Osborne And The EU Attempt To Get Tough

Last week was some week wasn’t it?  George Osborne, representing the ‘big boys’, ensured his speech to the Scots flooded the airways. "No pound for you people if you decide to take care of your own country.  We do it better, much better and you need us to nanny you along - so there!”

Not quite what he said but that was what I understood.  Perhaps the best speech the unionists have contributed - entirely free of charge too - to the independence campaign.

It wasn’t bullying claims the Guardian.  It was bullying says the Express.  Who should we believe?  Difficult, because there is so little detail from either side, although I tend to believe that Osborne’s claims are greatly exaggerated.  

At the end of Osborne’s speech one point stood out clearly.  The UK is not a ‘union of equals’. We are a subsumed nation with no authority.  All my lifetime politicians from Westminster have controlled is tightly.  It becomes more obvious day by day.  (Leave aside the controlling aspect of Alex Salmond’s government for the moment such as the state controlling every aspect of our children from the cradle).

Sterling is an internationally traded currency so Westminster cannot prevent Scotland using it after independence, but it can block the use of the Bank of England as a guarantor.

Yesterday, possibly after a quick call from No 10, Barosso decided Scotland would have a difficult time joining the EU.  Of course that was music to my ears, but nonsense.  Barosso, who won’t be in office at the referendum, is nervous about the Spain/Catalonia problem, hence his efforts to emphasise difficulties Scotland may or may not face regarding membership of this corrupt organisation.

So, all good fun these past few days.  Are we any nearer to knowing facts from either side?  Not really.  It appears the unionist politicians can verbosely orate untruths at a remarkable speed and it also shows the difficulty the Yes camp has in defending its position.  David and Goliath springs to mind and we all know the result of that well known bedtime story. 

BBC Scotlandshire has the inside story.

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Onwards And Upwards

Call me Dave is panicking.  It's his duty to meet the Queen this week to discuss affairs of state and he's been sending out enormous feelers to the Unionist community for tips on how to respond to constitutional questions regarding the independence of Scotland.

The MSM have been reasonably quiet about the issue because they haven't come up with any answers - with the exception of suggesting that Dave should call Alex Salmond's bluff and bring forward the referendum. Maybe it's best ex-military personnel stick to defence matters and not make such fools of themselves, especially when they qualify their comment with, "I'm not a politician".

The Sun and Express are on the case though, as was the Times on Friday.

It's quite astonishing how often the Unionists repeat the majority of Scots don't want independence.  How do they know?  Another scaremongering ploy of course and negative thinking because they've no sensible case for Scotland not taking control of its own affairs.

Is the Queen concerned about the political change in Scotland?  I should think not because she has few assets here other than a palace, a castle plus a few but 'n' bens sprinkled around.

The Unionists are panicking because they realise the referendum may not go their way. The answer is for those who desire independence to keep the pressure on every minute of every day. Once the Scottish government commences serious discussion about independence and how the country will benefit, then the Unionists will have nothing to add other than spin.

Onwards and upwards.

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Laughing All The Way To the Bank

What do 220 former MPs have in common other than life-long membership to the subsidised restaurants and bars in the Palace of Westminster?

Answer:  They applied for Resettlement Grants.

Thanks to Lobbydog the names and numbers are now public.  For some time he's chipped away at the unnecessary barriers erected in order to acquire the information and his persistence has paid off.

Those members who were not paid the Grant - although it is not stated if an application was made and refused - were:

• David Chaytor
• Jim Devine
• Elliot Morley
• Harry Cohen
• Rudi Vis

In the past there has been criticism of Alex Salmond for accepting the grant for his 23 years of service. He has stated he will be giving the bulk to the Trust he set up in 2007 in memory of his mother.

Isn't it strange the likes of Michael Ancram, John Reed, Mohammed Sarwar, John Prescott, Ann and Nicholas Winterton and other self-confessed millionaires have been silent about this ludicrous windfall?  Perhaps they're still hoarse from laughing all the way to the bank.

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No Place for Scotland round the Climate Change Table

The photograph shows Jack McConnell, then First Minister of Scotland, in his seat at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg in 2002.

In December there is to be another Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen but the Westminster government refuses to allow Scotland to be fully represented.

The SNP government, which first raised the issue nine months ago, has described the decision as 'disappointing' but an SNP spokesman insisted Scotland would be represented in Copenhagen. Alex Salmond has again written to Gordon Brown to demand a ministerial seat.

Mr Miliband said: "However I recognise that your contribution to this international effort is important, so I would be happy to include one of your officials on the UK delegation, which has been an offer made - but not always taken up by the Scottish Government - in previous years."

He said it was also possible for Scottish ministers to go to Copenhagen with other organisations that had observer status.Inviting Mr Swinney to nominate an official, he said: "The whole delegation will of course be constrained to supporting the UK and EU negotiating line."

How much longer is Scotland, which is leading Europe on the climate change issue, going to tolerate being insulted by the London based government? Jack McConnell was a labour First Minister and deemed suitable to have a ministerial seat at one of these summits, so Alex Salmond must be afforded the same courtesy. Is this because the Scottish government intend to go down the renewables route while England takes the nuclear road, or is it a childish effort by Gordon Brown to 'do anything in my power to stop the SNP breaking up Britain'?

It's possibly a bit of both but it's certainly a bad move and will be viewed as such by many people concerned with climate change in Scotland.

Dr Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland and board member of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland:

"At a time when the world desperately needs good examples, it is clearly ridiculous that Scottish ministers will not be allowed to be part of the official UK delegation.

"The negotiations for Copenhagen are finely balanced and Scotland's excellent Climate Change Act could make a difference, but only if people actually get to hear about it."

Source: BBC

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Guilty until Proven Innocent

Another government initiative to 'protect' children has reared its head. Any adult who has contact with a child on a frequent basis (classed as once a month) or on an intensive basis (3 days or overnight), will be required to register with the new Independent Safeguarding Authority. That means if you participate in the school run then you will be required to register with this new database as an 'intense' contact. If you don't comply fines of up to £5,000 are applicable.

This Authority is to be launched next month and it will be the biggest vetting and clearing system in the world.

The Children's Minister, Delyth Morgan, was grilled by John Humphries on the Today programme. Listen here. She mentions the Soham murders to substantiate this horrendous piece of legislation but surely the present CRB legislation is adequate.

We must all protest at the introduction of this 'anti-pedophile' database. Please join the Facebook protest or start one on any social network you use.

An astonishing 11.3 million people - one adult in four - are likely to come under the watchful eye of the Independent Safeguarding Authority. One of them could be you so please don't think your protest doesn't matter - it does.

This scheme is to run in England but a similar one is to be set up in Scotland.

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Financial Gain Spotting

Courtesy of Plato Says

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The Air Plucking Chancellor

Tucked away in today's Scotsman is a good clue to the state of the Westminster government. Yesterday Alistair Darling told MPs on the Treasury committee the £150,000 income threshold for the new top rate of tax was plucked out of the air.

"There is no science behind it.  It is simply my judgment and I thought that figure was appropriate."  

After the shambles Gordon Brown made of PMQs yesterday and the excellent result for the Gurkha campaign, I shouldn't think anyone is surprised to know how the finances of the UK are calculated.  You couldn't make it up.

Update:  No mention made of this in the BBC article, the BBC being our impartial broadcasting service.

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Spot the Difference

Click on image to enlarge

Click on image to enlarge

Kezia Dugdale, to her credit, posted these two pages from the BBC's website. A perfect example of the bias the BBC has shown towards the SNP for years.  Who said the BBC is impartial?  It's time Scotland had its own broadcasting organisation, in fact way past time.  

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The True Cost of Incompetence

This graph was produced by the IMF an organisation in which I have some trust. They've given the UK a damning report which somehow Gordon Brown has managed to bury for the moment. We bloggers have a responsibility to ensure this graph is reproduced during every election campaign just to remind us of the incompetence and madness of Gordon Brown.

H/T  Coffee Shop

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Gordon Brown's Latest Wheeze

Gordon Brown at Downing Street this Morning

Gordon Brown has called for a vote, as early as next week, about MPs expenses.  He suggests that the second home allowance be scrapped along with the John Lewis list and MPs should be paid for turning up every day instead.  MPs have previously suggested a daily fee of £170 which would see then make £25,500 - £2,500 more than they do under the current system.

Details of his announcement were seen prematurely after Communities Secretary Hazel Blears walked into Downing Street with them under her arm.  According to the Daily Mail she appeared oblivious to the fact that the document - in easily legible large print - was on show. Of course this was no accident, it was intended it would be seen.  Does Gordon Brown really think the public are silly enough to think she wasn't aware?  Really it's all rather sad their behaviour these days.  It was intended as a distraction from tomorrow's budget which will be another show of upmarket spin, until we see the small print of course.

It's far from certain whether the measure would get through the Commons as many MPs with large mortgages may fight tooth and nail against them and it appears backbenchers may have a free vote.

The speed of this U-turn leaves more questions than answers.  Is it an attempt to bring Westminster into line with MEPs who receive a daily fee for attending.  They don't have to attend anything, just sign in. 

I'm suspicious of Gordon Brown's reason for this sudden change which gives other parties little time for discussion.  Then again, perhaps that is his reason, to deny opposition MPs any time for thought.

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Job Hunt Easter Style

I thought this was an April Fool but it's not.  Tomorrow in the Southwark offices of Jobcentre Plus contractor, Skills Training Centre uk, around 150 jobless will be asked to search for 35 chocolate eggs hidden around the building.  Among the gifts laid on courtesy of James Purnell will be an application form to become a security guard, a licence to work on buildings sites and vouchers to buy an interview suit.

Catrina Lynch, the manager who has organised the event said, "It is not meant in a demeaning way.  It's going to be fun.  My idea has always been to show people that there are jobs out there."

Who's paying for this? We are of course.  I can well imagine if this idea was attempted by any job centre in Dundee; they'd soon be told where to stick it.

Courtesy of Obnoxiotheclown

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FUEL TAX RISES

Almost unnoticed, the UK government fuel rises, announced in the pre-budget report in November, took effect yesterday.  Petrol and diesel duty will increase by 2.12p a litre, taking diesel over a £1 a litre once more.  The rise comes on top of a December duty increase of 2p a litre on both fuels which had been deferred from April 2008 when global oil prices were at record levels.

"Taking an extra pound off drivers each time they fill up their fuel tank is a pound taken away from high street and leisure spending that would help revive the economy," said AA President Edmund King.  The AA said the fuel duty rises took the tax element paid by motorists in the UK to 71%, one of the highest rates in Europe and second only to the Netherlands and Norway. It also said that from April 2010 motorist face a further 4p a litre duty rise on both fuels.

Our haulage industry will be severely affected by this rise and it's obvious the basic necessities of life such as food, will increase in price.  Surely the chancellor could have raised the money by putting a tax on European hauliers who, with massive tanks, fuel up in Europe before coming to UK.  They are able to be more competitive, due to their much cheaper fuel costs, than British hauliers.  Just a thought. 

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SOME QUESTIONS FOR JOHN HUTTON

A security guard at a side entrance to the British Army base in Massereene

On Saturday two off-duty soldiers were murdered just outside the Massereene Barracks, 16 miles north of Belfast.  Two more soldiers and two delivery men were also injured in the attack, for which the dissident republican group the Real IRA claimed responsibility.

The Times reports today that armed security guards employed to protect the military base where the two soldiers were shot dead did not open fire on the terrorists, even when they stood over the injured men and fired further shots.  Army sources said that it was the first time the Northern Ireland Security Guard Service (NISGS) had had to deal with a direct attack on a base.  The service took over responsibility for security of barracks from soldiers more than ten years ago.

Other sources are reporting that the security threat level was increased last month from 'substantial' to 'severe'.  If the barracks was on red alert why were the soldiers outside without being armed?  The gunmen obviously knew of the regular routine on Saturday nights when as many as 20 orders of pizza were delivered. They waited until the soldiers emerged through the gates to pick up the food, then they attacked.

A few more questions I would like to ask John Hutton - why are civilians defending military establishments?  Does the UK not have enough military in the UK to carry out their own defence?  These young men were to be enroute to Afghanistan within hours and the two seriously injured pizza delivery men were only doing their job. Why didn't NISGS officers open fire?   

NISGS personnel in this role are the equivalent of special constables who have been trained in the use of arms which they carried on Saturday night, but they took no action. Surely that is enough evidence to show they are not suitable for this form of defence.  In the aftermath of this horrific incident it is a matter of urgency that the security of barracks is reviewed and returns to what it was for generations prior to the change of policy ten years ago, that is the military protecting themselves. Nobody does it better.  Our military and the people of Northern Ireland deserve the best.

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