Without a process, nothing happens. It is process which connects intention to achievement. Anybody can say they want something. But until they can set out the process by which they will get what they want their words are empty. A purpose without a process is just wishful thinking. It is wooly-minded daydreaming. It is fantasy … Continue reading Relying on magic
Ian Blackford says he wants a new constitutional referendum to take place "in a timely manner". I have to inform him that he's too late. The "timely" ship sailed in September 2018. It might just be possible to justify there being no new referendum earlier than this. But every day that has passed since September … Continue reading Big but
I do like a wee stooshie. A commotion. A rumpus. A bit of political theatre. Ian Blackford was the cause of a wee stooshie in the British parliament yesterday when he effectively called Boris Johnson a liar. Accused him of misleading parliament. Which is supposed to be a hanging offence. But, in the arcane way of … Continue reading The stooshie
While I am surprised by neither I am less irked by the British establishment's effort to forge new shackles for Scotland than by the posturing indignation of SNP and SGP politicians (Plan to give unelected Lords greater powers over Holyrood bills draws ire). The expressions of shocked outrage at something so readily foreseen is as … Continue reading Must the show go on and on and…?
The Scots Government should in the court action challenge the very existence of the legal power of Westminster to say no to indyref2, by plainly asserting that the democratic legitimacy of Holyrood trumps that of the Westminster Parliament over Scots affairs, giving it Holyrood the legal authority to hold an independence referendum.Scott Crichton Styles This … Continue reading The legal and the political
Only if Boris Johnson had developed a conscience since the last time he was denounced for having done something unforgivable might he now be wounded by a fresh denunciation for some new unforgivable act.
There's certainly a place for theatre in politics. Ask any of the great political performers. Winston Churchill. Adolph Hitler. George Gal…. How did his name get in there!?
What about us? That's up to us. Our strength - the strength of Scotland's people - is sufficient to break the power of the British state. But only if it is channelled in massive and sustained amounts through a political party capable of acting within the British political system. Right now, that means the SNP. And only the SNP.
I watch Mr Blackford at the dispatch box as he does his indignation shtick to an audience of disappearing British backs and I am put in mind of Kruschev at the United Nations banging his shoe on the lectern to emphasise his point.
When I argued for a Remain vote in the 2016 EU referendum the main reason I gave was the fact that leaving the EU would provide the British political elite with an opportunity to redefine the UK and the constitutional status of the troublesome peripheral nations.
Peter A Bell 