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CAMPAIGNING FOR SCOTLAND
(Owned, Edited and Printed in Scotland since November 1926)
Compiled by Jim Lynch
[2 February 2001]

LOCKERBIE

The trial is over, and one defendant has been found guilty, and one not guilty. Whether the whole truth came out we doubt if we will ever know , as the shadowy figures of the espionage networks have still not come forward.

Speaking after the verdict, Scotland’s Shadow Justice Minister, Roseanna Cunninghamsaid "This unique trial has shown the Scottish justice system to be robust and effective in the eyes of the world - right from the actions of the police officers investigating the immediate aftermath of this terrible crime up to today’s verdict.

"This has been the most complex trial in Scottish legal history, with enormous international ramifications, and Scotland’s justice system showed itself to be equal to the task. Despite the overwhelming international publicity, and indeed pressure, the three Judges have steadfastly maintained their independence and abided by the principle which holds in all criminal trials in Scotland, - that it is the task of the prosecution to prove guilt, and not that of the accused to prove innocence.

" As regards a Public Inquiry, we should keep an open mind. In a criminal trial, the issue is the guilt or innocence of individuals - a Public Inquiry would go much wider than that, and there are undoubtedly questions that still remain unanswered. It would require extensive international co-operation and I would hope that an Inquiry is not ruled out at this stage."

WHERE THE HELL HAS THE MONEY A’ WENT?

One of the most astonishing stories of the last twenty years is how the Tories had untold billions of oil money from the North Sea, at the same time sold off all the loss making public utilities, in fact everything they could lay their hands on, and underfunded the NHS, the water industry, roads, railways, air traffic control, council houses and in fact anything that could be even vaguely hinted as "Public". While all this was going on, in the words of the Scotland the What song "Where the hell has the money a’ went?" Think about it, as Mr Gordon Brown, the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, claims that he had to stick to Tory spending limits because of the interest payments on the National Debt.

The SNP, through its Shadow Finance Spokesman, Andrew Wilson, MSP, has produced a policy for investing the oil money, based on the Norwegian model, which will ensure that the benefits are passed on to our children and grandchildren, and future generations. It was always our contention that the great blessing of the oil money would be that not only would we be able to rebuild Scotland, in a way that Westminster could not, but that the surplus must also be invested for the future. One of the ironies of the Unionist arguments over the years was that we were selfish and greedy, and wanted the money for ourselves; in fact we wanted it for Scotland today and tomorrow, and the greedy ones were those who spent it on themselves.

"The discovery of oil in the North Sea was effectively a win on the natural lottery or Scotland"said Mr Wilson, "But the benefits so far have been largely squandered. The opportunity is there now to ensure that all future generations reap the windfall of the depletion of the natural resources that took millions of years to build up". The Norwegians set up a special fund in 1995 to invest a part of their oil revenues, and this fund now amounts to £30 billion, one third of the Norwegian GDP; with Scotland being a major financial centre we have the people and the expertise to maximise our investments. We are good at managing other people’s money, so let us manage our own.

And while we accept that having oil is like winning the natural lottery, please don’t let Camelot anywhere near it!

BULLY FOR YOU MRS LIDDELL

The use by Mrs Helen Liddell of the hackneyed phrase "You’re the weakest link", illustrates her personality, as distinct from her astuteness; recent surveys have shown that many managers have been tarred with the Anne Robinson philosophy, and the workers do not like it, for they see it as bullying. Tell that one to the teachers, who breathed a sigh of relief when she was shifted from the Scottish Office, but not before foisting Higher Still on them, and approving the SQA; Mrs Liddell will not be universally welcomed back by her old "friends" if such there be in the Scottish Labour Party.

She has already stated that the Scottish Parliament will not be given any further powers, which can be seen as job protection, but she also agrees with free personal care for the elderly, although that is against the Westminster Cabinet line; this may sound very noble, until you realise that all her voters are in Scotland, and that her party workers are the same ones who will be working for the MSPs , so she can be ambivalent, as Monklands District Council discovered when she ditched them during that By Election.

By the way, she used the "Weak link" phrase against Alex Salmond, when she was holding the microphone, but I doubt if she’ll be able to do that again, It’s like one of my favourite sayings, "Anyone can cheat me.........once".

HENRY MANDELSON McLEISH

Why was it when our First Minister appeared on TV and categorically stated that free personal care for the elderly would happen, nobody believed him! He said it once, he said it twice, blow me-- he said it three times! And yet, we still want to see the small print, because we do not believe it.

And what are we to make of the whole sorry fiasco? For months, since his coronation as First Minister (Well, it wasn’t really an election , was it?) he has been sounding off about free personal care; then the word came down from Mount Oliphet (Otherwise known as Millbank) that this was not an option. Mr McLeish was in a quandary, or more brutally, deep doo -doo, and he needed a way out. His Ministers, were all prepared to toe the Millbank line, for they are interested in their future careers, but MrMcLeish is now at the pinnacle of his ambitions, and can go no higher. So he stitched up Ms Susan Deacon, Health Minister, to say that it was only being considered, but he knew that the Opposition would gang up on him, and that the Liberals would vote against him, thus heralding the first defeat in the Scottish Parliament.

A defeat in the Parliament would not have precipitated an election, but the phsycological effect, coming within a few weeks of a General Election, would have been very significant indeed. Ergo, the Liberals jumped up and down, Mr McLeish undermined his own Minister, Susan Deacon, and capitulated, apparently under duress. As the SNP MSP, Nicola Sturgeon, put it, he was dragged "kicking and screaming" into a climbdown.

Or was this just his tactic to get his own way- "Not me, Boss, they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse". We may have to wait for his memoirs... in 2003.

AND OTHER SONGS OF PROTEST

Glasgow Caledonian University has opened the first Centre for Political Song; the main bulk of the exhibits have been donated by Mrs Janey Buchan, former Labour MEP, and widow of Norman Buchan. We have already printed some of the exhibits in our Rebel Ceilidh Song Book, not in association with either Mrs Buchan or the University, and it is interesting to see some of the old favourites surfacing again.

One which will not appear was written by the father of a well known political commentator and published in the Scots Independent perhaps twenty five years ago. I can only remember the first verse, but it is as true, probably truer, today.

The People’s Flag is deepest Red
Is fankled round our Leader’s head
At Conference we stand and sing
Forget de words and everything.

There was a bit about Bruce Millan, being a gross, inspiring man, which will give you an idea of the time, but I can’t remember any more. I don’t think Janey Buchan would be interested in it.

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

As we know, politics is a rough old game, and Peter Mandelson must be wondering why he is subject to the same rules and regulations as the rest of us. On Friday last week, the Independent (No, no relation) had a headline "A Cabinet United in Grief"; below that there were pictures of a smiling Jack Straw, a smiling Gordon Brown, a smiling John Prescott, a smiling Alastair Darling, and quite a few others. I did not look at the other pages.

The row over the event has been a godsend to the newspapers, and I would imagine it is given conservationists sleepless nights thinking of all the trees felled to print these papers, but there is surprisingly little in the way of Mr Mandelson’s defence. One significant omission is that there was no published letter of resignation and no published letter of acceptance thereof, which leads one to the conclusion that it was a pure and simple Kirkcaldy heist, without the mealymouthed niceties of "significant contribution ", "noble self sacrifice", "going on to better things" et alia. Why does the word Schadenfreude spring to mind?

FOOT IN THE MOUTH NOTES

The fact that thieves broke into Robin Cook’s constituency office and stole a computer a week or two back caused some consternation at the Foreign Office, until it was realised the computer only contained Mr Cook’s Christmas card list.

I can at least sleep soundly; I don’t think I’m on it.

The Irish are now poaching (noble word that) Scottish engineers trained in the oil and gas sector, and this could lead to shortages in the industry.

The Irish are also now importing building labourers from England; think about it.

The House of Commons environment, transport and the regions committee (what a mouthful) has criticised the government for wasting £15.7 million on an abandoned private finance iniative for a new Scottish air traffic control centre. The waste occurred because the government insisted that the project should go ahead, despite clear and consistent advice to the contrary from National Air Traffic Services (NATS generally know best) and then had to abandon it.

One of John Prescott’s key advisers on the privatisation of air traffic control, Douglas Andrew, a New Zealander, has been severely criticised over the privatisation of the New Zealand steel industry. The New Zealand high court said he had "shut his eyes to the obvious, and failed to make such inquiries as an honest and reasonable party would have made". Obviously made an ideal adviser

Ian Hudghton, Scottish National Party MEP could not believe his eyes when he he received Railtrack’s presentation to the European Parliament concerning the upgrading of the East and West Coast rail lines. The map shows the East Coast line stops at Edinburgh.

Those passengers waiting disconsolately at Kirkcaldy. Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen, and even Thurso are getting an inkling as to why the train hasn’t arrived.

English MP s are still complaining about the accent of Michael Martin, the Speaker, as they claim to be unable to understand him.

We suggest they contact Ken Livingstone the Lord Mayor of London; the newly formed Greater London Authority has placed the contract to operate its switchboard with a Scottish company. "Aye right".

Under the heading of "The best connected people in the world" the Observer listed all the political contacts of the Hinduja brother, with the links and their pictures. For the Tories it showed Michael Heseltine, friend, Edward Heath, referee on Srichand’s passport application, William Hague, guest at party with leading members of UK Indian community, and Margaret Thatcher, guest at Diwali party, Hindujas attended Tory events.

Minor problem; instead of picture of Margaret Thatcher, they printed a picture of Mother Theresa; oh well, the initials are the same.

In November, Richard Desmond , who owns a huge porn empire, bought the Daily Express from Lord Hollick for £125 million. It turns out that he has only paid £200000 in corporation tax in the eight years his business has been running.

With the Barclay brothers, owners of the Scotsman, also being tax exiles, is it not time there was a public inquiry into the ownership of the press, chaired by Lord Levy? 

Historical footnote: the only Second Division team to win the Scottish Cup was East Fife in 1938; this was not only before First Minister, Henry McLeish, played for them, but before their other supporter, Peter Wright was born. Kilmarnock, who they defeated in the Final, also got relegated.

DATES IN HISTORY

2 February 1645
Royalist army led by James graham, 5th Earl and 1st Marquis of Montrose routed the Earl of Argyll's Covenating forces in the Battle of Inverlochy.

2 February 1998
Death of Dr Robert D Mcintyre, "father of the modern SNP" and first-ever Scottish National Party Westminster MP in 1945.

4 February 1818
Sir Walter Scott supervised the rediscovery of the Honours of Scotland - the Scottish Crown Jewels - in Edinburgh Castle.

THE REBELS CEILIDH SONG BOOK

THE CALTON WEAVERS
(Traditional)
(Ord's Bothy Song)

I’m a weaver, a Calton weaver, 
I’m a rash and a roving blade;
I’ve got siller in my pouches,
I’ll gang and follow the roving trade, —
O Whiskey, Whiskey, Nancy Whiskey,
Whiskey, Whiskey, Nancy O.

As I cam in by Glesca city,
Nancy Whiskey I chanced to smell, 
So I gaed in, sat doon beside her,
Seven lang years I lo’ed her well;
O Whiskey, Whiskey, Nancy Whiskey,
Whiskey. Whiskey, Nancy O.

The mair I kissed her the mair I lo’ed her, 
The mair I kissed the mair she smiled,
And I forgot ma mither’s teaching, 
Nancy soon had me beguiled.
O Whiskey. etc.

I woke up early in the morning, 
To slake my drouth it was my need;
I tried to rise but I wasna able, 
For Nancy had me by the heid.
O Whiskey, etc.

"C’wa, landlady, whit’s the lawin’ ?
Tell me whit there is to pay ?"
"Fifteen shillings is the reckoning,
Pay me quickly and go away."
O Whiskey, etc.

As I went oot by Glesca city, 
Nancy Whiskey I chanced to smell
I gaed in, drank four and sixpence, 
A’t was left was a crooked scale.
O WhIskey. etc.

I’ll gang back to the Calton weaving, 
I’ll surely mak the shuttles fly;
For I’ll mak mair at the Calton weaving 
Than ever I did in a roving wey.
O WhIskey, etc.

Come all ye weavers, Calton weavers, 
A’ ye weavers where e’er ye be;
Beware of whiskey, Nancy Whiskey, 
She’ll ruin you as she ruined me.
O Whiskey, etc.

Listen to the tune here

See the Songbook in our features section

A KIST O FERLIES
A Keek at the Guid Scots Tung
By Peter D Wright
(Note: All words underlined in this section are RealAudio links)

See Scots Language in our Features Section

THE MONTHLY PRIZE CROSSWORD

Each month the Scots Independent Newspaper offers a prize crossword and we're now offering this online in the Flag in the Wind as well.   Should you complete the crossword by the deadline you can fax it over to the SI and the first correct one opened on the closing date will win a £10.00 book token.

SI Prize Crossword No. 14
[Clicking on the picture will bring up a life size version which you can copy to your desktop or print out]