Requesting or accepting or conceding the validity of the Section 30 process is a denial of the sovereignty of Scotland’s people. It acknowledges an authority above the people – the British parliament. It is an acceptance of the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. The principles of parliamentary and popular sovereignty are mutually exclusive. They are entirely … Continue reading To reiterate…
It is no secret that I deplore the Section 30 process. That is to say, the process by which the First Minister of Scotland, acting on behalf of the sovereign people of Scotland, petitions the British Prime Minister to grant conditional consent that the sovereign people of Scotland exercise their inalienable right to determine the … Continue reading We can be heroes!
When was the last time we heard anything so unequivocal from the SNP? On the basis of these words alone, everyone who has a vote should be giving Ash Regan their most serious consideration. And everyone who is committed to the restoration of Scotland's independence should be offering their support. Below is Ash Regan's statement … Continue reading Independence! Nothing less!
One of the things that happens when a political leader steps down is that everybody (and it certainly seems like it is literally everybody) turns to poring over their resignation speech dissecting and examining it looking for clues as to the real reason the politician in question is quitting. The one thing most seem to … Continue reading The reset button beckons
Like all calls for unity in the name of Scotland's cause, Ivan McKee's plea for cooperation among the pro-independence parties sounds like plain good sense - until one places it in the context of the roiling cauldron of fractious factionalism that is the current state of what used to be the Yes movement. At which … Continue reading The most modest of proposals
Wishart has changed his tune. Back in June 2020 he was totally disparaging of the idea of a de facto referendum. 'Just doing it anyway’ means we would be doing something broadly similar to what Catalonia did when they ‘won’ their uncontested referendum – without actually winning a referendum! This would in effect mean we … Continue reading Toeing the party line
It sometimes happens that people get so involved with disputing the relative merits of different ways of doing something that the omit to ask whether the thing should be done at all. A case in point is the argument about whether a Westminster or Holyrood election should be used as a de facto referendum. Actually, … Continue reading Bad ideas and worse ideas
I begin to suspect that Gerry Hassan doesn't want to talk about process because that is the difficult bit. Any fool can talk about policy. We regularly elect scores of such fools. Anyone with a bit of imagination can speak of their 'vision' of Scotland with independence restored. But without a process by which independence … Continue reading Don’t mention the process!
Looking at all the various 'routes' to independence being proposed, it occurred to me that they all ultimately fell over at the same point. Many fell over well before reaching this point. But none made it beyond the point at which the next step involved the Scottish Parliament doing something it lacks the competence to … Continue reading Fool’s gold standard
Notes for speech Check against delivery I'm not quite sure why I'm here. Usually, for events like this, they want speakers who'll tell the crowd what they want to hear. That's certainly not me. I tell it the way I see it - good or bad. Right now, there's more bad than good. They usually … Continue reading AUOB March & Rally Glasgow 26/11/2022
Peter A Bell 