Tuesday 28 February 2017

Dougie; Patriot of Britain

As this week stumbles along the surreal world of Labour in Scotland continues to astound and amaze those looking in from the outside.

The Sadiq Khan speech backfires massively, yet erstwhile Labour 'big hitters' in Scotland seek to defend his, SNP are racists speech. Dougie "Patriot of Britian" Alexander is now at it with his view that it is nationalistsic (aka racist) to support an independent Scotland but patriotic to defend the United Kingdom. He states nationalism is about hatred then goes on to pour his bile and hatred on the SNP and Scottish independence supporters in general, with out any thought to the dichotomy his own actions create.

We see what the patriots supporting Brexit are doing, trying to paint anyone who disagrees with them with the same brush, the same failings of seeking exclusion, imperial glory, white supremacy and the rest which the current UK Government policies are actually pursuing on a daily basis. Dougie Alexander and his ilk are past parody they are what they are, narrow bigotted, self seeking, small minded wee men and women who have had their Scottish scone torn from their grasp. Labour in Scotland's core problem remains they can not fathom why they are being left behind or why they can no longer simply weigh their votes in Scotland or even in 'working class' England anymore.

Labour UK's answer appears to be to keep doing the same thing, following the same policies which has brought them to the verge of collapse as a political party. The PLP can point fingers at the shadow cabinet for all they are worth for the recent loss in Cumbria but are in uproar when an outsider to their gang points out Labour in Cumbria had taken its electorate for granted for too long, put little effort in between elections and paid the price of their complacency.

In Scotland even Labour diehards are finding it difficult to fathom where their party is being lead, some trot out thier outdated 'socialism' mantra of it will be OK once the 'workers' take control and mutter about  the need for solidarity with a UK wide 'working class' brother and sisterhood which only exists, to any extent, in their own, fevered imaginations. The problem for Labour's socialist cadre is the likes of Dougie 'Patriot of Britian' Alexander and the Labour PLP will never allow that to happen. There are too many nice consultancies and other back pocket earners at stake for Danny and his pals to allow mere 'workers' to have any say on actual Labour Party Policy.

One of Labour's  future 'young guns' returned depressed and disheartened from Perth, pointing out Scottish Labour was only interested in Westminster and this was reflected in the platform speeches. The message to conference was, "Scotland does not matter to Scottish Labour", a damning indictment from one of their own.

The world financial markets are already setting their stall out for sterling on the increasing likelihood of Scottish independence and it is not looking that good. Reuters and Bloomberg are both advising readers that sterling is going to be in the doldrums for sometime, ever more susceptable to stagflation (low economic growth combined with rapidly rising prices), a trend which is now being reflected amongst consumers across the UK as rising inflation begins to bite and impulse consumer spending slows.

UK Government departments have been told to reduce spending by 6% by the UK Treasury, in the next fiscal year, an announcement sneaked out under the furore about a Lords Brexit revolt which never happened or was likely to happen.

The poor, the sick, the vulnerable, disabled and the old are all to pay for Dougie; Patriot of Britain's world which he seeks to ulogise. EU immigrants are to be discarded like so much chaff and random expulsions of 'illegal immigrants' are to be the norm in the British 'patriotism' Dougie Alexander seeks to protect and promote. Somehow, this is a better world than an independent Scotland could ever hope to aspire to with its narrow 'nationalism'.

I think the man is terminally confused, as is the 'Britain' he claims as his own, yet maybe he has just banged his head against one political brick wall too many or is still reeling from having his political hegemony torn from under his feet by a wee lassie from Paisley who has shown more political gumption in the time she has been at Westminster than he did in his whole career.

Dougie; Patriot of Britian, you can stuff your bitter, narrow anger where the sun does not shine with your false premise of a resurgent Brexit Empire, you are not so much a 'patriot' in Scotland more a 'toom tabard'.

Monday 27 February 2017

Anas Khan or is it Sadiq Sawar?

Sadly many remaining in the "Scotch" branch of the Labour party still do not seem to understand why they are a laughing stock under the leadership of the Kez and Anas show in an ever escalating number of Scots' eyes.

Anas has been trying to spin the idea that Sadiq Khan did not turn to him for advice for breifing on the situation in Scotland, yet the irrational anti-SNP sentiment is one he routinely peddles to those few sad media folk in Scotland who still listen to him if, no longer hanging onto his every word.

Corbyn came to Scotland with the same tosh and nonsense line and must be really annoyed few if any cared what he had to say.

We have had the nonsense claim of solidarity with the workers in England and Wales and yet I do not see any of the English based Unions calling for a general striketo close down the DWP until they stop shutting Scottish offices for only one reason; because they can and it will not hurt the Westminster Tory vote in Scotland because there really isn't one they are much bothered about. Where is the 'workers solidarity' with the majority of Scots who wish to remain in the EU, not the least because their employment is dependent on doing so?

It comes to something when the potential chair of Scottish Young Labour sets his concerns down that the conference failed to address any Scottish issues and was totally Westminster focussed. After his observations on the emptiness of the main platform speakers he can give up on any hope of ever making it the current "Scotch" Branch of Labour.

I am left no wiser as to what Labour's message to Scotland was much beyond SNP bad, you are all vicious and ignorant bigots for voting SNP. You need to be sensible and vote Labour to stop the Tories in Scotland (we all know how well that has worked over the last 50+ years)

In the meantime it appears the recent best pals in Better Together are already walking over Scotch Branch Labour's still warm, self dug, grave telling folk the only way to stop the SNP from taking over the councils is to vote for them as Labour as a political force in Scotland are dead. The Libdems are still huddled in their telephone box deciding what to do; maybe they will claim to be the people to stop the Tories or maybe the SNP or maybe Labour but you know how it is with Willie Rennies Libdems and decision making.

The Greens will be in a pickle deciding whether contesting council seats is a potential waste of the world's resources or can they run a carbon neutral, wholly sustainable campaign and maybe get sponsorship from Tesla cars. That's the problem with trying to be green, just where do you draw the line of being in bed with the corporates, even if they are 'green' in some respect.

As for the SNP will they let local potential councillors address local issues which are actually impacting on local folk or will they have to agree to be mentored at every turn? Also known as toeing the general party line on the impact of Westminster cuts on local councils via the Scottish Government / Cosla agreement and that the budget reduction which has to be imposed because of the Westminster cut to Scotland's pocket money is somehow a 'good deal'. I would just like to see a heap of honesty on this one but given the SNP leader on my local council I will not be holding my breath. I have a staggering idea for the SNP council campaign and it is this: 
  • THE SNP WILL PROMISE TO STOP PLAYING PETTY PARTY POLITICS AT COUNCIL LEVEL AND DEAL WITH LOCAL PEOPLE'S ACTUAL CONCERNS
  • SNP HQ WILL STOP TRYING TO MICROMANAGE THE COUNCIL CAMPAIGNS AT LOCAL LEVEL
  • THERE WILL BE FULL TRANSPARENCY ON THE IMPACT ON COUNCIL SERVICES OF THE WESTMINSTER BUDGET CUT TO SCOTLAND'S POCKET MONEY
The reality is the SNP also has its Anas Khan's and Sadiq Sawars for whom the end is far more important than the means by which they get there and will lie and disemble just as well as their Tory / "independent" opposition, then wonder why ordinary SNP members can not trust them as far as we can throw them while pleading with us it is what they had to do to get elected.

To all you potential SNP councilors I say; no you do not have play the sordid old Union game of lying your heads off and slagging the opposition at every turn - try honesty and openness instead, as that will really confuse your yoonist opposition stuck, as they are, in their yah-boo politic habit, dare to be different from UK politics, be honest.

Then again I might just be as well go along to an ask Scotch Labour just what their conference was about and expect an answer.

Thursday 23 February 2017

BBC - fool us once ...

I note in today's National and commentators across the pro indy media have met the BBC's generous offering of a sop to Scotland with a dedicated 'news', channel sometime in Autumn 2018, with a homogenous level of sarcasim, cynicism and down right hilarity. So far has the BBC now sunk in many Scots' opinion, as an arbiter of impartial news, that few are willing to defend the corporation's latest attempt to cover over the gaping cracks in its Scottish facade of ever more obvious 'Yoonery' in the face of a Scottish population which is far better politically informed than of yore and less and less buying its "Don't leave the UK, its for your greater good to Stay Scotland".

Personally, I am with those who see this simply as a cynical BBC ploy to pretend its accepted view of Scotland has changed while actually sitting on both its hands while humming "Rule Britania" under its breath and hoping we can not hear. The marker is that by Autumn 2018 the UK Parliamentary Union may well be as good as dead as the Tories right wing, anti-EU agenda unravels at an ever faster rate over the next eighteen months. The BBC will not be able to hide the serial numbers of social welfare and health problems that are driving England to serious social and ethnic tension and in turn have only one inevitable outcome, major protests turning to rioting on the streets of England's cities as the Tories are unable to respond to the populations actual needs without throwing all their current facist, fiscal policies in the bin along with the support of the money which is currently backing them.

For people who think only Nazis are Fascists; please understand the true definition of a fascist state as being one which is run primarily for the benefit of politicians and their financial backers (often refered to as 'oligarchs'). This may well include the use of a slave / prison population as a source of labour, as Bayer and others did between 1936 and 1945 in Germany, or cheap labour maintained by government policies of company tax breaks and indirect subsidies via low wage support programs, relaxation of working conditions (the UK's zero hours contracts for example) or temporary work permits for immigrants (without whom much of UK food production would grind to a halt), as is currently the situation in many UK manufacturing, food, distribution and service industries. The UK Government by any description of the word is fascist by nature and always has been, putting corporate profit above public good at every turn. We are simply in a UK political cyce where the smoke and mirrors which normally blind us to this fundamental truth are so diffuse, as to be transparent to those with the eyes and wit to see.

Do not take my word for it; Enoch Powell now of imfamy for his anti-immigration "Rivers of Blood" speech, himself a strange mix of traditional Tory isolationist, white supramacist and democrat, decribed the UK as an elected dictatorship, a pseudo-democracy where real power lay in the hands of a small number of people (the UK Cabinet) and the UK Parliament was by and large a rubber stamping device which allows the people with actual power to hide from true accountability. Nothing much has changed since he said that in 1970, if anything Blairism and its even more extreme Tory, neo-liberal replacement has made the situation far worse.

The evidence?

The term "Post Truth Politics' could only come about if the UK Cabinet believed it could not be held directly responsible for its current rush to destroy welfare and health care in England (and inevitably the rest of the current UK). A move being made to ensure big profits for its friends, the oligarchs, in the global business world. This is what is happening across NHS England provision and the ironically called Department for Welfare and Pensions evidences and what is actually going on as "outsourcing NHS and Welfare provision" to companies with fully bought in Tory and Labour politicians (and their parties) in their pockets becomes the norm. A situation which fails to raise even the slightest frisson of contempt or concern in our national media as they huddle around like the Neighbourhood Watch in the film "Hot Fuzz", chuntering "The greater good" in unison, while worring more about winning the tidiest media award than exposing the high levels of open corruption, peadophilic abuse and malfeasance (to name but a few of the UK political systems more serious failings), in the UK government and the Houses of Parliament.

It is in this scenario the BBC's offer of a "Scottish News" channel should be viewed, as just another attempt to hide the real truth of this failed UK Union and its powerless parliament. Consider this: if power actually lay with the UK Parliament there would be no offer of a State visit to Donald Trump and the current one would be withdrawn. The offer has not been rescinded in spite of our supposed UK Parliamentary representatives and a large section of the UK electorate telling the UK Government they do not support this state visit by such a toxic and febrile US President as Trump.

On the issue of the UK being elected dictatorship, I am in full agreement with Enoch Powell.

It is time for the Sovereign People of Scotland to call a halt to this perversion of democracy, this failed democratic experiment in the only way we can, end the UK Parliamentary Union as quickly as is humanly possible.

Monday 13 February 2017

Don-don and Maggie May's Transaction

In the world of psychotherapy there are long running fueds which surface at conferences across the world when papers are presented on such topics as:
  • Freud; a groomer of vulnerable young women and sexual predator?
  • Was Jung just an Edwardian hippy and lech?
  • Eric Berne - misogynist, bully and fascist
In this way the psychotheraputic schools of thought do battle by belittling original thinkers in the field by taking what these original thinkers did or said out of its historical context and measuring against 21st Century norms. In the process the original thinkers find themselves ostracised by the great and good of the psychotheraputic world because they sadly suffer from the same human failings, no matter how much they tried not to (greed, lust, envy), humans all have and are not fit to be placed on any pedestal except to be knocked down and ground into the dust. They then go to their day jobs and utilise talking therapy (Freud) or art, poetry and music therapy (Jung) or cognitive therapy (Berne) or any mix and match choice they wish in their attempts to help their clients / patients resolve their mental health problems and so live happier, more stable and less neurotic lives.

Berne came up with a model to seek to understand how we talk to each other, with ourselves and how we transact with the world. Unfortunately much of his writing and theorising was undertaken in the late 1940's and early 50's and is spattered with descriptions of imbedded transactions such as the "Little Housewife" which describes a way of transacting with others that is not gender specific but had a label feminists used to shred Berne's ideas in the early 1970's and turn him into an anathema as a typical male, archiac, patriarchal, dominant, control freak. Berne's core ideas have re-entered the psychotheraputic world in the guise of Neuro-Linguistic programming though any NLP practitioner will expressly deny this is the case (Berne is still thought of as a 'bad man' and has yet to be fully rehabilitated). It is to this "bad man" I turn in my essay today.

Berne's core idea was essentially simple and it was this; as a human we can choose to engage with other humans or our inner self either as a child, an adult or a parental voice as follows;
  • Child voice - manupulative, wheedling, ill tempered, focussed on 'me' at the expense of anything else
  • Adult voice - reasoned, listening, consultative, sharing focussed on "us"
  • Parental voice - controlling, dominant, knows what is best, foccused on "I"
If I transcribe this into the party leaderships at Holyrood in simplistic terms I can describe, from this model, how Kezia Dugdale is transacting predominantly from her child voice, Ruth Davidson from her parental voice and Nicola Sturgeon from her adult voice. Watch FMQs for the signs both in speech and gestures. Kezia is a great one for the flounce when she is thwarted by Nicola's adult voice. When Kezia is put down by Nicola, yet again, her body language screams "Its just no fair, why me? I am getting picked on yet again!". As human's we pick up on these signals which is in part when Kezia actually says something of import she still gets "told" by our own parental voice, in as many words, to get back in her play pen and stop bothering the adults.

Her best Unionist buddy, Ruth, meanwhile comes at FMQs manily from the parental, I know best, voice and so we should all just do what ever Ruth says because it is for our own good she is telling us this. Watch her body language when Nicola points out from her adult voice just why Ruth is talking a load of old mince. You will see Ruth shaking her head, metaphorically crossing her arms and wanting to tell us why it is all going to end in tears because only she is right. It explains in part why Tory MSPs act in the way they do because they always believe their 'parent' is always right so they must be as well, no matter what utter load of tosh and nonsense they spout. Instictively all of us who are not of Ruth's gang feel alienated, angry and have a child like urge to lash out. We respond to Ruth's parent from our child voice. Just watch Scottish independence Facebook feeds for evidence of a child like response after another headmistress performance from Ruth at FMQs.

Nicola seeks to present, as far as is ever possible, from her adult voice which is why so many folk in Scotland instinctively trust her. She comes across as actually listening to the people of Scotland and seeking to do the best she can to ensure the expectations and needs of the people of Scotland for good government are met as far as is humanly possible. Yes she will unleash her parental voice on Kezia in the form of a put down and, like the clever woman she is, will use her child voice to cheekily subvert Ruth's parent but her popularity is founded in her ability to seek to use her adult voice as the dominant voice when transacting with the Scottish public and the world in general.

Berne's core theory also explains, in part, why hard core Unionists, either Labour, Liberal or Tory are so "unreasonable" in the Yes camp's eyes. We seek to engage them from our adult voice and end up being faced by an outraged parental voice, a parental voice that has been conditioned over many years to believe Westminster always knows best and Scotland is lucky to be ruled by Westminster. Hard core Unionists can not afford to transact from their adult voice because if they do they are scared they will have to reject everything they have invested such a high level of belief in by being forced to be reasonable. Their only position to defend themselves is one of, "I am right, you are wrong." where fear presents as arrogance. We in turn take to the barricades in this situation and respond from our own parental voice which inevitably ends up in arguement and hostility.

The only, previously, pro Union supporters who will change from 'No' to 'Yes' are those who see reason to do so by nature of engaging their adult voice and of their own accord, based on their own analysis of the changing circumstances they find themselves in; for example, EU citizens who voted 'No' in 2014 or Scottish pensioners who are waking up to reality they have been utterly shafted by Westminster over their state pension provision.

As for the click bait title it is not hard to see Donald Trump as a spoiled child, used to always getting his own way and throwing temper tantrums when he doesn't such as the US Courts telling him his presidential order Muslim ban was 'unconstitutional'. As for Ms May she seems to have gone all parental telling Don-don things would be OK once she gets poor little Britian out of the EU or childish when getting her butt molested by Don-don.

A US President who operates mainly out of his child and parental voices is not healthy for our modern world, he is a real danger. The problem is he is surrounded by and always has been surrounded by, people who only ever engage with his parent or child voice. Ms May is just the latest to do so because it is easier than telling Don-don the adult reality of the impact of his actions on himself and others because Don-don is always right, no matter what, capice?

The question arises whether the ever increasing mockery by people in the US and the world at large of the current president will drive Don-don's child to throw a temper tantrum which is so stupid that it ends up in his being impeached and kicked out or someone, somewhere knows a man with a sniper rifle and is willing to pay for Don-don's scalp or at least his wig. The worst of all options is Don-don ends up in a war with China, one neither side can possibly win in the conventional sense, but the whole of the world will pay a heavy price for. All because no one in his own entourage has the courage to stand up to Don-don and say thus far and no further; probably because Don-don's adult voice is so diminished it is next to non-existent, so we are left hoping someone in the US Capitol will find a way to take away his presidential toys before he does the world some serious damage while shouting, "He hit me first!" in self justification.




Friday 3 February 2017

The Bear and the Elephant's big day out

So Donald and Mickey want to have a war with China, while Walt Disney ...

Mr Putin has slipped his dogs of war in the ethnic Russian part of Ukraine off their leash to unsettle Europe.

Donald's pro Saudi Arabian / anti Iran activities have also moved up a notch; though luckily Iran are not, so far, buying into the lies coming from the USA Administration's attempt to foment further Middle East conflict. Especially in the aftermath of US 'special forces' cock up in the Yemen this week which had at its centre Donald's need to show he was "doing something about terrorism". An operation which Donald's pick as NSA chief forced on the Pentagon in spite of the poor intelligence, lack of on the ground reconnaissance, incorrect identification of target and lack of overall planning for the operation.

While our UK, Alzheimer media attention is on all this pish and wind, just what is actually going on? Should we be worried?

The answer is, as ever, follow the money; in terms of GDP growth of the big three which are China, USA and Russia.

China's rapid growth over the last two decades has sucked money out of both the USA and the Russian economies through low cost of production, inward investment in Chinese industry and unskilled job losses, creating ever greater downward pressure on the income of those at the bottom of the wages heap at a time of rising prices, in both the USA and Russia. A good old fashioned war, the thinking goes in Trump Towers, would be an excellent way of employing the unskilled unemployed while getting rid of the problem in the longer term by putting as many of the previously unemployed, as possible, in the ground.

Rather than look to their own economic failures and the reasons it is happening (too much money in too few pockets) it is far easier for the USA and Russia to seek a scapegoat - China. After all it is China which is flooding the world market place with cheap goods, so it must be China's fault for all these job losses in the USA and Russia or so Donald and his new 'bestie' Vladimir would like their respective nations to believe while forgetting much of Donald Trump's labelled products are made in China so he can get a bigger mark up on these sales. Worse; all these jobs that China has not stolen from Russia and the USA are being taken up by illegal immigrants and refugees piling into the country forcing US and Russian citizens onto welfare and long term unemployment. The reality is rather different, as an impact of the poor wages and job security many of these jobs (in the likes of Walmart) entail, the only people likely to apply are immigrants and refugees who do not realise they are being ripped off in near slave labour conditions while the likes of Walmart pocket defacto USA government employment subsidies as 'stakeholder profits'.

It is not that much of an intellectual jump to comprehend the only way Donald and Mickey can have their war with China is if Russia,
  1. Keeps out
  2. Gains a sizable economic benefit from keeping out
  3. Secures economic gains for its satellite nations in the Asian region 
  4. Gets bits of a defeated China's lands, along Russia's shared border (the bits they had to give back in 1945 after invading Manchuria, for example)
  5. Gains influence or even control over a weakened Europe in the aftermath of such a conflict. A Europe which will, possibly, feel forced to side with the USA against China.
Otherwise, why should Putin sit on the fence, except to pick up the pieces when the USA, its Asian allies and China wear each other out physically and economically, leaving only Putin's Russia standing. So if Donald and Mickey have secured some sort of deal like this from Putin's Russia, they are supping from an extremely poisoned chalice and likely to take a whole load of Western countries with them. 

I have little doubt that one of Trump's biggest cheer leaders in Europe, supporting such a disastrous Far Eastern war, will be the UK Tory Government of the day, happy to pile up this breech in China's Great Wall with their English (and Welsh and Scottish and Irish) dead while BAE, Racal, Lockheed-Martin and other weapons manufacturer's shareholders gain bumper, bonus yields on their holdings. 

Back in the UK, citizens will get ever poorer, even worse health care provision and see ever increasing levels homelessness. UK citizens will be told by the BBC and London media; we are at war, everyone has to do their part and make sacrifices for the boys and girls at the front, even if that means sickness, starvation, poverty and homelessness. By the way UK citizens; this wave, nay Tsunami of poverty, starvation and homelessness in the UK is actually all those illegal immigrants and refugees fault (who we, the Tory Government, still have failed to control) and nothing to do with us spending all the UK's money, your tax contributions, on creating and ever escalating UK debt, for a war we can not actually afford, are unlikely to win and out of which we will gain 'squat diddly' in economic or trade benefit as the big bucks have already split between the USA and Russia. Just the same as happened in Iraq after US/UK invasion to topple Saddam when, after all the promises given to the UK Government of the day, Halliburton and their pals hoovered up all the USA reconstruction aid, primarily to the benefit of their own shareholders, rather than rebuilding Iraq's destroyed infrastructure.

So if the Russian Bear and the USA Republican Elephant do go for a big day out in China, anytime soon, the only answer for a Scottish nation, still tied up in this foetid UK Union, is to put your heads between your legs and kiss your arse good bye!

Wednesday 1 February 2017

When Fluffy Blunderella waves a shroud ...

Oh dear, going with the EU and dumping the UK would mean Scotland losing out on our £5 billion energy market in England and Wales according to Fluffy Blunderella, the hirsute host of 'Uncle Jock's Cabin' in Whitehall.

"Oh how disastrous for Scotland", wails his Greek tragedy chorus of Unionist media types as they rush to copy and paste their overused "too stupid, too wee, too poor Scotland"  piece of puff, under their standard "SNPbad" headlines.

The question arises, to anyone with a couple of neurons and a synapse, just what will England and Wales do without this importation from Scotland of an annual £5 billion worth of energy and where will they get the missing £5 billion worth from which they are no longer importing from Scotland?

England and Wales are currently importing the maximum they can over the Calais / Dover High Voltage DC (HVDC) provided by an EU contract with EDF, the Hague to East Anglia HVDC, importing power from NW Europe was being held up at the East Anglian end by a planning dispute, last I heard, while work has only just started on a HVDC link between Holyhead and Rosslaire to import reuseable sourced energy from Southern Ireland.

So if non EU England and Wales are not going to import energy from an independent Scotland in the EU just where will they get it from?

If you look at a map, the scenario for England and Wales, outside the EU, are the surrounding potential sources to make up the energy deficit, caused by taking the huff with an independent Scotland, will all be EU members. EU members who will only be too willing to ensure maximum pain for the English and Welsh economies in any new energy deal in support of a fellow EU nation, Scotland.

For Scotland, the new John O'Groats / Bergen HVDC is not far off being commissioned which will allow power generation companies direct access to NW Europe from Scotland, a massive market which will easily replace the lost England and Wales business, encourage further inward investment in Scottish reusables and has the potential to bring down Scottish domestic and business energy costs, as there would no longer be the heavy penalty charged to Scottish generators which props up the current UK National Grid.

There is only one sure fired outcome for England and Wales in this situation, energy costs will rise by a sizable amount as the bulk energy market will have the whip hand and will ensure the English and Welsh economy pays the true commercial rate for imported energy while the National Grid of England and Wales will have to raise transmission costs to make up the shortfall as the present Scottish Energy generator subsidy dries up. All these rising costs will also apply to gas imports via Grangemouth from the Scottish gas fields to the English and Welsh gas grid.

The increased cost of gas will also hit generating costs as England, especially, is increasingly reliant on gas turbines burning North Sea gas to smooth out heavy electricity demand periods, even with the current importation of energy from Scotland. 

Now imagine the struggle to keep the lights on in England when there is no energy imported from Scotland. A likely impact was demonstrated a few years ago during a sudden rise in power demand in Southern England when Longannet had a switch failure and could not meet the demand when asked to by the National Grid. The impact of the severe voltage surges caused the East Anglian nuclear plants to trip out to protect themselves from potential damage from the fluctuations. Power outages caused trading floors to shut down in the 'City' losing traders millions, banks in the 'City' could not action transfers of millions of pounds of business in the UK and abroad as their systems shut down, trains in Kent and on parts of the London Tube ground to a halt and the ripples went out as far as Oxford where the power surge caused a fire in the Oxford Police's computer centre, as cooling systems failed.

This was the impact of just one Scottish power plant failing to meet demands for increased load from Southern England. Now imagine the impact the equivalent of £5 billion worth of Scottish energy not being there to meet the actual demand for energy, will have on the English and Welsh economies, businesses, services and domestic use.

The problems of energy supply for Southern England are only likely to get worse even if there is no UK break up. The National Grid are already telling government they are near the limit of the current capacity in Southern England and without major investment in upgrading the National Grid and generating capacity they are predicting an increase in power outages (cuts - to you and me) in domestic supply to ensure key businesses are adequately supplied within the next five to ten years.

Westminster's response has been to move to build a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset and seek to push through legislation to ensure on shore 'fracking' for natural gas in England and Wales goes ahead as fast as possible, in spite of well founded local opposition to any such project. After Brexit without Scotland as part of the UK, Westminster faces some serious problems with energy supply for which fracking and the increased use of gas turbine generators driven from this source of gas, is only a short term solution to deal with varying demand and does not deal with the generation under capacity at the heart of it all, an under capacity in generation hidden from English view by Scottish over capacity and exports to England.

So to Fluffy Blunderella I say this: 


Just who should actually be scared if Scotland moves its £5 billion of energy market sales from England and Wales to the European continental markets and beyond?

Me?  

I do not think it is Scotland's economy or energy industry which has anything to fear, in fact the English shutting us out of their domestic energy market is more likely to be a 'good thing' for Scotland in the short, medium and long term.