The Flag in the Wind
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But, lo and behold, after Labour were re-elected in 2001, the Chancellor, the same Gordon Brown, announced to the country that public services were in an appalling state and that taxation had to be increased to pay to put them right! Two years, a complete reversal, or complete chicanery, call it what you will, but because he put the 1% on National Insurance and not Income Tax, he screwed another 1% out of employers as well! So where we said we would not cut taxes, Labour cut them for votes, and then took double after the votes were collected; and lest anyone think that it serves the nasty old employers right to have to pay an extra 1% on National Insurance, please note that this applies to every employer. Fife Council, which has more employees than the European Commission (30,000 at the last count, but that was before the McLeish scandal) will have to pay the 1%, and that is our money; the same will happen to all public employees, police, firemen, civil servants, councillors, doctors, nurses; this boosts the money given to the National Health Service, and takes it back! And when the supermarkets have to pay it, they will just whack it on the price of the messages; the "when" is because supermarkets employ thousands of part-timers to save them paying National Insurance.

Anyway, I’m pleased that the other parties are critical, because that means that they don’t like what the SNP is doing, and they do not have our best interests at heart; it is also getting the problem out of the way well in advance of the Election in May, so one less rod for the back. It is worth bearing in mind that in general the electorate have not been enamoured of the Scottish Parliament, which is causing concern about the turnout, but the voters have only themselves to blame. The people had high expectations for their new Parliament, but they listened to the blatant lies and scaremongering of the Labour Party, and then elected them; a lot of the criticisms of the way in which Scottish politics has been conducted over the past three years have been because it is Labour local government writ large, and the much maligned Scottish Parliament building was a Labour Party stitch up before the Parliament was elected.

TURN THE TABLES

The undernoted table, produced last month, shows just how far we have fallen behind in the world, almost as bad as our national football team; the first column shows the growth rates of various countries over the past two years, and the second column shows how much a similar performance would have added to the Scottish economy:

And we still tell Irish jokes!

It is the SNP’s contention that the answer to Scotland’s problem is not increasing taxes per se, but in unlocking the potential that Independence can bring; a week or two back we printed a letter from Estonia which highlighted dramatically the increase in prosperity of a small country with virtually no natural assets. How much better could we be?

This week also has seen the publication of a report by Save the Children UK on child poverty, which disclosed that almost a third of Scottish children are classed as living in poverty, more than in any other country in the European Union; the two worst areas are Whitfield in Dundee, with 96.1%, and Keppochhill in Glasgow with 94.4%. We have now had a Labour government in Westminster for five years and these figures have not improved at all; furthermore, this is one of the richest countries, if not the richest, in Europe! And the complacent answer from the politicians is to carry on with more of the same; their attitude reminds me of a character in Nevil Shute’s "The Chequer Board", whose saying was "It’ll all be the same in a hundred years." Both of these cities, Dundee and Glasgow, have been Labour hegemonies for as long as I remember, and poverty has increased, not fallen; our children should not be classed as born to fail.

If I see another Labour politician shaking his/her sorrowful head over child poverty I shall throw up.

BETWEEN IRAQ AND A HARD PLACE

Last week, he was criticised, by Labour Tory and Liberal, for daring to mention the proposed war with Iraq during a debate in the Scottish Parliament; the Scottish Executive had put down a motion which read "That the Parliament notes the educational, historical, cultural and economic links between Scotland and the USA and wishes to see these developed and enhanced to the mutual benefit of both countries." The SNP amendment, which was selected by the Presiding Officer, Lord Steel, ran as follows; leave out from "notes", and substitute "recognises the dignity and courage shown by the people of the United States of America in the aftermath of 11 September 2001; notes the educational, historical, cultural and economic links between Scotland and the USA and wishes to see these developed and enhanced to the mutual benefit of both countries, and in the spirit of those links, urges the US administration to publish incontrovertible evidence to justify any offensive military action against Iraq and obtain a fresh United Nations mandate before embarking on any such initiative."

This upset Labour, who are following in the footsteps of the Blessed Tony, it upset the Tories, as their high heid yin in London is following in the same footsteps, and it upset the Liberals, except for Mike Rumbles and Donald Gorrie, who supported it. The Tories thought it was in poor taste (Aye?), but then called for more flights to the United States! It also upset John McAllion, Labour MP for Dundee East (which includes Whitfield) and whose amendment had been rejected by Lord Steel, even although it had twice as many backers as the SNP amendment, which was selected; I wonder why? Oh, and it upset the Scotsman newspaper, which gives the amendment instant credibility.

And the subject having been raised, I noted a statement that of letters received by the Herald, 90% of them did not approve action against Iraq until further proof, and only 10% were for; the Westminster Parliament has now been recalled to debate Iraq, and slippery Saddam has "agreed" to let the weapons inspectors back in - again.

By the way, John’s amendment was not supported by the Parliament, which voted along party lines, more or less; on the main motion, unamended, some members of all parties, excluding the Tories, abstained, which for such an anodyne motion, strikes me as surprising.

MATTERS CONSTITUTIONAL

This week, the SNP published its draft constitution for an Independent Scotland; the whole idea of a written constitution is regarded with horror by only two countries in the world, the United Kingdom... and Saudi Arabia.

The document was presented by Professor Sir Neil MacCormick, MEP, who has been Regius Professor of Public Law at Edinburgh University since 1972 (on leave of absence 1999-2004 - as he is in the European Parliament). Neil holds an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from universities in several countries; Uppsala, Sweden; the Saarland, Germany; Macerata, Italy; Queen’s, Kingston, Ontario; Glasgow, Scotland. He is a graduate of Glasgow, Oxford and Edinburgh Universities. We make these points to emphasise that he knows what he is talking about.

The document was co-presented by Dr Alasdair Allan, one of the contributors to the constitutional paper. Six key ideas encapsulate the SNP’s vision of a constitutional framework for an independent democratic Scotland;

1. The absolute right of the people of Scotland to self-determination and to sovereignty over the territory and natural resources of Scotland.

2. The constitutional entrenchment of the fundamental rights and liberties of the people of Scotland, without discrimination on any grounds such as sex, race, colour, religion ,personal beliefs, ability, age, status or sexual orientation.

3. A prime minister elected by parliament, and a ministerial team confirmed by election in parliament.

4. An inclusive definition of citizenship, and voting rights based on residence, not ethnicity.

5. A single chamber parliament, elected by proportional representation.

6. Independence of the judiciary, with appointments made by an independent Commission on Judicial Appointments, free from government interference.

All these were laid out and presented, and would you believe, the press homed in on the position of the Queen, not in the main text, but which has always been evident. I am never surprised at the line taken by the press, since they have to sell newspapers, and there is no publicity in straightforward democracy. However, let them get a whiff of the idea that an independent Scotland could give the Queen the Kirkcaldy heist, and shock, horror, dismay abounds! It was dealt with very fully in the document "Talking Independence" published earlier this year, and serialised in the Flag. First Minister, Jack McConnell, who got someone to comment on this, also got someone to count the words in "Talking Independence" (we wonder who paid for the word counter?) but obviously did not read that document; if it was so important he would have raised the matter then.

It might be that the decision to hold a referendum on the position of the Queen during the first term of a Scottish Parliament (a real one) was only taken in 1997, but the idea has been around for as long as I remember; the situation is that the Monarch will remain the Head of State, in the same way as the Queen is Head of State in 15 Commonwealth countries, will only be paid when she is here, acting as Head of State, and will not have the right to veto any legislation. We will not contribute to the upkeep of other members of the Royal Family. If the people of Scotland wish to change this arrangement, they can amend the constitution by a referendum; the Australians tried to do this, but when they realised they would end up with a politician as Head of State, that saw the boots off that proposal! Imagine, President Henry McLeish!

I liked the Pearl of Politics from the September Issue of the Scots Independent newspaper, from the late Rt Hon Donald Stewart, PC, MP, the SNP Parliamentary Leader over two decades; "One thing I know we won’t be doing after Independence - singing Land of Hope and Glory"

DOWN IN BLACK AND WHITE

I can remember Black Wednesday very well indeed; thankfully by that time my own mortgage was paid off, but I had sons with mortgages, and the thought of an interest rate at 10%, then 12%, and then a shocking 15%, was frightening. Now of course, the very fact that over £40 billion of the Bank of England’s reserves, just about all they had, had disappeared as the Chancellor, Wee Peerie Norrie Lamont, kept buying up currency, is being hailed as the best thing that could have happened! The Bank of England’s reserves were not, naturally, the Bank’s money; it was public money - ours - down the swannie.

Black Wednesday, which saw the Tories’ unearned and undeserved reputation for fiscal prudence shattered for the foreseeable future, is now being renamed White Wednesday, as the British economy has never looked back since that day, and the action forced upon the Government by that arch philanthropist, George Soros, is now being praised for saving Britain from itself! It certainly is proof that Britain muddles through, when they make a complete and utter economic mess, go virtually bankrupt, and come up smelling of roses. The Prime Minister, by then John Major, lumped the blame on the Chancellor, who either resigned or was sacked, or both, as is often the case, and so disaster became a triumph, and black has now become white.

As someone once said "It’s a funny old world."

I wonder why I am reminded of the old Army ditty "Miles behind the line, shooting the sh-t..........."?

Except that the report from Michael Settle was about David Blunkett, the English Home Secretary calling for Asian immigrants to speak English in their own homes, and was accompanied by a picture of Keith Vaz, a disgraced former Westminster Minister, but still an MP; I’m still trying to work out the connection.

Strange that this sensitivity does not extend to Scotland, as I passed a Royal Mail van in Edinburgh last week with "E II R" on the door.

We sometimes wonder what Mrs Helen Liddell does for that kind of money?

Except that wind and rain meant that the opening ceremony had to be conducted in the community hall.

Earlier this month, Dennis Koslowski, former chief executive officer of Tyco, was charged with enterprise corruption, for stealing more than$170 million and obtaining $430 million through the fraudulent sale of securities. A week or two back, we mentioned that Lord Ashcroft, a non executive director of Tyco, sold his house in Florida to his wife for $100; the same day she sold it to Mr Koslowski for $2 million.

All dealings between non execs and company officers have to be declared to the American Securities and Exchange Commission, and this was not; as Lord Ashcroft was the Treasurer of the Tory Party, we are sure that the Tories in the Scottish Parliament regard this as being in good taste.

Thinking of a suitable Head of State for the United Kingdom, a website, CyberBritain.com, ran a competition as to who would be most suitable to be a Head of State; the first four were: the Queen (there’s a surprise), Prince William, Jeremy Paxman - and Sooty!

Apparently Sooty got votes because, as a puppet, he was seen as more honest than a politician; Advance Australia Fair.

SYNOPSIS

INCREASE IN SECURE ACCOMMODATION PLACES DOESN'T GO FAR ENOUGH
Wed 18 Sep 02

Following the announcement today from the Scottish Executive that they are to increase the number of secure accommodation places by 25, the SNP Shadow Justice Minister Ms Roseanna Cunningham MSP said that any move from the Ex ecutive which takes persistent young offenders off Scotland's streets is to be welcomed and that it is was only due to constant SNP pressure that the announcement had been made at all. Ms Cunningham commented saying, "Youth crime has become a scourge on too many communities across Scotland however by announcing an increase of only 25 places the Executive are basically only tinkering around the edges and are failing to effectively tackle serial offenders."

WISHART COMMENTS ON MEETING WITH CAMELOT OFFICIALS
Wed 18 Sep 02

North Tayside SNP MP Pete Wishart today met representatives of Camelot at Westminster to discuss the impact of Camelot's Sales Improvement Programme on rural terminals and retailers. Camelot have insisted that retailers must generate £1400 of business to retain their licence. Commenting on this meeting Pete Wishart said, "I expressed to Camelot my concerns about their current review of terminals and the impact the withdrawal of terminals would have on fragile rural businesses. Many small shopkeepers rely on their Lottery terminal to encourage further income and the withdrawal of their terminal may threaten their future. Many rural retailers exist very much at the margins and we must ensure that their income sources are not under threat."

SNP Leader John Swinney MSP and colleagues today welcomed the publication of a major report by University College London's Constitutional Unit, 'Scottish Independence: A Practical Guide', which shows the way is clear for Scotland to take control of the full powers on a normal sovereign nation. "This report helps place Scottish Independence at the heart of the political debate. It will remain there until the election because the SNP winning this debate is the only way for the people of Scotland to equip themselves with the tools to allow Scotland to achieve its full potential as a nation," said Mr Swinney. "There are aspects of the report with which we disagree but the key questions it poses are; whether independence can be achieved in a constitutionally legitimate way; whether it can be achieved by mutual consent; and whether it can be achieved within the framework of the European Union - and the authors' answer to all of these questions is yes." Shadow Economy Minister Andrew Wilson MSP also highlighted the report's key finding that there would an £8 billion independence dividend but said that economic growth remained the key to Scotland's future. "There is a great deal in the economic section of the report that confirm what the SNP have been arguing for years and is enormously positive for the Independence case. Chief among these points is the revelation that Scotland will be due an independence dividend of up to £8 billion when an equitable distribution of the assets of the UK is undertaken, and that's excluding many categories of asset." Mr Wilson said the report confirmed Independence was economically viable and that the transition can be managed smoothly and added, "The choice now for the people of Scotland is more under-performance and under-achievement with the limited powers of the status quo under Labour, or the chance to achieve our potential and earn our way to a better standard of living with the full powers of Independence and the SNP."

SNP WOOS YOUNG VOTERS AT FRESHER EVENTS
Mon 16 Sep 02

The SNP today launched a drive to woo young voters to the party by setting out its stall at university fresher events across Scotland. The campaign will include handing out 50,000 postcards, encouraging youngsters to vote in May's Holyrood elections and highlighting the issue of tuition fees. The push was launched today by party leader John Swinney during a visit to Stirling University. "Over the next few months, the SNP will hold youth campaign action days right across Scotland so we have the opportunity to listen to the views of young people and promote our policy of free education and saying no to student fees," he said. "Under the Lib-Lab coalition the only difference made to students paying fees was to move paying for your education after graduation instead of before," claimed Mr Swinney. We will be telling students that on May 1 next year they can vote to abolish student tuition fees by voting SNP."

WATSON HIT BY FURTHER HYPOCRISY ALLEGATIONS
Sun 15 Sep 02

Under-fire culture minister Mike Watson was today accused of "rank hypocrisy" by Shadow Health Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP, after it emerged that he attended a meeting of the South East Area Health Forum, a group opposed to Executive plans for Glasgow's hospitals. The Forum met last week to endorse a motion by the Scottish National Party condemning the plans, which would see the Victoria Infirmary on the south side of the city downgraded in favour of the Southern General Hospital. On Thursday Mr Watson voted with the Executive in support of the cutbacks, even though he has publicly criticised the plans for the Victoria, which falls within his Cathcart constituency.

Shadow health minister Nicola Sturgeon, who was also at the meeting, said: "His presence at the meeting suggests in itself he was against the reorganisation. The meeting wasn't to discuss the merits of the plan, it was understood that everybody round the table was against it." Ms Sturgeon went on to accuse Mr Watson betraying his constituents by voting with the Executive. She said: "Mike Watson has got no credibility left, either as a constituency MSP or as a minister. He can't say one thing to his constituents and then go to Parliament and do the opposite. I think his credibility is in tatters and the best thing he could do is resign as a minister."

MAJORITY OF SCOTS MPs AGAINST IRAQ WAR
Sun 15 Sep 02

The majority of Scottish MPs are opposed to plans for the UK to become involved in a war against Iraq, according to a poll published today. Almost 70% of the 57 MPs who took part in the survey carried out by the Sunday Mail said they were against such a move. The newspaper asked all 72 Scottish MPs: ``Do you agree with US and British military intervention in Iraq with the current evidence available?" Thirty-eight revealed that they were against waging war against Saddam Hussein at present, 25 of them Labour MPs, as well as the five SNP MPs. Reasons for opposition included the lack of evidence that the Iraqi president is more of a threat than he was five years ago and the need for a new UN resolution against him.

LABOUR'S CONCESSIONARY BUS SCHEME 'A CON AND A SHAMBLES'
Sun 15 Sep 02

Kenny MacAskill MSP, SNP Shadow Minister for Transport has labeled The Scottish Executive's planned concessionary travel scheme for the elderly and the disabled as a con and a shambles. Mr MacAskill said, 'We were promised a national concession fare scheme but this is just an amalgamation of local schemes. We have a situation where pensioners can go from Angus to Dundee but not vice versa .' Urging the Scottish Executive to follow the example of the Welsh Assembly and establish a national scheme, MacAskill said the proposed plan would not deliver the unified concession system Scotland needs. 'If the Welsh assembly can deliver a national scheme, the Scottish parliament should be able to do so,' he said.

SNP EXPRESS CONCERN OVER REDUCTION IN CARE
Thu 12 Sep 02

SNP politicians in Dundee have expressed concern over the sharp reduction in the number of people receiving services from the City Council Home Help service. Publishing the reply to a parliamentary question, North East MSP Shona Robison revealed the number of clients in the City has fallen by 35% from 3,762 in 1997 to 2,445 in 2001 and said, "The people eligible for services are by their nature vulnerable and I would be concerned if the charges being levied by the Council are impacting on the take up of services." Councillor Liz Fordyce, Social Work Spokesperson added, "Providing care for the elderly and disabled in their own homes is a priority for the SNP. We must ensure that adequate levels of care are provided to prevent unnecessary and worrying hospital admissions."

ONE IN FIVE GPs TO LEAVE BY 2007
Thu 12 Sep 02

A report for the Scottish Executive has revealed that thousands of GPs are planning to quit their jobs over the next five years with one in five doctors saying they will leave general practice by 2007. The Scottish report by the National Association of Primary Care Research and Development Centre at Manchester University, found overwork and stress are the main reasons why GPs want to leave. Dr Anthony Scott, a health economist senior research fellow at the University of Aberdeen and one of the authors of the study, said some doctors were considering other jobs in medicine. Dr Scott told the BBC, "Our study found that 15% of GPs in Scotland intend to leave medicine altogether in the next five years. We found that 21% of GPs were planning to leave general practice. The main things influencing their dissatisfaction were paperwork, administration, demand from patients and organisational change".