A grand bonanza
Posted on
November 26, 2015 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
At today’s First Minister’s Questions, the Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale oddly chose to spend her entire allotted time not on any current issues affecting Scotland, but on attacking the SNP’s 2013 White Paper on independence, seemingly unaware that the referendum was held 14 months ago and resulted in a win for the No side.
Happily for Scotland, that decision resulted in a huge £200bn oil bonanza.
Hang on, let’s just double-check that to be sure.
We can surely all agree that Scotland dodged a bullet there by placing its trust in Ms Dugdale and her “Better Together” chums. The oil and gas industry must be breathing a sigh of relief and thanks that it had the broad shoulders of the UK protecting it at this difficult and volatile time.
I live up this way and it’s bleakly amusing to see, all those people who voted no are now in a flat panic about their jobs, there’s a lot of self justification going on as they try to convince themselves that they did the right thing.
Fewer oil and gas workers exposed to unsafe helicopter trips. This is a good news story, surely?
/snark
But we have to remember that the rule is jam yesterday, jam tomorrow but never jam today plus I never said when the bonanza was to be.
Ah, those oft mentioned broad shoulders. Not doing too well, are they?
I’ve not heard a peep out of any of my No voting friends about the nonesense they swallowed during the referendum. I think they’re letting it out in private.
Quite a few are, or were, in the Oil and gas industry.
Oh dear, here it comes again.
Blame the SNP for thinking things could be better but brazenly ignoring how much worse they are via the ‘union’ and the real ‘Better Together’.
Tell the Tax office workers, their families et al. Tell the Oil sector, families et al, tell the Boatyards …
Oh FFS. I now wholly despise Labour for their duplicity in it all.
Scotland must be unique in being beaten down by red/blue tories, with its own vast natural resources. Meanwhile, 150 miles east
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/23693448-ee72-11e4-88e3-00144feab7de.html#axzz3sbQjgkrn
Norway’s sovereign oil fund earns more than government spends.
Red or Blue, toryboy world couldn’t even begin to comprehend the above FT stuff.
In the arse tae elbie of yunionist double speech
Broad shoulders means fat erse to be sat/shat upon.
Eat yer cereal, you wid have had yer tea….
Copied from last post.
scott says:
26 November, 2015 at 1:15 pm
O/T.
David Cameron urges MPs to back air strikes as he announces £1bn for reconstruction of Syria
UK government carbon capture £1bn grant dropped
These two headlines caught my eye funny how the two figures are the same is Scotland being shafted again just for Cameron vanity.
Kezia Dugdale and reality are never knowingly in the same room together, anyone ever notice that?
The reality of Osborne’s tax raids, OPEC having a handbags moment with the USA and Russia, the march of technology and the relationship they bear to broad shooders under UK management. An omnishambles of resource stewardship.
Someone please explain to the leader for whatever the feck they call themselves these days, that their idea of broad shoulders and stewardship is a bit different from everyone else’s. Oh and whilst they’re at it could they let the lady know we’re well aware of the new finds and what that means in terms of long term viability and recoverability. More importantly we’re aware of her own party’s part in the stewardship of our resources, or perhaps she disagrees with the late Mr Healey.
Did someone mention Bonanza???
Scorched Earth policy from Westminster more like.
Getting the boot in before Indyref2.
@Bobajock
The entire year+ since the referendum has been a never ending litany of job losses and threat of same from essential sectors to the Scottish economy and governmental infrastructure – Power generation, oil and gas, steel, the yards, HMRC. In each and every one HMG had a hand either directly or by inaction.
Thousands of jobs lost = thousands of families doing without a wage.
Better Together my arse.
As well as the (in)famous broad shoulders of the UK, let’s not forget those deep pockets too.
Simon Johnson is never wrong.
“David Cameron will today promise to increase North Sea oil revenues by £200 billion”
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Orqkr6EnSa0/VlcHe054fwI/AAAAAAAAAWU/o3LZf6ofYqs/s1600/200billion.jpg
Just when you begin to contemplate, but are by no means in any way certain, that the intellect or credibility, of Kezia Dugdale and her Labour party, in Scotland, can fall no further. THEY DO JUST THAT. They just do not seem to be genetically programed for political reasoning.
todays performance creates a new low for Kezia Dugdale in every way.
as For Neil Findlay’s rant regarding under cover police activities. While nobody should condone malpractice of any sort in police activity. At a time when there is now regular debate, in the House of Commons at Westminster, regarding action against Isil. To keep us safe from terrorist activity.
Home and abroad. Also discussing commencement of bombing over Syria.
Does Findlay not consider by what means security intelligence is gathered or achieved to expose those intent upon terrorism. Wherever it, or they, exist, and how it should be combated to keep all peoples of these Islands safe
Hoss Mackintosh says:
“Scorched Earth policy from Westminster”
Macart says:
“a never ending litany of job losses and threat of same from essential sectors to the Scottish economy and governmental infrastructure”
….. did they do this to all their colonies just before they were thrown out, I wonder?
As always, better not together!
Come on, I tell you what, I’ll predict the next time this shite comes spewing from the mouth of a Unionist
The next time and there will be a next time, the next time another piece of Unionist bullshit promised to Scotland before the indyref hits the fan SNP oil predictions will be aired again, It’s a deflection tactic and should be shot down for what it is every time it is aired.
So shallow and transparent just like Slab.
I had the joy of listening to this on the radio at lunchtime, do you think Kezia requires ointment for that burn?
Independence is about the best long term future for our country.
You can’t reasonably look at it on a short term basis.
The unionists want to make a big deal when the oil price is low, but turn a blind eye to the fact that Scotland would have been £200 billion better off if we had had the full benefits of oil when the price was higher.
Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire voted NO and the people there will lose their jobs, see their houses repossessed and will forced to move out of Scotland. These are the New Clearances courtesy of Westminster.
When Westminster has finally stripped Scotland bare of its assets and left her economy in ruins, the whiny, petulant voice of Dugdale will be heard drifting on the wind.. ‘but things would have been so much worse if we were independent’..
Perhaps a much closer look at the tax reciepts collected may reveal that the figure of £130 million is true but only a small truth.
It’s very likely that it may be one part of reciepts such as petroleum revenue tax. I find it incredibly unlikely that 200 offshore platforms producing 1 million barrells per day has only collected that sum. Surely the sum should only half if the price of a barrel has halved.
Otherwise, either the figures are deliberately fudged to realise a political agenda, or there’s a gross mismanagement of tax collection from oil companies.
Things could not be worse in an independent Scotland, surely?
I get the whole positive debate, but at some point maybe that’s the message we need to get over to the fearty cats.
Labour have a truly remarkable team in Corbyn and Dugdale.
Never have I envisaged a day when Scotland would have such a gift as these two. They have systematically split the Labour Party into factions who prefer to fight with themselves and the SNP, but not necessarily in that order.
Labour MP’s in open revolt at Westminster,but neutered by the fact that the groundswell support backs Corbyn
Dugdale trying everything to convincd a highly sceptical
public that Labour is Scotlands future
They are between them almost guaranteeing Tory rule for a decade or more.
Long may they prosper.
Rejoice and be silent silly sweaties. The UK Broad Shoulders have given you even more, so rejoice, some more, you ingrates and whiners.
Its BBC Scotland nutters again though. Whats a decent public broadcaster actually like compared that bunch, I often wonder.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-34923251
The UK government is to contribute £5m towards plans for a £66m revamp of Glasgow’s famous Burrell Collection.
Why doesn’t someone on the Labour benches at Holyrood take Kezia Dugdale to one side and whisper in her ear “look, hen – a word to the wise – when you find yourself in a hole, for goodness’ sake stop digging!”
What a telling comparison between our situation in the UK and wealthy, social democratic, independent Norway. Which would you rather be Kezia and Co? Perhaps these great internationalists in SLAB have never been to Scandinavia.
@galamcennalath
They’re a shower of apologist, hypocritical deniers GM. Hardship and austerity happening all around them and their one fucking dirge in response? Well under independence…. blach fucking blah.
As pointed out ATL, it may have escaped their myopic notice, but we’re NOT independent. This happening NOW in ‘bettertogetherland’. They won the goddamn referendum, there is no hiding place or excuse. Their system, their government, their economy, their watch. As usual for Labour its always someone else’s fault.
Well not this fucking time. They convinced the majority in Scotland that this economic model and this system of government was in our best interests. Time for them to shit or get off the pot.
Where are the broad shoulders and economic benefits Labour?
In their own time.
P.S.
Pardon the language.
Just angry today.
During the referendum campaigning we were repeatedly told by the soft and hard NOs that there would be calamitous this, that and the next thing if there was a YES outcome to the voting.
We suggested to those, less than welcoming, folks that even (maybe even especially) with a NO outcome that Westminster would do damage to Scotland as a reminder of who was in charge. Quelle surprise.
The litany of companies that foretold doom, gloom and despondency that would follow a YES outcome, were patently hoping FOR a yes vote to succeed so that they could blame it all on the electorate. That’s one more tactic that they can no longer deploy.
Bob Mack says
“Dugdale trying everything to convincd a highly sceptical
public that Labour is Scotlands future”
There is one thing she could do to swing Labour’s fortunes – come out firmly for Indy (and mean it, no porkies)!
It would a game changer for everyone and everything.
Nae chance! Too radical!
It seems to be lets blow Syria to bits then I will send 1 billion of foreign aid to rebuild it
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-34923078
North Sea oil and gas contractors are looking for alternative ways of generating revenue after a slump in confidence, according to a survey.
But why though? They voted NO for the broad shoulders of the UK to provide strength, safety, security etc, but here we are, a year later, slumped.
Mega rich oil dude frae Aberdeen said vote NO or else
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIIW6hg–AA
oops! Wrong Sir UKOK Ian Wood, that one says “25bn barrels of oil still to come from North Sea”
Later a different Sir Ian UKOK Wood says its only! 15bn barrels of NOT scots oil left.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11046740/Sir-Ian-Wood-15-years-of-oil-left-before-independent-Scotland-spending-cuts.html
No wonder contractors are feeling a tad UKOK slumpy.
Well the Brit Nats cant help but gloat over the fact that according to their own figures 65,000 jobs have gone in the Oil and Gas sector. Gloating about their own economic mismanagement and doing so on a weekly basis.
Naturally according to the Brit Nat Press and Media it is all the SNPs fault.
Heck I could have done a better job planning and managing the North Sea Oil and Gas sector than the Brit Nats have done and I am incompetent as well, that makes the Brit Nats worse than incompetent and that makes them just downright malicious in my eyes.
To add to the economic incompetence and malice of the Brit Nats is the fact or according to what I have been told, that the Better Together paradise has to import feckin oil. Better Together, who are they feckin kidding?
Hoss Mackintosh says:
26 November, 2015 at 1:31 pm
Did someone mention Bonanza???
Nice one Hoss, it will be gunfight at the High Chaperall for Osborne and his cowboy chums if they get their way.
O/T Couldn’t help spotting on that Scotsman link… Outlander quote tops Scotland’s ten most popular literary lines.
” Marc Lambert, director of the Scottish Book Trust, said: “It is no surprise to see Diana Gabaldon at the top of this list – her fanbase is huge, loyal and fantastically supportive of the Outlander series of books, which are meticulously researched and have done wonders for Scottish tourism over the past few years.”
The Scotsman calls it a TV series though of course it is censored in UK and has never been broadcast. The heavily over promoted J K Rowling comes 8th. Perhaps the children voted that one in.
https://archive.is/CRrLy
The saddest thing is that Dugdale and her advisers honestly thought that the best answer to the Tory budget (from which there are serious issues for Scotland) is to attack SNP estimates from 2 years ago on what the UK would be getting in oil tax. A tax which is not part of the Scottish Governments budget.
And after running a “focus on the issues of today” media soundbite campaign for some months.
As if not being clairvoyant (just like the OBR, Tories, Oil and Gas industry and the Labour party) is Nicola’s fault.
Her credibility and relevance heads ever lower.
Thinking of a car sticker….
…’serves you right for voting No’
Maybe not.
Or a Union Flag with ‘do not resuscitate’
Nope.
You know what our problem is (yes voters)?, we’re all too nice. Too nice for our own good.
Kezia, wind yer neck in, and come up with positive policies for Scotland; (SNP baaad ain’t working) If your masters down south will let you, that is.
OT The UK has the second highest external debt after the USA. Around 10 trillion dollars versus about 18 trillion dollars.
But because the USA has five times the population of the UK the external debt per head of the UK is around $160,000 versus only $60,000 for Americans.
For comparison, France and Germany’#s external debt is less than 6 trillion dollars.
Ireland was actually worse per head than the UK for external debt at the height of the financial crisis but is now only about $52,000 per head.
Also according to the IMF Ireland’s GDP purchasing power per head is now over $50K and the UK’s is still less than $40K.
We spent so much time and wasted so much effort defending the economics of the volatile oil industry. What we should have done then, and still could today,is to produce an economic plan for Scotland leaving out the oil industry. As the SNP kept saying “oil is a bonus”. Then if it produced £5 or £5 billion it could be invested. We can get along without it as we did before we had it.
galamcennalath says:
26 November, 2015 at 2:11 pm
Agree with you and we could call it SLIP Scottish Labour Independence Party. Aye and it may be coming yet!!
Re bombing Syria to smithereens then picking up the oil and reconstruction contracts – we went down that path in Iraq remember. And remember what happened? Halliburton, KBR and Bechtel and the all the US companies linked to the US warmongers got the contracts and the UK government complained.
Lies and mendacity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KBR_(company)#Political_connections_and_corruption
Oil and gas revenues go to Westminster now, so why aren’t SLab and Tory politicians bewailing the big hole in the Treasury strongbox caused by the fall in prices?
It would only be Scotland’s deficit eventually if we’d gained independence last year. Maybe they haven’t noticed that we didn’t.
FMQs is getting too embarrassing to watch.
What is the point of Labour up here in Scotland? Seriously, what is the point? Dugdale and her blue tory friends make fools of themselves, week after week. They simply refuse to stand up for Scotland, all the while dancing a jig for their London masters.
Scotland has changed markedly over the last ten years, yet Labour still think they are about to fight the 2007 election all over again. I and many others keep saying it, when oh when will Labour sniff the freaking coffee and wake up? The days of London based political parties garnering political support in Scotland by being a wee bit ‘scottishy’ are long gone.
Labour have lost two Scottish parliamentary general elections in a row, and lost all bar one of their 41 Scottish MP’s in May, yet still to this day, they persist in rubbishing Scotland, telling us London knows best.
Poor wee Scotland, cursed by oil like no other country ever has been. Best keep giving it all to London for free.
What we should have done then, and still could today,is to produce an economic plan for Scotland leaving out the oil industry
That’s all better together covered too. Vote NO propaganda explains that even decommission of NOT Scots oil patch is too too much for too poor, small, stupid Scotland, without UKOK broadshoulders
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-34856931
Short vote NO and anyone but SNP beeb version
Douglas Fraser ?@BBCDouglasF Nov 18
Breaking up is hard to do: rise in North Sea decomm bill, a lot of it to be spent on 1200 big plugs:
Its her parents I feel sorry for.
I want, have wanted since the early hours of 19th September 2014, to see the Labour party wiped from the political map of Scotland.
Let them bask in the fading light of their last days of weakened prominence. We are witnessing the desperate attempts of a party gasping for air, struggling with the dawning realisation of their imminent death.
It must be a fatal blow in 2016, we cannot as a country continue to be insulted and denigrated by a party that revels in the misfortunes of those it claims to represent.
They welcome the economic devastation that will befall Scotland, they fought to maintain their own jobs and their own security whilst claiming that Independence would bring about exactly what staying in the Union has resulted in.
We removed the head, in May. The body politic is next in 2016. Then we finish them in 2017.
Labour No More.
heedtracker says:
26 November, 2015 at 1:13 pm
Scotland must be unique in being beaten down by red/blue tories, with its own vast natural resources. Meanwhile, 150 miles east
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/23693448-ee72-11e4-88e3-00144feab7de.html#axzz3sbQjgkrn
Norway’s sovereign oil fund earns more than government spends
——-
Obviously Norway got it right, but another way is to compare Scotland’s economy without oil to similar European countries with little or no oil.
By that measure, it can be seen that Scotland has obviously been held back as part of a union focused on London.
Oil has to be seen as a temporary bonus for a country, that should be used to build up infrastructure or saved in an investment fund. By classing it as a UK asset, that means the vast majority of revenues were spent on London and the South – meaning Scotland effectively handed over money to disadvantage ourselves when it comes to competition for business and investment. Our own resources were used against us.
Oil might recover but maybe not to the same extent.
If it doesn’t, it should be seen as a tragedy that Scotland squandered such a huge opportunity, and exactly why independence is needed to make sure we are never in the same position again.
From a link I picked up over on Derek Bateman’s blog.
Some graphs:
http://www.neweconomics.org/blog/entry/todays-autumn-statement-explained-in-four-graphs
Numbers three and four will illustrate why Labour should be begging forgiveness on bended knees.
Well Kezia certainly got the intended BBC headlines she was expecting. Of course no mention whatsoever of the benefits of the cheap oil price to the Scottish Economy and no mention of the UK`s broad shoulders as they decimate Scotland`s industries.
I’m continually amazed at the ability of Unionists to miss the point. Oil was not and would not be the be all and end all of tax revenue in an independent Scotland: for example, all those millions of whisky duty that go through English ports. Secondly, and more importantly,they always assume Scotland’s public SPEND would be the same as the hypothecated UK now is ie we would still spend on Trident and all other areas the UK chooses.
The point is, an independent Scotland would have the choice of how to balance its budget, inputs vs outputs, & would manage accordingly.
Muppets
Onwards, Scotland did not ‘squander a huge opportunity’. Scotland didn’t disadvantage ‘itself’.
The case for Independence is made precisely because Westminster and all administrations whether Red or Blue, disadvantaged Scotland and squandered Scotland’s opportunites.
Scotland hasn’t had a choice in this, we want our choices to be our own. The tragedy is that generations were left to rot on the back of the discovery of oil, while London and the south of England flourished creating astounding economic disparity.
They beggard their neighbours and their own Northern citizens too.
Oil tax 75% Oil production is down 60%
Thousands are losing their jobs in Oil sector and supply chain. More Oil & Gas has to be imported, putting up the balance of payment deficit and the Debt.
The Tory/Unionists are ruining the Scottish economy,
So what we have here is a complete disregard for the
lawS******d!Well who knew? 😉
I mean with all this utterly amazing boom in oil coming down the line, but only if we voted NO, surely we should all be happy little bunnies … right? 😉
Oh dearie me … it does appear that someone has been telling porkies to the folks of too wee, too poor, too stupid S******d doesn’t it? 😉
So I guess I have to ask if there had been any alternative voice to the Better Together Obscene Singers. (BTOS, sister organisation to ATOS 😉 )
Apparently there WAS an alternative to BTOS but they were, allegedly too wee, too poor and too stupid to be listened to. Aye right!!! 🙂
Next time, and rest assured there WILL be a next time WE will kick BTOS’s earse so bloody hard they will NEVER be able to sit down EVER again! 😀
It wis great to see the First Minster hit it right on the button during FM-QT when she told everyone flat out how labour would rather run down Scotland hand in hand with the tories than stand up for their own country.
Kezia and her mates across the unionist parties, seemed to have missed one vital fact about the oil industry’s present turndown, and that is it’s happening under a westminster controlled system.
All taxes, subsidy’s and other revenues relating to OUR oil industry are presently controlled by Westminster, and while labour are bouncing up & down with joy at the reduction of oil revenues and what that would have meant to an Independent Scotland. They seemed to have forgot or should it be don’t fucking care that Scotland is not independent and this situation is hurting real people in a real country, namely their fucking own.
OUR First Minster yet again gave her unionist opponents a right earse kicking today, I don’t know about the rest of you but it feels great to see Nicola standing up for Scotland and its people, first and foremost.
And we know the red, blue & yellow tories will always put their party first before Scotland. (tractors & quizmasters)
It appears to be that Westminster wishes to degrade our energy sector be it renewables, oil, has capture, biased transmission charges etc to the point where this country is dependent on Chinese/ French nuclear energy hosted in England.
Worse still liebour and the Tories gloat on it.
From 2 weeks on two weeks off – Better for family social commitments etc. workers now work three weeks on three weeks off. To cut costs and save money. Many workers from elsewhere and losing their jobs. Can’t sell up (buyers?) renting out and clearing off.
Some Oil Taxes are being cut 15%? 1 January 2016, it might make a difference. A New Year.
Vote SNP May 16. Wipe Unionists/Greens out.
O/T
Today Russia send more anti-aircraft defenses into Syria, Turkey put armored brigade on border, Russia Iran and Syrian military attack Turkey and US backed militias.
US with Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates and French Jets now possibly to share airspace with UK fighters, Iraq supported by US UK supports the Russian intervention in Syria and has permitted Russia to fly over Iraq with its war planes. Iran sending more military advisers into theater, US and UK special forces now on ground giving assistance.
Nothing to worry about!The PM is clear he sees all he understands all, this is a fight against ISIS, to make us safe!
Sorry, £130 million tax from oil for 1 year, surely that’s bollocks.
If there are 1 million barrels pumped daily at 40 dollars a barrel, just whose back pocket is this revenue going into if not the exchequer.
Hinkley Nuclear Plant. £25 Billion + over budget and time, over priced Bills will produce 7% of UK needs. Export nuclear waste to Africa. Labour cancelled a £9Billion Tidal Barrage scheme at the Humber which would have produced more.
ConDems spent £2Billion (each?) on two news coal plants in NE of England. The Tories are cutting coal production in the UK. The coal will have to be imported, even though coal is plentiful in the UK. CCS.
If as some posters have said, Ms Sturgeon had a good FMQs then Mr Salmond appears to have St that at naught. Reports that he is missing the Syria debate because he is attending the unveiling of his portrait at the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.
Just as it happily did the Tories’ dirty work during the referendum, Labour in Scotland happily does the Tories’ dirty work in doing down Scotland. Meanwhile the bbc continues to show blatant bias in its support for all things unionist.
What are we saying here? I am completely lost on this are you attempting to say that an independent Scotland would have meant the price of a barrel of oil would not have slumped? Are you saying the UK directly affected the price of the barrel? Had we been independent the oil price would have still sunk, the jobs would have been lost in the oil and gas industry but with independence and the white papers funding coming from the revenue generated by oil and gas we would have been in a very precautious situation.
@Legerwood 4:02pm
Alex Salmond on Sky news. As ever he puts forward his arguments clearly and confidently. Cameron wants wants more blood on the Butcher’s Apron. Those who voted No must be happy.
Mr Salmond is a Privy Counsellor and would have been given the Prime Ministers Statement probably last night.
There was no debate. It was a Statement.
Think I’ll get a few car stickers for next year just to remind everyone of labour and their Tory pals.
“See Labour, think UKOK”
Legerwood says:
Alex Salmond was in the Scottish Parliament for FMQs
Seen a car sticker today. Took a wee while before it sunk in. The numbers 55 in black on the right rear of a car, with GB on the left rear and a Rangers sign stuck to the back window by a sucker.
Unbelievable.
Stephen.
Golfnut @ 3.58
I agree that the oil tax figures seem very low. But who believes the Treasury these days?
However you must remember that there are huge fixed costs in producing oil offshore.
At $100 per barrel an oil company may make $50 profit on which it can be taxed.
However at $45 per barrel the same company would be losing $5 and so would not pay any tax, no matter how many barrels it produced.
Of course they are only in the business to make money, so it is perhaps better for them to shut down the field and await better times, or at least make every effort to reduce costs, which, sadly, usually means lost jobs.
Nicola stood up today at FMQs for ALL of Scotland’s people – YES & NO voters alike. She wants the best for ALL.
Dugdale and her cronies couldn’t give a flying fig about who is being hurt in Scotland by Westminster’s policies and that includes the NO-voting unionists, many of whom will be out of a job this Christmas. Colateral damage in Dugdale’s view. SShe’d be truly happy that Scotland was entirely decimanted by London and everyone in Scotland – YES and NO voters – were out of work if that is what it took to save her precious Union.
So wisen up NO-voters–the Unionist parties don’t give a hee-haw about you or your future, or your family’s future. They don’t give a feck if London puts you out of a job–so long as Scotland’s economy is trashed by them; so trashed that they think it will mean Scotland will never try to become independent (that’s the plan). And their plan will affect the NO voter every bit as much as the YES voter.
Their plan rather reminds of a scene in that movie, ‘Braveheart’ when the English archer commander is ordered by Edward I to loose their arrows into the battlefield stooshie between the Scots and English infantry. “But won’t we kill our own soldiers, sire?” “Yes,” Edward replies. “But we’ll kill theirs as well.”
And they will be more than glad to do it. Just see how much they revel at the news of Scotland losing all these oil jobs, HMRC jobs, steel jobs, shipyard jobs. They want it to happen because they know it will weaken Scotland and, they think, will make us dependent on the broad shoulders of the UK, that it will end our desire for Indy.
Well, in that strategy they make a very grave mistake. They forget that when you have nothing, then you have nothing left to lose.
If you are a NO voter reading this–you can help stop this happening. If we stop fighting amongst ourselves on the ‘battlefield’ and do what’s best for Scotland, for our families and all our futures then we ALL have a chance. We can tell the Unionists that their scorched earth policy ends right here, right now.
SNP/SNP SE2016
I haven’t seen the broadcast of FM questions so I won’t comment on that yet but I will follow on from the comment of “no” voting oil workers.
In my job I travel a lot and meet lots of people. I spend a lot of time in Aberdeen and in the run up to the refurendum vote I met lots of oil workers who were voting no. I spent ages talking to them and on many occasions when talking to other people about the refurendum the oil workers would barge into a conversation I was having to try and convince “maybes” to vote no.
Anyway there was one women who was a steward (cleaner) on the rigs who was originally from London who voiced her hatered and no voting intentions more passionately then most. I’ve seen her a few times since the referendum and she is out of work due to rig closures.
I quietly laugh to myself when seeing her. A completely unskilled cleaner from the rigs now with no contract but having to face the reality of being a cleaner onshore probably getting min wage and competing for work with others who work harder and for less money.
I know it’s wrong but I have a glee about her misery. I hope she loses everything she built up from her days working as a cleaner on the rigs.
@bugsbunny –
‘…a Rangers sign stuck to the back window by a sucker.’
I see what you did there. 🙂
I have always been tempted to put forward the suggestion that in May the SNP should withdraw all candidates from the Scottish elections and hand the keys over to the unionist in Scotland and tell them “there go on then”.
I know it’s just my anger at what’s happened since the referendum and I don’t want anyone else to suffer more so the SNP shoukd fight for every seat but there is a nagging in the back of my brain that thinks if the SNP were to stand down and let lab/Tory/lib run the show it would speed on indy2 victory sooner and show more no’ers in a quicker and more direct way just what a mess this Union is and why they should support independence.
@Kevin Evans 4:43
Would you be shocked if the Westminster lot suddenly found additional money for the hard-done-by Scots that had suffered under the SNP for all those years?
That’s what would happen with that scenario. The red and blue Scottish tories would feel no pain. All to make a political point.
Proud Cybernat says:4:30
At times like this I think some no voters should be reminded of the immortal words of George W Bush “There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.”
2016 SNP SNP 2017 FREE
To Slink et al
Re Mr Salmond.
Sorry, been off-line for several days and Salmond story, or non-story(?) was the first thing I saw when I was re-connected. No doubt the MSM will not take such a conciliatory position as others have done here about his absence?
Telt ye, Bingo, Bullseye, Spot on, Ouch, Oooh ya….
What else can we say Rev?
So well put!
@legerwood.
Thd debate will take place when Cameron thinks he commands a big majority
MP’s only got to ask general questions on his statement today.
No doubt Alex will attend the debate proper.
Legerwood
“Firstly, Alex attended a full briefing on Privy Council terms and received a full briefing last night in the Cabinet Office from the security services and the joint chiefs. Therefore, there was nothing in the Prime Minister’s statement which was a surprise or new information to him.
“Secondly, prime ministerial statements are always answered by Angus Robertson as SNP leader in Westminster. When the issue comes to debate and vote Alex will be contributing to the debate as foreign affairs spokesman on the issue of peace and war in Syria.
“Alex was representing his constituents today in the Scottish Parliament as an MSP, and where after watching the Commons statement he attended First Minister’s Questions.
“After voting, Alex will host a Scottish parliamentary reception for veterans, serving armed forces personnel and local community representatives to an event in conjunction with the War Memorials Trust to mark the success of the Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund. In that light and given the nature of that event, the Tories statement is simply crass.
“Finally, Alex is taking part this evening with MSPs in a briefing on the SNP position on Syria which is an issue that deserves a great a deal more than this childish nonsense from the Scottish Tories.
Says it all really!
I rarely if ever watch FMQs, but tripped into it care of watching the armchair heroes in Westminster rattling their sabres. Labour interventions in favour of bombing were even more nauseating than the Tory gung ho brigade. However FMQs started up blanking out Westminster and I was frankly gobsmacked how useless Kezia Dugdale is. This constant reference back to something that did not happen, as if it had, and indeed the disgusting glee at people losing their jobs in the oil industry, its pathetic. Labour deserve to be wiped out in May 2016 and supplanted by their brothers in arms, the conservatives.
Roland Smith says:
“Labour deserve to be wiped out in May 2016 and supplanted by their brothers in arms, the conservatives.”
Why accept the replica when you can have the real thing as the opposition?
I do keep thinking, the way Labour are behaving they stand a real chance of being overtaken by the Tories in May. Who ever thought they could even imagine such a situation?
Not that I have any positive feelings about the Tories nor Ruth Davidson! However, they are the real Unionists, while no one really knows what Labour are. Perhaps it would be better to have Unionism represented by the real thing, rather than an entity which pretends to be something it no longer is.
Because it is a problem in Scotland – a section of traditional Labour voters apparently unaware that Labour now is not the Labour of their youth.
@scott says: 26 November, 2015 at 1:21 pm:
“David Cameron urges MPs to back air strikes as he announces £1bn for reconstruction of Syria.
UK government carbon capture £1bn grant dropped.
This was after the SNP made the point they would not vote for Dave’s bomb Syria all to hell campaign unless certain conditions were met.
One such condition was a Syria Reconstruction Scheme. So, Wide Boy, Dave says, “Great idea so you won’t mind if Scotland is forced to pay for it”?
This decidedly anti-social guy is now well out of all control.
We all remember how nasty and selfish they were in the run up to the referendum. The sub-plot, thinly veiled, was “screw you, we are doing alright…”
I said weeks ago that the independence debate put too much emphasis on oil and economics.
Anyone that argues we are better off economically within the union as a basis for staying is advocating scrounging.
Anyway, bad time to be unemployed in Aberdeen what with the cuts in benefits etc. we are expecting over the next few years.
I won’t pretend I have much sympathy for them.
@Macart says: 26 November, 2015 at 1:32 pm:
“The entire year+ since the referendum has been a never ending litany of job losses and threat of same from essential sectors to the Scottish economy and governmental infrastructure – Power generation, oil and gas, steel, the yards, HMRC.”
It has been evident to many of we independence supporters for some time, yet never ever mentioned by the Establishment’s Propaganda wing, that the conditions prevailing pre-referendum have reversed post-referendum.
Before the fact Scottish inward investment, employment rate, GDP and business vitality outshone that of the rest of the UK. All these trends have now reversed in spite of all the UK Unionist promises of broad shoulders preventing Scottish contraction.
But then we did tell them this would be so. Don’t blame us for we voted YES.
Ot can any one tell me when they have ever heard any good news about Scotland on reporting Scotland bbc I am serious? All I ever hear from bird .renton Campbell Fraser etc., is bad news and they seem to delight in it this is their own country to I wonder if they ever have the courage to look in the mirror
I’m so angry right now, I joked earlier about Kezia getting her arse handed to her at FM questions today, only to find out on the way home from BBC radio Scotland that that didn’t happen, turns out that the SNP are angry unpleasant and don’t deliver on promises.
Time to lose the licence I think….
@Robert Peffers
Along with Ms Dugdale’s brainfart, pretty much the reason for my later more intemperate post Robert.
Folk are up to their necks in bother and still, in the face of all this carnage, they attempt their spin and deflection. Still they attempt to deny reality, their fare share of culpability and simple honest to God responsibility.
They are beyond a disgrace at this point and as many have said, what are they for?
K1 says:
26 November, 2015 at 3:29 pm
Onwards, Scotland did not ‘squander a huge opportunity’. Scotland didn’t disadvantage ‘itself’.
K1, The people of Scotland have to take some of the blame to some extent. Especially voters in the eighties and nineties who kept voting Labour.
When Norway was getting wealthy from keeping jobs and revenues ‘in-house’, there were plenty of oil workers here who were still too feart to support independence despite the proof staring them in the face.
To be fair, we didn’t have the internet at the time – just reams of unionist propaganda on the newsstands every day.
Look at the difference between Scotland and Norway now.
They are sitting on a massive £600 billion investment fund to see them through any tough times, while Scotland has a pile of debt.
The funny thing is that many of the oil workers still won’t admit they got it wrong.
As far as the Tories are concerned Scotland is getting everything she deserves for even attempting to leave ‘The State’ regardless of hurting their loyal No voters.
Many years from now we may be HAPPY we lost indyref1. Can you imagine if we had just won, all these inevitable job losses would be Yes voters fault combined with a probable legal case. Let’s not forget that c*nt Straw talking shite about a US style constitution making leaving the state illegal. Losing that, or a snap rerun of indyref1 would’ve been the end for us.
Take the pain is easy to say, I would rather not see job losses, but in the long run, it may be just what we need to ‘turn’ the toy tractors out there to winning indyref2 for us.
As far as I can make out Scotland is still producing 67% of the UKs need and 66%of the price of a liter is added in fuel duty and 20% vat so the figure of 130 million is horseshit !!
Last profits from Shell were 2 billion for last quarter so corporation tax alone would be in the region of 400 million.
I dont know who is doing the sums but it must be the same guy who said Dod Osbourne has an extra 27 billion to play with!
“K1, The people of Scotland have to take some of the blame to some extent. Especially voters in the eighties and nineties who kept voting Labour.”
“To be fair, we didn’t have the internet at the time – just reams of unionist propaganda on the newsstands every day.”
What is your point? You blame, then caveat. Caveat cancels blame.
I stand by my assertion Onwards. I have no ambivalence regarding where the ‘fault’ lies.
Naivete and innocence is utterly forgivable in terms of that generation.
As you yourself caveat.
It’s been raining all day and the First Minister has yet to apologise as to why she hasn’t done anything about it or indeed offer some hope for Drookit hard working families in Scotland who are suffering because of her inaction
Her record on this matter is appalling, is she going to give the wet dogs of Scotland a better and more accurate prediction of rain in the future
I’m convinced, sign me up Kez
@Macart says:26 November, 2015 at 2:10 pm:
“P.S. Pardon the language.”
Talking about language, Macart. I often have bother sleeping due to my disabilities one of which has a Tinnitus component. To help me drop off I have a bedside radio set to Radio Scotland, (at a very low volume level), to help neutralise the inner ear generated noises.
I’m thus not really listening to the talk. It’s just background noise. However if I’m having a bad night I do pay attention.
Radio Scotland joins Radio Five Live’s Dotun Adebayo’s, “Up All night”, in the wee sma hours. Once per week this has a particularly irritating English Language pedant pontificating on, (in his opinion), what constitutes correct English language usage.
This particularly irritating pedantic shithouse told the audience of Radio Scotland that the incorrect term for the indigenous sovereign people of Scotland is certainly not either Scots or Scottish but, as we all speak English, we must correctly call ourselves, “Scotch”, because that is the English usage by such as he.
The idiot actually admits that he knows the people of Scotland view the term as abusive, insulting and deliberate but, none the less it is incorrect for Scots to use the term Scottish or Scots to describe themselves.
@Anagach says: 26 November, 2015 at 2:23 pm:
” … A tax which is not part of the Scottish Governments budget.”
Not only is it a tax that is not part of the Scottish budget but Scotland doesn’t get a brass farthing of the oil & gas revenues. It all goes directly to the UK treasury.
The benefits Scotland gets from the North Sea is only from the servicing side of the whole sector. Even the vast majority of the workforce are not Scottish and most of the companies are registered outside Scotland.
@Robert Peffers
RE: pedantic shithouse
At least you can claim to have used the proper descriptor. 😀
The main thing Robert is we know who we are and no fella with a dictionary will ever change our minds.
@Golfnut says: 26 November, 2015 at 3:58 pm:
“If there are 1 million barrels pumped daily at 40 dollars a barrel, just whose back pocket is this revenue going into if not the exchequer”
Well! Golfnut, in the first place $40 per barrel is the total price paid for the barrel of oil – it is not the tax revenue levied upon it.
So the calculation is:-
$40-tax revenue-extraction costs=company profits.
and, being a company, this sum goes to the company.
The company then declare what dividends they will pay to their investors/shareholders.
As to where the tax revenues goes to – it certainly does not go to Scotland’s government.
It ALL comes from what the United Kingdom government classify as, “Extra-Regio-Territory”, and the UK Government claims this territory is 100% United Kingdom Territory, (irrespective of the true fact that around 95% of the oil & gas comes out of internationally recognised Scottish geographic jurisdiction), every last farthing of the revennue is claimed by the United Kingdom Treasury.
Which only goes to show how the Westminster Establishment’s Propaganda wing has been so successful in getting the public to believe that when the price of a barrel of oil falls it somehow affects the Scottish Government’s funding.
It doesn’t. For all the SG funding comes from the Scottish Block Grant. This is decided entirely by the UK Treasury in Accordance with the Barnett Formula and absolutely nothing else.
The only losers when oil & gas prices fall are the Oil companies, their investors and the UK treasury.
So you will be forgiven for wondering why the three Unionist parties inn Scotland seem so very pleased to stand up in Holyrood with great big smiles of triumph on their mugs and crow about how Scotland worse off.
Yes there are companies who are losing out but they are in the services sector and there are a minority of actual oil & gas company employees who are actually from Scotland. Most of the workers come off the rigs and fly off home to other countries or have set up homes it what to them is the foreign land of Scotland.
@robertpeffers
suggest you re-tune to R4X through the night
I find these long term oil forecasts strange- other businesses are scrutinised on results, turnover, profit, overheads in the past, whether it be the last month or last quarter or year or whatever.
If my boss tried to castigate me on his own projected performance over the course of the next five years I would be scratching my head.
To be castigated on the performance of an industry the Scottish government has no control over by these Westminster types is ridiculous. If the North Sea industry is in poor shape to weather this current storm, there are 3 bodies you could blame: the big oil and gas companies, the conservative governments down the years and the labour governments down the years.
We in Scotland have truly gone through the looking glass when the First Minister is pulled up at FMQ on the Scottish government forecast of oil prior to the referendum. Kezia seemed to accuse Nicola of lying at one point? If Nicola had ignored all the projected oil revenue figures and told the country: actually the price of oil will bottom out for 5 years she would have been treated with derision.
When so many pressing issues face us, in the key debating chamber in our country for the leader of the opposition to return again and again with this dire contribution of petty point scoring is beneath contempt. She fails to understand what a parliament is for and is doing nothing to arrest labour’s descent.
She certainly achieved the sum total of fuck all for the working men and women of Scotland today.
@Bob Mack says: 26 November, 2015 at 4:15 pm:
“Mr Salmond is a Privy Counsellor and would have been given the Prime Ministers Statement probably last night.
There was no debate. It was a Statement.”
Thank you, Bob, as perceptive as usual. I’m always amazed that so many wingers fall for the Establishments propaganda. You just pointed out what the press and broadcasters should have been doing in a proper democratic state.
Kezia doesn’t seem to have a strategy beyond SNPbad. She has little or nothing of value to say about genuine issues and policy and I doubt she shares the policies and issues of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.
The question must be what are Scottish Labour for? They are useless as an opposition and seem more comfortable playing on the same side as Willie and Ruth than forging their own identity. It is little wonder that the SNP polls so well. There really isn’t an option.
The real threat to the North Sea basin, from Scottish Energy News;
“Dunlin will shut five years before plan, which will mean all the other fields going into Sullom Voe [oil terminal] will have increased operating costs.
The domino effect is now a significant challenge. If some of these fields are shut in, it will affect the whole basin.”
Funny how Dunlin decom plans have disappeared from the Oil and Gas Authority’s site.
BTW Enquest are looking at a new pipeline to by-pass Dunlin infrastructure. Hope they go ahead with it.
Quad 204 oil (Schiehallion) will be tankered direct to Europe by-passing Sullom Voe.
British government’s strategy exposed. Secure supplies. By-pass unruly neighbour. The clock is ticking, we need to put a stop to it.
@Macart says: 26 November, 2015 at 8:55 pm:
“RE: pedantic shithouse
At least you can claim to have used the proper descriptor. 😀
The main thing Robert is we know who we are and no fella with a dictionary will ever change our minds.”
This is much more than just a guy with a dictionary, Macart.
This is a guy, Without, a Dictionary who imagines he knows best. The accent alone is not what one would describe as, “The Queen’s English”. I have identified several mistakes in both his grammar and pronunciation in the past.
He is biased, self important and insulting.
What are Scottish Labour For……… That’s easy, it’s their job to supply Lobby Fodder for the Red Torries at Westminister, by any means.
Robert Peffers – ‘biased, self important and insulting’ – sums up the BBC to a T.
@heraldnomore says: 26 November, 2015 at 9:13 pm
“suggest you re-tune to R4X through the night”
Matter of fact it would probably be better to off-tune to a point with no programme. The off-tune hissing sound would be a lot closer to White-Noise and would be better for masking out the inner ear generated Tinnitus sounds.
Thing is, while still awake, I find I can drop off to sleep if there is totally uninteresting stuff to bore me to sleep – Radio Scotland sure as hell fits that description.
As it happens I spent 50 odd years in electronics and it is just sheer laziness that prevents me building a proper White Noise Generator. It is not a difficult circuit to design or build.
Here’s hoping they leave some of our resources to benefit Scots in the future, when we finally throw off the Westminster shackles.
Ian Hamilton@10.38
The unionists in westmonster will asset strip Scotland, it has already started. That way when we do have a 2nd referendum, then they think they can say it so people will believe it, that Scotland is really, really very poor and even more stupid.
There is plenty of oil, the tories of all colours have undermined the industry in the North sea, stifled investment etc. A book called ‘Black and Green Gold’ which I bought in a charity shop a couple of years ago is a first hand account of how the industry was starting to be taxed to the hilt with underinvestment, but with lots of oil still to tap. The book is about the Aberdeen oil and also moving into renewables, by the Balmoral Group. It is very interesting if you can get hold of it, published 2010.
I am aware of one Aberdeen-shire resident couple, ardent no supporters whose reason for voting same, was the style of life they lived. “We wouldn’t have this in an independent Scotland”.
Two top of the range luxuary cars returned to dealer & house up for sale.
http://splash247.com/uks-revenues-from-north-sea-oil-and-gas-slide-94/
@WuffingDog, 9.42 26 November
British government’s strategy exposed. Secure supplies. By-pass unruly neighbour. The clock is ticking, we need to put a stop to it.
Good summing up
Shetland Council were excluded from the discussions between the UK government and the oil companies.
http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/11626-schiehallion-to-bypass-sullom-voe
“What are we saying here?”
That the No campaign made great play of how the UK’s “broad shoulders” would protect Scotland in the event of an oil price crash. Well, there’s been a crash and tens of thousands of jobs have still been lost, and the people made unemployed are having their benefits attacked. Some protection.
(And also that the UK government promised a No vote would lead to a £200bn boom, so it’s pretty comical for them to constantly attack the SNP for being wrong about their revenue predictions.)
August 29th, 2014.
“The 28 analysts polled by Reuters forecast Brent crude oil would average $105.30 a barrel in 2015, little changed from the $105.20 forecast in the July poll. The North Sea benchmark has averaged $108.13 so far this year and $108.70 in 2013.”
https://archive.is/eZuyK
Turns out that the White Paper was largely in line with predictions by not one or two, but twenty-eight by oil industry experts.
SNP Baaaaaad!