The Scottish Government

564. Neil Anderson - Glasgow

I agree with you partly.

The Union HAS failed Glasgow.

But the Scottish Government has not made much of an impact themselves.

But do you not believe once we are in full control of our country that we can tackle Scottish issues?

If I had my way I would make better use of the more advanced policing units to combat Glasgow gangs and other criminal problems and continue to offer grants etc for new businesses to move to Glasgow to provide work.

But well we do not have the powers to do that and unless we carry on without them Glasgow will only get worse.

But the S.N.P. have not been in Government one year yet give them a chance since you gave Labour a decade.

But for what I see they have gave more then what Labour has given so far.

If Scotland can become independent why can't the city of Glasgow become indepenent within itself.

Nationalists argue that Scotland indepedent will become more wealthier and prosperous nation so if this is the case why not make Glasgow independent from the rest of Scotland.

Maybe an independent Glasgow will able to govern itself and make it's own decisions in trying to transforming the city. With reference to two major successful world cities Hong Kong and Singapore we could become like them totally independent and free from Westminister and Edinburgh control. Then maybe the citizens of Glasgow won't be stereotyped and treated like second class citizens.

The UK government has failed to tackle some of Glasgow's notorious social problems and so has the Scottish Goverment even with the the old labour administration and new SNP executive.

We need our own parliament for the city of Glasgow to tackle our these serious issues.

Mike King 559 & 560, you are quite right about the powers of the executive as compared to that of the legislature. However the SNP's mandate to govern at Holyrood is the strongest and comparable to that of Labour's to govern the UK. SNP vote share at Holyrood was 32.9% in the Additional Member System and something similar in the constituency. Compare that to Labour's 35.4% GB-wide in 2005 and that is far closer to the current situation in Scottish elections than any comparison to Mugabe or anyone else outwith the UK.

Also, note that because of the totally undemocratic and outdated British electoral system Labour receive a working majority of 60 odd with such a mandate! So they receive the backing of a minority government, but are delivered undiluted power - provided the party whips can keep order.

It is not that Scotland is "unfairly represented" in terms of the make-up of MPs and/or Cabinet posts. It is more that the concerns of Scotland are constantly, and in one sense "democratically", overlooked as we can only ever have a weighting of 8-9%. The objection is that decisions are not being made in the national interest of Scotland - precisely because of the "democratic set-up" where eighty-odd percent consistently over-rules the other constituent nations within the Union. Therefore the UK is a good example of the tyranny of the majority (or increasingly the tyranny of a minority of affluent southern swing-seats that set the terms of political discourse).

Finally, Tony Blair - though born here - would not consider himself a Scot. He has represented an English constituency all his political life, and in the acid test of who you support at the football: backs England. So I feel it is slightly unfair to burden Scotland entirely with the blame for Anthony Charles Lynton Blair. After all no Scot ever directly elected him, we all have the citizens of Sedgefield to thank for that!

Yes Independence will come
and to those who say the Union is the Only Way
i say Nay Nay
Neither do i think the snp milk the Londom Parliament
Perchance the opposite is true
Will Independence mean Scotland would need Armed Forces ?
Even if the nation did they will not be anywhere on par with huge nations
Dont put Independence down before it has even got here
Like history shows Unionists ruled for centuries yet still failed to create the prosperity the London leader goes on about.
Forty years ago in a far poorer nation Scotland did not starve
if Readers want to defend the Union ok
just try not to use fear as a tool
noone is buying that anymore
scotland can run its own affairs
it can Afford Independence
what it can not afford is to go on getting further behind growing economies around the world and i dare any Economist to come on here and say Scotland has achieved continual and sustainable growth under Unionist policy
Independence is the future Scottish youth want it that way go ask them
the old tired out politivs are over
the revival of Independence will kick start scotlands economy and create real growth for which Unionist politcs has endless excuses
Housing
Transport
Education
Compassion in the nation
to end degedation
of the poorest in the nation
Let Scotland Flourish
say no to poverty
demand better from the nation
if Unionist policy HAD delivered
the forum content would read far more pro-Union
but who on the Forum can honestly say they think New Labour have integrity and that Labour redisribute wealth when the Labour leaders are earmarking over 300 BILLION POUNDS for nuclear weapons? go ask Labour why they want to put that money into war machines while hundreds of thousands of people in this UK live below the official poverty line?go find out why people cant afford a house or even to pay their increasing utility costs in our Third Way economy.
Labour are a spent power
they have run out of ideas and crediobility
many Labour voters have left the Party
noone thinks of Labour as a party with public trust now
Independence is the future
that is a fact.
why?
here is why the other roads led nowhere.

559. Mike King - Birmingham

MP's have LITTLE power?

Have you really just said that the people who vote on how our lives run have little power?

These English MP's do vote against Scotland on several matters.

Fishing, nuclear plants etc

And you sit there and say that MP's do nothing.

Scotland is poorly represented.

Why in the world did Labour re-introduce that 10p tax rate?

Why can we not regulate our own fisheries like our neighbours?

Why are we in a war that Scotland opposes?

Why? Why? Why?

Because we were out voted now do not sit there and tell me that the MP's have little power because it is their little power that HAS blocked Scotlands interests.

555. Ellis Sims - Gosport "Don't use the phrase "when we are Free" or any derivative, because you are insulting the people who are actually fighting for freedom, China, Zimbabwe, Burma etc"

Absolutely right Ellis! Tibet had no referendum on having its own ‘Holyrood & its people no way of electing a nationalist majority to it, which could then in turn vote for independence or for a referendum on it.

Mind you, it seems likely Zimbabwe will continue with a minority government, pursuing policies it has no mandate for from the majority of the electorate ...... bit like the SNP in Holyrood really?

(And no, Trevor Swistchew & others with similar ‘excitable’ posting styles, I’m not seriously comparing Salmond with Mugabe)

Re: 558. Thomas Porter - Scotland, Aberdeen "The UK-Government is currently under English rule. I say this because the majoirty of MP's are English"

This is surely not correct - MPs have very little power.

Real political power is almost exclusively with the Executive, not the Legislative part of the government, & here Scots have dominated since Labour came to power in 1997.

For over a decade now 2 Scots, representing Scottish constituencies, have been Chancellor & one of them is currently the UK’s Prime Minister.

Just to be clear; as a Unionist I have no problem with this. What I do object to is the falsehood that Scotland is somehow unfairly represented by & in the UK government.

555. Ellis Sims - Gosport

The UK-Government is currently under English rule. I say this because the majoirty of MP's are English.

Now where is fairness of this regime?

Englush MP's have the ability to pass English priorities easily while Scotland has to convince a HUGE majority about problems in Scotland that needs to be taken more seriose.

The Union has went against Scotland and her interests for years.

Why is there £120 Billion of oil revenue in a British Treasury?

Why can Scotland not use it to boast her economy?

You have to admit that England does have a better economy and you have no defence that the UK-Government makes sure of that.

You can preach that the Union is all great and we are better off but you give no reasons just empty words.

A free Scotland will be able to fully encourage investors to develope new sectors within Scotland instead of being put off by the rules laid down by the UK-Government that makes investing more of a gamble in Scotland.

555. Ellis Sims
"You already are free, you can vote on matters affecting Scotland via Holyrod and Westminster"

Our MPs (most of whom - the Labour Party - are controlled from Westminster), can indeed vote at Westminster on Scottish issues, or British issues that affect Scotland.

However, with less than 10% of the total vote, the future of any issue that affects Scotland can not be decided by those Scottish MPs, even if all Scottish MPs of all parties were to be unified in their vote.

If, for instance, Westminster decided to bring in a poll tax in Scotland, or to tax us all double, or to make it compulsory for us all to wear the Cross of St. George on St. George's day, donate £100 per family to the English football or rugby team, those Scottish MPs would be powerless to resist. Like it or not, English MPs, by virtue - correctly - of relative population figures, represent the vast majority in Westminster.

Except where matters are devolved to Holyrood, we are NOT free to decide our own future, or even our own present.

I have been thinking what the Scottish government (I do hope they themselves read what we post here) could/should be doing in the meantime is going to other small independent countries like Belgium ,Switzerland, Luxembourg, Holland, Denmark to find out how they operate as independent countries, with our 300 year old “umbilical cord” to England (dare I say it we might have developed a bit of dependency culture , using a bit of psychology here people have great fear the unknown as The FM himself put it “Uncharted territory” ) we need to overcome that fear .Therefore learn from other small counties and put into practice the “independent mechanisms”, they have in place leading up to “the vote”

Might I suggest a “Cabinet secretary for independence” whose teams remit it would be investigate such things and put them into place here where possible
this being done people see the gradual changes towards independence taking place and learn from other small counties that theres nothing to be afraid of in an independent Scotland