SUCH is the importance of Scotland’s natural assets to the UK that there is little doubt that other contenders for the post of Prime Minister will follow Tom Tugendhat in asserting that they “will ‘unequivocally stand up’ for [the] Union,” as reported in The National on Saturday.
The emergence into open warfare of the internal fighting in the Tory party that has put the Westminster government on hold for months ahead has shown that the UK is England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland never have been and never will be partners, let alone equal partners, in this so-called precious union.
The Union is the prime example of how power devolved really is power retained; the devolved parliaments’ principal source of funds are their “block grants” from the UK Treasury – funding proportional to their relative population sizes of the total spent by the Westminster government on the equivalent services in England.
READ MORE: An anti-Rishi Sunak 'murky memo' is sparking controversy among Tory MPs
Over the last 12 years Tory policies have reduced spending in real terms on most government services – including the police, education, transport, health and welfare – and consequently the devolved governments have no option in the long term but to follow the general direction of the English government ministers in their allocations to devolved services.
The Internal Market Act and much-vaunted “Levelling Up” policy will see increasing incursions by the UK Government into the direction and funding of devolved matters.
Not only has devolution failed to achieve its goal of ending the move towards Scottish independence, it has brought the prospect of dissolution of the Union to the forefront of politics.
Even with its massive overall majority and the backing of the Labour and LibDem parties in Westminster, this ultra-Unionist UK Tory government would not attempt to openly repeal the devolution acts.
READ MORE: Scottish Labour 'won't set out democratic route to indyref2', Jackie Baillie confirms
The scene is set; we have just witnessed the exclusion of the SNP from power in local authorities around Scotland through behind-the-scenes unofficial agreements between the London-based parties.
These three parties have apparently given up any hope of ever being able to form a coalition government in Holyrood and will encourage the UK Government to set up parallel paths to switch funding from the Scottish Government to local authorities for many devolved matters under the guise of extending devolution.
The only logical way to halt the continual erosion of devolution by Westminster is to take back control over our borders and and all that lies within them, removing Westminster from any involvement in the government of our country.
John Jamieson
South Queensferry
I DESPAIR that The National’s front pages, articles and letters are so wasted on the machinations of another country, England, continuing to impart a false sense of some commonality with that poisonous regime while distracting us from what we should be getting on with here in Scotland. Scotland is not in a legally constituted union with England and Wales due to English regime violations of the articles of the international Treaty of Union. This means de jure the treaty is null and void and that Scotland and England have reverted to their individual sovereign status.
Consequently all legislation being emitted by the English regime, so far as pretends to concern Scotland, including the so-called Scotland Act of 1998 and attempted theft of Scottish territory, are of no force or effect, and no Scottish citizen is obliged to take cognisance of, or facilitate, any such pretended enactments. The hubs located in Edinburgh, Glasgow and elsewhere pretending to be “UK Government in Scotland” are not legally habile entities, and the actions of the unelected persons within them are those of English regime collaborators.
READ MORE: Professor John Curtice says Scottish independence won't be hurt by resignation of Boris Johnson
The suggestion that we must ask for an English “supreme court”, which does not operate under Scottish law, to hand us down a legal permission, or wait around for a General Election of another country to happen for a majority of indy seats – which we have already achieved – only serves to uphold the fiction that the English regime might pretend to exercise a legitimate authority within Scottish borders.
The only legally constituted, democratically elected body that speaks for the Scottish nation is the one which sits in Holyrood, and whose members forming the Scottish Government have been given a mandate several times over to restore us to our full sovereign status. Like the English nation vis-a-vis the EU, we do not need another’s permission to leave.
Linda Horsburgh
Dundee
ON who will be elected as Johnson’s replacement, well, all the ministers who have been made government ministers have gone on social media, political programmes and news programmes and lied for him, which makes them liars, so really there is no choice except independence.
Thomas Barbour
via email
BORIS Johnson has provided further evidence for Schrödinger’s “superposition” – the idea that a particle can be in two opposite states at the same time, until forced by an observer to come down on one side or the other. On the EU, the two opposing articles he wrote showed him as both Leave and Remain at the same time. Now as Prime Minister he is again in a state of both Leave and Remain!
Derek Ball
Bearsden
THE lovely Tory woman who made a very rude gesture to people outside Downing Street is now an education minister.
READ MORE: 'I'm only human' Andrea Jenkyns says in middle finger row
Good luck, Andrea Jenkyns, if you ever have to talk to any teacher about discipline or self-control – they may just return your gesture.
Winifred McCartney
Paisley
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel