#1 Nicola Sturgeon/Scottish National Party

[Bev]

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy and comedian Eddie Izzard were heckled by opponents during general election campaigning in Glasgow.

There were scuffles involving Labour Party supporters and their opponents in the city centre.

Mr Murphy had been trying to address party activists alongside Mr Izzard.

Protestors played loud music and shouted "Red Tories out". They drowned out the politician as he tried to speak to the crowd.

Mr Murphy said the protest was evidence that the SNP was trying to disrupt the democratic process. However, demonstrators interviewed by the BBC denied they were there on behalf of the SNP.

The SNP has condemned the scenes in Glasgow. A spokesman said that every party had the right to make their case and to be heard respectfully. He said the SNP had nothing to do with the protests.
'Violent emotion'

Some of the protesters were waving SNP leaflets, while Mr Murphy was branded a "traitor" and a "warmongerer".

The Scottish Labour leader said: "This sort of aggressive nationalism should have no place in our election. We've got a few days until we can kick David Cameron out of office, a few days to change our country forever and we won't be silenced by this form of aggressive nationalism, it's anti-democratic."

He added: "This isn't the type of Scotland we want."

Mr Izzard said: "It's ok having different opinions, but everyone should be able to put their opinion forward. This aggressive, this violent emotion, why violence? Don't have violence, we should just put our point of view forward and then everyone makes their choice on Thursday."

In other election news, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said it was "unlikely" her party would win every seat in Scotland.

It comes after some opinion polls suggested the party could be set for a clean sweep of seats across Scotland on Thursday.

ht tp://ww w.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-scotland-32581803

[ulsterpatriot]

wouldn't it be ironic if jimmy crankie and her politics were to break the union rather than the 40+ years of IRA violence in Ulster? with crankie proving a more adept politico than the vermin such as adams and mcguiness?

[NewsFeed]

The SNP has recorded a historic landslide general election victory in Scotland, winning 56 out of 59 seats.

Labour has been left with just one MP north of the border, but its Scottish leader Jim Murphy, who lost his seat, said he would continue in his post.

The Liberal Democrats lost 10 seats with only Alistair Carmichael holding on in Orkney and Shetland.

The Conservatives held Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale - the other seat to withstand the SNP tsunami.

The headlines of the night were:

the SNP won a 50% share of the vote in Scotland, Labour won just 24.3%

the SNP won all seven seats in Glasgow with the country's biggest swing - 39.3% from Labour - in Glasgow North East;

massive Labour losses including Scottish leader Jim Murphy who has vowed to fight on

the one Labour seat to be won in Scotland belonged to Ian Murray in Edinburgh South

the Scottish Conservatives hold their only seat in the south of Scotland

police probe possible allegations of fraudulent voting at three Scottish counts

The scale of the SNP's rout of Labour is unprecedented.

It won by 10,000 votes in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, which had previously been held by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

In East Renfrewshire, the SNP's Kirsten Oswald defeated Mr Murphy - who had been defending a majority of 10,400 - by 3,718 votes.

How has Scotland's political map changed?

The SNP has won 56 seats, the Tories, Lib Dems and Labour have just one each. That sees Scotland's political map changed from a distinctive red/orange to a widespread yellow.

Despite former Labour MP Ian Davidson - who lost his Glasgow South West seat to the SNP's Christopher Stephens - calling for Mr Murphy to resign he told a news conference on Friday morning that he would "continue the fight".

Mhairi Black, who becomes the UK's youngest MP at the age of 20, overturned former shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander's majority of 16,600 in Paisley and Renfrewshire South to win by 5,684 votes - a swing of 27% from Labour to the SNP.

The SNP also gained Edinburgh South West, which had previously been held by Labour's former Chancellor Alistair Darling.

Labour's former Shadow Scottish Secretary Margaret Curran was defeated by more than 10,000 votes by the SNP's Natalie McGarry in Glasgow East.

'Losing trust'

Alan Brown was elected as the new SNP MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun - which was the first seat in Scotland to declare - with 30,000 votes. over Labour's Cathy Jamieson who polled 16,362 votes.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who is now in London for VE Day commemorations, said she had hoped her party would do well but "never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined we'd win 56 out of Scotland's 59 MPs".

"The tectonic plates of Scottish politics shifted yesterday - it is a historic result," she said.

Ms Sturgeon told the BBC: "Given that we are, unfortunately, facing another Conservative government, it's all the more important that we've got a strong team of SNP MPs standing up for

----- snip -----


read full article at source: http://www.bbc.com/news/election-2015-scotland-32635871

[Jack Stanton]

Originally Posted by ulsterpatriot

wouldn't it be ironic if jimmy crankie and her politics were to break the union rather than the 40+ years of IRA violence in Ulster? with crankie proving a more adept politico than the vermin such as adams and mcguiness?

It all looks rosy now for the Scots Nats but I suspect that after the 'one nation' comments that Cameron came out with during his victory speech they won't get a second bite, note for a while anyway. By that time the referendum on Europe is going to be looming large and everything else will be secondary.

[john-connor]

http://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/...tish-vote.html The end of the United Kingdom foretold after Scottish vote
Niall O'Dowd @niallodowd May 08,2015 04:52 AM

Much of the Scottish drive, strangely enough dovetailed with the film “Braveheart” starring Mel Gibson, who portrayed the Scottish leader William Wallace.

This British election will go down in history not for the shock margin of victory by the Conservatives but for sounding the death knell of the United Kingdom.

The Scottish Nationalist Party has surpassed all expectations by winning 56 or so of the 59 seats in Scotland up for grabs in the British parliament.

What that means, pure and simple, is another referendum on Scottish independence probably within the next five years.

While the last one failed there is clearly a massive case of buyer’s remorse among Scots. The vote next time will not be close if the 2015 election is any indication.

If a new referendum is held there seems no doubt that the Scots will vote to depart from the union. The 1707 Acts of Union declared that the kingdoms of England and Scotland were "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain.”

Not for long more it appears.

The unionists of Northern Ireland ought to be very afraid. The United Kingdom they cling to may soon not exist.

The massive Scottish nationalist gain, up from 6 seats five years ago, is the latest manifestation of the drumbeat for independence that has swept across Scotland for the past few years.

Put succinctly – the Scots are fed up of being second class citizens, far from London, their issues ignored.

The rule of thumb is that the farther from the center the less attention. That has certainly been the case in Scotland.

Much of the Scottish drive, strangely enough dovetailed with the film “Braveheart” starring Mel Gibson, who portrayed the Scottish leader William Wallace.

“Braveheart” appeared to help channel the momentum to the Scottish nationalist movement which stalled in the latter part of the last century.

The Labour Party bastions in Scotland have fallen like ninepins and the failure to compete in the rest of Britain creates a huge issue for the party. Their decision to oppose Scottish independence has been a disaster for them.

But they may yet see defeat as a blessing in disguise.

David Cameron now has to deal with the centuries of disregard for Scottish needs, which have now reached a perfect storm for the Scottish nationalists. Will he want to be known as the Prime Minister who lost the United Kingdom?

United Kingdom no more? Nicola Sturgeon the SNP leader has vowed her party will seek a new way to deal with the overlords in London.”The tectonic plates have shifted,” she said.

That will surely mean an independent Scotland by decade's end.
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[Dawn Cannon]

Garbage.

Remember this john:
"O'Dowd, Could you explain exactly WHY Ireland is so much better off being invaded by 3rd worlders?" john-connor

http://vnnforum.com/showthread.php?p=1564298

[Bev]

If this is true and there is another referendum in the offing - which I highly doubt because the support from the Scots to gain more representation for themselves in Westminster is entirely different from the attempt to break free from Westminster - then stand by for yet another load of jubilant and deluded non-Brits who don't understand what the SNP's "nationalism" actually is.

I see it's already started with the Braveheart references - that shite wasn't real.

[James Hawthorne]

Originally Posted by Bev

If this is true and there is another referendum in the offing - which I highly doubt because the support from the Scots to gain more representation for themselves in Westminster is entirely different from the attempt to break free from Westminster - then stand by for yet another load of jubilant and deluded non-Brits who don't understand what the SNP's "nationalism" actually is.

I see it's already started with the Braveheart references - that shite wasn't real.

I'd call it "operation creep" by the SNP for future independence. This was all about "Scotland's voice in Westminister"..

However for the Stalinists of the SNP Independence is always on the table. Everything they do now will play into the independence narrative.

[Bev]

Originally Posted by James Hawthorne

I'd call it "operation creep" by the SNP for future independence. This was all about "Scotland's voice in Westminister"..

However for the Stalinists of the SNP Independence is always on the table. Everything they do now will play into the independence narrative.

Without the support of the Scots, it'll come to nothing, though. I don't doubt that Nicola Sturgeon and the rest of the party would still love to leave the UK altogether but the Scots have spoken loud and clear on the issue. I think if the SNP was to push for a referendum and then lose it, it might will finish or at least push the SNP back by a good few years. Nicola Sturgeon doesn't seem a stupid woman so I don't know if she'll risk decimating party support so soon after she's built it up.

Either she has to get the best deals she can from Westminster, in which case the Scots will not want to leave, or she'll have to deliberately mess up securing any decent deals for them in order to push the "better off separate" line which is risky and will certainly see them lose their seats next time if independence is not secured.

[andy]

The sweaties don't want independence unless it is subsidised to pay for their expensive socialist tastes.That is why the first thing tories were saying was that Scotland should raise its own revenue and distribute it as they see fit. Same as Trident they don't really want to lose it and up to five thousand skilled jobs and the same again dependent jobs. It will cost call me a days fuel to move the subs to Plymouth.
As they found out at the last Oil refinery in Scotland that socialist values count squat amongst the militant workforce once it was clear the brummie was shutting up shop and booting them into touch they went back to work without even voting on it. The same applies to the UK government departments, the sweaties over representation in the security and police forces and armed forces. When it comes to costing them in the pocket they soon forget their braveheart hence the no vote for independence.
Of course deluded romantics will point to north sea oil
1.It is not and never had been Scottish it is in the sovereign waters of the UK
2. Plenty of commies have found out over the years that the Oil companies control supply and demand and what gets paid to whom.
3.To be pedantic before handing it over to them Scotland can first pay off the UK capital investments that discovered, developed and created the Oil Industry.
4, Every American I met in Scotland including those of Scottish descent hated the locals with a vengeance having met them and shipped in blacks from Nigeria rather than try and work with the locals.
Call me is going to love that the sweaties identify labour as the same as them (tories) he is going to ignore their demands and trymp their 56 seats with his mandate. It is a win win for call me he will make the sweaties suffer and labour won't do a thing to stop him

[john-connor]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/poli...ependence.html
SNP's dramatic new push for independence
David Cameron to offer key concessions as Scottish Nationalists prepare the ground for a fresh assault


il

David Cameron will have to work hard to save the Union Photo: Getty Images

By Tim Ross, and Simon Johnson

10:00PM BST 09 May 2015

David Cameron started a dramatic battle to save the United Kingdom from break-up on Saturday night as Scottish nationalists prepared the ground for a new referendum on independence.

Fresh from a landslide election result, Alex Salmond declared that Scotland was closer than ever to separating from the UK.

After winning 56 out of 59 seats north of the border, Mr Salmond, who is now an MP, said the SNP’s near clean sweep was a “staging post” towards full independence.

It was the first time that the SNP had suggested it would use its total domination at the polls to press ahead with its plan to split Scotland from the rest of Britain.

SNP's vote share:

• We are now main opposition to Tories, Nicola Sturgeon says
• Can David Cameron save the Union?

Until now, the party leadership has always promised that it would not use the general election results to re-open the debate about independence.

Mr Salmond’s claim immediately provoked outrage from Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, who accused the SNP of misleading voters with pre-election promises that turned out to be “a sham”.

Mr Cameron fought back himself, using his Cabinet reshuffle to promote one of his most determined pro-union ministers to oversee plans to devolve unprecedented powers to the government of Scotland.

Tory story: David Cameron with wife Samantha on polling day (Andrew Parsons / i-Images)

The Prime Minister appointed Chris Grayling, the former justice secretary, to the role of Leader of the Commons, in which he will also lead ground-breaking reforms to the way Parliament works –intended to ban Scottish MPs from being able to have the final say over English laws.

In his first comments only hours into the job, Mr Grayling made it clear that he would take on the SNP to protect Britain from the threat of being broken up by a tide of nationalism north of the border.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Grayling said he would protect the Union by allowing Scotland to have the “strongest” devolved government of any country on Earth.

This would give Scotland the power to run its own affairs – raising certain taxes and setting benefit payments – but the Scottish government would also be held responsible by voters for any decision to increase taxes.

• Welcome to mortified Britain: Full of young Torys who secretly hate themselves
• For the good of the Union, it's time for England to stand up to the Scots

In his new role, Mr Grayling will oversee the most radical and important reforms to the British constitution in centuries. As well as taking charge of further devolution of tax-raising powers to Scotland he will oversee reforms to give English MPs the final say over matters affecting England, so-called “English votes for English laws”.

Mr Cameron has made these reforms central to his re-election programme, and Mr Grayling has previously been a passionate champion of strengthening the powers of English MPs. “We will keep our promise to create the strongest devolved government anywhere in the world for Scotland,” Mr Grayling said.

“But there can’t be a complete constitutional settlement for the United Kingdom unless it also offers fairness to England. We are all passionate about safeguarding the Union, and all of this is essential to preserving it for the future.”

David Cameron and his wife Samantha are applauded by staff upon entering 10 Downing Street as he begins his second term as Prime Minister (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Privately, senior Tories are happy for the SNP – which wants to end austerity – to be given more powers because the party will pay the price for raising taxes in the electoral system.

Grant Shapps, the Conservative Party chairman, said: “We want to deliver the best devolution in the world. We want, and so does Scotland, to be not only able to spend the money, but have the responsibility to raise it as well.”

Earlier, Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, hinted that the Tories could even go as far as to give Scotland the most radical powers possible while still remaining inside the UK – complete control over all tax and spending, except on defence and foreign affairs, which Ms Sturgeon has demanded.

“I think David Cameron was, in a way, saying that,” Mr Hunt said. “It was very significant that in his acceptance speech in his own constituency and his speech on the steps of No 10, he talked so much about preserving the Union.

“The words he used were that he would give more autonomy to Scotland than any other part or region anywhere in the world.”

Mr Salmond, the former SNP leader, is still a key member of the party and is expected to play a major role at Westminster over the next five years.

Alex Salmond and Christina McKelvie (Allan Milligan)

Asked if Scotland was now closer to independence after the landslide, Mr Salmond said: “Yes, because the SNP now has an overwhelming mandate from the Scottish people to carry forward Scotland’s interests.

The base of the confidence of people in Scotland is growing all the time. Now, obviously the timing of any future referendum is a matter for the Scottish people first and foremost.”

Ms Sturgeon attempted to play down the idea that her party was already campaigning for a new referendum, insisting this was not her immediate goal. However, Conservatives said Mr Salmond’s comments exposed the SNP’s true agenda.

Elsewhere, political parties continued to digest the shock general election results, which saw Nick Clegg, Nigel Farage and Ed Miliband all resign as party leaders on Friday.

On Saturday night, Labour MPs and former Cabinet ministers broke into open warfare over who was to blame for the catastrophic losses which some predicted would keep them out of power until 2025.

Up to 10 Labour MPs prepared to enter the contest to succeed Mr Miliband, while senior figures urged members to “skip a generation” and choose a fresh face, untainted by the past.

• Election 2015 second place results: How it all could have been so different
• Cabinet reshuffle: The MPs who could be in line for a promotion

Mr Cameron, meanwhile, promoted Michael Gove, the former chief whip, to the post of Justice Secretary, while giving his backing to Nicky Morgan, who remains as Education Secretary.

Mark Harper is appointed to the Cabinet for the first time as Chief Whip. However, senior party figures warned up to 60 MPs were preparing to demand that Mr Cameron adopt far tougher plans to scale back the powers of the European Union, before a referendum is held by 2017.

[NewsFeed]

A prominent German journalist living in the Scottish Highlands has provoked the wrath of his adopted homeland by describing Scottish National Party (SNP) ideology as “modern national socialism light.”

Reiner Luyken, who has lived in the Highland village of Achiltibuie for 36 years and writes for Die Zeit, a respected German newspaper, has penned a number of articles in which he accuses the Scottish of racism. One pieces about life in Achiltibuie was entitled “No Tea for the English”; another: “You Are Not Welcome, Foreigner”.

In his most recent, published a day after the general election and titled “Scottish Liberalism is Dead,” he wrote: “A majority of [Scottish voters] flung themselves into the arms of a party the ideology of which is modern national socialism light.

“Populist, egalitarian, anti-elitist and glorifying the moral superiority of one’s own nation.

“Using their propaganda the party split the country into patriots and unreliable non-believers.

“On one side the Yessers, faithful Scots who voted Yes in September, and on the other side unionists and quislings.”

Mr Luyken then explained the term “quisling” for his readers as “a derogative term for collaborators in Norway during the Nazi occupation in WW2.”

A spokeswoman for the SNP said: “These claims are obviously ridiculous and offensive to the 1.45 million people who voted SNP less than a fortnight ago.”

And Local SNP MSP Rob Gibson dismissed Mr Luyken’s observation, saying: “The idea that Scotland is compared to the Nazis is just ludicrous.”

But Mr Luyken has pointed out that he was very careful not to call the SNP “Nazis”.

“I never said Nazi, because Nazi is connected with something that turned into a completely different kind of historic phenomenon,” he said. “I say national socialism, and in the lower case, national socialism light, a modern form of national socialism light.”

He added “If I tell my 93-year-old father some of the stuff the SNP come out with, he finds aspect of it very familiar. He remembers the time very well. It’s the moral superiority, and the whole ideology of it. To have left-leaning ideology within a national context.”

Regarding his critics he said: “They can say whatever they like. It just shows how little they know about the foundations of national socialism. People know very little about German history. They think the national socialism was about concentration camps and killing the Jews but they don’t know the ideological background to it.”

Last October Mr Luyken made headlines when he claimed that locals in Achiltibuie had once put on Hitler moustaches and marched past his table at the local pub. Of that incident, he wrote: “When my wife and I went for a bite at a local pub with another German-British couple, two guys stuck little Hitler moustaches to their top lips, and marched provocatively past our table.”

Fisherman Peter Drake, 52, told the Mirror: “He writes things that are particularly offensive to people in this community, and when the

----- snip -----


read full article at source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t...cialism-light/

[Jack Stanton]

“I never said Nazi, because Nazi is connected with something that turned into a completely different kind of historic phenomenon,” he said. “I say national socialism, and in the lower case, national socialism light, a modern form of national socialism light.”

Steady on there fella. Don't trample on the tulips while your're back-pedalling.

Last October Mr Luyken made headlines when he claimed that locals in Achiltibuie had once put on Hitler moustaches and marched past his table at the local pub. Of that incident, he wrote: “When my wife and I went for a bite at a local pub with another German-British couple, two guys stuck little Hitler moustaches to their top lips, and marched provocatively past our table.”

Oh it's OK he's just been moved from the shithouse to the fruitcake section.

[NewsFeed]

For Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the resurgent Scottish National Party and a staunch backer of Britain remaining in the European Union, Prime Minister David Cameron’s decision this week to press ahead with a referendum on getting out is not only wrongheaded but illogical.

“What I find odd about this referendum is that the prime minister says that he wants to stay in Europe. Both of the biggest U.K. parties want to stay in Europe. There’s overwhelming support — or so it seems — for the EU in the Westminster parliament, and yet David Cameron has us standing perilously [close] to the exit door to appease members of his own party,” Ms. Sturgeon said Thursday during a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

The opinions of the head of an out-of-power minority party ordinarily might not attract much attention, but Britain’s general election last month unexpectedly made Ms. Sturgeon, who is on a four-day tour of New York and Washington this week, a central figure in the debate over Britain’s place in Europe — and Scotland’s future within the United Kingdom.

The 44-year-old lawyer and Scottish nationalist was in the U.S. to argue for a “no” vote on the referendum and to promote Scotland as one of Europe’s premier destinations for students, travelers and businesses.

After Scotland last year rejected the SNP’s campaign for independence, Ms. Sturgeon and the SNP bounced back to take England’s northern neighbor by storm, capturing 56 of the 59 parliamentary seats in Scotland and decimating the political base of Britain’s center-left Labor Party. Ms. Sturgeon has used her newfound clout to revive talk of another vote on independence, one that could leave her country economically crippled.

Supporters of keeping Britain in the European Union say getting out would plunge the U.K. into an economic recession, hurting businesses that depend on close ties to the European market. But “euroskeptics” in Mr. Cameron’s ruling Conservatives, and in smaller parties like the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), argue EU membership is more trouble and cost than it is worth and that unelected bureaucrats in Brussels are undercutting Britain’s ability to govern itself and regulate its economy.

Ms. Sturgeon was elected head of the SNP in 2014 in the wake of the failed referendum, becoming the first woman to lead the party. She previously served as a member of the Scottish parliament and as the deputy leader under former First Minister Alex Salmond, who announced his resignation after the pro-independence Yes Scotland campaign lost in last year’s referendum by more than 10 points.

Although the result was seen as a devastating blow to Scottish nationalists, Ms. Sturgeon helped fashion a remarkable turnaround.

Just months after the vote, membership surged in pro-independence political parties. Members of the SNP more than quadrupled from roughly 25,000 members on referendum day to more than 100,000 around the start of last month’s parliamentary elections, making

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read full article at source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...utm_medium=RSS

[NewsFeed]

TV historian refuses to apologise for comparing the SNP to Nazis

Claimed the rise of Hitler shows ‘democracy doesn’t always get it right’.

Compared Scottish men wearing kilts to Germans in lederhosen

SNP MPs accuse him of being offensive to Christians, Jews and all Scots

Outspoken TV historian David Starkey today refused to apologise for comparing Nicola Sturgeon's SNP to the Nazis as he claimed the rise of Hitler shows ‘democracy doesn’t always get it right’.

The 70-year-old was yesterday branded a 'serial utterer of bile and bilge' after comparing the Saltire to a swastika and accusing the SNP of treating the English in the way Hitler persecuted the Jews.

Today he said he was not suggesting Miss Sturgeon was ‘about to set up concentration camps’ but he said far-right parties like the BNP were ‘nothing’ compared with the SNP ‘which has seized control of a whole country’.

Starkey, who has made a name for deliberately provoking outrage, condemned the ‘awful, idiotic, PC politics’ which he claimed stopped people ‘calling things by their proper names’.

The SNP secured a stunning victory north of the border in last month's general election, winning 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland.

Starkey sparked fury yesterday when he used a newspaper interview to draw a lengthy comparison between the messages, imagery and appeal of the Nicola Sturgeon's party and that of Hitler's Nazis.

We spent years fussing about the BNP, they are nothing compared with the Scottish Nationalist Party which has seized control of a whole country

He even drew parallels between Scottish men showing their knees in kilts and the Nazi enthusiasm for lederhosen.

Today he went further, and insisted the resemblances between the SNP and the Nazis were ‘striking and worrying’.

‘I’m not saying they are about to set up concentration camps, I’m not going to say that we are going to see a Kristallnacht of English businesses in Edinburgh. Of course we’re not,’ he told Sky News.

‘But the resemblances are striking and are worrying. We spent years fussing in Britain about completely minor fringe things like the BNP and whatever, they are nothing compared with the Scottish Nationalist Party which has seized control of a whole country and is pushing this kind of radical agenda.’

On the night of November 9 1938, Jewish businesses in Germany were targetted in what became Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass.

Starkey dismissed the SNP’s claim to champion ‘civic nationalism’, adding: ‘The word civic is mere a fig leaf, or perhaps bearing in mind it’s Scotland, a jock strap.’

Starkey also brushed aside criticism that he was opposing the will of the people of Scotland, where the SNP won 50 per cent of the vote on May 7.

‘Lots of people have voted for very unpleasant leaders. I shan’t mention the word Hitler. Democracy doesn’t always get it right.’

Pressed to apologise for his remarks, he insisted he had no regrets: ‘No of course not. We have this awful, idiotic, PC politics.

‘I said

----- snip -----


read full article at source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti..._campaign=1490

[NewsFeed]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Full fiscal autonomy for Scotland from the United Kingdom, as proposed by the Scottish National Party (SNP), would create dire conditions for the local economy, Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell said Monday.

"It would be disastrous for Scotland, and even SNP politicians recognize that."

According to the secretary, should the amendment be adopted, Scotland would be left with a £7-10 billion ($10.8-15.4 billion) black hole in its public finances, since Scotland would lose the higher spending quota it enjoys under the Barnett formula.

“What the SNP do is ask for things that they don't really want. We'll make sure they don't get it because it's bad for Scotland and they'll then claim afterwards that they've been deprived of something,” he added.

The Barnett formula is a system that determines the public spending of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, calculated partly on the size of each nation's population and partly on the devolved powers each nation has.

Despite the defeat in the September 2014 referendum on Scottish succession from the United Kingdom, initiated by the SNP, the party has since enjoyed rapid growth in membership and support.

The pro-independence SNP won 56 out of the 59 Scottish seats available at Westminster in the May 7 general election.

read full article at source: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150615/1023378892.html

[NewsFeed]

The English votes for English Laws (Evel) proposal was tabled in Parliament yesterday to give English MP’s a collective veto over specific clauses which pertain only to England. This is the first time in 38 years Westminster has moved to begin resolving the democratic imbalance between England and Scotland known as the West Lothian question.

“Even the title of this motion sounds racist,” said Labour’s Sir Gerald Kaufman’s as the proposal was introduced. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon called the plan “staggering in the extent… of its hypocrisy and incoherence.” Labour argued it was an “outrage” that ministers were finally moving quickly to make what they called “profound constitutional change.”

The SNP’s Pete Wishart labelled it “constitutional bilge” and “unworkable garbage.” He threatened the plan would make Scottish independence “even more irresistible,” adding, “by God, this lot are doing their best that Scotland becomes an independent nation. I almost congratulate them.”

The SNP heckled Leader of the House Chris Grayling throughout, as he read out the long awaited proposal:

“It’s really important everyone feels our constitutional arrangements are fair, so this one nation government will end the anomaly that a majority of English MPs can be outvoted on matters which are devolved elsewhere,” he said. “At a time when we’re giving more power to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly, it’s right the English should have a veto over things that only affect their constituents.”

The changes will be installed by amending the standing orders of the Commons, rather than introducing new legislation.

It is a complex solution to a complex problem. The Speaker of the House will be given the responsibility of determining if a Bill is subject to the English votes for English Laws process; if he decides it is, the Bill will be submitted to a new English-only committee stage. If the House of Lords table amendments, the bill will need the support of a majority of English MPs, and a majority of MPs overall, to become law.

Entire policy areas, such as education, have long been devolved to Scotland. The fact that English and Welsh MP’s have no say on Scottish laws, but Scottish MPs have a say on exclusively English matters, is known as the West Lothian question.

The results of the general election intensified this power imbalance, which has grown over 16 years of devolution, introduced by successive government – most recently “Devo-Max” to appease Scottish separatists. Almost 1.5 million SNP voters are now represented by 65 MPs, compared to four million UKIP voters represented by just one.

Shadow Commons leader Angela Eagle said the plans would create two classes of MPs and accused the Conservatives of a “cynical” attempt to “manufacture itself a very much larger” majority in the Commons. However others argue there already exists two classes of MP; those restricted to English matters, and Scottish MPs with influence over the entire UK. Therefore, it is

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read full article at source: http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015...r-english-mps/

[NewsFeed]

A second referendum on Scottish independence is inevitable, according to former first minister Alex Salmond.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr programme, he said the question was over the timing which was "in the hands of Nicola Sturgeon".

The SNP MP argued there were three things driving the issue forward.

He said these were a failure to deliver on the so-called "vow", the possible outcome of the EU referendum and "divergent views" over austerity cuts.

The SNP said the timing of any future referendum was "a matter for the people of Scotland".

Scottish voters rejected independence by 55% to 45% in last September's referendum.

After the SNP won 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland in May's general election, party leader and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stressed there was "'no second Scottish independence referendum on the immediate horizon".

'Bullyboy tactics'

In an interview with Andrew Marr, Mr Salmond said: "I think a second independence referendum is inevitable. The question of course is not the inevitability, it is the timing."

Asked about the sort of issues that could "provoke" another vote, he said: "I can see three issues which are moving things towards a second referendum, on a timescale yet to be determined.

"One is the refusal to deliver the 'vow'. The 'vow' was about home rule, devo-to-the-max, and that has not been delivered.

"The second issue is the European issue - if you had a situation where Scotland voted to stay in EU and was dragged out on the votes of the people of England.

"The third thing emerging is from the Budget and the Welfare Bill. Instead of getting devo-to-the-max we are getting austerity-to-the-max and that divergent view of what is right in social terms between Scotland and England is another thing which is moving things to another referendum."

Analysis by Matthew Cole, BBC political correspondent

Before the general election, Nicola Sturgeon always said a "material change" in circumstances would be required in order for a second independence referendum to take place.

Could the election of 56 MPs at Westminster, or a UK referendum vote to leave the EU while Scotland votes to stay in, be that trigger?

The SNP say they have no plans for a second referendum, but say no party can rule one out indefinitely.

The key question is whether a pledge of a referendum will be in the party's manifesto for the 2016 Scottish elections.

The ultimate political calculation Ms Sturgeon needs to make is how much public support there is for a second referendum.

If she decides to call for one - and even if Westminster were to agree to those calls - another defeat could kill her independence dreams for good.

The Scottish Conservatives accused Mr Salmond of "bullyboy tactics" on the issue of a second referendum.

Alex Johnstone MSP said: "The former first minister can moan, haggle and make all the idle threats he wants, it won't change the fact that the majority of Scots voted 'No' last September.

"Scotland has spok

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[Ian Smith son]

A Simon Wiesenthal Centre report says that a light fitting in the house used by Scotland's First Minister could have been stolen.

A chandelier in the house used by Scotland's First Minister may have been looted from a Jewish family by the Nazis in the Second World War.

The glass light fitting hung from a ceiling in Bute House was originally thought to have been "found" in the street near the Germany town of Cleves.

But a report from Holocaust research organisation the Simon Wiesenthal Centre has cast doubt on where it came from.

An official guide to the Edinburgh house, which used to belong to the Marquess of Bute before it was acquired through death duties, says that it was obtained by an interior decorator who was working for the British Army at the end of the war.

The chandelier now hangs in the Drawing Room, which is often used by First Ministers including SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon to hold press conferences.

Sturgeon's Chandelier May Be Looted Nazi Art

[NewsFeed]

Answering questions for more than an hour from a capacity audience of 300, Ms Sturgeon condemned “anyone who threatens the existence of Israel. It has a right to exist and a right to exist peacefully”.

She accepted that the cases of antisemitism recorded did not tell the whole story, but highlighted the strengthened law on hate crime and the commitment of Police Scotland to apprehend offenders.

Speaking afterwards to the JC, Ms Sturgeon said the exchanges with the audience had been “pretty uplifting”.

She said: “This is a community that are scared in many respects but are nevertheless determined to stake their claim to the country they live in and say to me that they want these concerns addressed. I hope that the message I was giving them of solidarity was well received.”

As for concerns over the high number of anti-Israel motions put forward by MSPs, the First Minister said: “I don’t believe there is an antisemitic culture in the Scottish Parliament. There is absolutely, emphatically not.

In any Parliament, members have a right to put down motions. Any constituent of an MP has a right to ask them not to.”

Ms Sturgeon, who during the meeting stressed a commitment to a two-state solution, was coy on whether she would go to Israel. “I am not going to say that I will definitely visit Israel as First Minister, but nor am I saying that there is a reason for me not to do it.

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