David Cameron has been to a Scottish reception at the Tory's Birmingham conference where he has said he is ready to fight an independence referendum if the SNP "ever have the courage" to call one.
This begs a few questions, not least of which is that it finally seems to lay to rest the spectre of the Scottish Parliament not actually having the competence to call a referendum on Scotland’s future. A lot of quislings have argued that the Scotland Act does not allow the Scottish Parliament to decide its own future in this way and that only the Westminster Assembly has this competence. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom seems to disagree with that supposition and is clearly of the opinion that the Scottish Parliament can decide for itself re independence. Thanks for clearing that up David!
Either that of course or he does not know his armpit from his proverbial and has just opened his mouth a made Scottish policy on the hoof rather as he is doing in England by bribing married couple the day after he pinches their universal child benefit and gets a bad headline in the Daily Mail.
Much more likely that it is one of these gray areas that will only be decided when it is decided if you know what I mean! Rather like Wallace Simpson not being made an HRH because once given it can’t be taken away until of course they do when they take away Princess Diana’s.
This is all great fun I know and raises a question about whether the much talked about coming independence of his Scottish colleagues is going to be anything like that at all, when he seems to be able to decide policy for them, without reference. (Rather like Wendy Alexander did when she unexpectedly bounced the Labour party into wanting a referendum for a short while with her “bring it on” moment.)
He went on to show that he has no real grasp or respect for Scotland and its issues by saying that the nationalists did not look likely to hold one soon. Clearly he is not aware that his own party north of the border are part of the reason for the SNP reluctance to have a referendum. They were after all part of the Unionist block that said they would vote against the proposal without even reading it first.
He also said he wanted to see a "full recovery" of the Scottish Tory Party. Huh fat chance! When he clearly has no idea whether he is coming or going north of the border and wont even give his own Scottish party the respect due never mind that agenda much talked about in Tory circles but more evident in gas than in actual “respect agenda”.
The SNP rather predictably said that if Mr Cameron wanted a referendum he should call on the Scottish Tory leader to support one QED. Another own goal by the Tories!
When will the Unionists wake up and smell the coffee? Instead of these never ending mixed messages, why don’t they just give the SNP its referendum and let them lose it? If I were them I would stop dancing to the SNPs tune push through a referendum bill, attach a clause that says there wont be another one for 25 years and let the SNP lose, as all polls show they surely must. Would that not be the end of the SNP?
"I hate Scotland speech by our imperialistic masters" courtesy of the disrespectful party based in Westminster who just love there weapons of mass destruction.
ReplyDeleteCynical are you referring to the great leader’s speech in which he said that the Scottish Government would not be allowed to release Megrahi again, we had crossed a line! Just as well there is only one Libyan bomber in jail in Scotland then because if we did decide to release another one on compassionate grounds I don’t see what David Cameron could do about it.
ReplyDeleteI think that speech was intended to massage Tory egos and reassure the blue rinse brigade the awkward squad and those middle class people who had just lost their universal benefits that the cosying up to the Lib Dems was not all that bad after all. So let’s be clear it was the I hare Scotland speech for short term political advantage and to make Tories feel good about themselves. A bit like the “respect agenda” for Scotland really all for short term goals sadly for David we don’t all have short term memories nor like him and his party the attention span of a fruit fly.
Meh, it was just a throwaway line by the king of spin. He knows the SNP can't get an independence referendum passed by the Scottish parliament, never mind persuade enough Scots to vote "off we go"
ReplyDeletePity though, I suspect you'd do rather well for yourselves.
He used it as a cheap crowd pleaser. He got a clap for it and that's what he wanted. Anything to take their minds off the fact that yes... it's going to hurt THEM too.
ReplyDeleteAs QM says he's the king of spin, except he's not terribly good at it, because he lacks charisma, and he's too greasy and posh to be liked. He reminds me of a second hand car salesman.
He's been overshadowed by his mate Nick in everything except the position of PM. Nick's richer, cleverer, better looking and better liked.
QM: maybe it was a throw away comment, but don’t you think as PM he should be a bit more circumspect at his party’s conference considering how toxic the Tory brand is in Scotland. And all the recent talk about rehabilitating that brand north of the border. Indeed he went on to comment about that at the same time. He really ought to learn that riding a coach and horses across the Scots will not rehabilitate the brand, maybe he should try thinking instead of living from sound bite to sound bite. Thanks by the way I think we would do rather well as well.
ReplyDeleteYes Tris slimy and oleaginous are the words that come to mind. He reminds me of a low grade estate agent in a posh suit. He clearly thinks that the whole world lives from sound bite to sound bite, like him, and that once issued each sound bite can and will be forgotten. Its all totally un-joined up.
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