A guest article from Bill Clark who lives in Fort William.
All political parties centralise their power but elected highland SNP MPs and MSPs could and should have helped to increase the highland power base by encouraging members to vote for Kate Forbes, a local MSP, to be SNP leader and Scotland’s First Minister. After all, most people outside the central belt, for example, in the highlands, believe that the Scottish Government, of whichever colour, concentrate their efforts on the central belt, ignoring the fact that decade after decade of underdevelopment and investment have taken a toll on everyone who has made their home here in the highlands. That being the case, why did our Highland SNP MPs Ian Blackford and Drew Hendry, and MSPs Maree Todd, and Emma Roddick along with SNP Highland Councillors vote for the SNP leadership nominee Humza Yousaf, a resident of Dundee who represents a constituency in Glasgow as Scotland’s SNP leader and Scotland’s First Minister.
They also encouraged SNP members in the highlands to vote for Humza and in doing so voted for the centralisation of more powers in the central belt rather than voting for Kate Forbes, a local Highland MSP, who is undoubtedly an outstanding politician as she proved as Scotland’s Finance Secretary. For local SNP Highland Councillors and parliamentarian’s to be holding up placards in Inverness in support of the away team was obviously to curry favour with those who could look kindly on them. It has obviously worked for some. They gave their support to an SNP leadership cabal that were scathing of anyone who had the temerity to have a mind of their own.
Kate Forbes as First Minister would never have excluded a tourism minister from her Cabinet appointments knowing full well what it means to the highland economy. On the other hand, we had Highland MPs and MSPs along with Highland Councillors throwing their support behind a central belt candidate who boasted that he was the continuity candidate. How well did these councillors know Humza Yousaf? Their loyalty obviously lies with the SNP rather than with the cause of independence. The new Cabinet of twenty-eight MSPs appointed by Humza will now join the leadership payroll vote with allegiance to the status quo. Those MSPs are now part of a favoured group and have been appointed for their loyalty to the party. The previous administration under Nicola Sturgeon who forcefully came out against Kate Forbes are still there as advisors on the back benches.
Not one SNP MSP who publicly supported Kate Forbes was given a position at the top table of the extended Cabinet. Indeed, only one was given a junior position out of the twenty-eight appointees to the Cabinet. Ivan McKee, who publicly supported Kate, held the position of Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise. In Ivan McKee’s case this new offer was one that effectively tied his hands behind his back. Kate, on the other hand, was offered a demoted position from the position of Finance Secretary which she had held with distinction. Both declined to accept the offers put to them for pertinent reasons.
One of Humza’s first decisions was to do away with a dedicated tourism role. Our local Councillors and elected parliamentarian’s must have put a great deal of thought into the effect that such a decision was going to have on the Highlands before voting for a central belt First Minister who has now come up with such a negative decision for our highland economy. I am sure that tourism will now be taken up by one of the twenty-eight appointees who are now holding various positions within the extended Cabinet as an afterthought and I am just as certain that they will try to convince everyone it had been their intention to do just that all along.
Many loyalists like Shona Robison, a long-standing best friend of Nicola Sturgeon, were given ministerial positions. Unsurprisingly, Shona was appointed to both the positions of Deputy First Minister together with that of Finance Secretary with responsibility for the Scottish budget. The latter decisions will rub salt in the wound of the 48% SNP membership who voted for Kate Forbes as she had previously held the finance and economy roll with distinction.
When compared to the eight years of SNP double talk Kate Forbes is a breath of political fresh air. As for Ash Regan, she was far too committed to the cause of independence for the present SNP leadership. Ash is also committed to the cause of women and children’s rights and showed the principles that many within the SNP have been lacking.
For the present SNP incumbents who have taken to promoting self-ID to the exclusion of the very thing that the SNP came into existence to achieve, Ash was never going to be offered a Cabinet position. The SNP are no longer a party of independence, they have had eight years to take some positive action on that issue and failed miserably. The SNP only mention independence when they are looking for canvassers and people to deliver leaflets in the lead up to an election. For them it is all about returning candidates and retaining power. I do not claim that each and every Cabinet member is not up to their job, I refer only to those who held senior positions in the previous Cabinet and who obviously have failed in their role.
The present career incumbents are simply being moved about like kings and queens on a chess board as a reward for their loyalty to the leadership. The only reward I want to see handed out is one that brings about independence. Unfortunately, only Nicola Sturgeon loyalists can make this Cabinet and the obvious safety of the payroll vote to provide more of the same.
MY COMMENTS
We have ladies and gentlemen a First Minister with a tiny mind. In his huge cabinet many ministers seem to have been appointed for tiny insular relatively unimportant issues so the incredible omission of a Tourist Minister is all the more staggering. It’s Economic Madness, tourism is a huge earner, it’s a great job creation industry in Scotland. Equally important it creates economic activity in rural areas where economic development is already a challenge. It is however much more crucial than just the economic factors. It can, or should I say, must, be a major driver to help create demand for Independence.
If you look at Ireland, or indeed Estonia traditional music and dance was central to internationalising their struggle’s for Independence. The best platform for developing those culture events came through tourism that created the interest and opportunities for the music and dance to flourish. Without tourism it would have been a very different, more difficult story.
Only in gender bender Scotland would be have a cabinet minister to build that agenda while ignoring an industry that keeps hundreds of thousands in work. It can only be a matter of days before we hear not having a Minister for Tourism is all part of the “new secret plan”. God save us from these simpletons!
I am, as always
YOURS FOR SCOTLAND.
BEAT THE CENSORS
Regretfully there are some among us who seek to censor what others read. Sadly within the YES movement there are sites which claim to be pro Indy but exist to only promote one Party and will not publish articles which come from bloggers who don’t slavishly support that Party to the exclusion of the rest of the YES movement. I ask readers who support free speech to share articles from Yours for Scotland as often as possible as this defeats the effectiveness of the censors.
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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.
Now it is back to my holiday.
YOURS FOR SCOTLAND 
I would not be at all surprised Bill if the old leadership were still in charge.
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It is no surprise that the continuity candidate has appointed a continuity cabinet of cronies.
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Anyone know the Urdu for puppet? For that surely describes Humza. Kate Forbes gets attacked by the mob with their interpretation of her Christian beliefs. Yousef, of a minority ethnic group publicises an Islam prayer meeting in Scotland’s first Minister’s residence.
Pause for thought, in the totally remote chance that a Christian had been “selected”in an Islamic country as Prime Minister and dared to hold a Christian service in the Minister’s residence
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The Scots are a “minority ethnic group” in the UK context, and an oppressed minority ethnic group as well (culturally, politically, economically etc), not that the SNP elite appear to have noticed. They don’t even appear to realise that an independence movement depends on the solidarity of that same oppressed ethnic group.
Scots language speakers represent the major part of that oppressed group, yet now made a minority linguistic group even in Scotland (only 1.6m at the 2011 census) primarily because the SNP have never bothered to give us a Scots Language Act and actually teach the Scots langage tae Scots bairns in the schuils.
Language is a human right, as is self-determination of ‘an indigenous people’, and where indigenous language is pivotal – yet we are deprived of both rights, to oor ain langage an tae sel-determination, which is oppression. Oppressed by oor verra ain naitional pairty!
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Remember that just because something is advertised as being something, it might not necessarily be what it says as the veil is lifting and people are coming to the realisation due to the actions or inactions. Just look at how Green the Green party are and what even does it mean?
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Indeed and Kate Forbes is part of an even smaller oppressed group – Gaelic speakers. She may well speak Scots, though I don’t think that’s common in the Highlands. However, Doric flourishes in Aberdeenshire.
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The government was elected time and time again to achieve independence and they failed to do it. They are an administration working within the British control of our country. They have failed to tackle the issues that plight our country and people and today we see Joanna securing top ups for the local food bank. We should never be celebrating the fact that’s an achievement. Real achievement is eradication of the need for food banks in a resource rich country.
The hunger issue could have been eased by councils giving over land to people for community gardens, seeds distributed and food growing in each council and delivered to those who need it.
If we were to calculate each politician’s salary, pension and other benefits and then the councils, I wonder how much value for money would the people be getting in terms of improving their lives? I am now not going to defend politicians or pick favourites and the more I read the more I think about the need for less. If they can’t stand up for the people of this country they were elected to serve by fighting for the theft of our resources to be stopped and secure our independence then they are unlikely to be able to deliver all the other things that they keep promising so that people will keep voting for them.
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On their alleged ‘commitment’ to tackling poverty, both Forbes and Yousaf and the wider SNP-Brit-State payroll fail to comprehend what postcolonial theory tells us in this regard – which is that a colonial administration only serves to perpetuate the poverty of the native people, the extent of which is directly related to and broadly equivalent to the territorial plunder that same administration helps to facilitate; and as loyal Ministers of the Crown they can have no other goal.
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Let me tell you about Robison. Some time ago I was involved in a Zoom call she was also involved in. I asked her about G McCormicks taxation system AGF&RR and why the SNP who were committed to Land Reform (which is self financing) were not implementing the system? She said they had looked at it and could not afford it!
when I then asked How can something self financing be unaffordable NO RESPONSE.
This IDIOT is now serving as Finance Minister alongside the serial failure Yousuf.
God help us
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I am not particularly religious and I do research about different religions so that I don’t come from a place of ignorance and because I like learning about spiritual practices past and present. I know that I wouldn’t be comfortable sitting in an ivory tower when folk on my watch went hungry. Charities should not be the answer to the problems that we have so we can feel better about ourselves and feel like we achieved something. We know the answer and there’s solutions but it takes people years of vote for me and pretence that they will fix it but meanwhile people might feel if the issues get fixed it they might not be required anymore.
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I watched a video about a former leader of Iran who apparently slept on the floor, got rid of the fancy trimmings and his wife made his lunch for work. His bank account and that of his family were monitored whilst in service along with everyone else in the government and all assets were declared. Now when I read there was such a person who once was in government I thought well there’s someone practicing what they preach.
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The exclusion of a Tourism Ministry is an example of just how lacking in both economic sense and common sense this Devolved Administration with this Continuity FM.
This nonsense does not only negatively impact on Scotland north of the central belt but on all of Scotland. For example, in Dumfries and Galloway, the town of Moffat has 39% of the jobs directly related to tourism, and there must be many more examples of towns with a high percentage of jobs dependent on tourism.
It is already clear that this Continuity Administration will carry on where Nicola Sturgeon’s disastrously incompetent terms in control left Scotland’s economy and the cause of independence much worse than when Alex Salmond handed her the position of FM.
Anyone who has read Alf’s book Doun-Hauden will recognise the long-term negative impact of colonialism at work within an administration established by the coloniser to prevent self- determination being achieved by the colonised.
The SNP under Sturgeon and now under her puppet are actually scared of self-determination and independence for Scotland, because that would end their comfortable existence and the cosy relationship they have with their paymasters to continue with the status of a Devolved Administration.
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The entire UK is built on trickle-down patronage. Based on the current tack record, replacing Westminster with Holyrood as the front row at the trough would make little material difference to the regions of Scotland served by poor government, decaying services, particularly health, and shoddy infrastructure. Look at the Highlands, vast, mostly untapped energy resources from wind, wave and hydro. Huge potential for carbon storage to address the climate crisis yet all the money is extracted and taken south. Does that sound familiar?
We’ll get independence when support reaches 60%, they say. That will never happen until we get a government working for Scotland. All of it. Not just themselves or the part of the country they can see out of their window.
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Sorry, but I think the primary problems with the SNP have been missed in this article!
The real question is why they did not vote for Ash Regan.
Why quibble over who runs a devolved Scotland and ignore Independence?
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Do we know how the vote went?
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Do we really believe the results of the Leadership vote anyway , looking at the track record of the incumbents. We need to get UN involvement with every election going forward getting electons monitored to ensure they are free from the colonial gerrymandering of the security services.
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I’m with you Alastair. They got away with the persecution of Alec Salmond . Folk like that I can imagine growing more bold when they get away with things. We got sold out sold out on everything. Government got worse and then worsened from there. I have no doubt they would have fiddled it had they needed to. it. Whether they did or not I do not know.
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50 /50 they fiddled that as well.
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“The real question is why they did not vote for Ash Regan.”
I agree – that really is the point about the recent SNP leadership election.
The one thing we didn’t know before was what kind of people, after the precipitous fall in membership in the last two or three years, the remaining SNP ‘electorate’ comprised of. Now we know:
• 30% or one in 3 of members couldn’t be bothered to vote: Cell 1 – The Apathetic.
• 34% voted for HY as their 1st choice: Cell 2 – The Transgenderist-Devolutionists.
• 29% voted for KF as their 1st choice: Cell 3 – The non-Transgenderist-Devolutionists.
• 8% voted for AR as their 1st choice: Cell 4 – The Independentistas+.
So that’s quite conclusive about the message from the membership. Interestingly from the 2nd preference options of Ash Regan supporters (8%) there is a further bit of insight:
• 5% opted for KF: Cell 4a – The Independentistas.
• 2% opted for HY: Cell 4b – The Idiots.
• 1% didn’t indicate a 2nd choice: Cell 4c – The Imbeciles.
(I have described cell 4b as “The Idiots” since they understood the process but voted for HY anyway whilst cell 4c merit “The Imbeciles” label as they don’t understand the system but at least they didn’t vote for HY).
OK some might consider the foregoing a bit simplistic but it does seem to me that 95% of the current SNP membership are neither emotional nor rational supporters of Scotland’s Cause as THE priority. The result implies that Independence is a ‘nice to have’ rather than an urgent necessity. The result implies that Independence is a ‘nice to have’ rather than an urgent necessity.
So there is little point in trying to challenge that. The membership has got what the membership wants (even though I don’t get it).
The SNP itself is now on a trajectory that will take that party’s supporters in a direction that is light years from its declared destination. And there is little point in blaming it on ‘the leadership when the members themselves have overwhelmingly backed the devolutionist approach with policies like ‘progressivism’ to the fore. The leadership and membership are in alignment, with a few honourable exceptions.
The party itself needs to amend its constitution to remove article 2a to reflect its new priorities. Not to do so would be morally bankrupt and politically fraudulent.
But, then again, that hasn’t stopped it during the last 8+ years.
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The gullible, who followed the corporate messaging; the hard of thinking.
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Yes.
I think the answer to the “why?” is because 95% of the remaining membership are in alignment with the leadership.
Therefore, the party is really past saving.
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Comment that I got from Skye was that many members were denied a vote.
The comment chimes absolutely with the evidence that the vote was rigged in favour of Yousaf and the continuity clique.
But we suspected or should I say knew that before the vote started.
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The Scottish government should speak and work for all of Scotland. We seem to have a Scot Gov working for Dundee as so many live in or represent the area! I doubt Dundee will feel the benefit. Yousaf might be a Glasgow MSP but he lives in Broughty Ferry and now I presume partly in Edinburgh. Pollok never sees him and the place remains a poverty blackspot.
What was that Alf said – aye mediocre colonial administration.
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After over 8 years many still prefer to be led and herded like sheep no wonder we were so easily divided by this NuSNP what kind of person does not think for themselves their SNP masters also prefer to live in this bloody Colony because they sit in comfort with fat salaries and second homes with subsidized food and drink what more could self-serving h politicians wish for I salute @nealehanvey and @kennymacaskill for joining the @albaparty!
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Robin McAlpine claims to know the identities of the “rebel 15 MSPs” touted by the Herald on Sunday.
Not entirely composed of the usual suspects. Includes individuals who committed to Yousaf at the start of the truncated election process (this seems an arithmetic certainty as so few MSPs commented to Kate or Ash). Does this speak of ideological disenchantment, strategic disagreement or broken career promises?
Tantalisingly Robin suggests the 15 are a core group and others are “adjacent”.
The 15 hold a diverse range of political positions / grievances.
Robin theorises that the common thread that binds them is rejection of the centralisation of democratic power around the office of the leader.
Yousaf has embarked on a road that is difficult to deviate from. Actions speak louder than words. Even if Yousaf recognises his early strategic blunder, any promise to reinstate the “broad tent” will echo hollow with those already spurned.
Yousaf and the toxic Greens are permanently bound in an asymmetric relationship where the tail wags the dog.
All is set to unravel as the payroll read the portents and see imminent unemployment looming.
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Living out here in the islands Westminster does not know we exist and Holyrood wishes we didn’t as we are always moaning about ferries and the like. Tourism is a major part of our economy as is agriculture and fishing the latter about to be destroyed if this new marine protection bill is not killed off. Kate stated she would dump the marine protection bill if elected and I suspect it was part of the reason for her to decline the rural affairs job as it is a poisoned chalice. Just to avoid any doubt I am all in favour of enhanced protection for the marine environment but it has to be done in a sensible and workable form and has to be enforceable and the bill proposed by the creepy Greens fails on all three counts. It is a sad state of affairs that out here we were treated better and listened to more by the Lib/Lab administration since devolution than the SNP. Kate Forbes as SNP leader would have been a step up from this shower but the only hope of saving the SNP was Ash Regan and she is likely on borrowed time unless the rumoured 15 rebel MSPs get their act together and show some fight. Over to you Alba, ISP, Salvo etc
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Mass political parties with card-carrying members who have never attended a branch-meeting or cast a ballot regarding internal policy matters, is a reality well known to anyone who has ever served as a branch-sec. Huge membership numbers are effectively a virility symbol and a useful source of party revenue, little else. In the course-of-time, immaterial of party membership numbers, leading activists will, anyway, form influential cadre groups with perhaps two inevitably emerging in the lead, and internecine war continues. This is a long and exhausting process which is of little to no interest for the disattached paper-member. Common sense might suggest then that a cause or an agenda might be better served by the formation of a self-selecting cadre party populated by activists, in the first instance. Jist sayin, ken.
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Reblogged this on Ramblings of a now 60+ Female.
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It is said that ageism the last acceptable prejudice. The Forbes campaign told us that is not true. Other acceptable bigotry includes:
Devout Christians
Gaelic speaking women
If Forbes had not ticked all of those boxes she would not have been savaged in the wholly unacceptable way she was.
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The self-righteous were all dying to call her a redneck hick. Why else was all the far-right American, white-supremacist words and imagery employed in decrying her deplorable, backward views. Misogyny and racism is alive and well.
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Speaking of cultural appropriation by America:
Linlithgow means ‘black dog on the loch’
The story goes that the dogs owner was imprisoned on an island on the loch for some crime of the day, left to starve. The dog swam out every day with food for her owner. Then she was caught and tied up on a separate island to suffer the same fate as her master.
Folk in Linlithgow call themselves The Black Bitches – embracing the loyalty and courage of that black bitch. There used to be a pub called The Black Bitch – till it was bought over and someone decided the name did not chime with US – or English – ears and it is now renamed The Willow Tree. So much for a few hundred years of identity …
I’ve had enough – I really have.
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‘Kate Forbes, a local Highland MSP, who is undoubtedly an outstanding politician as she proved as Scotland’s Finance Secretary’
Where does this guff come from? Sounds like internet bubble confirmation bias. She has been party to formulating one budget, and it wasn’t good unless you are a bit to the right of the Tories. You seriously want an FM who would be asked about how Satanic she thinks pipe-organs are, and about independence in the same interview?
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Today I discovered Argyll and Bute still has an MP as Brendan the invisible man turned up on Facebook. The last time I can remember hearing anything about him was he featured in one of the Westminster walkouts when either Kenny or Neale of Alba fame stood up in the commons to fight for Scotland’s cause. Glad the wee scamp is OK as was worried about him. He was on Bute and promoting a company that runs a Vegan dairy whatever that is and produces pretend cheese for the vegan market. I have no idea what goes into vegan cheese other than what does not but I cannot recall our MP turning up to promote Argyll lamb, beef venison, seafood or for that matter cheese or milk. Like the cheese the guy is pretending to be something he is not and is and was a waste of a perfectly good vote. I wonder if he has ever heard of the world famous fire water produced on Islay and Kintyre?
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Hi,
Gender bender Scotland?
I read these emails with interest as I do a range of sources including unionist or Alba material. Not SNG so far. I am trying not to be biased but to be able to consider and discuss different takes on things so as to be able to advocate for independence at any door.
Are you sure this phrase isn’t a bit insulting to a section of our people? Wasn’t Willie MacRae a bisexual man?
Could I ask you to consider your outlook here or language if you want broad appeal?
YFS
Calum
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