrood. The objective being to brainwash we Scots into thinking and accepting that we are the same as our English colonialists.

          An example: The SCOTTISH Admiral Thomas Cochrane from near Edinburgh was the Admiral who defeated Napoleon. Read his fascinating history. He went on to help Chile, Peru’ and Brazil gain their freedom from Spain and Portugal respectively. Streets are named after Admiral Cochrane in both Chile and Peru’. I’m not sure of streets in Brazil. THERE IS NOTHING IN SCOTLAND to Honour this true SCOTTISH HERO. There are many more Scottish heroes who we should be proud of but only a few of us know who they are.

          The first attack on British/English or SCOTTISH soil by the Nazis in WW11 was against Scotland. The air battle took place over Edinburgh with many German planes ending up in the Firth o’ Forth as Scottish planes won the battle. Some German pilots/crew were captured. Strangely I never heard anything about that especially since I’m from Edinburgh and went to School there. There is no doubt that there are many, many other parts of our history we Scots know. The English dumbing down programme is falling apart.

          There is an alliance in Scotland consisting of the English owned National Media, the NU-SNP and Business in Scotland. The National claim to be Scotland’s only Independence Media. B.S. It is owned by the same anti – Scottish English aristocrats who own the GLASGOW HERALD. All are connected to the EBBC through directorships. One goes from the EBBC to the National or Daily Record and vice versa. All controlled by the English Tories at Westminster or the other way around. England controls 95% of all so-called Scottish media.

          With British Sturgeon and British Blackford pretending to lead independence the referendum will fail as they have planned. They are NOT the YES leaders.
          Last year’s election gave Ms. Sturgeon the mandate to declare independence by winning the huge majority of SEATS. It was a landslide. Instead she made out it was for another referendum and the S.N.P. worshippers passively agreed. That alone should have been a wake up call.

          There are 2 prominent true independent parties plus many more I’m sure that will deliver our independence. I joined the ALBA party myself and contribute to others. The nonsense that to criticize the British F.M. NU-S.N.P. LEADER will damage the YES vote is promoted by the unionist who know that it is the EXACT OPPOSITE. It will increase the YES VOTE.

          THE FLOOD GATES MUST BE OPENED with our TRUE economic condition and our TRUE HISTORY AND CULTURE continually promoted. The 50% of Scots, under the dumbed down programmes of the English MP’s at Westminster and British NU-S.N.P. leader F.M. Sturgeon at Holyrood, must be
          informed of the truth. Pride in Scotland is very necessary for that 50%. We have it and I’m concentrating to get the ‘PRIDE and ECONOMY’ message out to that 50%.
          Have a great day.
          Soar Alba.

        2. Dave says:

          Sorry, Ewen +A+ Morrison. In my reply to you there was a missing word. At the end of paragraph 7 the second last sentence should have ended with ” WE SCOTS DON’T KNOW” . ‘DON’T’ BEING THE KEY missing WORD.

          All the best.
          Dave.

          1. Ewen+A+Morrison says:

            Thank goodness that our people have articulate people who are currently working in support of resuming Scotland’s independent status; I’m delighted to have met you and that we’re exchanging these messages… While we are mainly ordinary members of Scotland’s population, I’m pleased that most of us are passionately wanting to see our country regaining its independent position in this world!

            Thanks, and we WILL keep in touch; we know that today’s politics are becoming busier and more demanding for all concerned, however, Scotland’s people have the power of truth and determination in our hearts!

            Speak soon,

            Ewen

  4. SleepingDog says:

    Well, it is more than the fossil fuel industry. You have to take into account today’s sprawling spawn of what exiting USAmerican President Dwight Eisenhower called the ‘military-industrial complex’. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military%E2%80%93industrial_complex
    The extent to which the military subsides industry or vice versa can be debated, but the effect is usually cross-subsidisation, the military aquisition of resources and markets, the industrial supply of military equipment for export, the military supply of wars for product testing and advertising and occupation/destruction contracts, and so on.

    Any system of government or political-economy apparently bent on the destruction (fast or in-a-flash) of our planetary life support systems might seem crazy, but only seems irrational if you don’t see that it does what its architects intend. After all, USAmerican President Ronald Reagan apparently believed in the imminent Rapture. The British Empire still incorporates an established church with an apocalyptic creed. There may be a significant difference in mindsets between people who believe we can learn enough about the world not to destroy it, and those who reserve some part of the world to a mystical realm whose divinity we are unworthy to question.

    Some theories of non-violent social change hold that by successfully attacking enough of the pillars that hold up the existing regime, it will collapse under its own tendencies to fail. Rulers tend to be at least aware and typically concerned about these possibilities, which is why recent UK governments have been trying to crush dissent, fight culture wars, replace boards, enoble fellow crooks and prevent accurate historiography. In doing so, they risk highlighting where they see their own vulnerabilities are. So they also employ a vast secret network of groups to work clandestinely. Yet it has been whistleblowers from these groups that have caused some of the greatest problems for regimes.

  5. Meg Macleod says:

    The media ignores the issues..owned by the corporate groups they prefer silence and wait for a decline in population…starvation ..the slow death of free will to speak underlies it all..to change our expectations is a grass roots undertaking……basic needs…have we forgotten what they are?..food water.housing..warmth….you are right they are being exploitedd to make profit for the already rich……they seem to be untouchable

  6. Mister E says:

    Everything’s broken, everyone’s shit, everyone is going to freeze and starve, and we could fix it by changing the council tax to something else? Oh – and an energy descent ‘plan’. The ‘plan’ is not elaborated, if there is one, but I would imagine that it would involve making energy a lot more expensive, petroleum products in particular, which in turn makes everything from chips to microchips more expensive.

    If that’s it, the Tories are more proactive. At least they put a windfall tax on oil companies and knocked £400 off the council tax.

  7. John Wood says:

    It is simply the inevitable end of the corporate capitalist / colonialist / individualist dream. The 1% have seen it comibg and are more and more determined to escape the destruction. They even fire themselves into space with the idea of starting again on Mars! It is utter madness. The planet has a single ecosystem and we are part of it. It cannot be possessed, controlled and exploited by technology. It just doesn’t work like that. What happens when 99% of the population cannot pay the 1% what they demand? Cannot partcipate in a market? Have no stake in ‘stakeholder capitalism’? What happens when there simply isn’t enough energy to power the machinery of oppression? The super-rich start to fight each other. We need to learn from history and refuse to be cannon fodder.

    Mutual aid, i.e. looking out for each other, and the planet, is the only future for any of us.

    1. Dave says:

      Hi John… Great post.

      Agreed. We can only achieve if we are independent. We are a colony run by the English aristocrats from the English/German Queen down. Our problem is the now Admitted British/English F.M. – S.N.P. Leader STURGEON. they only care about making money.

    2. Meg+Macleod says:

      well said.

    3. Dave says:

      Hullo John. Your post of to-day was excellent. Your post says it all.

      There was an eyeopener documentary film on how the British/English aristocrats from the English/German Queen down came into power and how they kept it. That included the marriage to very rich American women as they (aristocrats) were going broke. Money for Titles. Winston Churchill’s mother was one of them as you may know.

      The GERS report just came out as you are aware. Scotland’s deficit is now 23.7 billion pounds. Big numbers being used which most Scots cannot comprehend.
      Firstly: If that is the deficit what is the number before the 23.7 billion? A deficit occurs after the initial amount of money England gives Scotland using its Barnett Formula from our Scottish taxes and revenues all collected by England..

      Secondly: To understand 32 BILLION. 1 Billion = 1,000 MILLION pounds. 32 Billion = 32,000 THAT’S 32 THOUSAND MILLION POUNDS.

      Scotland’s population = 5.6 million. That’s 1,000 Million pounds times 32 = 32 THOUSAND MILLION pounds for 5.6 million Scots.

      32 thousand million divided by 5.6 million = 5.714 THOUSAND MILLION POUNDS for every Scottish man, woman and child.
      IMPOSSIBLE.

      Since the British F.M. Sturgeon once again has never said a word of protest then any Scot who is one of the 50% NON-YES voter accepts these numbers as fact as do the majority of the Sturgeon Worshippers.

      Let’s suppose these ‘numbers’ are correct. Where did this 32 Thousand million Deficit pounds go? Why is the F.M. not being questioned by any S.N.P. at Holyrood ? Ms. Sturgeon’s continued silence over the last 8 years except for begging to England is ZERO.

      Her resignation should by demanded. We need a strong leader who doesn’t fall for the English subtle threats.. Even Barbados had the guts to declare Independence.
      BTW The Daily record published a lie saying that the GERS numbers were from the SG. The report was done in London then given to the SG and the media for publication. The English Gov’t are the only ones who know Scotland’s exact GDP/GNP as they collect all Scottish taxes and revenues which they refuse to release. therefore it is impossible for any SG to compile a GERS report. However there are OTHER METHODS to calculate Scotland’s WEALTH.

      All the best.
      SOAR ALBA.

  8. Dave. says:

    I have just come across another Great Scot: Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (Robert Graham) was a Scottish politician, writer, journalist and adventurer.
    He was the founder of the SNP and the first S.N.P. president in 1934.

    1. 220830 says:

      Ah, Cunninghame Graham of Gartmore and Ardoch: British aristocrat, adventurer, bourgeois philanthropist, and political dandy, educated at Harrow, made his fortune ranching cattle in Argentina; a real ‘man of the people’.

  9. Politically Homeless says:

    Well as usual, there are the typical corporate-ideological reasons the working class are getting shafted such as neoliberalism, deregulation, predatory profiteering and so on. But those are constants.

    There are also the more prosaic factors which many such as the late Prof. Paul Younger of Glasgow University, predicted ten or more years ago were likely tip the energy system into disarray. Predicate the low carbon energy strategy overwhelmingly on inherently fickle renewable energy sources, particularly unsuitable for demands such as heating, close the baseload coal power plants, don’t replace nuclear plants or build new nuclear properly, massively increase the energy system’s reliability on gas; you then leave yourself vulnerable to fluctuations in the gas market. (Those electric cars are looking like a great deal right now huh. And weren’t we supposed to by 50% electric by 2030 or something like that? Imagine what the price of electricity will be by then. Oh well, who cares, it’s only an environmental “target”, ie. political rhetoric you can wipe your arse with.)

    Then couple that with a liberal internationalist policy towards Russia and Russian influence in the former Soviet area, try to spread liberal democracy to places like Ukraine, when Russia is of course the gas reservoir of Europe, and led by a psychopathic, revanchist former KGB officer and this is what you get.

    I remember Prof Younger’s acrimonious run ins with students who detested his “frack or build nuclear” stance. The basic contention that climate change doesn’t trump the moral imperative to stop people freezing in their homes, mass unemployment due to a depression caused by energy price shocks and so on, was and is lost on the middle class dilettantes who make up 99% of “green” activism. Nobody in a place like this wants to hear that, but it’s the truth. And it is a large contributory factor to the current crisis.

    1. Dave says:

      The only way to get any change is to be independent. We have TWO ALBA MP’s representing Scotland at Westminster against 600 + – British/English plus NU-S.N.P. MPs. Since we now know that F.M. Sturgeon and Leader Blackford are BRITISH by their own admission the true YES leadership is with ALBA with the help from ISP. British Sturgeon was NEVER the YES leader. Since 2014 she has done nothing to keep Scotland’s wealth in Scotland.
      Soar Alba.

      1. 220830 says:

        Don’t the Alba MPs respectively represent the constituencies of East Lothian and Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath rather than Scotland in the UK parliament? I didn’t know Scotland was a UK parliamentary constituency.

        1. Dave says:

          Aye 220830 ye mak guid points. Thanks.

          Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey as well as representing their constituences represent SCOTLAND at Westminster. They were kicked oot o the English hoose o the English parliament for standing up for SCOTLAND’s INDEPENDENCE a few weeks ago as ye ken.

          Scotland as a SOVEREIGN country disnae need a refurendum tae DECLARE Independence.
          All Scots shid hae a wee keek at the 1707 agreement atween twa SOVEREIGN countries SCOTLAND/ALBA an ENGLUND.

          We dinnae need a referendum tae be a SOVEREIGN country. We awready are. Sovereign countries dinnae go beggin to ony foreign country fur ony reason ataw. The British F.M. leader o the NU-S.N.P. is noo a laffin stock an does the same fur Alba wi hur cringin tae hur British bosses at Westminster.
          Economy an Pride o Scotland/Alba is whit must be done tae get rid o aw the English colonialists an their flunkies at Holyrood.
          Soar Alba

          1. 220831 says:

            Neither represent Scotland in the UK parliament. Who authorised them to speak of behalf of the people of Scotland? They’re only authorised to speak on behalf of the people of East Lothian and Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath respectively. Nor were they kicked out of the House of Commons for standing up for Scotland’s independence; the Speaker of the House suspended their participation in the business of the House for persistently breaking its procedural rules.

            And I repeat: even if the Scottish government did have the power to unilaterally declare its independence of UK government, it would have that power only on the authority of the Scottish electorate, which it currently lacks. That’s why the current Scottish government is seeking to win a referendum; so it can claim that authority. Again, on what authority does Alba and its members claim to speak on behalf of the people of Scotland?

          2. Dave says:

            Hullo 220831. Thanks for your reply. I am proud to support any Scot who stands up for Scotland. When the two ALBA members tried to speak they were laughed at and shouted down by the English MPs including the NU-S.N.P.s. Unlike the NU-S.N.P.s led by Ian Blackford they didn’t sit humbly by and look at the floor in silence. Every Scot has the right to have a voice. They do not need permission from any British aristocrat or the British S.N.P. F.M. Sturgeon who shuts up any of her party who dares to challenge for Scotland instead of begging.

            It is also the right of Scots to stay as an English colony and live in poverty and allow the British to take trillions of Scotland’s money for England’s benefit.
            Too long, 315 years, we have been lied to by the British establishment in order to steal our wealth. e.g. Since 1945 they told us that the oil was drying up as they stole our resource by the trillions of pounds.
            For those of us who want a better life for ourselves and our children and grand children we pull together for independence. After which we Scotland will decide which Scottish party will govern our SOVEREIGN country.
            B.T.W. The marches for independence are a mixture of all Scots representing all parties and they don’t need anybody’s permission.
            Have a great day.

          3. John Wood says:

            I don’t think Nicola Sturgeon or Ian Blackford are Unionist 5th columnists. I think they really do want independence. However they are very, very cautious in their approach, and it’s far too cautious for a growing number of people (including me).
            I can see why they have been proceeding with extreme caution. You only have to look at Ireland to see how the British establishment operates (incidentally the parcel of rogues has always included Scots and people from across the Empire, and elsewhere – they not only ‘English’). They are practised at psychological warfare and aim to antagonise and stir up a violent opposition that they can then suppress with violence. The IRA was full of British agents provocateurs. And the army went into Northern Ireland initially to ‘protect’ the Catholics.
            London will use any excuse, and even create one, to ‘justify’ a ‘crackdown’ on ‘extremism’ and the removal of yet mire basic human rights. Even old ladies sitting down in the road for XR are now apparently dangerous terrorists.
            And the SNP leadership can see how anyone seen as a threat to the establishment is treated: Alex Salmond was falsely tried on Trumped-up charges and even when found not guilty, they demonised him as if guilty. Craig Murray ended up in jail. Jeremy Corbyn was viciously attacked and destroyed by the media. Julian Assange … and so on. Anyway, the establishment message to Sturgeon was pretty clear – watch out or we will come for you too. They already do their utmost to demonise her. Don’t fall for it!

            Sturgeon is a cautious lawyer. It’s how she thinks and works. But it doesn’t make her a Unionist. The SNP is a broad church too. Mhairi Black is a great MP. She is the only one so far who has dared to call out neo-fascism in Westminster. .
            But unfortunately the SNP’s weakness is that the church is just too broad. It has no unifying ideology apart from independence. It’s all very well to say that once we achieve independence we can make our own decisions, but no-one trusts anyone else to create the sort of Scotland they want.
            The right wing of the SNP are neoliberal, and their vision seems to be pretty much business as usual, only with them taking the driving seat. Except the driver is not free to choose the route. The Scottish Government seems to think it has to play to the World Economic Forum’s neofascist agenda. Perhaps Prince Charles has quietly told them the Great Reset requires governments around the world to ‘co-operate’ (Klaus Schwab’s word) or face ruin or ‘regime change’). And so the SNP leadership, and the Greens too, end up doing as they are told. They will never achieve anything by letting themselves be bullied. They need to stop being feart and stand up for us. And we too need to stand up. But we’d do better to build alliances than enemies.

          4. Alex Salmond – Craig Murray – Jeremy Corbyn – Julian Assange … these are not the same. Their behaviour is not the same, their actions are not the same and the publics attitude to them is not the same.

          5. John Wood says:

            They are all people who have been attacked by the British establishment. They have that in common.

          6. 220818 says:

            ‘Every Scot has the right to have a voice.’

            Indeed. And every MP has the right to have an equal voice in parliament, which is why there are procedural rules that its Speaker is there to uphold and all of its Members have a corresponding obligation to obey.

            The two MPs concerned broke the parliament’s procedural rules as a stunt to draw unequal attention to their voices over those of other Members, for which breach they were sanctioned by the Speaker. Moreover, if everyone behaved as they did, there would be pandemonium and the parliament wouldn’t be able to perform its democratic function, which is why the procedural rules are there in the first place.

            Imagine the furore there would be if a couple of Tory MSPs behaved as aggressively and undemocratically in the Scottish parliament during First Minister’s Questions! What makes Alba MPs so exceptional that they don’t have to stick to the same rules as every other Westminster member?

  10. Dave says:

    Hullo 220818. I’m surprised that ye dinnae ken that the English TORY Branch MP’s at Holyrood constantly lie and interrupt the Admitted English/British F.M. NU-S.N.P. LEADER Ms. Sturgeon at Holyrood. Very surprised.?

    There are 2 ALBA Scottish MPs at Westminster against over 600 British MPs. There is no UK parliament as there is NO U.K. Country. The rules are ENGLISH / BRITISH and are used to shout down our 2 ALBA representatives. They are never used to shout down the NU-S.N.P.s because as you know they just beg. As a SOVEREIGN country our two ALBA MPs have the right to stand up for SCOTLAND.

    HAVE YOU READ THE 1707 agreement between Scotland and England ? It makes great reading.
    Have a great day.

    1. 220831 says:

      ‘There is no UK parliament as there is NO U.K. Country.’

      What you seem to have missed in your reading of the Articles of Union is that the UK and its parliament were created by them. Article 1 provides that the kingdoms of Scotland and England would, from 1 May 1707, be united into one kingdom named Great Britain, with its own royal coat of arms and a flag combining the crosses of St Andrew and St George. Article 3 provides for the creation of one unified Parliament of the new country.

      Your claim that there’s no UK parliament and no UK is arrant nonsense.

      1. David Grainger says:

        There is NO country called Britain. Britain is not the U.K. or vice versa. Scotland IS a SOVEREIGN Country. Over and out.

        1. John Wood says:

          Sadly my old friends who came to visit me from England were absolutely convinced that the UK was a unitary state and not a union of countries. They dismissed all the history as no longer relevant – but were alomst completely ignorant of all of it. They insisted that the UK as a member of the UN Security Council is not just a unitary state but a very important global superpower. Independence it seems is all the fault of that terrible Nicola Sturgeon and her ‘troublemaking, hostile’ MPs. The idea that the SNP is the democratically elected majority party here is simply inconceivable to them. The Scottish Parliament is apparently a waste of money because it takes decisions that are different from London!

          It’s still ‘Rule Britannia’ for some. I pointed out that their views seem eerily reminiscent of how Putin sees the Ukraine, but of course, they weren’t having that at all. Such a pity. They are in other ways, actually nice, friendly, even intelligent people. I have to put it down to the overwhelming propaganda they live with on all sides, every day.

          We are going to have an uphill struggle against views like this. What will we do when the troops arrive to protect ‘loyal’ Unionist Scots from the dreadful separatists?

          When people

          1. 220831 says:

            But these equivalences you make are all false, John.

            The Charter of the United Nations – its founding document – does not establish it as a unified state, which the UK’s founding document – the Articles of Union – does in the case of that institution.

            Ukraine became politically independent of the other members of the Soviet Union (and in particular of Russia) in 1991, when the presidents of their respective republics dissolved their union by means of the Belovezh Accords and replaced it with a Commonwealth of Independent States (an analogue for ‘an independent Scotland within the UK’). Russia de facto annexed Crimea, in the largely russophone western and southern autonomous regions of Ukraine, following the pro-Russian outcome of a referendum that was held there in 2014, which led to a civil war breaking out in the Ukraine’s Donbas region between pro- and anti-Russian Ukrainians. In February of this year, Russia launched a major invasion of Ukraine to break the stalemate in that war. There is no equivalence between the situation in Scotland and the situation in Ukraine, and it’s shameful that Scottish nationalists should, by making such false equivalences, seek to exploit the current suffering of the Ukrainian people for their own propaganda purposes.

          2. John Wood says:

            I make no false equivalences, and I make no apology either.

            I drew attention to the fact that Putin regards Ukraine as part of Russia, and that the ‘British’ establishment claims Scotland as part of a ‘unitary state’. These perceptions are (to my mind) equally mistaken.
            But my comment is about perceptions.

          3. John Wood says:

            I’ll just add the following to my earlier comment. Ukraine was part if the unitary state of the Russian Empire. The Crimean War was fought in Crimea, against Russia. I understand the name Ukraine ( formerly The Ukraine) simply means borderlands.
            After the 1917 revolution, the Empire was divided into separate Soviet Socialist Republics, which were nominally independent but were denied separate representation at the UN. This is not to try to justify Putin’s actions but seeks to try to understand the perception behind them.
            I agree the situation in Scotland is completely different; but I disagree that the UK is a unitary state. It is a Treaty-base Union of states which have maintained a distinctive character despite the best efforts of Unionism to erase this.

            In 1707, Scotland and England entered into a treaty to combine their Parliaments. However the Treaty specifically reserves certain differences between the two kingdoms, including the Presbyterian religion, and Scots law. The education system and health service in Scotland have always been separate from thise in England; and there is a body of separate legislation for Scotland.
            Nevertheless, the Scottish people’s legal sovereignty in Scotland has been reaffirmed many times, including by the Westminster parliament. The present queen is Elizabeth I of Scotland, and you will see no letterboxes here with EIIR on them. The Acts of the pre-1707 Scottish Parliament also remain in force unless specifically repealed.
            The Scots, having entered into the Treaty if Union, may if they so decide, revoke it. The present Scottish Parliament, together with Scottish MOs at Westminster, represent the democratic will of the sovereign Scottish people, and under international law, we have a right of self-determination. We do not need the approval of the English parliament to exercise it.

            Unionists have denied the right of self-determination to every territory in the former Empire. But the days of ‘British’ imperialism are over. The world has changed. Just as the Brexiteers wished to ‘take back control’ from Europe, Scotland will do likewise from this Union. Just as many other countries have done – from the US to Australia, from large parts of Africa, to Ireland, Then perhaps England will face up to the fact that it is itself bought and sold for US gold. But it doesn’t even have the status of an ‘unincorporated territory’. So much for the ‘special relationship’

          4. DAVE says:

            Hullo John.
            The good thing is that Scots are now talking about their current colonial status and questioning why we are so poor with all the wealth we have. Independence cannot be stopped now as young Scots along with older Scots get their information from the net. That makes the BLACKOUT of the truth about Scotland by the English owned media up here INEFFECTUAL as more and more the English owned Scottish Media is recognized as joke and a mouthpiece of the English establishment.

            Sadly the NU-S.N.P. is participating in this BLACKOUT however the combination of the true Independence parties along with the AUOB are getting the true economical, cultural and historic facts of Scotland/Alba out which ‘educates’ the people and once they start questioning the status quo it mushrooms.
            Aw the best,

        2. 220831 says:

          There is. It was explicitly created as a unitary state by the Treaty of Union of 1707. That’s just an historical fact. To deny it is as equally foolish as denying that Scotland was created in the 9th century with the union of the kingdoms of the Picts and the Gaels.

  11. 220831 says:

    There is. It was explicitly created as a unitary state by the Treaty of Union of 1707. That’s just an historical fact. To deny it is as equally foolish as denying that Scotland was created in the 9th century with the union of the kingdoms of the Picts and the Gaels.

    1. John Wood says:

      In response to 220831. Read the Treaty of Union. It no more establishes a unitary state than the creation of the European Union or the Soviet Union established them as a unitary states. That is the fact of the matter.

  12. DAVE says:

    Hullo John Wood. Your reply to 220831 was great to read. Any Scot can understand the facts by the way that you presented them.
    There are of course unionists with limited brain power who will try to distort the facts. Their 2 main purposes are to twist facts and waste your and my time in their desperation to save the British union. No able to debate Scottish facts they resort to personal insults.

    Ah think ye ken the scunner ahm tawkin aboot. Ae disnae ken ony Scots, an gin ae has a wee go ye’ll lach yer heid aff.

    Mah faither wiz frae Glasgae an mah mither frae the bordurs an ah wiz born an grew up in Auld Reekie. Ahm very prood o oor Scots tongue so ah aye yaes it mair and mair. The English posters dinnae unurstaun whit were saein.

    Soar ALBA.
    All the best.

    1. 220902 says:

      Quhilk facts dae ye braig, Dauvit? The fact o the UK, the fact o it’s pairlament… facts that are clear ootset i the Airticles o Union that ye awn ti hae rade, the ootsettin o whit ’tis maks thaim facts? Ye’re haiverin, man! Yer gaw agin the Inglis haes gart ye gyte.

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