Thursday 10 July 2014

Willfully Missing the Point

Poor Martin writes this fluff in the Gruniad at the same time as yet another British Establishment cover up of high level peadophiles is breaking, energy rich Scotland is told it is going to have to pay even more for its energy to subsidise the rUK and Westminster's complete and utter failure to plan more than a couple of weeks ahead on anything, ignores the sizable elephant of IDS's failed Welfare Reform Act, Osbourne's failed austerity policy and attacks on social provision the Scots consider is worth funding in welfare and NHS.

How does his claim stack up?

The Scots have been asking for a new Union settlement of autonomous countries / regions since before 2006 - they have been ignored in this request simply because Westminster was reliant on Labour hegemony in Scotland going on for ever and there was a smug self assertion the 2007 result at Holyrood was a 'blip' and not the changing groundswell of Scottish opinion it, in effect, was.

Kettle still does not understand the UK is only a Parliamentary Union, the Scots are taking a long hard look at this UK Parliamentary Union and exercising their right to seek to withdraw from the Treaty because they no longer see the UK Parliament as beneficial in terms of exercising their democratic rights, economic prosperity and the creation of the sort of country they wish to live in.

As Peston's amazingly balanced piece on the BBC pointed out there is not really an economic argument to be had - in economic terms Scotland will neither be that much better or worse off which ever way the coin spins.

The situation the UK now finds with regards its imminent break up has little to do with 'Braveheart' or anti-English sentiment and a lot to do with work a day Scots taking a long hard look at what passes for Westminster politics and economic strategy - both of which look venal and corrupt in an increasing number of Scots eyes - and saying we, as an independent nation, can do better.

The vote in September is about a vision for Scotland and comes down to ever increasing poverty and division in a Whig and Tory run Westminster Parliament or the opportunity, through independence, to create something far better and fairer than is ever going to be on offer from two parties solely interested in about 80,000 right of centre voters in the Home Counties who decide, in effect, who gets to be 'King of the Castle' for the next five years.

Yes, Mr Kettle, this is not only Scotland's problem. The difference is the Scots can do something about it.

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