The Scottish Government

I am tottaly appoled at how labour and the conservitives have betrayed all the people of scotland back when the north sea oil was descovered. I can not belive who they could deprive scotland of all that belongs to her.

'IN BED WITH AN ELEPHANT'

The title of a book written by the late Ludovic Kennedy, an old Etonian but long time advocate of an Independent Scotland.

'..when I see and hear a pipe band leading a column of marchers, it instils in me dreams of glory. When I dance a reel or strathspey.., I am filled with exhilaration...

..I am consumed by... 'the joy of grief'; not only grief for the millions of my countrymen who somehow seem to have fallen in almost every war there has ever been, many for the English, many against, but for other people and things too; for the thousands dispossessed by the savagery of the Clearancies and the empty glens whose ruined dwellings bear stark witness to them,...but above all perhaps for the loss of our independence, our nationhood, our psyche.....

...Pierre Trudeau (a past Prime Minister of Canada) had his problems with the American elephant.Today in Scotland there are a growing and articulate number of people who feel it is time to ask the English elephant to move over, better still, out.'

A book to persuade the waverers in our midst and one that should be on the shelf of every library in the country.

A key factor in the success of the Independence campaign is not just the facts of the matter, which are indisputable,but the need to win the psychological battle for the minds of large sections of the Scottish population. Years and generations of having or successes as a nation minimized, the degredation of our people over the multiple events since 1707( Darian Scheme, 1745,highland clearances,et.)have lead to a severe lack of confidence in what our people can achieve if they just'grasp their thistle' Thank you

We should have the choice to leave the union with England.
Scotlnd has the right to decide full independance

It is quite refreshing to see a number of comments now actively discussing what would happen under Independence. This is, of course, one of the reasons this forum was created. UUnlike the discredited Unionist beanfeast called Calman .

It is also apparent to anyone with an ounce of intelligence that the mere threat of a referendum being proposed by the Scottish Government has produced blind panic in the ranks of the various Unionist supporting parties. Each now more desperate than the other to air their own plans for Scotland after the next election.

However, it would be judicious for these parties not to crow too loudly their opinions of how Scotland has always been a pariah on the Westminster finances. Little England, on whose votes the next Westminster government will be formed may very well sit up and demand their own referendum asking the question
'Independence for England - Yes/No'.

We need a referendum now.
a simple yes or no
If it is no vote then the SNP and its members should pay for all the costs involved and also any taxpayers money spent on Independence.With interest to be paid back in full to the taxpayer.

I read that police forces are to have cuts made in their budget.In particular to police overtime. In America poice officers are allowed to work in Private Security etc and are paid by the firm employing them. I believe the amount they are paid is a private matter between the officer and the firm. They can wear uniform or plain clothes. I am a retired police officer and I know when I was in the service ooficers would have liked to have been able to make extra money in this way. This would allw extra police to be on the street at no cost to the public purse

Congratulations for the planning and organisation which gave such a high priority to St Andrew's Day celebrations. This should be repeated each year, and a National Holiday in Scotland should be agreed for this very special day, which validates our history and national identity. I am in favour of a Referendum on Independence and welcome the publication of the White Paper. Recent comments on Free Personal Care for the Elderly (one year increase of 11% in expenditure cannot be sustained!) emphasises the need for the Scot Govt to be in control of taxes and expenditure. TRIDENT - info should be provided on alternative uses of money saved by scrapping this obscene expenditure each year (eg FPC for Elderly extended, and resid care costs reduced for those most in need).
Thank you for reinvigorating our national identity!

The more I hear Labour Conservatives and Lib Dems contriving to play down the idea of a referendum, the more compelling and attractive out-right Independence becomes. SNP as a minority party, is proving its robustness and conviction against diminished budgets and the biggest recession in decades. Ian Gray, Annabel Goldie and Tavish Scott are not convincing and are almost pathetic in their scaremongering.

Whilst the Unionists blunder billions away on Nuclear weapons, many of which are enforced on Scotland.
The SNP have the courage, conviction, innovation and vision to see a sustainable future for this great country. Waken up Scotland... Independence is not a pipe dream its a very viable option.

ref #161

A Westminster where more power than is good for the rest of us is vested in one individual, ie the Prime Minister, presently a Scot, Gordon Brown, has proved to be disastrous for the citizenry of these sceptred isles.

It may not be widely understood, but the Prime Minister of this United Kingdom exercises more power than the President of the United States of America.

Lord Hailsham, in 1976, described the Westminster government as an 'Elective Dictatorship.' see# 11 'FATHER of a NATION' (...Scotland oerforms)

Given the lack of checks and balances referred to by Lord Hailsham, PM Brown was able to execute a classic divide and rule tactic when, as chancellor, with the permission of the then PM Tony Blair, he was responsible for designing a new regulatory regime for the financial industry, which included all banks in England and in Scotland.

Under the devolution settlement Scotland has no regulatory authority over the financial sector located within its borders. That power is retained at Westminster.

The new regime replaced a previous one - one controlled by the Bank of England and one which was beyond the machinations of self serving politicians.

Under Brown's new regime the money supply exploded, the balance of payments deficit ballooned.

To quote the economics editor of the Guardian, the country experienced an '..orgy of debt-financed spending, encouraged by government and orchestrated by the banks.'

On the promise of an end to 'boom followed by bust' we meekly followed Brown up the hill.

The rest is history.

see #190 'Food for thought' (your voice heard),
#151 'The new aera of financial probity has arrived, so we thought. (Scotland in the World)
#56 'Lest we forget' (your voice heard)
#225 (your voice heard)
#341 'we who are domociled..' (your voice heard)
#464 'Be sure the truth will out..' (your voice heard)
#548 'In the Guardian 23/07/08..'

Finally, to answer your question, the Scottish Government is an innocent victim as is each and every one of us as citizens of the UK.

Unfortunately Scotland will suffer a massive cut in the Block Grant it receives from Westminster.

For us Scots, there is no avoiding the effects of decisions made on our behalf by the Westminster government. Other than to seek a greater measure of control over our own affairs and assets.

see #52 'Who needs democracy?' (Europe and foreign affairs)