Tuesday 16 September 2014

LAST DESPERATE STAND BY EX-POLITICIAN

Gordon Brown says in today's Sun:

"I love Scotland. I want the best for our nation."

Strange then that when he was prime minister of the UK he was asked by the American press where he came from and he replied "I'm from North Britain".

Am I the only one who thinks that it is strange for someone who loves his country to be ashamed to admit that he is Scottish.

Given that he is promising (why, he's a back bench part time "ex-politician") all kinds of extra super devolution if we vote no, and thinks that this is the "best for our nation", why, when he was Prime Minister and had it in his power to do something about Scotland's half baked devolution (where almost every halfpenny it spends comes in the form of a block grant utterly dependent on the whims of spending of the UK government), did he not do something about sorting out the devolution mess that Blair had left?

He continues "A no vote will guarantee faster, better and safer change. Change that will unite the people of Scotland".

Firstly, I am aware of the pledge that the two main party leaders have signed. Change apparently starts on the 19th. (Incidentally, I have to admit to being somewhat amused by the fact that they included Nick Clegg. I mean the words "Nick Clegg has signed a pledge" seem, not unreasonably, to be met universally with derision. The likelihood that Clegg won't even be in parliament to lead a dozen or so remaining Liberals after the next UK election adds to the amusement.) The pledge is, of course a load of meaningless drivel as demonstrated by Stuart here

And this segment of the Andrew Neil programme shows that the two parties don't know what they are doing, and far from agree on what will be devolved.

But let's be honest. Quite apart from Clegg, whose weasel words are worth nothing, who believes anything that Cameron or Miliband say?

In reality, referendum out of the way, the most important thing for both the main parties will be winning the next UK election. If Scotland votes no, although doubtless they will set up some sort of dialogue, the thrust of their efforts will be to outdo UKIP and win a majority in the London parliament.

The big problem with more powers for Scotland is that more devolution will have to be approved by the Houses of Commons and Lords with their massive majority of non Scots.

And how likely is that to happen?

Well, I'd have thought, not very. 
The aforementioned Ukip, who are very realistically contending the next election, will almost assuredly actively campaign against more powers for Scotland. And Tory backbencher Christopher Chope, MP for Christchurch, with a comfortable 56% of the vote, has said that there are sufficient Tory backbenchers prepared to vote down any new legislation.

That Chope can say that, indicates that Cameron is on his way out. Unless of course he is making it up, I suspect that Conservative MPs are no longer particularly loyal to Cameron. Given the situation in the Labour Party with Miliband, I imagine there may be more than a few who think that Ed won't ever be in a position to make them foreign secretary or get them a knighthood.

Can you imagine these MPs all over England, fighting off a challenge from UKIP and trying to tell their constituents that they will vote for more powers for Scotland, and less from themselves? Nope, me neither

Brown ends with: "A NO vote will guarantee a stronger Scottish parliament and we will keep the UK pension, the UK pound, the UK passport, and stay at the heart of a changing United Kingdom."

In fact the No vote will not create a stronger parliament. It will be the same parliament which can be abolished by the sovereign government (as Northern Ireland can attest to). 

We will keep the UK pension anyway. We have paid for pensions; we will continue to benefit from them. The DWP has already confirmed this, but Brown, for some obscure reason either refuses to believe that, or willfully ignores it and lies through his teeth. 

We already use a European Union passport which guarantees us assistance at any European embassy or consulate, and in any case, for those who wish to retain a EU UK passport, the option is there to do so. 

We will use the pound with or without currency union, but almost certainly with (as the UK cannot afford to lose the Scottish export contribution to its balance of payments.  

As for staying at the heart of a changing UK, firstly, many of us don't like the way the UK has changed and is continuing to change. The neo-liberal philosophy "if it doesn't make money get rid of it" doesn't suit everyone.

Secondly we are not at the heart of it, never have been.  We are peripheral and unimportant. London is at the heart of it. Where the money is; where the power is.

Maybe we'd like to be at the heart of a Scotland that will definitely be changing, but changing the way WE want it to change, instead of the way Huntingdonshire, Hertfordshire and the City of London want it to change... 

...and one that we can genuinely say we SHALL be at the heart of.

42 comments:

  1. I hope all turns out well. Although Brave Heart put blue paint on his face and raved on, I hope the beautiful people of Scotland won't want higher grocery prices and more civil war. Time to settle down and be at peace? - Well why not. IT ISN'T CALLED GREAT BRITAIN for NOTHING. Leave these stupid wars to ISIL, the Jews and the Arabs BECAUSE: united we stand, divided we fall. The world has just had a gut full of bloody stupid fighting. Settle down, you're humans not animals.
    I don

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    1. That is why we're having a peaceful referendum about whether or not to split.

      We do leave wars to other people and violence too, to folk like.....well, for example, the UK which is more or less permanently at war somewhere or other, usually at the behest of the USA, and which despite being a small European island, which is broke, boasts the 4th largest military spend in the world. They are the warmakers. Not us..

      We will vote and we will will see what the result is. Simple.

      Incidentally, the term "Great" Britain is a translation from the French of "Grande" Bretagne. "Grande" is the feminine form of "Grand" meaning large or big.

      Large Brittany as opposed to the French northern province of Brittany.

      It has nothing to do with being great in the sense that you seem to think.

      And in any case the name of the union is actually Great Britain and Northern Ireland

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    2. You do know we are not fighting that this is a vote to change back to an independent country. I cannot speak for those South of our Border, they tend to use violent words, like love bombing.

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    3. As has been pointed out, that's not where the "great" bit came from. Even if it did mean what you thought it ment, what's so great? The foodbanks, the illegal wars, the stealthy privatisation of the NHS, the proud tradition of invading countries and subjugating it's people and stealing it's resources?
      Please take your trolling somewhere else, your babble is shite.
      JimnArlene

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  2. Even at this late stage, some haven't decided. Pointed one in the direction of Business for Scotland and mentioned TTIP, though they already knew about that.

    What are people doing on the night? I'd originally planned to just wake up at normal time and see what happened but have decided to set the alarm for 1.45am for the individual announcements which are due to start around 2am. They are predicting Glasgow and Edinburgh announcing at c5am. I think it will take till then to know for sure the result given their population density.

    Frankly I'm terrified of a No vote but MSM have left no scare story unreported. Obviously nobody expects everything to be perfect in iScotland but to listen to them we shouldn't be left unattended for 30 seconds we are so unable to run things.

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    1. I don't know what I'll do. Munguin probably will want to stay up all night and follow it on Twitter as he won't allow the BBC in the house.

      I guess I wont be able to sleep, although it will have been a tiring day... I guess we'll play it by ear and do what Munguin says. (He can be a very dictatorial little animal).

      It's so close and the polls can't be trusted... I am, to put it mildly, excited and terrified, all at the same time.

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    2. Right now Panda Paws, I may still be awake, given my sleeping record this week. We stayed up for the Devolution Referendum result and I have to say my stomach is in knots right now thinking about this one. I said to a friend in the US that is was like a child waiting for Santa Claus, but more serious.

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  3. Is Brown trying to look like an anguished New Romantic in that pouting pic? He reminds me of Aidan Grimshaw who didn't do too well in the X Factor a couple of years ago.

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    Replies
    1. LOL Iain, who knows... If they think Miliband is weird, I wonder what they make of this nutter.

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  4. tris and the violent malcontents

    You lot best watch yerselves there is an undercurrent of opinion which
    is pointing to the high level of intimidation and abuse being used by the
    noticeable violent nat/yes enforcers.....note ed today....

    Although many commentators are saying

    ' the level of abuse and even intimidation being meted out by some in the ‘Yes’ campaign was making this referendum a rather unpleasant experience. '

    If it is a close call for yes (you wont by all the sensible evidence )this intimidation
    will be used to invalidate the result,,,,best get on to your masters to call of the nat dogs of war ....

    listened to a snp twat on the wireless saying it was just playful banter just like they used to say in the deep south of the USA as the good old boys carried out a lynching.

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    Replies
    1. Niko, fuck right off. Have you seen the photo of the Yes guy that was beaten up in Embra?

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    2. Quite right Juteman, and the only person in gaol threatened the First Minister. Funny how some of these Unionists cannot take it, love to hand it out though.

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    3. Niko, Rich coming from the side that had the Klu Klux Klan and the Orange Order marching for them on Saturday spitting on Catholic children...

      Apart for an unhappy proper Labour supported hitting Spud with an egg, all the violence has been on the No side..

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    4. You said what I'm going to say Juteman.

      Fuck of niko you malodorous old fart

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    5. Strangely, I've not seen it Juteman...

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  5. I can't take this stress any more. I've just taken leave due me at work, and will spend tomorrow sticking up posters and drinking beer! :-)

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    Replies
    1. Know the feeling, can I go to work instead, the bother with being retired and that.

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    2. So... I'd so the posters first and the beer later if I were you.

      Otherwise the posters might be upside down ...

      Helena. You'd best go to work and calm down!! :)

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  6. Hey Niko shouldn't you be minding the bar I heard Taz was giving out double to YES folk.

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    Replies
    1. Shhhhhh. I was on triples....

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  7. Dear Tristan,

    Thursday is going to be an historic occasion — and it's the tireless work of our volunteers up and down the country that's going to help us deliver a No vote, and a stronger Scotland in the UK.

    Our work doesn't end when the polls open on Thursday morning. It's up to us to get out the vote, by ensuring that every one of our supporters is able to cast their ballot -- can you volunteer on polling day?

    Here's all the information you need for the campaign centres near you that need your help. Opening hours are 6am until 10pm:

    Your campaign centre: Dunsinane House, Kilspindie Road, Dunsinane Industrial Estate, Dundee, DD2 3PW
    Your local organiser: Joanne Findlay
    Contact number: 07834 344314

    We're going to be staffing polling stations, knocking on doors, leafleting, making calls and driving people to the polls all day, so please arrive as early as you can. We'll be working right through till the polls close at 10pm.

    Any amount of time you can lend is so greatly appreciated and even an hour or two will make a real difference.

    I know I can count on you to do your part, and I can't wait for us to bring home a victory for Scotland and for all the UK.

    Thanks for your support,

    Johann

    Johann Lamont
    Leader of the Scottish Labour Party

    P.S. There are polling day events going on all over Scotland. Click here to search for an event near you.


    Dear Johann...

    Yer funny!

    Tristan.

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    Replies
    1. And then...

      Tristan,

      On Friday, we'll know. And there will be no turning back.

      There's no time left to speculate on the result. Not when I know that with your help, we can deliver the right choice for Scotland and for all the UK.

      Donate today so we can tell hundreds of thousands of undecided Labour voters why a No vote is the only vote for our party and our country's future.



      Donate £10

      Donate £20

      I refuse to look back at Thursday's referendum and say that we could have done more to reach our supporters. Our campaign is not going to give up just because recent polls have put this race neck and neck.

      When Labour created the Scottish Parliament in 1999, we demonstrated our commitment to a better Scotland and a better Britain.

      I need supporters like you to join us and show your commitment now — donate whatever you can to protect our future.


      Donate

      Thanks,

      Iain

      Iain McNicol
      General Secretary
      Labour Party


      Dear Iain,

      Hilarious. I found a 1 Zimbabwean dollar piece. You can have it. It's what you people's campaign of lies and misinformation is worth.

      Tristan.

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    2. Cheeky feckers.
      JimnArlene

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  8. I hope some will enjoy this account of Brown.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYp3l1TvhE8

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  9. nats


    Betfair is so confident of a "No" vote in Thursday's Scottish independence referendum that it is already paying out to those who have staked money on it.

    The online bookmaker says it is paying out a "six-figure sum".

    Despite polls ahead of the vote continuing to be close, betting markets have been overwhelmingly in favour of the Better Together camp winning on Thursday.

    Betfair said this morning that gambling patterns indicate a 79pc likelihood of a "No" vote


    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/leisure/11098848/Betfair-pays-out-early-on-Scottish-independence-No-vote.html

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    1. Nico,
      A tad premature don't you think? They are going to lose their arses, once the yes win is announced.
      JimnArlene

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    2. Excellent video which is worth the watching.

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    3. Well for their sake I hope it doesn't cost them the millions it did the last time they did something like that!

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  10. I actually feel sorry for Broon. He was retired, probably due to mental health issues, and NoBtterThanksTogether have used the poor man. They removed his dressing gown, forced him to wear a suit, and forced him on stage. The backbench opposition MP actually thinks he has power to guarantee things, and storms about the stage at his private meetings like Buster Bloodvessel..
    Is Niko the Broonmeister?

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    1. Hmmm... Can't feel any real sympathy for him, except possibly for a man who thought she should be prime minister and was so badly suited to the job that he made made a mess of his life's ambition.

      He makes a hell of a lot of money in his dressing gown Jutie, and I imagine that he thought that having saved the world he could now save his beloved Britain.

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  11. Replies
    1. I don;t think he does. We've had to pay for Secret Service people to accompany him on his lying mission to save his seat in the lords.

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  12. "North Britain"? He really said that? How is he still an MP?

    But now for a brief update from Extremely West Ex-Britain: As of 3:15 p.m. Central Daylight Time, that embarrassing U.S. House resolution, h.res.713, remains in stasis in the House Foreign Relations Committee's Sub-Committee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats.

    My gut feeling says you guys have this. My wife still asks why I haven't finished the bottles I bought at Cadenhead's when we were there in 2009; I'm telling her, I will on Friday. Best of luck to you.

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    1. Yes he said he was from North Britain. He was terrified, having got to Downing Street after such a long time, that the English would reject him because he wasn't one of them.

      He made sure to be photographed with "English" stuff as often as he could... David Beckham, English football, etc. It was all politics. He never felt obliged to appear to be Welsh!

      Thanks for the update on the House resolution. I'm thinking that it's unlikely that whatever happens to it it will have any great influence on Jock McSoap here though. lol.

      Thanks for your good wishes...Let's hope we are drinking the same toast on Friday Jon.

      Enjoy the last days of summer, before the windy city gets cold!!!!

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    2. And doesn't that speak volumes about the man? I've got to feel for him, though. I can't imagine what it's like to live with that kind of crushing self-loathing day after day. May none of you ever have to do so again.

      As to the House resolution, glad to help in my own small way. Even if it were to pass today (clearing a sub-committee, the full committee and then the full House all within the next 12 hours), I'm guessing it might get noticed sometime next week. And I'm sure you're right; the day Jock McSoap is influenced by what the House Republicans are doing is the day to really start worrying.

      It's sunny and around 18 C here today as we transition from summer to (U.S.) football. Hope you have something similar tomorrow. And the cold? Feh! We don't break out the winter gear before it hits -20 C and the snow is up to here, so we have at least until December...

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    3. lol.

      You're made of tough stuff then Jon.

      I think Brown was terrified of being the Prime Minister that the English couldn't accept. Blair was Scottish too, I'm ashamed to say. Horrible little man. But he left Scotland as soon as he could and headed off for Oxford. He never looked back. He sounded English so wan;t so afraid tat eh majority would dislike him.

      He managed to do that by being an evil bastard and killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people for his own self aggrandizement.

      He'll be welcome to NEVER come back to his native country.

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  13. I don't think Gordon Brown is a positive for the 'no' campaign. He goes on telly assuming that he has the authority that he lost. It is well remembered, in my brain at least, that he was offerred a 'rainbow' coalition after the last election, more or less, every one but the Tories and rejected it out of hand.

    This is the idiot of which we speak.

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    1. I've never thought he was much of an asset to anything.

      I didn't believe in the end to boom and bust. It was economically impossible, I thought.

      I don't believe it was America's fault that the banks brought the economy down. It was the fault of the economic policies of the UK that the banks in the UK went belly up. That is to say his fault.

      And I remember reading of the pleadings to get a press conference with the American president. The phone calls from Downing Street to the White House, begging and being turned down.

      For impact, although of little significance, I remember that he invited the Thatcher woman to Downing Street twice and to Chequers.

      That for a Scottish labour man was beyond the pale.

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  14. Maybe what Brown was thinking?

    "I'm too sexy for my pout."

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    1. Ahhh... that's what that look was... sexy. And there was me thinking it was mad as a box of frogs....

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    ReplyDelete