With Chris Hanlon on Devomax also Roddy, Grousebeater and myself discussing a range of topical issues. Enjoy!
BEAT THE CENSORS
Sadly some sites had given up on being pro Indy sites and have decided to become merely pro SNP sites where any criticism of the Party Leader or opposition to the latest policy extremes, results in censorship being applied. This, in the rather over optimistic belief that this will suppress public discussion on such topics. My regular readers have expertly worked out that by regularly sharing articles on this site defeats that censorship and makes it all rather pointless. I really do appreciate such support and free speech in Scotland is remaining unaffected by their juvenile censorship. Indeed it is has become a symptom of weakness and guilt. Quite encouraging really.
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YOURS FOR SCOTLAND 
This woudl only lead me to believe that your (and our) messages are getting through and they don’t like it, Well, after all, the SNP MP and MSP have good jobs and pensions to protect so will fight back at anyone that challenges their position of power. others that do support the SNP may well still hold to an ever diminishing truth, that the SNP is the only party that can deliver them their dreams and hopes. if the hardest words are Sorry – then the second hardest must be – I was wrong. – in the movie ‘The Blind Side’ Leigh Anne Tuohy said to her Husband – “Your Right” to which he replied “Your Right, how did those words taste coming from your mouth?” like vinegar she replied. It is hard to say I was wrong – more so when you feel there is no alternative road to travel. (and why I still believe although possibly the best we have ALBA should have picked another leader. there are many within the SNP that will never bring themselves to vote for Alex, no matter how many times he has to be proven innocent of any crime.) if we are to win we need all the Yes campaigners to come together and at present they are divided – which is possibly what Sturgeon wanted, she could, not get the man – but this will do as a consolation prize.
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Alex is the right leader for Alba the Britnats fear him as do those who stiched him up. He will have his day of Justice when Queen covid stands down or is thrown out, the truth will emerge. Sturgeons place in Scottish history will not be good, her legacy is one with will haunt her. Reap what you sow.
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I hope you are right but am finding it increasingly hard work to take any consolation from recent events,
For example, if Boris Johnson is removed as Prime Minister, what are the alternatives? People have mentioned, Sunak, Truss and Gove, but I struggle to see any of them as better than Johnson.
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Sorry to have to say it but I agree that Alex, though streets ahead of anyone else I can think of, should be number two or deputy leader of Alba for the reasons you give. Although hugely unfair it is still true that he is tainted by that horrendously unfair court case. Once the word ‘rape’ is used there is no going back and unfortunately only a minority of SNP voters read Wings or Craig Murray’s blog. This doesn’t have to be a forever position but it’s one that needs to be thought of at the moment with Alba in its infancy.
I also want to hear concerted calls for the next General Election to be a plebiscite. Let’s forget about Section 30’s and unnecessary referendums.
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I would settle for all the facts coming out and AS playing a supporting role in Alba. I believe we need to know exactly what went on and who was involved.
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Although I can understand the sentiment of ‘waiting until the pandemic is over’, there simply will never be a good time now to run an independence campaign like we did in 2014. There will always be obstacles in our way. If there are none, you can bet the media will create them. I don’t think that kind of campaign will be possible in future.
Now with the prospect of having to pay for covid test, and a psychotic uk government who have allowed 150 000 people to perish, who exactly are we protecting by deferring our decision on independence?
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People have been imprisoned, beaten, shot, hanged and starved to gain Independence from London and all we have to do is declare it. We have sufficient mandates and MPs.
The risk from infection is low in comparison to the risk associated with having WMD, illegal Wars, Child Poverty and the General degradation of our Nation, society and culture.
No sane Scot would wait a day longer than they had to. The worst possible betrayal is to even suggest Devolution as a solution. Really pissed off with these excuses from SNP Nicophants. Have none of them every read Irish History? Have none ever looked at the settlement invasion of Wales, because the longer you leave it, that is Scotland’s destiny.
The remaining SNP voters obviously don’t really want Independence.
Yes I’m 😡
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After listening to Mr Hanlon, I remain even more unconvinced this Devo Max thing was not flying a kite for the SNP. If it wasn’t, the only thing that would have been needed as Roddy says, is for Nicola Sturgeon to give a press conference and remove Devo Max from the table for once and for all.
Mr Hanlon says that he is a fervent defensor of people’s sovereignty, and that the people are who should dictate what powers to bring back to our parliament. Well, if he is, then he is in the wrong party. The people of Scotland already decided in 2016 that they did not want to leave the EU, yet this option he suggests to include in the ballot would mean that the mandate given by the people of Scotland in 2016 would have to be ignored, or worse, repeated, because devo max does not respect our 2016 mandate to remain in the EU. In addition, our 2016 mandate for indyref was let to expire too. Mr Hanlon is talking about 2026 for the referendum. Forcing the people of Scotland to wait 10 years for a referendum that should have taken place in 2017 is not what champions of popular sovereignty do.
The EU withdrawal bill agreement passed in 2019 and given royal assent in January 2020 includes clause 36, that for first time in 300 years of history, puts in UK law the English convention of Westminster’s sovereignty. At that time, the SNP already had 48 MPs in Westminster. Yet, instead of refusing to legitimise such an assault on Scotland’s popular sovereignty and claim of right, they legitimised it by sitting in Westminster during the vote and participating in it. That is not what champions of popular sovereignty do.
As Mr Lawson said during the presentation, in 2015, AFTER the SNP had 56 MPs in Westminster and an absolute majority in Holyrood, full fiscal autonomy was shot down in flames in England’s parliament. This was after the no won and the vow had been promised. The only thing the SNP had to do to ensure Devo Max was delivered at the time was to initiate the dissolution of the union unless devo max was immediately delivered. Again, having the power to stop the colonial parties going back on their word and not using it, is not what champions of popular sovereignty would do.
In the 2019 campaign, the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon herself told us a vote for the SNP was a vote to escape brexit. Yet again, Nicola Sturgeon threw our 2019 mandate to escape brexit in the bin and instead, capitulated to brexit and to the self-awarded supremacy of England MPs over the people of Scotland. Again, that is not what champions of popular sovereignty would do.
In my opinion Mr Hanlon is dangling the carrot of the referendum three times. He tells us that it will be delivered maybe in 2023 or for sure by 2026. This of course covers three elections: local elections this year, general election in the 2023 and Holyrood election 2026. As it has become a habit, the SNP only talks about the referendum or independence when there is an election on the horizon. For as long as there is not a date associated to it, it will never be a serious offer of a referendum, but rather a carrot.
Mr Hanlon mentions that the Devo Max was instigated by unionists. Sure, but it is not unionists what Nicola Sturgeon fears, is it? If she did, she would not have helped the colonial parties return to Holyrood with the SNP1 and 2 ruse. The real fear of Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP is that if the SNP is in any way or form associated with Devo Max or Full Fiscal Autonomy and not independence, there may well be an stampede of members and voters to Alba in time to make the General Election 2023 a plebiscite on independence crushing any hopes for devo max.
The colonial parties are the gatekeepers of our powers on behalf of Westminster. In 2014 they were the brakes Westminster used to stop us getting Devo Max. If they did not have any meaningful presence in Holyrood, there would never be a justification for them to actually have a say in what powers should be delivered to our parliament. And these gatekeepers are needed to limit the number of powers we get to an absolute minimum, as they did in 2014. Besides stopping accelerating independence, Alba had to be kept off Holyrood to stop them taking part in any future negotiations about devolution of powers and instead having Westminster’s gatekeepers at the negotiation table. Only having the colonial parties at the negotiating table ensures Scotland does not get independence.
Sorry. but after listening to Mr Hanlon I remain even more convinced that all Nicola Sturgeon has ever intended to deliver is an enhanced form of devolution that will prevent us returning to the EU or joining EFTA. They are just joining in the colonial parties and colonial think tanks to test the waters and figure out what is the best way to push it on us while we still think is “our settled will”
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One thing to be sure of is that The National will promote anything related to devo max.
I got my fingers burned last year – the last ever letter I wrote to The National.
It was at a time when independence was riding high at 58pc and the London media were panicking.
The devo max klaxon had been pulled out again. The purpose of the letter was to call their bluff and was an attempt to define what a fair ‘four nations’ settlement would be, safe in the knowledge that no English member of WM would countenance the idea. That then was our ticket to leave the union. We could say to the rest of Europe that we had tried.
The National changed the title of the letter and appended a picture of union jacks and punted it out on twitter. It completely misrepresented what I was trying to say. It got the resulting pelters, understandably.
Ever since then I have been deeply suspicious of their motives, and very sceptical that the paper actually supports independence, especially given that it is part of the herald. Their ‘we are with nicola’ on the retention of sterling, maybe should have been ample warning. Won’t touch it with a bargepole.
Expect more devo max ‘commentary’ from The National.
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