The new Scottish Secretary, Alistair Carmichael, in Holyrood magazine in 2010:
“Getting rid of the Scotland Office is a ‘job waiting to be done’, says Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael, dubbing the current Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy as a ‘tax-funded campaign manager for the Labour Party in Scotland’.
In an interview with Holyrood magazine, Carmichael said that if his party got into power there would be no Scotland Office, asserting that he would instead head up a department of the Nations and Regions.
He continued: “I think there is a job to be done but having the Scotland Office is not the right way to do it because it should be the clearing house between government in Edinburgh and government in London but now it is just a focal point for conflict.”
And here’s this morning’s BBC News:
“Alistair Carmichael, the man who is replacing [Michael Moore], the chief whip, I think he will adopt more of an abrasive, in-your-face approach to Alex Salmond.
There’s going to be less of the sort of sotto-voce criticism, much more right-in-your-face. Clearly they feel maybe they need to step it up a level.”
Our emphases, as usual. Hey ho.
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LOL now he wants to make it a point of conflict.
Is he any relation to Ian Carmichael, star of the film “Lucky Jim” (also starring Terry-Thomas)?
abrasive, aggresive, in your face. fantastic qualities for an honorable mp.
If things were in a ‘steady as she goes’ mode, this sacking would not have taken place, something or someone has obviously ‘spooked the horses’. I smell fear from ‘Project Fear’!
Cameron’s probably foaming at the mouth with all the bad publicity he’s getting regarding Scotland and his “chicken” wings, BT is losing the plot, Moore wasn’t making any headway. I reckon there’s been a few very heated meetings just recently in Westminster about how to tame the Scots – the bad stuff is just about to get a little bit more deadly, get ready folks.
You don’t throw in a winning hand that is for sure
In the immortal words of someone , bring it on
2010?
So it can’t be a bad memory then.
To the new Viceroy I can only say “Ave Ally, independenti te salutamus”. It sums feeling wonderfully.
I don’t know if he is Major.
But I certianly do not like the cut of the mans jib.
The hypocrisy of the unionists is yet another reason for you to vote yes.
“‘tax-funded campaign manager for the Labour Party in Scotland’.“
But it’s fine if it’s a tax funded campaign manager for the Lib Dems and Tories. Or just Westminster and the union more generally. In that case lets get all abrasive and insult and smear the elected Scottish government even more than we have been doing already.
I suppose if DC is feeling uncomfortable because of his refusal to debate with AS, then the small matter of sacking MM may provide a useful, temporary distraction.
Another non-tory-Tory fall guy, human shield, scapegoat, sacrificial lamb to the slaughter. Can’t wait for the debates with this one!
Since they’re bringing in this shouty, in yer face chap, maybe they think we’re deaf?
I mean we got the message from Westminster first time round with the quieter lad.
I have be honest here and say I would not know Carmichael if you dropped him on me from a great height. What has he been involved in?
I think it used to be called the Secretary of State for Scotland. When did they change to to the Secretary of State against Scotland?
It’s obvious that they’re going to have to get “shouty” because we’re ‘foreigners’ to them and we all know that shouting makes you more easily understood.
It is so obvious. Cameron needs a focal point other than himself and so Carmichael is being bigged up as a representative of the Coalition.
Darling does not cut it with even a modicum of questioning as he is just a Labour backbencher based in London most of the time and Cameron knows it.
That 12 mile limit for Orkney and Shetland needs to be on the posters. Vote No as your MP tells you and you can have all the oil within 12 miles of Lerwick and Kirkwall, or you can be part of the Scottish revolution and experience.
“Alistair Carmichael, will adopt more of an abrasive, in-your-face approach to Alex Salmond.”
Oh no! Please no. Not another from the J Lamont school of shouty, ill mannered, lying politics? It’s bad enough watching her week in and week out without the governor general now wading in! (wee greety faced thing bob).
Still, on the upside, and for those of you paying more attention than me, what’s the score now for Alex regarding seeing off opposition leaders and governor generals?
It would now appear that even the unionists agree that having two governments is one too many.
We just have to decide which one we want to keep.
OT, but Derek Bateman is hoofing it into Labour (and Grahamski) at the moment.
Well worth a read.
Rev, maybe it would be interesting if we could compile a what they said then, and what they say now list from various unionist politicians!
Wonder if Carmichael will try the old partioning routine so beloved of the brits in years gone by.
How would the unionists like it if the Scottish Government started bullying the English and claiming the Isle of Wight for Scotland?
Okay – they’re doing this because they are dissatisfied with MM’s approach/demeanor/apathy, and they have hope this guy will turn things around…or – they’re doing this because they feel they’ve already lost and they want to give the new guy a duff assignment, thus humiliating him in Sept 2014 so that they can snigger and point at him behind his back.
Alternatively – they KNOW they are going to lose, and this guy is the best candidate for doing the bulk of the negotiations with the Scottish Government.
Its all going Wizard of Oz as far as i can tell
After Nicola easily dealt with The TinMan Michael Moore, and then managed to suffer the wannabe Scarecrow in Anas Sarwar, I look forward to her smiling as Mr Carmichael roars at her like the Lion encountering Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road.
One nose tweak later and it will all be over!
Interesting quote from Clegg in letter to Moore per BBC website :
“In a letter to the MP, Mr Clegg said: “Not only have you successfully piloted through legislation to enable Scotland to take a major step towards the party’s long held goal of Home Rule, but you have also ensured that the referendum next year will give the Scottish people a clear and decisive question on which to cast their vote.”
So-o-o-oh, are the Libdems voting Yes? If not why not? What is this Home Rule that’s on the ballot paper?
Moore was too respectful of the rights of the only Government in the UK to have a parliamentary majority gained in free and fair election. Clegg and Brave Dave have decided we need to be reminded that they are Westminster and they are sovereign so they appoint some shouty bruiser who will ignore the democratic mandate and subvert our First Minister and our Scottish Parliament.
Yet again, Westminster isn’t working for Scotland. Vote Yes and let us make our own mistakes rather than accepting Westminster’s ones.
So just days after Salmond gave Cameron the option to either debate with him or butt out completely, Dave responds by sending one of his heavies into the fight.. Sounds like a feartie to me…And I wonder what this replacement Secretary of State AGAINST Scotland will do? Attempt to sell a positive case for the Union or just tell the same old scare stories and lies, but shout them at us instead..
Firstly I’m not sure it’s such a good idea to be changing horses in the middle of the race. Replacing a known figure, with a handle on the brief with an unknown one without? Is that really sensible?
Secondly do they really think that an abrasive and in your face model is the one to adopt in the last 11 months (or less as I assume Carmichael will take a bit of time to bed in). Alex and Nicola will not be unduly worried by that. I find that an abrasive approach is much more of a turn off. See Kirsty Wark and Jerment Paxman’s abrasive attitude to the SNP for a case in point. And see how easily Alex and Nicola’s calm authority makes these masters of in your face abrasion look small and petty.
Sometimes I wonder if they actually want to win this referendum!
and former Viceroy, Murphy about to be demoted….
@heraldnomore
eh?
heraldnomore
Tell us more! Labour also doing a shuffle this week. I can see nowt in the news so far.
I noticed something about Norman Smith saying, Faslane may have to remain part of England.
Is that something very old, from several months ago, or has this come up again?
Bbc showing their usual grasp of detail said he’d be replacing moore as head of the no campaign, and moore had been too soft, for example he’d never come out and said Scotland couldn’t survive as an independent country.
Unrelnting positivity is what we can expect then.
Sorry Stu all I can think of is what I posted over on Munguin’s.
UKOK Tower: Muppet 1 this is UKOK Tower calling are you receiving?
Muppet 1: Are you talking to me UKOK Tower?
UKOK Tower: Affirmative!
Muppet 1: does that mean yes?
UKOK Tower: *SIGH* yes Muppet 1 that does indeed mean YES!
UKOK Tower: Muppet 1 RTB!
Muppet 1: RTB UKOK Tower?
UKOK Tower: Affirmative!
Muppet 1: What does RTB mean UKOK Tower?
UKOK Tower: for goodness sake Muppet 1 et your earse back to base!
UKOK Tower: Muppet 2 you are cleared for taker off!
Muppet 2: take off what UKOK Tower?
UKOK Tower: don’t you bloody well start Muppet 2 I’;ve had just about enough with Muppet 1 just get your earse into the air pronto!
Muppet 2: pronto?
UKOK Tower: *BANG*
“OT, but Derek Bateman is hoofing it into Labour (and Grahamski) at the moment.
Well worth a read.”
Where?
Snippet from Telegraph. Labour reshuffle speculation.
What will happen to the Blairites? The Labour Left are in the ascendant, and they are looking for scalps. Unite’s Len McCluskey has frequently called for Miliband to rid himself of apostates such as Liam Byrne, Stephen Twigg, and Jim Murphy. If Miliband were to do so, it would send a damaging signal that McCluskey is the man really pulling the shadow cabinet strings, so a mass cull is unlikely. That said, Labour’s conference shows Miliband is not afraid of charges he is taking his party to the Left, so a purge can’t be completely ruled out.
link to archive.is
McHaggis
For Bateman link scroll up top page and click Derek Bateman.
He has two blogs on the go there.
Maybe they want to keep Orkney and Shetland in the event of a “no” vote from that region and a “yes” vote from the mainland. Alistair has had a seat there for some time.
The NO campaign has dumped one of it’s strongest cards!
link to archive.is
@ Brian Powell at 3.16.
Radio Scotland this morning. The point is (if I heard right) he wasn’t talking about Faslane remaining part of rUK (which makes a kind of perverse sense). He was talking about Faslane remaining part of ENGLAND.
Jim Murphy has been moved from his position as Shadow Defence Secretary. Stephen Twigg has also lost his job as Shadow Education Secretary.
“How would the unionists like it if the Scottish Government started bullying the English and claiming the Isle of Wight for Scotland?”
Maybe the SNP should try it? Not bullying, just standing in constituencies where Blair’s stolen oil has ended up and offer them the SNP prospectus (including similar autonomy and resource rights as looking likely to be offered to the islands) plus joining with Scotland instead of being run by Westminster. Might find a surprising amount of support.
Murphy to International Development? That is a bit weird. I can’t imagine he is too pleased. Still he will get to go to lots of countries…just sans aircraft carriers.
With Moore at a loose end, I wonder if that means Darling’s days as head of BT are numbered. After all, he made it plain from the start he was a reluctant conscript to the role.
Maybe Moore’s exit coincides with negotiations being largely complete? The white paper and joint UK-Scottish Government statement is due just next month.
Time to put a raving, voter betraying unionist who doesn’t like foreigners in place to push the Scots to Yes?
I agree with much of the New Statesman article anyway.
So the Blairites are being removed from the great trough. Wonder how long that will last?
I watched the excellent movie “A Royal Affair” last night, a highly recommended show on 1770s Danish Court and the Council cabal of greed and misery looking after themselves while the common man suffers by their action and inaction.
The lengths that people will go to protect their lifestyle was as frightening then as it it now, only now, they dont even bother doing it behind closed doors.
“I watched the excellent movie “A Royal Affair” last night”
That IS a good movie.
Reshuffling of deckchairs on the Titanic springs to mind. I mean look how successful the three Unionist Scottish Leaders have been since the resignations of their three namesakes after the hammering their parties took from the SNP via the voting public at the Holyrood 2001 Election, right? Getting even more shouty for the hard of hearing Jocks will work, wont it? Well, wont it, lol.
I was doing some housekeeping on my PC and found a list made last summer with my impressions of some milestones in the lead up to the referendum. These likely milestones are based on nothing more than what I have read on websites such as this. Interesting as a year on, most of them have come true.
• Jubilee and Olympics
• Polls show slight rise in support for union
• Rangers go down the Swanee
• Indy ref agreed for SNP favoured date circa Oct 2014, with SNP favoured wording, and no 2nd question
• Scottish Labour announces shift to right
• Scotland fail to qualify for Brazil world cup
• Labour splits into pro union and pro indy factions
And here are the events from the list that have yet to happen, but maybe will?
• Major newspaper supports indy
• McCrone report distributed to all Scottish households
• A range of establishment figures reveal support for Indy
• Conversations amongst normal people reach ‘tipping point’ – more often than not, when talking to people about politics, it turns out they already support indy
• Black flag event such as Adam Busby sending a couple of letter bombs to unionist politicians
• 2014 indy rally gathers 50,000, held in Glasgow
• 1m signatures for independence
• Referendum
New post, Mr Bateman on Mr Moore
link to drderekbateman.wordpress.com
“Reshuffling of deckchairs on the Titanic springs to mind. “
I’m surprised in looking at the re-shuffles just how few names I’ve heard of, and the number I’ve heard of but can’t remember which party they’re in and can’t bring to mind anything they’ve ever done.
Albalha
No love lost there then. But the point Bateman also makes is that these ‘big players’ are just paper tigers. The whole NO campaign is rotten inside and only the semblance of a shell holds the thing together.
I doubt his replacement will be any different but when listening to him a few minutes ago on BBC radio Scotland, he’s full of himself.
Vernon Coaker moves from his job as shadow Northern Ireland secretary to shadow defence secretary, replacing Mr Murphy.
From wiki; not much there!
In January 2010, Mr Coaker apologised for remarks that misled MPs. Mr Coaker had earlier told MPs that 70 police officers were hurt as a result of a Climate Change protest at Kingsnorth power station.
In fact, there were only 12 injuries that were legally reportable with just four of those involving contact with another person.[4] The remaining eight injuries included “wasp sting”, an injury while “sitting in a car”, and an officer succumbing “to sun and heat”.
There were 68 injuries in total with the rest being treated by first aiders at the scene. The whole operation had involved more than 1,000 officers.[4]
Cath, its gotten to the point with me, that its a case of ‘same s**t different day’ with these chancers, if you’ll excuse my poor grasp of French. It already is a stuck record from the Unionists with yet another one churning out the same old negative mantra. Not exactly got all the hallmarks of a winning formula, eh!
This begs the question: Why are Scots paying for the SoSfS to attack our own government when he is supposed to be pushing Scottish interests in the Cabinet?
Why is SoSfS only acting for No voters as opposed to taking a more balanced view as a go-between and facilitator on all aspects of Scottish UK relations?
Secondly this is complete interference by Cameron. He has sanctioned this (from BBC) “David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s desire to have a more combative figure in the job to take the fight to SNP leader Alex Salmond.”
Since it is obvious that Cameron is taking a direct action on behalf of the UK, now he has even less grounds to avoid debate, he is certainly not butting out, he is butting in further.
SNP should call him an interfering coward and puppeteer and state that if the future of the UK is as important as he says, he needs to make his case. As for choosing a team Captain, that’s already been done by making him UK PM and Salmond selected as FM
The Scottish Parliament was created by an act of the UK Parliament. The SNP won a majority of that Parliament under the rules set by that Act.
The Scottish Goverment called a Referendum on the future of Scotland legitimately under the terms of the Scottish Parliament and the Act that led to it`s creation
The Secretary of State must recognise the legitimate right of the elected Scottish Parliament and to ensure fair play in the conduct of the Referendum.
HE HAS NO OTHER LEGITIMATE ROLE.
The Lib dems now have seriously low credibility and trust across Scotland. If AC now has to act like an attack dog (as billed), I cannot see this going down well at all, no matter how the MSM stage it.
Indeed Moore did at least support the process. AC does not support his own role, or the referendum really, he also voted for WAR in Syria recently (voted aye), he is a liability to the no campaign.
Like all LDs he also voted against Scottish ministers having any oversight whatever in the new so called borrowing powers of the devolved parliament (link to theyworkforyou.com).
All in all, there are many questions and challenges that can be asked of AC and this puts him up as more as a target than Moore. Its funny, given that Islay has tons of local talent and the island itself benefits Scotland as a major exporter and source of revenue and culture, it seems this has been counterbalanced by the likes of AC and George Robertson.
Alisatir Carmichael, a man who once said the post of Scottish Secretary shouldnt exist, Carmichael also said Holyrood and Stormont shouldnt exist either.
Mr Carmichael only wants Westminster and his ascention, up the greasy pole of advancement through appeasement of his southern political masters.
Newsbreak……Murphy moved to International Development.
Responsibilities
The main role of the Scottish Secretary is to promote and protect the devolution settlement.
Other responsibilities include promoting partnership between the UK government and the Scottish government, and relations between the 2 Parliaments.
link to gov.uk
Yet Moore revelations from Mr Bateman.He’s having two bites of the cherries.(sounds painful)
Link above on the blue column top page
So we are provided with a Secretary of State for Scotland from the minority LIbDems – Scotland and rUK-for the second time,and both Moore and Carmichael have expressed the view that the office of SoS for Scotland should be abolished. Haun knitted for the job.
Why was wee Mundy passed over,he is the big near majority-in rUK- Tory party’s man in Scotland?
Just can’t wait to hear Murphy’s heartfelt concerns for the people of…..wherever, as the Yanks would say.Plus side for him is that he get to travel with the arms trade missions, to wherever.
On Sunday, Nov 4th 2012, John Rentoul of The Independent was fed a line which he obediently repeated. Clearly it was not meant to end like this! The report is as comical as its headline and caption!
——
The man who saved the Union: Lib Dem Michael Moore is Westminster’s answer to James Bond
The SNP will ask the Scottish electorate to vote for a greased pig in a dark poke
link to ind.pn
Amazingly AC took 62% of the vote in Orkney & Shetland against approx 10% each for SNP & Labour in the 2010 general election.
What are they drinking up there?
Whatever his views, Michael Moore did conduct himself in a gentlemanly manner. That is about to change with more yaboo style dialogue with Alistair Carmichael, couldn’t call it debate.
Tonight on Newsdrive Scotland, Gary Robertson I think, said he managed to get one question in when interviewing AC.
Haggistrap
Not what they drink, it’s the gas and oil fumes. It is fair to say that the population will have many folk who 30 years ago would have been happily working elsewhere and bringing up a family. So it’s a diverse cross-section of settled folk with newer folk just putting their roots down and there has always been a ‘we can look after ourselves’ approach to life.
When you have your MP stirring things up to thwart the SG for personal reasons (see link) it appears that things are not as they are on the mainland. However I believe that the voters will be, in the main, quite happy to stick with Scotland.
link to archive.is
Haggistrap
Regarding AC and his share of the vote, I suspect there are several factors coming in to play:
Orkney and Shetland have always been traditional Lib territory – think Jo Grimond, Jim Wallace
There is probably a huge “personal” vote for him as well. This is classic Liberal stuff. The late Rae Michie was hugely popular, likewise Charles Kennedy. Almost like the politics took second place to the personality. Might be the case with AC as well. Mind you, I am talking about old school liberalism here – not the new “in bed with the tories” stuff
Just arm-waving here – might be other reasons
Anyway, sometimes people must learn a lesson the hard way.
Alistair is about to learn ‘never trust a Tory’ in this manner.
Will be ‘sucked in and spat out” just like Mr Moore.
There is always hope maybe the people involved in these groups can shed a light on the current popularity of their MP.
link to yesshetland.info
link to facebook.com
simian hoofer of the daily mail
Well I do believe we could make a legitimate claim on DONCASTER !
Think Carmichael has been chosen because of his constituency, heritage Liberal and location, deep in oil country, also his large majority at last vote.
I thought that his comments on the Scotland Act were interesting way back in May 2012, wonder if he is still of the same opinion?
Commenting, Mr Carmichael said:
‘While debates over further devolution and independence will continue, the Scotland Act is a big step in the right direction. The Scottish Liberal Democrats have always been a home rule party and the measures included in this bill offer Holyrood significant new powers. Since the creation of the Scottish Parliament, no First Minister has been responsible for raising the money that they spend. The Scotland Act goes some way towards addressing this anomaly”.
http://web.archive.org/web/20130103040523/http://www.alistaircarmichael.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=225:scotland-act-largest-transfer-of-powers-since-act-of-union-carmichael&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=72
@ScotFree1320: On Sunday, Nov 4th 2012, John Rentoul of The Independent was fed a line which he obediently repeated. Clearly it was not meant to end like this! The report is as comical as its headline and caption!
Thanks very much, ScotFree1320! From that link:
Salmond has been underestimated before, although support for independence in opinion polls has rarely exceeded one third of the electorate. But he may have met his match in Moore, as skilful in judging the politics of Whitehall as he is the mood of Scotland. It may be that, after the referendum, Moore will be counted the most successful Liberal Democrat in the Cabinet, and, even, the man who saved the United Kingdom.
Ah, hindsight…
Albalha
Thanks for the link to the Islands. I liked this little jewel.
I wonder if Mr Carmichael will be able to repeat the Better Together mantra that oil will run out in 2 weeks/2 months/2 years etc with a straight face while being perfectly aware that there is more than a wee bit of oil in his own constituency.
Daughter of the Evil Reindeer mentions:
“Scottish Liberal Democrats have always been a home rule party” I’d like to see this statement fleshed out a bit more. What does he actually MEAN by “home rule”. Is that complete independence? Devo max? Devo uber-hyper-super-max? What fiscal powers? Defence? Foreign policy? Nukes?
According to:
link to scotlibdems.org.uk
They are in favour of a “federal” UK? Sounds almost like independence by another name.
I am pretty certain that this “federalism” is NOT what BT is all about.
sorry this is O/T but if anyone is in Edinburgh tomorrow with 5 minutes to kill they might like to go along to the old Ferranti Crewe Toll site where a certain Mr Hammond is apparently planning to give a talk to the workers there.
www.munguinsrepublic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/please-feel-free-to-welcome-that-nice.html
This will be them getting ready to say Orkney and Shetland do not want independance and will stay part of England
Mr Carmichael has just been on the telly blathering some sh1te or other about being proud to be newly selected Uncle Tom Jock of choice and something struck me…
I’ve seen him before..
Murphy
There is a hint that some folk thing a policy change on trident could be on the horizon.
link to archive.is
@ James Westland
All seems a bit vague… Anyway, the report of the Scottish Liberal Democrat’s Home Rule and Community Rule Commission – bit from the student paper The Journal.
It proposes an alternative to independence in which a future Scottish parliament would be given responsibility for generating the majority of its own revenues and controlling subsequent domestic expenditure, while local councils would be allocated greater financial autonomy in an effort to strengthen local democracy.
Were the commission’s recommendations to be implemented, the Act of Union between Scotland and England would be replaced by a declaration of federal union. Responsibility for defence, foreign affairs and welfare would remain with a federal UK parliament at Westminster, but the Scottish government would be responsible for most domestic issues.
http://www.journal-online.co.uk/article/9538-scottish_liberal_democrats_endorse_proposals_for_home_rule
but the Hootsmon has more on the nitty–gritty…
THE Scottish Government should be stripped of its power to effectively impose the council tax freeze across the country, under a blueprint for a federal UK unveiled today by former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell.
link to scotsman.com
Not quite sure how this would fit in with their coalition role or their BT role.
Cheap and nasty.
Oh Dear God, it’s LORD Jeremy Purvis now. Have these folk no self-respect at all?
In relation to the comments above from EphemeralDeception and Call Me Dave about the role and responsibilities of the Secretary Of State for Scotland, according to this article from the BBC’s Political Correspondent Iain Watson – link to archive.is – it’s apparently ‘to tweak Alex Salmond’s tail.”
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that the role of the opposition in the Scottish Parliament, rather than a member of the Westminster Cabinet, (that we are partly funding, no less)?
And I can’t see how that squares with the job description to “promote partnership between the UK government and the Scottish government, and relations between the 2 Parliaments.”
HoraceSaysYes
Thanks for that link. It will take a better man/woman to tweak the tail of AS than the new boy on the block.. Changing horses in mid stream is strange and somethings afoot, both in the coalition and in the better together grouping about how the independence debate is panning out.
Maybe their (private) polling is alarming them or maybe Moore told Cameron to do the decent thing and take AS on in a head to head. It will all come out in the wash soon enough.
Now Now Horace – as you well know the role of the SoS for Jockland’s job as new Uncle Tom Jock is to keep all us little jocks in line and the money flowing to Westminster.
Partnership! lol – what do you think this is… a union of equals!!??
Usual BBC bias, under UK political news, the Party Conferences section shows 4 political parties including UKIP. Comments are permitted for Tories, Labour and Libdems but not UKIP. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t want comments on UKIP but what blatant bias and stifling of viewpoints.
The same is probably going to happen with Scottish Greens and SNP conferences. The BBC is not fit for purpose, although my grandaughter thinks they do a good job on Cbeebies.
Nice little piece here on Moore.
link to lallandspeatworrier.blogspot.co.uk
Call me Dave: “Changing horses in mid stream is strange and somethings afoot, both in the coalition and in the better together grouping about how the independence debate is panning out.”
A fascinating point. WTF is going on? You dont change a winning team. There is a look of desperation about this. Please please please let it be so……
Well didn’t it all tumble out from LORD Jeremy Purvis on Newsnicht; the LibDems are leading the push for the UK coalition gov to keep Scotland in the Union and it was the LibDems that decided it was time for a change of horse, by removing Moore and sticking in ‘bruiser’ Carmichael as SoS.
He gleefully said it twice, he’s the LORD in charge of LibDem strategy/ Scotland for the UK, so it must be TRUE and does that mean i’ts the bloody-silly-party LibDems who are running the UK gov’s side for Scotland, that they have been given Scotland to look after? Now that is a class act from Call me Dave – that is real contempt in action!
Then the real torag class acts Torcquil and Severin were wheeled out to explain what a clever ploy it all was and that Salmond’s contempt for Moore would not happen with ‘bruiser’ Carmichael, or words to that dire effect. These bampots are definitely smoking much too much ganja! Add to that Alistair of the black eybrows slinging his handbag at Gordon of the moral compass on the real Newsnight from Blighty and it was quite an incredible evening all round!
You know that theory of Scottish_Skier. The one that says the Tory party want Scotland out of the way! He might be right.
PS: Bit of fun here: Mr Salmond.
archive.is/Eaq8f
See the first comment. Corker!!
I wish they had made Phillip Hammond Scottish secretary,
oh what fun we could have had
simon says
“I think it used to be called the Secretary of State for Scotland. When did they change to to the Secretary of State against Scotland?”
1979,
we’ve NEVER had a secretary of state FOR Scotland since then
O/T
More lies from Darling;
link to huffingtonpost.co.uk
Sally Magnusson @ 07.00 today
“The BBC has seen a Ministry of Defence internal briefing document on Scottish independence, it raises concerns the effect a yes vote would have on the politics, the economy, and the standing of the rest of the UK”
quote ends
now we’re getting to the REAL reasons for the bitter attacks on the independence campaign
soor ploom anyone?
BBC Scotland is reporting that Murphy is being posted to Project Fear.
Murphy to Project Fear, it was mentioned that he would devote his newly found abundance of Free Time now to “defending the Union” on Newsnight Scotland.
These people really have no shame. Thanks to the posters who have highlighted how the Sec of State for Scotland is anything but FOR Scotland, incredible really, if it was a gag on The Thick Of It we would slam Armando Ianucci for “taking it too far!”
Given that the SNP are all for joining federal europe with power and authority centralised in Brusselsminster….why so offended by a federal UK. Switzerland is a federal country that has 4 languages and cultures under its flag. German, French, Italian and Romanch speakers. It has a seven person rotating presidency so that no one person has absolute rule, a parlaiment…could be a goer. is all i would say. UKIP advocate that policy aswelll as the LIB`s.
Is it not possible (even probable) that Michael Moore has had a look at the figures, listened to the arguments and come to the sensible conclusion?
He has after all, had access to a lot of information about Scotland’s finances, and may have had to say to Dave “Umm actually I can’t argue against independence any more”
“why so offended by a federal UK.”
Who’s offended by it? Many people would have preferred it but it’s not an option on the ballot paper. Westminster has had 300 years to deliver a federal system – and it’s been discussing home rule for Scotland for 150 of them. It ain’t happening.
“UKIP advocate that policy aswelll as the LIB`s. “
UKIP certainly don’t. They want to abolish Holyrood and replace it with a Westminster MPs committee. The Libs said they did but when they had a real chance to do it, ie a coalition with the SNP in 2007 coupled with being in government in the UK in 2010, they ran a mile.
cath
Hear! Hear!
The Libs have been parading ‘Home Rule’ / Federalism for over 100 years. They actually had a chance to do it once but chickened out.
You are right it’s not on the Ballot paper. It’s a meant to distract and set a false trail away from the real issue. Look a ginger squirrel!
UKIP: Aye right!