Scotland

  • Predictably, Scottish nationalism is falling apart

    The way it works isn’t the way it’s working. This is true of Scottish politics right now. The shortcuts, bends, and u-turns that nationalists take to make their own sense of things has not become the norm and is now breaking down.

    The return of 17 Reform UK MSPs is a staggering rebuke to the staging of a false nationalist notion north of the border, in a nation that prides itself on local things but isn’t known for ruining itself on the altar of this at the same time.

    Far be it from Farage & Co. being a menace, the hype and exaggeration of the SNP has slowly eroded trust in Holyrood’s politics. The bare reality of SNP infighting is being exposed and it’s only scratching the surface of a superficial drive for promises that aren’t deliverable.

  • Scotland could miss independence entirely

    The SNP rally for an independent Scotland is losing strength as we speak. Reform UK’s seat haul in the recent national elections has proved the ‘no’ vote is a sizeable constituency.

    This is a challenge for First Minister John Swinney that’s not easy to overcome.

    In Scottish politics the answer usually comes before the question, and Nigel Farage’s party is sitting on a joint second place finish he can use to leverage as a powerful veto in Holyrood.

    How Swinney and his party reacts is a judgement of his actions in the coming months.

    Scottish voters can look beyond promises to the reality, and Reform UK have an opportunity to bare the faults of separation. It may keep Scotland in the Union, if not bring it even closer.

  • Grangemouth may come back to life

    After apparently being left without economic life support following the announcement of the closure of its main source of employment, the people of Grangemouth can breathe a sigh of relief that it may finally be promised new life.

    The news that circulates now is that people are interested in the investment opportunities in the area. These are not insubstantial gains, and it looks to support a more vibrant local jobs market than before if it’s now handled correctly.

    The Labour government in London may feel proud of this achievement, but perhaps more relieved that their incoming administration had the chance to save it. It’s an important part of the UK’s economy that could have gone amiss.

  • MSP defects to Reform UK

    Graham Simpson MSP has defected to Reform UK from the Conservatives to join the party as its first in the Scottish Parliament.

    The move is a new low for the UK Conservatives as they seek to recover from a damaging set of losses in the previous election.

  • The role of Holyrood in Scotland

    The Scottish Parliament, like the UK Supreme Court, is a relatively new feature on the UK political scene. It will take time to understand its importance, and its true significance.

    The passing of laws isn’t a passage of time. The effectiveness of its legislative program is its truer litmus test. It has to be seen to be true to be called effective, and to get respect.

    It’s believed to be a positive step toward independence, which at present is Scotland’s largest political ambition. However, it’s not clear if it will fully satisfy all the aims in mind.

  • Alex Salmond dies

    In a shocking bit of news, it appears former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond has died. It marks the end of a strong career in politics for a firebrand Scottish politician who was known for never putting a pen down or a foot wrong – according to his closest compatriot’s, that is.

    In general, a politician that does something ‘new’, or different, isn’t liked because it’s difficult to pursue a new plan of action in an old and self-centered system. If it doesn’t fit, it’s a different pair of gloves. Salmond blazed a trail, but even the best of us go cold after a while.

    His last effort on X is a string of posts lamenting the consideration of Scotland as a part added onto England and not a nation in itself. He defends it ably, ending by quoting, “Scotland is a country and not a county”. In his own lifetime he saw it move in that direction.

  • Warlord spotted

    In a stunning capture by ConservativeNewsSite.com, a warlord has been seen in London today.

    He’s alleged to be instigating troubles against Scotland, in particular regard to efforts for independence.

  • SNP dream big

    Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader in the House of Commons, gave a rousing speech at the party’s conference in Edinburgh today.

    He called for Scotland to become a “normal, independent country in Europe” if it won a referendum vote in future.

    The SNP would need to win back the confidence of the Scottish people first. At the general election it lost 39 seats in a defeat to Labour.

  • Scotland’s dilemma

    Scotland has a problem. Its ambitions are taking a backseat while political shifts happen elsewhere. The UK is largely left untouched by Scottish politics. The situation is different elsewhere. If a political choice is set to the Scottish people it usually trends in Scotland only. The rest of the union is assumed to be disinterested.

    It’s a roadblock to making a case for a truly independent Scotland. This is because a separation needs to happen between parts and not in isolation. A fight for sovereignty is a different matter. These don’t happen in isolation either but it’s a different set of circumstances. There are differences to the outcomes of either.

    Leaders of Scotland since 1999

    As it happens Scotland has been a devolved region since a referendum in 1997 in which just shy of 75% consented to it. The total number in favour came to over 1.7 million, against just over 600,000 who said no to it. In 2014 a similar but far more wide-ranging referendum was held begging the question of actual independence, but over 2 million voted against such a proposal compared to over 1.6 million in favour.

    The difficulties in going forward are evident. The strength of feeling against further separate of state and powers is evident by the last result in 2014. The feelings against such a move surged from below 1 million people to just over 2 million people. In contrast, feelings in favour reduced by over a hundred thousand votes. It isn’t a significant drop in support, but the gap is reversed and it’s those in support who are on the back foot now.

  • Exposed: Ex-servicemen target Scotland

    He was found in an English town and on an ordinary yet blustery Monday morning. He described himself as a former “cadet” of the British Army and confessed he’d just dropped out. He said he was a “cadet” because now he couldn’t use the proper terms they had anymore.

    He was only willing to talk about it because in his eyes he was about to disappear into the English countryside to do his work and speaking to a journalist was a “cool” way to pass time he said and he would disappear anyway to “never to be seen again” he said.

    He’d found out a contact who was due to help him on his onward journey and he’d planned to operate independently from thereon.

    In my view he was a dangerous figure in a shaky situation. It wasn’t clear why he’d decided to leave and he seemed fit and healthy. His reasons weren’t obvious and he was too pliable for conversation.

    In short order stories began to emerge of problems afoot further afield in the country. It appeared this man was more dynamic than even he realised and he awoke “sleeping dragons” so-called who’d before also dropped out of armed forces to lay in wait.

    They had met him and got active. Their opportunity had actually arrived.

    In a short time chilling conspiracy theories began to emerge across the UK in online chat groups and “secret” forums where people discussed things openly and in complete freedom of thought as they believed.

    It one instance it was thought “Bitcoin” had a connection to Scottish independence because its inventor is alleged to still be a mystery. It was believed it originated in Scotland as a plot to eventually overtake the pound with its own currency and to stand alone from the UK.

    This is an example of the sort of “chatter” which initially started and following on it was all in time about Scotland.

    It emerged the British Army also began to see its officers in rank seduced by growing conspiracy theories against Scotland. Ordinary social issues in Scotland were blown up to become popular targets of “rebuke” at secret, fringe meetings.

    It was said to have descended into a spate insulting, one-way barrages of insults and criticisms meant to undermine Scottish confidence. It was sporadic and yet present in the Army itself.

    Inside the sinister workings of such a broad effort there were at least two main “projects” beginning to emerge which were meant to overcome public opinion about Scotland and cause harm against what was be perceived as a bullish belief in independence.

    In one instance a sort of “psyop” had been planned in the English media to fight Scottish ideas and decisions to make it come across as a set of “copycat” ideas from other parts of the world. It failed at first sight.

    In a second effort it was believed – in the eyes of these “activists” in the British Army – that depicting the Scottish Parliament as “fake” would further bring out its alleged superficiality in the opinion of the UK public.

    These plots failed to get off the ground but it was clear that such a serious intent was a present threat in the Army and went beyond mere opinions.

    In time all the plots began to unravel and it was possible to approach someone involved. A man who codenamed himself “Action X” was located first. He is a civilian who attempted to leave England and to fight Scottish nationals in Scotland no less. His plot started as an effort to covertly research Scotland and he hoped to turn it into a larger project.

    This all failed but the point remains that those here with nefarious intent tried to take over the future of the Scottish people and co-opt the UK into believing propaganda against itself.

    It’s also a testament of what can be done to disrupt the plans of those who want to disturb our democratic way of life here.

  • What’s the mood in Scotland?

    The weather isn’t the only difference north of the border.

    Scotland has a different set of priorities in mind but what is the real mood of the people?

    It’s fair to say Scotland works by a different calendar.

    There are separate celebrations and different traditions that bring forward or set back particular things.

    However it has to abide by the date of a general election. This year it falls in Royal Week and members of the Royal Family have already visited Scotland this week to celebrate its history and culture.

    It’s also the 900 year anniversary of St Giles Cathedral – an important seat in religion in Edinburgh and Scotland at large – and it’s a milestone in Scottish life and worship.

    The timing of a general election couldn’t be more apt especially because of dreams of independence.

    Yet this isn’t a referendum so it’s back to basics when it comes to thinking about this election.

    In general the feeling is Scotland is ready for change but it depends on what it is.

    If life is largely the same it’s ok, but the reality is politics can bring with it a tinge of regret than only Scot’s will feel if it doesn’t go to plan.

    Mainly because it’s only they who will suffer if it does.

  • A new leader, and a few steps back?

    The Scottish National Party – a firebrand nationalist outpost for Scottish independence – has elected its new leader in John Swinney, a relative unknown name in English politics.

    I say “unknown”, because most of the time Scottish politics has a job trying to trend in England with anything on the agenda unless it fits an agenda here.

    The election of a new leader peaks in daytime news, but its importance is left understated.

    It may also be beyond most who need to know just how far Scotland has edged toward independence.

    How does the election of John Swinney change the status quo is a question that we need to answer, because the future of the homegrown nationalist movement depends on it, and it’s answer is what we need to know.

    Yet, the general thread is that Scotland doesn’t really need to let us know anyway, does it? I mean, what would it matter if Scotland were independent tomorrow, for instance.

    Does it even ‘take place’ in England, at all?

    The issue of constitutional politics is a vast one, because it involves so many of us and all of the moving parts of state. It might be pointed out that Scotland is already there so what does it matter what it says about itself?

    It’s worth noting London is still there, as well, so it makes sense to scratch beneath the surface a lot deeper.

    I’m not familiar with his name either, but that’s not the game, is it?

    The point is that Swinney now has a chance to lead the SNP out of the doldrums and into something better than the hiring and firing which is what the SNP has done of late.

    The earlier days of the SNP with Alex Salmond at the helm having long since passed and without a face and a bit of name recognition to its credit, it struggles to make a case anymore.