ITS TIME FOR A HOLIDAY!

Posted byiainlawson27Posted inUncategorizedTags:, , ,

I have been running the Yours for Scotland blog pretty much full time for three years with very few days off. I have felt for a while now I need to take a break and recharge my batteries. It’s not easy to do. I am involved in so much of what is happening across Scotland as I get involved in public speaking tours, political podcasts a plenty, some TV programmes, organisational, policy and strategy discussions within Salvo and Liberation.Scot and chairing the Scottish National Congress Steering Group.

I would probably have taken some time off earlier in the year but the SNP leadership race put paid to that. Whilst not a member of any Party it is unarguable that who the SNP pick as their new leader has a big impact on the future of the entire YES Movement.

The SNP have made their choice. It has been a farce of an election marred by dubious practice and bent rules all designed to support the Continuity candidate. Despite these advantages the new Leader has barely 50% support. But enough of that and the SNP will have to live with the consequences.

What will be those consequences?

1 An increasing divided Party and YES movement.

2 A financial crisis, the donor base was already destroyed, in the last few years by Sturgeon, it will get much worse. Soon there will be a General Election. It will not go well for the SNP under Yousaf.

3 The impact will be lost seats but the real cost will be the drop off in short money that is payable on the number of MP’s elected. Given that the SNP are now entirely reliant on that money a lot of folk who are currently on the bloated payroll face the end of their cushy power trip.

4. It will be back to raising money the hard way. Through the membership. So they claim to have 72,000 members. I still have my doubts about that and an awful lot of them couldn’t be bothered voting in the contest so good luck getting them organised to do the hard graft. Looking around I don’t see anyone capable of doing that. They look like a bunch of spenders to me. Of course they have lost thousands of experienced activists who were good at that sort of thing to Alba.

5 I am not going to wish Humza well. I do feel sorry for him though. He now has both hands of a very poisoned chalice. With the best will in the World I can only see it going one way. Down, with a capital D

As for me I will continue to work with Salvo and Liberation. They, now than ever before represent the way forward for the Independence Movement. Not tied to Party politics we can concentrate of the real goal of internationalising Scotland’s fight for Independence.I will post only occasional articles on this site for the foreseeable future. This article is the 1000th article I have posted on this site in less than three years. It has been a lot of work and I am now very tired.

I am depressed because I think the SNP have made a terrible mistake that will do them, and Scotland’s cause, untold damage. I am reminded of the saying “You can only help those who wish to help themselves”. The SNP have chosen not too!

I don’t think we will have to wait long before all the above comes to pass.

I am, as always

YOURS FOR SCOTLAND.


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SALVO

The work and important development of Salvo has been a beacon of hope in 2022 and as it develops Salvo is creating campaigning hubs throughout Scotland. Salvo will join  with Liberation.Scot and as the campaigning arm of Liberation we are looking at very effective campaigns kicking off very early this year and introducing some new campaigning methods as well as those that have worked well in the past. This requires money so all donations to this site, once the running costs are covered, will go to support the work of Salvo/ Liberation. I think you will see it well used and effective.

LIBERATION.SCOT

We are seeking to build Liberation.Scot to at least 100,000 signatures just as quickly as we can. This is part of our plan to win recognition as an official Liberation Movement via the United Nations. We intend to internationalise our battle to win Independence and through the setting up of our Scottish National Congress will prepare and develop our arguments to win progress in the International Courts. Please help by signing up at Liberation.Scot. It is from those who sign up to Liberation.Scot that the membership of the SNC will be created by ballot.

111 thoughts on “ITS TIME FOR A HOLIDAY!”

  2. Republicofscotland

    ‘Or by the sounds of it an independence supporter either.’

    Well just like your previous response you’re wrong about that too. I don’t know how you came to that conclusion given I was only criticising serious parts of Regan’s campaign.
    Yes, there are times to be political and/or diplomatic, but in my opinion this was not one of them. She was brave enough to vote against GRR and resign so why not go full throttle in the election? You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, so not the time to be timid!
    She might just have got more votes from Alex Salmond supporting members had she answered that particular question the way she should have. ‘Time for bravehearts not fainthearts’ did she not say?
    As for the ‘team snp’ tweet, it’s not going to get her anywhere with them now.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I have to agree re the ‘team SNP’ on her twitter feed, it was tae curlin tae say the least! Whoever scripted that drivel surely did not intend to deliberately insult our intelligence in hearing it, worse still expect us to believe it. Ash Regan most certainly has a future in Scottish politics but most certainly not if she continues to believe in the SNP IN ITS CURRENT FORM DELIVERING INDEPENDENCE anytime soon!!

      Liked by 6 people

  3. Rest well, Iain… You’re a star of the highest magnitude.

    And that was some shift.

    Salvo it is for me too now. A national conversation, a national convention and then new steps towards Scotland’s independence.

    Respect .

    Liked by 8 people

  5. Ah well that’s Kate Forbes got the humpety doo da.

    Demoted and chucked from the slot of Finance Secretary to the offer of the lowly Rural Secretary she’ll be a real team player now., If she had any honour she’d move to ALBA or an independent.

    And Ash Regan, she’ll be a bad smell in the new Yousaf Continuity Party.

    Well one thing for sure is that if the troughers think they are going to carry on as is they’ve got another thing coming. The SNP or should we say the Continuity Party is going down.

    Liked by 8 people

    1. Forbes would have been my choice – I believe she can actually deliver independence. Whether she will bide her time, go independent, wash her hands of this or join Alba I don’t know. I hope she does not give up. none of us must. Now is the time to fight hardest – Brexit is crashing and Vichy Holyrood is the child of union that cannot save us.

      If Craig has anything in the emails that can hasten the needed collapse of the nuSNP that would be great.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Forbes since becoming elected as an MSP has done LESS THAN HEE HAW to actively campaign for Scotland’s Independence, not in her constituency and most certainly not at Holyrood where she has been complicit in facilitating the grand larceny of Scotland’s natural energy assets in the interests and to the benefit of Global capital.

        Forbes had the opportunity to put Independence at the core of her electoral pitch during the recent series of hustings, she FAILED abysmally to address the issue in much the same fashion as she FAILED the women and young girls in Scotland when she cowardly avoided participating in the recent vote on the GRR(Bill) at Holyrood.

        Never forget she placed Sturgeon ahead of Salmond in answer to a question given at a hustings,(as did the other two) and NONE of them, Sturgeon, Yousaf, Regan OR Forbes would have enjoyed the privilege of office had it not been for the stalwart that was ALEX SALMOND going before them!! SHAME ON THEM!!!

        Liked by 5 people

      2. To be fair Forbes was not FM.
        Did she mean to rate Sturgeon above Salmond? I have no idea. I do know what Salmond did:
        Run Scotland better than it had been run in 300 years
        Ask for a mandate from voters for an indyref
        Get that mandate
        Use that mandate – the s30 order was dug up by Westminster – he NEVER asked for one

        This is the running order. Right now we have to recover from a disgracefully incompetent SG that many see as pro Indy (!). Competence is king right now.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. A long weekend, well ok, agreed We need blogs and responsive comments.Spring is coming and Yousef is …well, we*’ll see, sprung…up already?

    Liked by 4 people

  7. Re point 3 the obvious analogy would 2017 when seats were lost mainly to Labour. The most widely accepted explanations for this were that the SNP were caught unprepared, but then again so we’re most of us, but the fact is turnout was down. Was the SNP vote more badly affected? The other explanation was the Jeremy Corbyn effect, a Labour party leader who could only be described as left wing.
    If we apply this to the second half of 2024 then there are two points. First the SNP better be ready which makes your points about fund raising all the more important. But obviously Starmer couldn’t be described as left wing. And not could it be said that he was as inspirational as Corbyn. So who are they going to vote for? And in terms of short money how likely are the lib Dems to catch up and be 3rd. The SNP have four times as many seats as the lib Dems.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Under Useless there is no point voting SNP – that just commits us to another term of union (oh and pension pots, expenses, subsidised living etc for the troughers)

      My guess is that the identity politics will see the SNP hammered at the next election – Sturgeon pretended this was Scotlands will but she had no mandate and it was her will – not Scotlands. There will be a day of reckoning for her entitled stupidity. Or maybe Useless will make voting for anyone other than the SNP a hate crime?

      Liked by 5 people

      1. So they did. Like Iain I grew up in Clydebank and it still seems an offence against nature that it doesn’t have a Labour MP. Politically it’s great – just to be clear -but somehow doesn’t seem natural.
        Important point is though that when Labour were abandoned the SNP picked up the slack. Who’s doing it now? Labour? A bit, but if Sarwar is looking to get back to 2010 he’s even more delusional than we all thought.

        Liked by 4 people

      3. Well good luck with reinstating Alex’s reputation. You only have to deal withe police and legal establishment.
        I see your point, but another route is to allow Humza to fail (he will) and rely on the membership to rise up. Remember 48% of those who voted preferred Forbes and almost 30% couldn’t be bothered to vote. Not exactly a strong foundation is it?
        How likely is mass entryism to Alba, particularly given Salmond’s reputation being misrepresented as it has? Is cleaning up the SNP not more likely to achieve that? Yousef won’t do it. He’s even keeping on Nicola’s chief of staff. Business as usual?

        Liked by 2 people

      6. LOL did you see what Robison said? Independence will take as long as it takes …

        Well that’s us telt

        I have a feeling the SNP is about to be hit be seismic change – I’ll live in hope. 100% agree – eyes on the prize but we mustn’t wheesht – fool us once etc.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Thanks Iain for keeping the torch lit and showing the way during the darkening times we have travelled. You have done such stirling work for us all. Hope you have fun and since never in a million years will you be able to stop thinking politics, hope you pick up lots of new and interesting strings to pull when you return. But meantime, a bit of relaxation can’t be bad. Thanks again, very much.

    Liked by 5 people

  10. Iain, you certainly deserve a holiday! Be sure and have a relaxing time so that you return ready to engage in the struggle for our Scottish Independence once more. All the best of wishes to you and yours.

    Liked by 5 people

  11. Enjoy your break Iain , and thankyou for all you do for Scotland.
    I read the bloggers and wish they were in charge of Scotland and not the pathetic disdainful crew with which we are lumbered as a nation.
    I never thought it would come to sheer loathing when I first joined the SNP , then I was full of hope but it has been dashed by a bunch of self serving charlatans and peppered with folk with behavioural problems – not to mention bare faced liars.

    Liked by 5 people

  12. The SNP are now the wings of the Union. The sooner we realise this and cast our votes elsewhere for other independence parties the better.

    Liked by 5 people

  13. One of the biggest reasons why the British want Humza as the First minister is the voting franchise, how can we now argue against the open to all colonial masters gerrymandering of the voting franchise now.
    What they are doing is ensuring that 1.2 million English settlers get a vote in our democracy. Funny how Sturgeon never releast the Scottish census results. We need to go through the UN Decolonisation process to ensure that we get democracy that the indigenous population have been denied. This is our right under international law and our elections will be monitored going forward. Free from the creative counting of the British Security services and their colonial administration in Hollyrood. Remember 2014 the majority of Scottish population voted yes the Settlers and their lackey pals voted keeping us in their coercive colonial Union.

    Liked by 9 people

  14. I’ve just seen Alex Salmond on the BBC’s Politics live. It was a pleasure to listen to somebody talking sense for Scotland. He came over as a Statesman as opposed to the career politicians we have had to endure in recent years. He avoided trashing Nicola Sturgeon, merely saying that she had led the country down a dead end. He advised that Ash Regan’s attitude to Independence was the way forward.
    It felt so good having a good, solid representative speaking for the Scottish Independence movement.
    (What’s come up the BBC’s humph that they invited Alex Salmond on?)

    Liked by 9 people

    1. Just watched Politics Live with Jo Coburn after reading your comment. Alex Salmond came over as a true statesman and head and shoulders above the other guests. The programme is definitely worth a watch.

      Liked by 4 people

    2. “(What’s come up the BBC’s humph that they invited Alex Salmond on?)”

      My thoughts too.

      Is it too much hope they are aware of currents under the surface which will cast public light on the outrageous injustice visited on this great Scot?

      Is a reckoning coming?

      Liked by 3 people

  15. Perhaps the site itself could be kept active by your regular guest contributors?

    Thanks for everything so far Iain, hope there is more to come when you have re-charged.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I think Iain will be back here sooner than you think. He won’t be able to resist it. Especially with so much going on in Scottish politics right now.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. He is still active on twitter keeping an eye on things. I suspect running a blog takes up a lot of time so I hope he does have break from it but would question why anyone wants to play golf. Work of the devil.

        Liked by 3 people

  16. This is quite grim reading by Robin.
    https://robinmcalpine.org/48-hours-later-and/

    Massive sympathies to those who have been at this alot longer than I have and totally understand folk wanting to walk away. I know Robin has some thoughts about what can be done.

    I’ve been wondering if the decoupling of the independence question from the SNP is such a bad thing. In the spirit of star trek, independence has been used by the SNP over the past 8 years as something of a cloaking device – they engage it when the chips are down, the funds are low, or when they have another looming election, but I don’t think they can use it anymore – and I think that is a good thing. Shona Robison was somewhat indifferent to the whole idea when asked about independence earlier. Its actually a relief. Now we know.

    The SNP has to stand on it’s own two feet as a party happy with devolution at least for the time being. They can be scrutinised in the same way we would judge the likes of a Scottish Labour govt. There’s no more ‘wheesht for indy’. They’re unburdened, so lets see them deliver for Scotland as part of the UK. They can’t turn round and say its all down to Westminster as long as they see the current settlement as preferable to independence. It won’t wash.

    There has obviously been a huge amount of work being done away from the political establishment in the form of organisations like the Scottish currency group, SSRG, Salvo, and lots more. These organisations flourished out of the frustration of political inaction and have produced fantastic output. Given that there have been many calls for an independence convention, perhaps it is time to set that up or something similar, albeit perhaps more limited. It would be permanent and decoupled from any political party and would thus persist regardless of the political party in power . It could host periodic meetings of the various groups and maintain a repository of all the research work undertaken on independence by willing think tanks or individuals. Of course not all the research work has to agree – the only consensus has to be on independence. The important thing is to have an array of answers which people can access at any time. This is not a sprint obviously and I know folk will feel worn out. It doesn’t have to be much, it just has to be there. This way we never have to start from scratch when the political opportunity arises.

    So this lets the parties get ‘on with the day job’ and it frees us up from the depressing political discourse which has dominated our lives over the past hopeful decade. Action is the antidote despair, but that action has to be positive – not banging our heads against a brick wall of broken promises.

    Liked by 5 people

  17. The SNP, the yellow Labour party in more ways than one. Incapable of reform, infiltrated beyond redemption. run by MI5. frightened to rock the boat. Do they think we are fools , obviously Yes. We must now reject the dead beat colonial administration sham independence party. I have had it with quislings capitulation, gravy trainers and traitors.
    Dissolve the Union.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. If Forbes or Regan had made it as FM I would have had some hope for the SNP – I can’t actually think what seismic change could save them now. When I thought of the first days for Forbes I though: you have all of the troughers sitting beside you in Holyrood and representing you in Westminster. The only ones who want you are the good grass roots and Sturgeon neutered them. The nuSNP would have found a way to eat her. I believe the SNP has to collapse though if they find a saviour of course they should be saved – but how is this possible when the citadel is infested?

      Liked by 4 people

  19. Great news – Alba is rising – perhaps if some of the SNP MSPs – those who know they were chosen through the teeth of opposition from the party machine – cross the floor to Alba then these first loose pebbles could become the landslide we need. It would give Alba profile, let them vote with their conscience and prevent the harm that Useless and the dangerous Greens would do with a majority under iron control.

    Liked by 1 person

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