Wings Over Scotland

Welcome aboard – great to have someone who can come out and tell us why they have changed their mind and be proud about it. I am proud of your courage because it is not easy to be so public about a change of mind.

Thank you for bringing this series to my attention. I was not aware of it before. No animosity. No jingoism. No arrogance. Just concern for the local community and its compassion. That marks, to me at least, the true Scottish attitude to our nation.

Well said. Thank you!

When the very obvious hits you then you wonder why it took you so long to see the very obvious. Well done that young lady and welcome to the cause,

A hundred thousand welcomes to Jenny Constable

We all have a different view but to say
“Scotland and England are not compatible, we want different things”

That was the most striking comment from someone who a few years ago argued to stay under the boot of WM

Welcome to all NO to YES folk.

welcome aboard
the great thing is that once you make the decision it makes such sense and theres no going back

That was very moving.

Oh dear – it seems that quite a few of those switching (having been sold a pup on Europe – thanks Ruth) are now more determined than ever to right the wrong. Some of them, like this intelligent young lady featured here, worked so hard for BT in 2014, and I think many will double their efforts to help us secure a YES vote.

Intelligent, hard-working converts: What an asset for the cause. 🙂

IF there is another ref that is – I am beginning to wonder some big surprises are ahead of us. 🙂

Can’t wait to see the sour BritNats’ faces when they realise the game is, finally over.

I still find it hard to understand why anyone watching Brexit unfold would want to choose Westminster to decide their future.
LibDem Scottish politicians will accept a Westminster Tory Brexit rather than Indpendence.
Labour Scottish politicians will do what London HQ dictates.

All of those previous countries under the Empire rule must be baffled by our reluctance to simply vote for that which they had to fight so hard for.

bobajock @ 11:29,

Well, there are unfortunately (though they don’t often shout it out). Those who have been captured by the anti-immigration rhetoric of the EUref. And whether we are in the EU or out, Nicola has (rightly) made it very clear that immigration is important for Scotland’s future, so it may be hard to get those folk back, this being such a dog-whistle issue.

The bitter irony for such backsliders is that non-EU immigration into the UK remains as high as ever, for all the anti-immigration rhetoric. And the power to control that lies solely in the hands of… guess who…? UKGov, untramelled by any EU control whatever. As it always has been.

But you would never guess that listening to the R4 lunchtime news, as I did the other day.

And you can bet your house on “immigration” being an issue at IR2, since the BitterTogetherers have only scare left in their barren inventory of lies.

I spotted the STV interview of Tove McDonald on twitter. She is 87 and has lived in Scotland for 59 years, now has to register or leave. These people can’t wait 10 years for independence, there is a good chance they may have passed on by then, in someplace they no longer consider home.

Looks like knife crime across the “country” is the latest squirrel to be used by the English media to talk about anything other than Brexit.

Aye we need people. I read an article recently on population trends in Scotland, it concluded that by 2040 there will be no one resident / living north and west of Inverness.

The most powerful aspect of these No to Yes stories, is that the folk involved are not just sharing on places like here, but they are having direct conversations with family, friends etc about WHY they changed their views, and those groups will almost certainly contain other No voters from 2014.

I would also imagine that if they now feel conned in 2014 by BT then their voices would be vocicerous when it comes to discussions with others.

Within 5 years of a booming indy Scotland, you will struggle to find anyone willing to admit voting No.

Somebody cheesed off that unionists lied to her. That Scotland has no voice in Westminster. That sticking with the union looks like a worse bet that independence.

This seems astonishing because nobody who had paid attention at any point in the last forty years of British political history could expect anything different.

The culprit I believe is the media. Anyone who took a superficial look at the issues got a very strong impression from the media that independence is some mad racist’s fantasy, an impecunious leap into the dark, compared to the stone-eteched certainties of British stability and tolerance.

At least Brexit is now making some people look a bit deeper. Good on you Jenny for keeping your critical faculties open.

A warm welcome to Yes young lady I hope you help many more to come across to Scotland’s side.

In the end it will only be the very old, knuckle draggers and the daft who support the so called union.

Nice one phantom films.

Craig P @ 12:30,

Aye, you are right there. Desperately trying to keep control of the narrative from up on high.

I think it could possibly be a quite effective antidote to have “neighbourhood meets” where people could be invited for a quiet cuppa and a biscuit and hear a convert speak. Somebody who has gone through the process of waking up and can reach people ready to make the same journey.

As Luigi @ 11:36 said, nothing quite so committed as a new convert. And with all due respect to the stalwarts, perhaps more able to convince other potential converts.

Child Abuse in the Towers ,,, ( You Know WHO you are ) , regime change ( IF there is enogh profit $$$€£),,, washing the money in London then ” off shore ” etc …
A change is gonna come ! ?

A different country. Apparently not in the BBC. “Britain” has a knife epidemic. A national crisis and emergency.

or maybe they could just tell the truth.

@bobajock

Heard Curtice on Radio Shortbread last week suggesting Yes/Leavers now “No” are balanced out by the No/Remainers now “Yes” in the side-switching stakes.

I don’t believe that. I know a few Yes/Leavers who will 100% back “Yes” for Indy given the chance. Would never pass up the chance for independence – not comparable.

One regularly spouts “Britain’s full” while 100% “Yes”, others voted Leave to “give Cameron a bloody nose”. Job done, own nose sore, 100% “Yes”

jfngw says:

interview of Tove McDonald on twitter. She is 87 and has lived in Scotland for 59 years, now has to register or leave.

Robert J. Sutherland says:

poll-tax-type civil disobedience campaign arising out of this

A point has to be reached where decent Scots need to say loudly, “Enough!”

Indy will solve the problem, but even optimistically that years away.

The Tories are exercising powers over Scots with non UK passports which goes completely against the wishes of the majority here. Perhaps this is perfect issue for the Scottish Government/Parliament to take a lead. Are we to accept that something being ‘reserved’ to WM completely overrides our sovereignty and our moral stance?

Knife crime in Scotland has halved since the SNP came to power. The police numbers have increased by 1,000 and a combined social and policing campaign has had great success. Murder is at anew low level.
You would never know anything about that if you listen to the media.

They were no young people killed by knife crime (last year?) in Scotland. 35 in England?

Ref the comments on knife crime and extra police in Scotland.

A year or two ago I would see police on bicycles patrolling, regularly.

Now I see police on foot, patrolling the streets in the area. Quite frequently.

I’m sure this is an example of good policy put into practice.

I’d be interested to know the extent to which No voters in 2014 were simply voting on automatic pilot, and the reason they’re moving to YES is quite simply they’ve actually started to actively think about things.

It’s maybe not so much of a conversion as an awakening. People weren’t convinced to vote no in 2014, they simply weren’t persuaded to vote YES… largely I suppose because they didn’t engage properly but remained detached on autopilot.

It’s less about what people were thinking, and more to do with how they were thinking… or not. (Anybody else smell media conspiracy?)

I believe YES in 2014 was fundamentally about switching people on, whereas Better Together / BBC BritNatery was essentially about keeping people switched off, disinterested and disengaged.

@skydiver says: 5 March, 2019 at 12:06 pm”:

” … And when they say “country”, they really mean England”

Yes skydiver and that little britnat slight of tongue has seen more than one Britnat hecht heid ain stopped in their tracks while on full flow in a speech.

The wee question, “And which United Kingdom country is it you refer to”, Minister,?, is a real downer for the unionists. They just cannot get out of it no matter what they answer.

If they say Britain they are doomed for Britain isn’t a country. If they say The United Kingdom they are even more doomed for that describes a two partner kingdom that contains four countries and as they actually meant the United Kingdom they have to explain why they called it a country.

That simple wee question is actually devastating for unionists. Just try it out sometime – if nothing else it will interrupt the verbal shitstorm and take the wind out of the speakers sails. This has the effect of making them wary of what they say and they lose confidence in themselves.

I am sure there are many people like Jenny who feel their British identity is falling away because of how Scotland is being treated by Westminster. And who can blame them? She is absolutely right when she says it would be better for both countries to be independent neighbours rather than in a union.

It’s folk like Jenny we need to convince. The Orange headbangers are a lost cause. Victory lies with swaying the soft No voters.

I just love these films.

geeo In common parlance SHOT DOWN IN FLAMES by the SNP MPs

Hancock / Greyling & the collective Tories in Cabinet LYING BASTARDS.

Richard Leonard in the chamber moments ago referring to the circumstances that will affect *Scotland the UK and Wales*

I’ve starred that comment deliberately to highlight once again that the Unionist opposition in Scotland refer to *England* as the UK but don’t mention the word England

Scotland and Wales are both mentioned regularly but when referencing England it becomes the UK

This is deliberate word twisting and each of the opposition parties regularly engage in it in the hope of implanting in voters minds the totally incorrect notion and fiction that England is the UK

It is not and never has been, Scotland plus England is the UK not one or the other but both

When Scotland decides to become Independent there is no Union, we don’t leave the Union, that Union ceases to exist, what England decides to call itself after that dissolution is entirely up to them and no doubt they will put their heads together and come up with something even more glorious sounding than before however that decision will have no bearing on Scotland because we will be exactly what we’ve always been…… Scotland!….but better!

Loved this film keep it up Phantom Power.

Breeks says:
5 March, 2019 at 2:34 pm

I’d be interested to know the extent to which No voters in 2014 were simply voting on automatic pilot, and the reason they’re moving to YES is quite simply they’ve actually started to actively think about things.

That’s a good point Breeks… I remember watching Andy Murray being interviewed in a documentary and the interviewer asked his opinion on independence… he said he didn’t have a view yet but would research it carefully and come up with a view based on the evidence.

At that point I knew he would come out for indy, because James Kelly (Scot Goes Pop) had just reported a poll that showed that people who researched the matter were more likely to be independence supporters. It’s the people who took the media headlines as gospel and gave the matter no further thought that voted for the status quo.

Referendum1707 @ 16:05,

gala can of course speak for himself, but I took that comment to mean that even given there was a majority for yes in a proper referendum tomorrow, working out the fine details of a split would take a year or two of negotiations to formalise, and even then discussions about one thing or another would likely be ongoing for some time afterwards.

However, it’s important to also realise that de facto we’re independent the millisecond a referendum result is declared, and no-one else can speak for us (or our resources) thereafter. We would, for example, be perfectly free to enter parallel negotiations with the EU, and vice-versa. And some of the more contentious aspects of UK legislation, while in principle still on the statute books, would in Scotland become effectively unenforceable.

@One_Scot says: 5 March, 2019 at 3:28 pm:

” … I just love these films.”

You are far from being alone in that love, Scot. New ones are always looked forward to.

Everybody has to be allowed a youthful indiscretion, but her definition of what it is it to Scottish and that a birth certificate doesn’t make her more Scottish was absolutely wonderful. I was born here but you wouldn’t know by talking to me because aged 6 we emigrated to NZ. Coming back I have always been welcome and EVERYONE who has enquired about my background due to my accent has absolutely accepted me as Scottish.

But we first arrived from NZ into London and the number of English people who denigrated us because we were Kiwis was really quite awful. Just after Jonah Lomu ran over Mike Catt in the opening game of the RWC we wore our All Black jerseys to our usual, regular pub. We went on a Tuesday and were often the only customers but the barman saw our jerseys and threatened to ban us. There were no signs banning football colours etc.

So we took our custom elsewhere. I’ve never had any grief wearing an AB shirt in Scotland. In small town northern France it got us drinks bought for us and a good natured Franglais discussion about various rugby players. The contrast is rather stark.

The English to a large degree are not interested in how other places do things, even if they might do them better. There’s form of English exceptionalism and it seems to have grown after the Brexit vote and it is not a good look and they need to be careful not to deter tourists.

I certainly have no particular desire to go down to England, there are far too many parts of Scotland to see first. I’ve never been to the Northern or Western Isles (bar Skye) and fully intend to rectify that when I get back on my financial feet. The prospect is a spur to me.

“I believe YES in 2014 was fundamentally about switching people on, whereas Better Together / BBC BritNatery was essentially about keeping people switched off, disinterested and disengaged.”

Indeed, Breeks.

Remember Dr. John Reid’s immortally crass, “If you don’t know, vote No”?

And to answer Mad Magrit Curran’s “Voting Yes will make my English relatives foreign” tosh, I find I strangely still love my French relatives a lot, despite them living in a foreign country.

What’s wrong with foreign, anyhow? Foreign’s different and interesting in my book.

Mags is, by contrast, same old same, old and deeply boring.

Muscleguy says:
5 March, 2019 at 5:38 pm
Everybody has to be allowed a youthful indiscretion, but her definition of what it is it to Scottish and that a birth certificate doesn’t make her more Scottish was absolutely wonderful. I was born here but you wouldn’t know by talking to me because aged 6 we emigrated to NZ. Coming back I have always been welcome….

There was a great wee video roundabout 2014 if I remember correctly, about an immigrant saying how he’d been welcomed into a community, never experienced resentment or hostility, and quickly settled in to make the place home, The twist was they weren’t his own words, but the words of a Scottish immigrant being welcomed into Canadian community in the 19th Century. I thought is was absolutely brilliant.

Nicola Sturgeon’ s motion passed 89 yes, 29 No, (?)

Jackson Carlaw’s motion fails 29yes 89no!

@Sandy

I like that, LibDem’s: political prostitutes across the UK.

I see James Kelly is still tweeting about car parking. This is a man only in Holyrood because of party patronage, he was thrown out of his constituency seat by the electorate. He is now the BritNat Labour Finance Dunderheid in Scotland (a man that doesn’t even understand how the tax banding works).

Car parking charges another green diversion giving the unionists ammunition. Some people never learn. Misinformation.

@Lanarkist says: 5 March, 2019 at 6:17 pm:
! … Sorry correction, Motion passed 87 to 29 to reject TMay’s EU deal and demand extension to Art50.”

Aye! Lanarkist, that was quite a significant debate in Holyrood today. I missed it due to medical appointments but have just finished reading it.

The usual suspects saying the usual things and getting the usual weel skelpit erse frae Nicola.

I also caught up on the sectarianism at football debate and that, probable deliberate, slip of the tongue about James Kelly was hilarious. All in all a most interesting day in parliament.

On a more serious note the debate in the chamber about mesh implants was a bit more serious and had implications of possible attempts to put political advantage and SNP BAAAD! before the plight of the poor victims.

At present they can’t deport EU citizens because of freedom of movement. The people they are trying to deport are people from other parts. Many of whom have lived in the UK for years since they were young. Or changing the goal posts on visa procedure or changing qualification. Then trying to deport people. People having to spend £thousand going through court actions to appeal. Often because of Home Office intransigence and not listening to reason or common decency. What a way to treat people. Just appalling. Windrush people. It is even more terrible because many are elderly and need some support from their families etc. The Tories are even charging children born in Britain £1000 for the right to stay, There families are having to pay vast sums of money they cannot afford. Going through massive anxiety, worry and insecurity.

The point is how EU citizens rights will be continued to be supported if there is Brexit. Especially in light of what is happening already. Not giving guarantees or respecting their rights. Millions of people. Trying to make them 2nd class citizens or giving them different status. Many have lived in the Britain for years. Pay their taxes and all their dues. They have children and family here. Especially in Scotland where people are needed to keep the economy functioning. There are reports that the Iran grandparents had to pay £20,000 in costs. Their grandson pays rugby for Scotland. It is just outrageous. What the Tory/unionists have done. Supported by Labour etc. What a way to treat people. Beyond comprehension.

Oh this’ll leave a mark.

link to archive.fo

There really isn’t much doubt that Brexit will cause untold economic and societal harm to the populations on these islands. As for UK gov’s response to the Holyrood and the Welsh Assembly debates?

link to archive.fo

Tusk was right. There really should be a special place reserved for the architects of this idiocy.

John Nicholson has castigated someone for referring to Ricahard Leonard as English, that’s fair enough if Mr Leonard sees himself as Scottish then who am I to argue as my ancestry is not Scottish.

But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, does he respect the choice of the Scottish people to remain in the EU or does he support the decision of England to overrule Scotland’s choice.

This is true for all the BritNat parties representatives in Scotland, do they side with Scotland’s voters or England’s voters. There is no middle ground on this, it is either respecting Scotland’s choice or England’s.

Cynical Highlander @ 9.14
Which Monarch.
Elizabeth the second, Queen of England or Elizabeth, Queen of Scots?

Immigration is a retained power, policing is devolved.

Future options of the people of Scotland in the event of a harsh reaction from Westminster may well be qualified by the answer to this question. Clearly the people would want to act lawfully, but who’s law, enforced by whom.

As a for instance, in the event that there is an attempt to deport an Eu citizen, resident in Scotland, who’s friends and neighbours might wish to form a protective ring around that Eu citizen, what would the actions of Police Scotland be. Nobody would want to do anything unlawful, that’s not our way. But I would ask if a Home office goon has any authority in Scotland without the assistance of the Scottish Police.

The oath of Scottish Police is not to the Monarch. It is as follows.

“I, do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of constable with fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality,and that I will uphold fundamental human rights and accord equal respect to all people, according to law.”

Yes/No inside the Indy ref starting on Bbc new channel

@ronnie anderson says: 5 March, 2019 at 9:49 pm:

” … Moonlight Sadly immigration isn’t devolved to the S Gov & there is Police cooperation UK & EU wide.

In the end, Ronnie, it doesn’t matter for the ultimate question comes back to that same old question. Who is legally sovereign in Scotland and the answer is, The People of Scotland are sovereign under Scottish law and Scottish law is independent.

Don’t even bother to bring up the hoary old chestnut that the people of Scotland claim is just, “Popular”, sovereignty. It isn’t – that is Westminster lies. There is absolutely no doubt that the people of Scotland are legally sovereign and that is reflected in many of Scotland’s laws. Including the fact that Scots have legal right to roam and that there is no English style law of trespass under Scots law. Furthermore international law recognises Scottish Law as independent.

The International Law of the Seas recognises Scottish Jurisdiction as did international law recognise Scottish Jurisdiction over Lockerbie when both the USA and UK attempted to claim jurisdiction to try the accused Lockerbie Bomber – and both failed.

So there you go the people of Scotland are legally sovereign and a sovereign’s word is law. We just need to get a majority of the legally sovereign people to finally put their foot down and claim their sovereignty as their legal right.

International law has no option than to uphold our sovereign right. Even if they do not they have to uphold their own sovereign rights for the United Nations, The USA, The UK, the EU and Uncle Tom Cobleigh an’ all an’ all have all signed up to the Civil Rights Laws and high on that list is the right of any identifiable group of people to self determination.

Scotland was an identifiable kingdom/country long before there was even an England, UK, USA or EU.

@ ie 250 in total over the next five years.

Does England own Scotland?

Is Scotland inferior to England?

Are Scots inferior to English?

Get the cringe right out of Scotland for all time. Stop asking Westminster for permission.

OT.

This anti-semitism row. I am somewhat confused. However, I do have some views on this. Bear with me.

I have little time for both the (predominantly English) parliament & the Israeli parliament. They both verge on fascist dictatorial principals.

On saying that, I have no reason to generally dislike English or Jewish individuals. Who am I to judge persons I don’t know? However, those who choose to be in the limelight & utter dogmatic statements deserve all the negative criticism thrown at them.

In hindsight, perhaps this is intended to divert problems that the English (Br- Enxit) WM & Israeli (land theft) are currently undergoing.

@ Jack Murphy says at 3:33 pm…. ”Here’s the link to this afternoon’s Commons debate. Johanna Cherry QC MP, Scottish National Party, at 14:57:45.”

Parliament TV:

link to tinyurl.com

……………………….

Thanks for the link Jack. You can see why the Tories absolutely detest, and are feart of imo, the SNP MP’s. Over and above coming across as being extremely intelligent, totally competent, industrious and honest, the antithesis of the Westminster cabal, they’re actually the only politicians at Westminster that are holding that bunch of corrupt chancers to account.

Alan Brown SNP kicks the whole thing off (12:48pm) by asking Bercow if they can hold an emergency debate on the Eurotunnel fiasco. From then on until 15:45pm the Tories are hounded by the SNP MP’s in particular by Joanna Cherry, as Jack points out, at 14:57 pm. She’s like a dog with a bone and isn’t going to give up on this much to the chagrin of the Tories in general and Grayling in particular.

Well worth a watch.

‘READ: Nicola Sturgeon’s full speech on May’s ‘consistent contempt for Scotland.’

The First Minister has hit out at the Prime Minister’s leadership on Brexit.

Nicola Sturgeon said that Theresa May’s “one note of consistency in all of this has been contempt for Scotland”.

She launched the scathing attack on Theresa May’s stewardship over Brexit while kicking off a debate at Holyrood.

Later today, in a first since devolution 20 years ago, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly will vote simultaneously on a motion declaring opposition to the EU divorce deal agreed by the UK Government.

……………………

Read the First Minister’s speech in full below:

“Presiding officer, in Cardiff this afternoon, Jeremy Miles, the Welsh Brexit Minister, will open a debate on almost exactly the same motion as the one we are debating here today. The Welsh First Minister will close the debate.

It is worth emphasising that this is the first occasion in 20 years of devolution that the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly have acted in unison in this way.

We have been brought together by our dismay – bordering now on despair – at the UK Government’s approach to Brexit. That despair is echoed across our countries.

As recently as last summer, the Prime Minister confidently told me that by the autumn of last year, not only would we know the terms of exit, we would also know significant detail about the UK’s future relationship with the EU.

And yet here we are, just 24 days until the UK is due to leave the EU. And still we don’t know if there will be any agreed terms of exit. We don’t know if there will be a transition phase.

And the terms of the future relationship are not much more than a blank sheet of paper. The potential consequences for businesses, communities, individuals and public services grow more stark by the day.

And in the face of all this chaos, the Prime Minister is showing no decisive leadership. Instead of doing the right thing and ruling out a no-deal exit at any stage, she insists on freewheeling the car ever closer to the cliff edge.

She is trying to run down the clock, making undeliverable promises to hardline Brexiteers and offering tawdry, half-baked bribes to Labour MPs.

Her one note of consistency in all of this has been contempt for Scotland. Seemingly, we aren’t even worthy of her bribes – though I think we should take that as a compliment.

The domestic and international standing of the Westminster system of government has surely never been lower in any of our lifetimes. This fiasco should not be allowed to continue for even one day more. The Scottish and Welsh Parliaments are today making three demands.

The first is that the prospect of leaving the EU with no deal is ruled out – not just at the end of March, but at any time.

The second is that MPs must not allow themselves to be bullied into choosing between the catastrophe of no deal and the disaster of the government’s deal.

And the third is that an extension of Article 50 is essential and urgent, and must be requested now. The demand to rule out a “no-deal” scenario is, I hope, supported across this chamber.

The Scottish Government is doing everything we can to plan for and mitigate the impact of a no-deal Brexit.

I am personally chairing our weekly Resilience meetings, looking at medicine and food supplies, economic and community impacts and transport links.

But every aspect of that planning reinforces this overwhelming reality – no rational government acting in the interests of those it serves would countenance leaving the EU without a deal.

The UK Government’s own forecasts predict that a no-deal scenario could reduce GDP by 9% over a 15 year period. But you just need to look at the nature of the preparations to know that the impact would be much more immediate.

The UK government has been buying fridges to stockpile medicine. It has been testing motorways and airfields in Kent for use as lorry parks. It has been awarding and then cancelling ferry contracts to businesses which don’t even have ships.

It has been taking steps which should be inconceivable in a developed economy in peacetime. And all of it to plan for an avoidable outcome which, if it happens, will be by choice.

The approach of the UK Government is unforgivably reckless. ‘No deal’ should be definitively ruled out – and today, from Edinburgh and Cardiff, we demand that it is.

However – and this brings me to the second purpose of today’s motion – the UK Government must not use the threat of no deal to blackmail the UK Parliament into voting for its current deal.

The response to the rejection of Theresa May’s deal has so far been characterised by delays, denials, dishonesty and most recently desperate attempts at bribery.

Ministers have wasted months pretending that significant changes to the Northern Ireland backstop are possible – despite all evidence to the contrary.

Much better, surely, to face up to the fact that the deal is unpopular because it is a bad deal – for the UK, and certainly for Scotland. It would take us out of the EU, out of the single market and out of the custom union.

But it provides no clarity whatsoever on what our long-term future relationship with the EU looks like. The UK Parliament is effectively being asked to approve a ‘blindfold Brexit’.

To the extent that any direction of travel can be discerned, it points to a long-term social and economic disaster for Scotland. The red lines mean that we are heading towards a Canada style deal at best.

And let’s focus on what that means – the Scottish Government estimates this could lead to a fall in national income of £1600 per person by 2030 compared with EU membership. Our services sector, three-quarters of our economy, will be particularly badly hit.”

link to thenational.scot

An awful lot of crowns there.

link to google.com

Robert Peffers I do watch Westminster SNP debate today & later caught up with Holyrood I like yourself can only envisage what the Snp MPs are up to embarrassing westminster & demonstrating as to who the opposition is .

Same applies to the unionist parties in Holyrood making them look stupid .

Petra @ 11.47
Joanna Cherry is an asset to our cause.

I spoke to her, on her birthday, outside the SNP Conference in Aberdeen nearly 3 years ago.

I congratulated her on her appearance on QT the previous Thursday when she told me that England was more or less imploding.

She hasn’t got it wrong.

mr thms @ 01:24:

I read somewhere that this scenario would make it possible for the UK to negotiate ‘special arrangements’ for Scotland, Northern Ireland and London.

And if you believe that’s going to happen, I have this old scrap metal tower in Paris to offer you at a very special price…

I’m also, like Robert P postulates, trying to read the signs that the SNP do have a plan for an imminent indyref ( or other process to dissolve the union!), but like others find it hard sometimes to keep up the enthusiasm in this period where it feels like we are “becalmed”.

Joanne Cherry is a fantastic MP, and tenacious (a future SNP Leader?).

LOOK AT THIS. Good people devoted to Scotland now leaving because they simply cannot hang on any longer wasiting interminably for the SNP to freaking well do something.

link to arcofprosperity.org

I totally, totally, agree with every part of the analysis by this guy.

It is not the tories or labour who will be blamed for brexit damage in Scotland, it will be the SNP. You can argue all day about the technicalities and rationale of it all, but to the average joe, they will simply ask, ‘WHY for heavens sake did the SNP not even try to do something, like hold a referendum’.

Too busy playing by rules which Westminster no longer recognises.

Call the freaking referendum, instead of talking about it forever and a day.

Good people are leaving Scotland, and many more, including talented Scots, will do so once brexit starts.

NS needs to get on with it.

Robert Louis, get a grip.

And I certainly do not agree with ‘arcofprosperity’.

mr thms says:
6 March, 2019 at 1:24 am

“I read somewhere that this scenario would make it possible for the UK to negotiate ‘special arrangements’ for Scotland, Northern Ireland and London”

That is very surprising.

“Something that cannot be done presently, because it is not allowed under the Treaty of Lisbon”

The Treaty of Lisbon? I think you find that alternative trade arrangements for any part of the UK goes in direct contravention of the articles of the Treaty of Union 1707, which for the case of the UK supersedes the treaty of Lisbon and does not stop applying after the UK leaves the EU.

Ghillie at 0738 am,

…you talk of getting a grip, do remind me how many days it is until brexit – a brexit that Scotland did not vote for and does not want.

Or should we just carry on ‘waiting to see..’, for another two years.

No i disagree its not too late, the eu cant officially back scotland whilst uk is a member state.

Brexit uk is on a hiding to nothing if it wants trade deals, canada already said irish border = no trade deal.

Scotland can always disolve treaty of union as England has broken its terms by not adhering to soverign people of scotlands wishes.

If scotland declares treaty null and void post brexit, more likely that uk will be in too much post brexit turmoil to do much about it.
Think of collapse of ussr and what heppened there.

It is frustrating, the waiting, but the SNP are the only real vehicle to get us independent, and so, frustrating though it is – I STILL TRUST THEM.

If I’m wrong we’ll soon know, when Brexit actually happens (or not!!). Hold, hold.

link to barrheadboy.com

link to scotgoespop.blogspot.com

Martin Docherty-Hughes MP (West Dunbartonshire), says “there is no equality when you embed privilege”, underlining the SNP’s opposition to the inequality and privilege of hereditary peerages.
link to twitter.com

Highlands and islands begin to feel the exodus of Europeans. Vital health service, teaching and public sector staff abandon the UK, in fear for their settled status.
link to facebook.com

link to centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk

Brexit ‘likely to cause cancer test delays’
link to archive.is

The new post-Brexit tariffs the Government is refusing to publish until after next week’s vote will devastate UK manufacturing and farming. No wonder they’d been trying to keep them under wraps! (As for future trade deals, we’ll have nothing to offer.)
link to twitter.com

The endless Brexit lies have left us in an Orwellian nightmare link to archive.is

Interesting debate now from yesterday on the BBC Parliament channel called,,,UK and Scottish government relationship.

link to leitrimobserver.ie

link to 24matins.uk

link to foreignpolicy.com

link to skwawkbox.org

I enjoyed the 1st episode of the Indyref documentary last night. The two things that stuck out for me were:

1. The fact that Nicola is a pessimist. This explains why Indyref2 has not been asked for and that subsequently Scotland will likely leave the EU in three weeks time.

2. “It’s the economy stupid” The chart which should that there is an extra 30 odd percent of Scots willing to switch to independence if the economic benefits can be proven.

This is where we need to be working on. The Scot Gov should immediately ditch GERS and produce their own figures showing vast surpluses to counter the Treasury’s figures.

Morning Mike, thanks for the chuckle. I’m struggling to find reasons to be cheerful right now.

I’ve linked to the arc of prosperity blog for quite a few years now and to see him and his family moving on as so many of EU nationals in my own area are also doing makes me very sad indeed.

I fully understand why the are leaving, getting out of Dodge is imperative for us all.

RP @11.34

“but if you have been paying attention to the Westminster debating chamber and also the Holyrood chamber happenings you might have noticed the SNP have slowly been ramping up the way they are dealing and responding to the Britnats.

I’m not party to what’s going on but I get the distinct impression they are up to something but they want the unionists to react to their more cheeky actions.”

Yes indeed, almost like a sniper, slowly and steadily taking aim getting ready for the head shot.

mike cassidy is the Sun still 10p lol.

Nana Shoosht thats the wipe of last resort an its only us aulder wans that know that , we dont want ah rush on raiding the patches of wild Dock leaves , they cultivated dock leaves hivnae ah patch oan the wild wans nae fibre lol.

Ach Ronnie, having met me you know I’m just a young thing and couldn’t possibly have known about using dock leaves unless some old fella of my acquaintance had passed on this piece of useful information.

What with conservation being an issue and paper may be hard to find after Brexit, it might be useful to brush up old country ways.

link to plant-lore.com

🙂

I don’t pay much attention to news reports on the warring factions.

I prefer to focus on timelines.

The Treaty of Lisbon amends two treaties.
and also renamed them.

One of the renamed treaties was the Treaty of Rome.

This report from 2010, is on the ‘internal enlargement of the European Union’

link to ideasforeurope.eu

It says a simple amendement to the Treaty of Rome makes it possible.

I believe this is what Brexit is all about.

As a result of the Scotland referendum more powers were devolved to Holyrood under the Scotland Act 2016, the Act also put the Sewell Motion into statute. A simple procedure that with hindsight did anticipate the outcome of the EU referendum with regard to the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

The EU (Withdrawl) Act 2018 sets out some EU powers over devolved areas that will ‘temporarily’ be reserved to Westminster.

Logically the ‘delayed’ EU (Continuity) Act 2018 could become law AFTER the ‘temporary arrangements’ mentioned in the EU (Withdrawl) Act 2018 has ended.

Nana says

The endless Brexit lies have left us in an Orwellian nightmare link to archive.is

This paints an accurate picture of Brexit. It was never meant to happen and was unthinkable. When Leave did win, to make happen, history had to be rewritten. So not only did we get the lies by which Leave won, but we’ve had nothing but lies since.

‘Orwellian nightmare’, yes, but I also think there’s a bit of The Matrix about it all too! The Tories are trying to convince everyone that their alter reality physically exists when it doesn’t.

The article shows just how many twist and u turns there have been, and how all of these have been from one set of lies to another! No sense can be made of any one it.

link to politicshome.com

link to talkradio.co.uk

What would a no-deal Brexit mean for your supermarket shop?
link to archive.is

A wee reminder
link to gofundme.com

That’s all for today.

Ken500 says:
6 March, 2019 at 8:01 am
How many days to Brexit it could be years…

23 days.

In 23 days time, Brexit happens if there is no successful initiative to stop it, and to be a successful initiative, any and every such initiative requires the active consent of every EU Member State prior to the Article 50 deadline expiring.

The EU cannot instigate either the revocation or extension of Article 50 unless the Westminster Government initiates the action first… something which May has categorically declared herself against.

Even in alternate circumstances where the Westminster Government was disposed to request an extension to the Article 50, the EU is not obliged to grant any such extension unless it is persuaded the extension of time will bear productive dividends. There are currently no such productive dividends in the offing.

Again, in my opinion, nothing short a second Brexit referendum scheduled to be concluded with result announced before the EU Elections in May will persuade the EU to grant an extension to Article 50, and time to hold such a UK-wide referendum has largely expired already.

The United Kingdom is now on an unstoppable Brexit trajectory, and if Scotland wants to avoid being Brexited, the only option is “not” to be a part of the UK when it happens.

The only route to avoid Brexit in the available timeframe is through the Constitutional route, through a defiant affirmation of Sovereignty that is equal to the task of disputing and overturning the perceived ascendency of UK Parliamentary Sovereignty. Again, we have 23 days in which to do this.

For the growing chorus of people saying the SNP has something big planned, then that’s great. If it’s true. However emancipation from the Union via Scotland’s Constitutional Sovereignty does not require any democratic mandate, and even if it did, it already has one. Hence there is great confusion and anxiety stirred when the SNP’s rhetoric remains consistent with holding a referendum. A credible escape from Brexit before 29th March really needs to start embracing Constitutional Issues, Sovereignty, Legal Personality, International recognition… Democratic solutions are all out of time.

In short, the IndyRef train has already departed the platform. If we want to avoid Brexit, we embrace the Constitutional route and pray we have left ourselves enough time to secure the recognition we are going to need.

At the very, very, minimum, it might, repeat might be adequate merely to dispute UK Sovereignty right at the death, and leave the legal processes to catch up with the claimed reality of Scotland’s stand-alone Sovereignty, but strikes me that is extremely risky and relies upon the favourable disposition of other countries. We might be ok on that score, but I honestly don’t know whether the formal dispute and recognition of Sovereignty can be retrospective. I believe we would be out of the EU trying to get back in, but more critically, outside the jurisdiction of the ECJ and defending ourselves from a delusional UK Parliament and it’s pet Judicial process and ongoing media indoctrination.

I ask the serious question trying to be constructive about it… what is it we are actually for? The trigger to save ourselves from Brexit surely cannot be Brexit itself.

skydiver says:
6 March, 2019 at 8:22 am
Interesting debate now from yesterday on the BBC Parliament channel called,,,UK and Scottish government relationship.

Aye watched it.

What a little rat of a man that Ross Thompson is, the cheek of the little fecker. Why isn’t he back home in Aberdeen sacked by now following this sexual harassment case . Is his case going to be a white wash- you bet it is.

manandboy at 10.05

It’s all a bit scarey when you realise just how close to the edge that we are living/have been living. The same lousy diet and lifestyle go hand in hand when it comes to strokes and heart attacks.

I thought I had a healthy living life weighing in at 80K and one afternoon I felt slightly dizzy and nauseous, it went away after a few minutes then returned after about half an hour later and stayed so I was dropped off at Raigmore hospital where it was confirmed that I had had a massive heart attack, later that night I was transferred to the ARI as they don’t do stents after five at Raigmore. That evening they had to jump start me twice but I have escaped the grim reaper for now and living a much healthier life thanks to the excellent staff at the ARI and Raigmore. These guys are so dedicated to their work.

So good readers ditch the pies and the tasty pastries, the fatty foods too and get on yer bike to get the blood pressure down and with any luck you will get to vote in indyref2.
Modern processed foods are also a no no.

They’ve lost the plot lol.

link to facebook.com

Now the People of England might wake up on seeing this vid .

Jackson Carlaw has announced he is against referendums. Well that’s good news as we can now use the WM system that only requires a majority of MP’s from Scotland supporting independence to end the union. Looks like he may be a closet independence supporter, all converts welcome.

What a great series this is.

For new readers to WoS would it be useful to have a thread about what brought all of us to the idea that Independence is the right thing now?

It seems this place is not often so much a barometer of change rather than a cementing of views. Were there any doubters who went from No to Yes during or after the campaign?

I was never a vocal supporter of independence until the referendum. It was being asked to decide that made me look at my own views. It was also then that I stopped voting Labour, the sense of betrayal then and now is something that still shocks me. I was worried I was doing the right thing but I am glad I did vote Yes, the doubts about that decision are long gone.

We come to our own decisions in different ways. I never found tub-thumping persuasive in anything, nor being told I was stupid for not agreeing with people who were so sure they could not acknowledge doubt or uncertainty.

That’s why this series is so good it allows people to talk without fear of ridicule or guilt about why they changed their mind. People swither and dither all the time – they should have room to do that, even here.