As you may or may not have heard, the militant wing of the Braveheart fan club (or the Scottish National Party as they would prefer to be known) is campaigning hard for independence. As well as covering their faces in wode (that interesting blue colour) and shouting, "Freeeeeeeeeedooooommmmmm!" terribly loudly they have secured a referendum on independence. Now they are quibbling over which confusing form of words the ballot paper will assume in order to obtain the results they want.
While they are debating the critical question, the members of the party are busy strutting around as if the whole thing is a done deal. This is all rather sad and best ignored in favour of the magnificent glens, the mighty hills, the sublime whisky and, if you're feeling kitch, shortbread from a tartan tin shaped like a Scottie dog.
However one issue that was raised today and really makes my blood boil is the issue of Europe. According to the SNP, an independent Scotland would carry on in Europe as if nothing has happened. According to Europe, an independent Scotland will have to re-apply for admission and potentially face some fairly stiff competition from the likes of Spain who don't want a precedent set. The question that is making me down right angry is why the HELL is the SNP bending over backwards, forwards and every which bloody way to gain sovereignty from the rest of Britain only to surrender it again to bloody Europe of all cases. Leaving aside the fiddly bits of academic constitutional theory for another day it's just so mindlessly bloody stupid.
This is the one potential advantage to independence and the SNP are planning on frittering it away like Britain's rebate was frittered away in the mid-90's and for what? So the already overburdened taxpayer can fork out more of their hard-earned cash to an organisation that only makes their daily lives harder. Really fucking clever there.
Rant over.
JR
Showing posts with label Scottish Independence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scottish Independence. Show all posts
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Monday, 16 January 2012
FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alex Salmond has evidently taken some time off from his duties presiding over the Scottish parliament to watch Braveheart. Though fortunately he has yet to reach for the broadsword and the wode he has taken to calling for Scottish independence rather loudly and rather frequently.
I can't say I'm impressed by this. I am a Scotsman (in case you hadn't guessed from previous posts) and I am fiercely proud to be so. I wear my kilt regularly, I stand six inches taller when I hear the bagpipes and I actively encourage (nay force) friends to visit. That said, I live in England and I enjoy doing so. Employment wasn't the only reason I chose to move down. I think the south of England is also a wonderful part of the world. Tied up with all this is the fact that as well as being a Scot, I am also extremely proud to be British. Had fate (and genetics) dealt me a better hand, I would be serving in the Army defending and representing Britain (ok it wouldn't hurt to be in a Scottish regiment; the combination of a kilt and military uniform would certainly not damage my ability to get interest from girls!!). I am not alone in these sentiments. I know and know of many Scots living in England and indeed around the world that view themselves as both Scottish and British.
Herein lies the crux of the problem with Scottish independence as I see it. Culturally, having a Scottish and a British identity are not mutually exclusive. Arguably, they are complimentary. Yes, we rather vocally support England's opposition in sporting fixtures. Yes, we mock "softy southerners" and yes we create many, many other slights against our neighbours but as far as I can tell, this is done with the utmost of affection (as is the banter between the two main cities Edinburgh and Glasgow).
A straw poll of friends and family both in and out of Scotland is very much against the dissolution of the union. To me, this suggests that Mr Salmond was elected as an anti-labour vote rather than a pro-SNP measure. Forcing a referendum may provide rather a sharp wake-up call. Of course there are many economic and political arguments both for and against. I can't pretend to understand these well; partially because I haven't really been paying attention to them but mostly because I think with this vote, more than most, decisions will be made subjectively rather than objectively. Frankly, when decisions with such effects on national identity are made, I hope they are taken subjectively.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out. It will be interesting to hopefully hear the opinions of others on this topic... from either side of the border.
JR
I can't say I'm impressed by this. I am a Scotsman (in case you hadn't guessed from previous posts) and I am fiercely proud to be so. I wear my kilt regularly, I stand six inches taller when I hear the bagpipes and I actively encourage (nay force) friends to visit. That said, I live in England and I enjoy doing so. Employment wasn't the only reason I chose to move down. I think the south of England is also a wonderful part of the world. Tied up with all this is the fact that as well as being a Scot, I am also extremely proud to be British. Had fate (and genetics) dealt me a better hand, I would be serving in the Army defending and representing Britain (ok it wouldn't hurt to be in a Scottish regiment; the combination of a kilt and military uniform would certainly not damage my ability to get interest from girls!!). I am not alone in these sentiments. I know and know of many Scots living in England and indeed around the world that view themselves as both Scottish and British.
Herein lies the crux of the problem with Scottish independence as I see it. Culturally, having a Scottish and a British identity are not mutually exclusive. Arguably, they are complimentary. Yes, we rather vocally support England's opposition in sporting fixtures. Yes, we mock "softy southerners" and yes we create many, many other slights against our neighbours but as far as I can tell, this is done with the utmost of affection (as is the banter between the two main cities Edinburgh and Glasgow).
A straw poll of friends and family both in and out of Scotland is very much against the dissolution of the union. To me, this suggests that Mr Salmond was elected as an anti-labour vote rather than a pro-SNP measure. Forcing a referendum may provide rather a sharp wake-up call. Of course there are many economic and political arguments both for and against. I can't pretend to understand these well; partially because I haven't really been paying attention to them but mostly because I think with this vote, more than most, decisions will be made subjectively rather than objectively. Frankly, when decisions with such effects on national identity are made, I hope they are taken subjectively.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out. It will be interesting to hopefully hear the opinions of others on this topic... from either side of the border.
JR
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