A useful maxim is that you can't solve a problem that you don't understand.
A possible compromise?
Why is Gordon Brown?
What BritNats value about Brown is his ability and willingness to make huge promises that he has absolutely no authority to make or power to implement and do so quite convincingly. They tolerate Brown in their inner circles and higher echelons because this helps ensure that his 'interventions' are associated with them while being totally deniable. They encourage the media to hang on his every word because they cannot be held responsible for what he says.
The man with the plan
When Boris Johnson shows me something and says look at my plan I expect to see a bungling buffoon stuck on a zip-wire. For no reason other than that is the image I simply can't help associating with the vacuous ideologue.
A better plan
My fear is that the National Assembly will end up being a stage-managed affair in which the SNP leadership's approach to the constitutional issue - labeled Plan A - is set against the so-called Plan B proposed by Angus Brendan MacNeil MP and Councillor Chris McEleny, to the exclusion of any other arguments.
Numpty fodder
It is not until the final step that we find something which with a generosity of spirit to which few will be inclined might pass as a bit of a plan.
Fool’s gold
It all starts with asserting the competence of the Scottish Parliament in all constitutional matters. If you don't start from here you must ultimately come back to it. Whatever 'Plan' you adopt if it doesn't include asserting the primacy of the Scottish Parliament on the basis of its exclusive democratic legitimacy and the sovereignty of the people of Scotland then it barely qualifies as a plan. At some point, establishing the authority of the Scottish Parliament will have to be tacked on.
George Osborne tells the truth!
Mr Russell is correct about the British government denying the people of Scotland our "basic democratic rights". But it is Section 30 of the Scotland Act which legitimises this denial with authority derived from the Union. He is correct when he observes that this denial of our right of self-determination is "illegal under international law". But Section 30 makes it legal under British law. NICOLA STURGEON SAYS THAT SECTION 30 IS THE ONLY PROCESS WHICH IS "LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL"
Second best
Unfortunately, these are not normal circumstances. We absolutely must proceed on the basis that restoring Scotland's independence is a matter of the utmost urgency; and that the coming election is our last chance to do it. We cannot afford to get it wrong. We cannot afford to settle for second best.
Horses for courses
When a referendum is done - if it has been properly designed and managed - there will be absolutely do doubt about what the next step is. There will be no need of any discussion about what the vote means - with various factions all claiming it as a vote for their conflicting agendas.
Why we shouldn’t be taking Chris McEleny’s indyref back-up plan too seriously
Both Plan a and Plan B allow that the British political elite somehow has not only the rightful authority to prohibit the full and proper exercise of our sovereignty but the 'right' to be involved in and largely control the process by which the people of Scotland choose the form of government which best serves our needs, priorities and aspirations.
