Positive-case-for-the-Union update #8

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Rev. Stuart Campbell

(See here for the whole story.)

An alert viewer drew our attention to the latest call to arms, published in Tory Hoose and penned by Tom Elliott, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.

"It is absolutely essential that the pro-Union forces articulate a convincing and positive case for the continuation of the Union in the 21st Century. Those of us who wish to see Scotland and its people remain as fellow citizens in a United Kingdom must both articulate the benefits which the Union has brought to Scotland and provide a positive vision for the future continuation of the Union."

To be honest we could barely be bothered building our hopes up this time, and sure enough out came the familiar tune. An independent Scotland would be bankrupt in a matter of days, just like the Republic of Ireland (hmm, no agenda there, we're sure), and Greece and Portugal and Iceland. The UK has saved us from economic disaster – um, you might want to take a look at the books, Tom – and "the choice facing the people of Scotland may be between a broke but independent Scotland or a comparatively prosperous Scotland still within the Union".

If that's the "convincing and positive case", we sure as heck wouldn't like to meet Mr Elliott when he's down in the dumps.

TIME ELAPSED: 31 years, 11 months
CONFIRMED SIGHTINGS OF POSITIVE CASE FOR UNION TO DATE: 0

Tags: the positive case for the union, too wee too poor too stupid
Category scottish politics, uk politics
Trackback: trackback from your own site.

7 to “Positive-case-for-the-Union update #8”

peter says:

17 January, 2012 at 5:18 pm

well, i was all set to vote yes to independence, but now that the ulster unionists' are imploring me to stay with the union…………………

Reply
Ross says:

17 January, 2012 at 6:15 pm

Ex Tory MP, Peter Duncan, has a mentioed a positive case for the union – it means, er, Scotland will become 'less significant' on a global level.
link to conservativehome.blogs.com
Sounds like a positive case for independence, if you ask me.

Reply
Tearlach says:

17 January, 2012 at 6:39 pm

Stu – This wee video monologue demonstrates why there can never be a positive case for the Union.link to youtube.com

Reply
Morag says:

17 January, 2012 at 6:59 pm

Ex Tory MP, Peter Duncan, has a mentioed a positive case for the union – it means, er, Scotland will become 'less significant' on a global level.

The rest of that post is remarkably sensible for a Tory though. If we had to preserve one Tory MP, he might have been better than that rat Mundell.

Reply
Ross says:

17 January, 2012 at 7:33 pm

Tearlach, weird to see Alan Biset's face pop up round these parts!

Reply
Morag says:

17 January, 2012 at 10:05 pm

I think it reads better than it sounds there, but then that's maybe just me. It's a great clip for the YouTube generation.

Reply
TYRAN says:

18 January, 2012 at 4:33 pm

– "Scottish Nationalists will attempt to pull at the heart-strings by playing on 19th Century romantic style notion of nationalism"
– "Union with England in 1707 saw…"
Then he pull at the heart-strings by playing on 18th Century romantic style notion of unionism, which still exits today.

Reply

Comment - please read this page for comment rules. HTML tags like <i> and <b> are permitted. Use paragraph breaks in long comments. DO NOT SIGN YOUR COMMENTS, either with a name or a slogan. If your comment does not appear immediately, DO NOT REPOST IT. Ignore these rules and I WILL KILL YOU WITH HAMMERS.

Categories

agent x on A different school: “Has anyone asked if Fergus Ewing will stand as a Liberate Scotland umbrella candidate?” Jun 23, 21:40

Lorn on A different school: “Actually, Aidan, you could not be more wrong. Modern law stems from earliest times in both Scotland and England. It…” Jun 23, 21:28

agent x on A different school: “@Mia Thankyou for listing the reasons why I have never voted SNP and never will.” Jun 23, 21:28

sarah on A different school: “The question we should be discussing is “How is the word to be spread to the voters about the need…” Jun 23, 21:20

Hatey McHateface on A different school: ““some may even reject their own liberation – i.e. Vote No” Some may develop schizophrenia. They will vote Yes for…” Jun 23, 21:16

Sue Varley on A different school: “Sounds great in theory but you say: “Best case, we begin negotiations for our independence” and here is the problem.…” Jun 23, 21:04

Hatey McHateface on A different school: ““L. A disgusting surrender to brexit” Brexit was a necessary step on the true road to genuine Independence. Your denial…” Jun 23, 21:01

sarah on A different school: “I enjoyed that, Rattled – thanks for posting! It brought back memories of bonfire nights when I was little -…” Jun 23, 20:54

Aidan on A different school: “You’re right, I don’t, but that’s because I don’t have dozens of people day after day trying to invent some…” Jun 23, 20:41

Chas on A different school: “Good for you Sarah. No plan, forecasts or projections on anything. ‘It will all be fine’. Scotland will simply plunder…” Jun 23, 20:39

WhoRattledYourCage on A different school: “Wee bit ay Scots poetry fir light relief: https://whorattledyourcage.blogspot.com/2025/06/darknight-lightshow.html” Jun 23, 20:35

James on A different school: “It’s Scots I’m mainly aiming at, Sven; we were regularly scolded and belted for speaking in oor ain tongue.” Jun 23, 20:14

Insider on A different school: “Watch out, Hatey ! “Puir auld Alf” has his ouija board out again to talk to his deid pals. More…” Jun 23, 20:12

Hatey McHateface on A different school: ““A language is a dialect with an army and navy” Uh oh! So that’s Scots fucked then. Or as we…” Jun 23, 20:11

Callum on A different school: “Party before Country has been SNP’s position for the last decade. Indy supporters who intend to vote SNP in 2026…” Jun 23, 20:09

Mia on A different school: ““The second group are those who want Scotland to be independent but do not vote. Some have never voted; some…” Jun 23, 19:53

Andy Ellis on A different school: “The Danes tried to suppress the Faroese language for centuries. Given current circumstances I reckon most Scots would take a…” Jun 23, 19:49

Hatey McHateface on A different school: ““world gone mad” Ah ken fit ye mean. I really struggle when Cooper, a politician I have detested since the…” Jun 23, 19:48

Xaracen on A different school: “It’s a constitution, Aidan, not a system of modern democracy, and it has sod all to do with running an…” Jun 23, 19:43

Sven on A different school: “James @ 19.16. Indeed they did not, James, and I share what I’m guessing is your entirely justified and righteous…” Jun 23, 19:40

Hatey McHateface on A different school: “This is powerful stuff, NC. Who knew that the Scots for “internalised oppression” is “internalised oppression”? Or that the Scots…” Jun 23, 19:30

James on A different school: “But Sven….did the Faroese parents and/or teachers ever belt their weans for speaking in their ain language though?” Jun 23, 19:16

Aidan on A different school: “@Twatselfhater – Can you find me a single example of a recent case where the outcome was determined based on…” Jun 23, 19:15

Hatey McHateface on A different school: “@ Lorn says: 23 June, 2025 at 4:27 pm “So you anticipate a breakdown of civilization as occurred in the…” Jun 23, 19:13

Sven on A different school: “Kanska skuldi eg stríöst fyri á mínum forfedramáli, føroyskum. No, it may be this Scots ancestral tongue,however I do believe…” Jun 23, 18:49

wullie on A different school: “S. N P Scotland Not Prospering” Jun 23, 18:45

sarah on A different school: “

” Jun 23, 18:30

Sven on A different school: “My online friend, Northy. Thank goodness then for such as I, who happily post using my very own heritage tongue,…” Jun 23, 18:10

Rev. Stuart Campbell on A different school: “It’s an idea proposed by Wings in 2020. https://wingsoverscotland.com/the-snp-manifesto-2021/ (Although it makes more sense to use the constituency vote.)” Jun 23, 18:09

twathater on A different school: “So ayden “The obsession with trying to dig up ancient documents and relitigate 1707 has got to be in the…” Jun 23, 18:09

Wings Over Scotland