I THINK for the SNP to even consider using the UK General Election as a pretend de facto referendum is stupidity beyond words and is literally walking into the trap the UK Government set and hoped they would fall for after the decision by “Supreme” Court judges, who were never going to agree to their request. The last time I looked, turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.
As someone just wanting our country to be independent, I find this constantly going cap in hand to another country’s ruling classes – which have no intention of ever playing ball with the people who inhabit England’s vast treasure trove and nuclear dustbin – absolutely ludicrous.
If the SNP continue down this route, we will still be trying for independence in another 100 years’ time. You just have to look at what happened in 1922, almost exactly a century ago, when the newly elected Scottish Labour MPs left Glasgow to a tumultuous farewell reception from tens of thousands of Glaswegians.
They said they were going down there to try start to get working people’s thoughts across. As they were leaving, they said: “We will do our best but in reality, Scotland needs Home Rule and its own Parliament before we will ever see any real change.” One hundred years later, we are still waiting.
There is no easy solution, of course, but the SNP are elected by the people of Scotland to deliver independence. I know that Nicola Sturgeon, being a lawyer, wants to play by the book, and there is a lot to be said for this but it will not deliver independence in any way, shape or form.
We are already in our ninth year since the disgracefully criminal 2014 riggerendum and, despite mandate after mandate being given to the SNP by the Scottish people, we have nothing, absolutely nothing.
Make no mistake, whether they use the General Election or the next Scottish election, the UK Government will simply ignore the result or try to pretend it was not a landslide like the last Scottish election where 62/5/4/2 should have been shouted from the rooftops all around the world. Instead, we got: “There is no mandate, you didn’t get a majority.”
Say the SNP wait until the 2026 Scottish election. That’s another three years away to add to the already nearly nine years. This is absolutely preposterous and another 12 years or so of our lords and masters draining our huge resources and bleeding our industries dry with downright criminal taxes and duties on our exports. The level of the whisky duty is simply beyond words.
I am no politician but like so many other people in Scotland
I do have a functioning brain and a reasonable level of intelligence. What would be so wrong in telling the UK Government, that bastion of honesty and integrity that we are using both of the next two elections as indicators of what the people of Scotland want, and when the results come in, if the UK Government is not willing to play ball, then we are taking it above their heads to the UN and the Court of Human Rights?
Tell them loud and clear that this is what we are going to do unless they act like grown-ups.
It’s blatantly obvious that Scots want away. They want to stand on their own two feet and this is not anti-English in any way. It’s simply common sense, as this Union has not worked for, as mentioned above, at least 100 years. The current arrangement is like mixing oil and water. Oh no, don’t mention the oil!
We are awash with brilliant legal brains up here including Joanna Cherry who should be in the very top echelons of the SNP and not a bystander for daring to speak her mind.
Make no mistake, the rest of the world can see what is going on here. A dying empire is trying to hold on to its piggy bank no matter what. The real problem is our neighbours have been taking our huge resources in both mineral and manpower for so long, they think our lands, minerals and people are theirs to help themselves to.
If I was in charge of our neighbour’s government, I would seriously be thinking of saying: “We thank you for your friendship, help and resources for the past three centuries, and wish you well in your new ambition to be an independent nation. We hope we can still help each other in times of need. PS: Any chance of mates’ rates on the oil, gas, water and wind?”
Iain K
Dunoon
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