The Flag in the Wind
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CAMPAIGNING FOR SCOTLAND
(Owned, Edited and Printed in Scotland since November 1926)
Compiled by Jim Lynch
[Issue 55 - 22nd June 2001]

BACK IN HARNESS

Or in the words of my good friend Peter Wright, "Yokit ti the darg". I am grateful to Peter for keeping the Flag flying over the last two weeks, when I was incapacitated. The incapacitation was not planned, and although I knew I was having a cataract operation, I was booked on Election Day, 7th June, to drive Keith Brown, SNP candidate for Ochil, around the polling stations, a job I did for George Reid in 1999.

As it happened, something went wrong, and I was taken into hospital and given another eye operation on Tuesday 5th June; as I have never had an operation, and never been in hospital this was a bit of a shock! So I spent the General Election in hospital; and on the Thursday night I was watching the Election programmes, and listening on the radio as the results came in. When I heard the result from Angus, which we held with a reduced vote, I decided that my best course was to switch off, and go to sleep! I was awakened by the nurse at 6 am, with "We’ve lost Galloway", so that vindicated my action. In so far as enjoying my stay in hospital, I was very impressed with the treatment and care I received, and while there is a lot to be done with the National Health Service, at the point of service I was well looked after. There is nothing wrong with the doctors, nurses or ward staff, even though the staff nurse took an impish delight in telling me I had received a "conservative" course of treatment!

GALLING IN GALLOWAY

In many ways, the Party was fortunate in that we only lost one seat at the General Election; the fact that all of our 6 MPs opted to stay in Holyrood, apart from a late conversion by Alex Salmond, gave a message to the electorate that we were not serious about these elections. This was a mistake, but it is one that will not occur again, as it was a one off situation.

So what did happen in Galloway? Well, we kept hearing from Mrs Liddell, and her acolyte, Mr Foulkes, about Hague’s little helpers; anyone who voted SNP was helping the Tories - remember the scenario? So, now , the truth:

So, the Labour vote increased, as did the Liberal vote, and the Labour Party were absolutely delighted that they handed the seat to the Tories - by 74 votes. And make no mistake about this, the Labour Party were over the moon when the SNP lost a seat, and they do not care that they helped to prevent a Tory wipe-out again; the Labour Party does not see the Tory Party as a threat, but as folk just like themselves, taking Buggin’s turn at government, as they are all Unionists at heart. The Labour Party knows that the real enemy is the SNP, so they rejoiced at the Tory victory; how scunnersome is hypocrisy.

And another little point I noticed, in all the TV debates; we saw Mrs Liddell, we saw, Dr John Reid, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, we even saw Brian Wilson, who’s supposed to look after Africa or someplace. The face that was missing from any of the question and answer sessions was, Mr George Foulkes, Deputy Secretary of State for Scotland. Where was he? He popped up in bits and pieces, wrote letters to the papers, talked about Hague’s little helpers, but was never once exposed to questions from a political opponent or a TV journalist. Why did they not let Anne Mackenzie, or Bernard Ponsonby, for that matter, or Iain Macwhirter, have a crack at George Foulkes? Obviously, Labour know he is incompetent, so they would not let him near an interviewer.

As for the conversation taped between Mrs Liddell and Mr McLeish making candid comments on both Dr John Reid, and Brian Wilson, well we have to agree with these comments; what is also interesting is that it was Mr McLeish who made the remarks, and Mrs Liddell seemed to egg him on, but she came out of it squeaky clean. Makes you think, as Mrs Liddell and Mr McLeish are not exactly soulmates.

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE RANCH.....

Last week, the Scottish Parliament was privileged to receive a visit and an address from the President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki; he came with a prepared speech, and then threw it away and spoke from the heart. He cited the Scots who had gone to Africa, long before apartheid was invented, and the impact of the missionaries, the pioneers and the idealists, and reminded us that our Parliament had a global responsibility "The Scottish Parliament has a responsibility to ask what is happening to the peoples of the world as a result of the process of globalisation.", and speaking against injustice, he said "You can’t consider being at peace with yourself if you don’t raise your voice against discrimination."

President Mbeki was the third head of state to address the Parliament since its opening ; Her Majesty the Queen got respectful applause, the President of Ghana got polite applause, but Mr Mbeki’s reception was noisy and insistent. His perception of this small country of ours as an important player in world affairs is flattering, particularly in the light of the limited powers allowed by Westminster, but our nation is starting to have a heightened profile because we have a Parliament; that fact alone gives us encouragement.

AND THIS WEEK.....

Once again our Parliament was the focus of an address by another head of state, this time the Irish Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern; Mr Ahern was in Scotland on a visit during which he unveiled the memorial to the Irish famine victims at Carfin. He addressed the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 20th June and spoke of the work done by the representatives of the Parliament in the Council of the Isles; our member on that body is Margaret Ewing MSP. In his address Mr Ahern talked of the shared heritage of the Irish and the Scots, and said he was here to connect today’s Ireland with today’s Scotland - to our mutual benefit, and said that this was the beginning of a dialogue between our two nations.

Again, I was struck by the fact that heads of state are coming to Scotland, and our nation is beginning to be perceived for ourselves, and not as an appendage of England; in a separate, but related, TV clip, Professor Tom Devine of Aberdeen University was filmed at Carfin Grotto, and he spoke about the reconfiguration of relationships between the two countries, and of what an exciting time we were living in from a historical point of view.

AND FLAGS NOT FLYING

When the President of South Africa addressed the Parliament the Saltire and the South African flag hung on the platform; when the Taoiseach of Eire addressed the Parliament, the Saltire, the Tricolour, and the Union Flag were displayed.

The Mother of the Parliament, Winnie Ewing, took issue with the Parliament’s chief executive, Paul Grice, claiming that the use of the Union Flag was an insult to Mr Ahern; apparently after the South African visit, some MSPs had complained that the Union Flag should have also been used. Now we wonder who these MSPs are, and if they are so proud of their unionism why they do not give their names; according to Mr Grice there were only two flagpoles in the Chamber, but now they have a three flag facility. There is only a two flag facility on the towers at the Mound; how interesting that flags and divided loyalties have such an influence on our elected representatives.

The treatment of the Irish by Britain is still a very emotive subject, and perhaps our unionist representatives should have shown a degree more sensitivity; while the Taoiseach showed no sign of being offended, apparently he was so delighted that the Irish Tricolour was being flown that he didn’t notice any other flag! There were three flags flying at half-mast for the ceremony at Carfin, but the Union Flag was not one of them; they were the Saltire, the Irish Tricolour and the Papal Flag.

The cost of the Parliament is centre stage again; the Project Director has resigned, and the costs are set to soar again, and the Daily Record says they will take money from education to pay for the Parliament. Mike Russell, SNP, MSP, commented that the original decision was made at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and by the wrong people; he is absolutely correct. The decision to site the building in its present location was made by Donald Dewar, then Secretary of State for Scotland in the Westminster Cabinet, before the Parliament was elected; he picked the people who chose the design, and said it would cost £40 million. So it was the Westminster Cabinet who made the fundamental mistake, but the Scottish Parliament who is going to have to pay for it, and they will have to rob Peter to pay Paul. Why is Westminster being allowed to get away with this evasion? They made the decision, it was their arrogance, negligence and incompetence, typified by the late Donald Dewar, that has put us in this mess; the least they could do is to foot the bill, and as Scotland has been paying in more than she gets out of the Westminster kitty there should not be a problem.

The comparison with the Millennium Dome is apposite; that was a Labour decision, and is still costing millions. What is also relevant is that the new offices for MPs at Westminster, Portcullis House, cost £250 million (No Parliament - just offices) and would you believe that building is cracking up, with all sorts of problems, rodent infestation, poor lighting, failed health checks in the restaurant and burst pipes putting the lavatories out of order. This building has been paid for from our money, but we were not consulted about that either. So £250 million for a Parliament, which could have been saved, but for political chicanery; but what is worse is that it is the very concept of a Parliament which is being attacked, and not the petty minded incompetence of the Imperial Labour Party; I exclude the presnt incumbents in the Labour Party at Holyrood - they have been betrayed as well.

The sudden death this week of Cardinal Thomas Winning has shocked and saddened Scotland; he had been allowed home from hospital after a heart attack and was thought to be out of danger. Whether you liked or disliked the Cardinal, there is no doubt he had a tremendous impact on Scottish society, and was a man of the people. He heightened the Scottish sense of nationhood, he told off the Prime Minister, and the Labour Party, and in the Section 28/2A issue he said what he believed was right; he was not a person prepared to compromise on what was right and what was wrong.

I particularly liked one anecdote recounted by his biographer, Stephen McGinty; "After a rather long wait in the outer chambers of the Lord Chancellor’s office at the House of Lords, the Cardinal spotted Derry Irvine striding towards him, woollen wig flowing, ruffled shirt tucked into place, breeches and silk stocking both meeting at the knee, the patent leather shoes buffed to a brilliant shine, and offset by silver buckles.

"As Irvine breezed past them offering the scarcest of nods, Winning nudged his accomplice and said "If that’s the Lord Chancellor, can you imagine what God looks like?""

Everyone knew where they were with Cardinal Winning, and while in particular he offended people with his forthrightness, he believed he was right; he was not politically correct, but he was morally correct. He will be sadly missed.

OLIVER BROWN AWARD

A jovial company of around 60 sat down to the Oliver Brown Award SI Lunch at the Terraces Hotel, Stirling, on Saturday 16 Jun 01; the recipient this year was Murray Ritchie, Scottish political editor of the Herald, and author of the book "Scotland Reclaimed", the story of the elections to the new Scottish Parliament. As customary, we had speeches from Una, daughter of the late Oliver Brown, Dick Douglas, giving the Toast to the Scots Independent on behalf of the Scottish National Party, and our Editor, Kenneth Fee, who presented the award to Murray Ritchie. The Chairman for the day was Peter Wright, our Executive Chairman, and as usual he was in sparkling form. Not being allowed to drive yet, I was able to relax and have a drink, in the company of my friends, and chauffeur, Alastair & Shirley Kidd; we were also in the company of Alastair MacIntyre, the webmaster, to whom we are indebted for these pictures, and you won’t see one of him, as he took them all even though he said he forgot to turn on the flash for some of them :-)

A fuller account of the lunch will appear in the August Scots Independent, as the July one will be devoted to the General Election. For the pictures click here

QUEEN’S SPEECH

This week saw the continuation of another archaic tradition, the Queen’s Speech, in which she repeats, puppet like, the list of measures which the Government has handed her; this is just another piece of the mumbo jumbo, "Great set pieces of the state ", "Pomp and panoply" and "Rich in tradition", which means nothing. The Scottish Parliament achieves more without all that nonsense.

SNP Group Leader, Alex Salmond, MP, said about Labour "They are the party of creeping privatisation of schools and hospital services and the squeezing of Scotland’s public spending." Alex pointed out that Labour plans for the private sector involvement in the delivery of health and education services in England are a blueprint for the creeping privatisation of these services in Scotland. Annabelle Ewing MP added "Today’s Queen’s Speech marks the starting point for the future of public services in Scotland. Labour’s double whammy of privatisation and the Barnett squeeze means that Scotland’s schools , hospitals and other public services face a cut of up to £3 billion over the next three years."

FOOT IN THE MOUTH NOTES

This week, the Local Government Committee of the Scottish Parliament, after taking evidence, rejected the Government’s plans to synchronise these elections. Kenny Gibson, MSP, Shadow Local Government Minister said "We trust the Scottish Government will accept the will of the Committee, and not attempt, as they did on the fishing tie-up scheme, to re-run the vote in the hope of a different outcome."

According to attendances at tourist attractions, Dumfries and Galloway were down by 59%, the worst in Scotland.

That appears to be the story about tourist attractions; there appears to be some anecdotal evidence that hotels and boarding houses did rather better, due to the number of soldiers, vets, and men from the Ministry concerned with the Foot and Mouth epidemic; I think we should be told.

Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride opened three years ago, and is part of the Private Finance Initiative, where public and private money is used to finance projects which are run by commercial partnerships. ISS, a Danish catering company, was awarded the 30 year contract for ancillary services, and sub contracted the catering to Manchester based Anglia Crown.

The meals are cooked in Manchester (210 miles from East Kilbride) in batches of 2000 every three days, and are then chilled and sent to East Kilbride; they are then reheated in steam ovens. New Labour initiative "Poison the patients - reduce waiting lists."

While I was in hospital I was reading John Major’s autobiography (Well, I was bored, and it is well written) and I was struck by a bit in the chapter "The Union at Risk"; he wrote "Scotland has always been a turbulent and restless neighbour to England. Scottish folk-heroes like William Wallace and Robert the Bruce owe their status to their hostility to the English."

It is obvious that he believes what he has written, but he is probably not aware that all of the battles between Scotland and England were fought on Scottish soil.

The Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, is being pilloried by the Tory right wing press; an article in the Spectator, by a Simon Carr said "He has mental, moral and emotional deficiencies", and "He has only recently become audible, he can’t keep order without shouting, and when he reads prepared statements his forefinger travels the line of ink."

While we pillory Labour MPs as a matter of course, we regard this as vicious and unprincipled, and if Mr Martin was black, Jewish, or a Muslim then the Race Relations Act would take effect; Mr Martin’s main faults appear to be that he is a working class Catholic Scot.

SCOTTISH FOOD, TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS

See our Scottish Food, Traditions and Customs in our Features section

DATES IN HISTORY

SING A SANG AT LEAST
(compiled by Peter D Wright)

"That I for poor auld Scotland's sake
Some useful plan or book could make
Or sing a sang at least ........"

- Robert Burns

See the SING A SANG AT LEAST 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)

Peter and Marilyn Wright after doing the Kist O Ferlies at Electric Scotland.

See Scots Language in our Features Section
for other poems, stories, sayings and words in the Scots language

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. 18
[Click here to bring up the crossword]