HAPPY CHRISTMAS
I am continually surprised
by the ongoing view that using the expression "Happy Christmas"
is politically incorrect; the incorrect word is not "Happy", but
"Christmas", as it refers to Jesus Christ, whose birth is being
celebrated. It all seems rather mad, and we anticipate a
rewording of all the books and records in the World, to expunge
the terms "BC" - Before Christ, and "AD" - Anno Domini - The
Year of Our Lord.
There is no doubt that, in
Scotland, Christmas has come more into fashion than it used to
be; when I was young, during the Second World War, I remember my
father working on Christmas Day, and also as a Firewatcher (and
an Air Raid Warden) and remarking that he could get off
firewatching on Christmas Eve, as there was always someone ready
to swap Hogmanay with him. I also worked on Christmas Day when I
was first married, but New Year was sacrosanct, and virtually
nobody worked that day.
It seems a long time ago, but
when I lived in Peterhead, I went shopping for a gift for my
eldest son, whose birthday is 31st December; in the biggest
toyshop in the town I was asked "You’re nae fisher fowk. Hoo
does Santy come tae you on Hogmanay?" - a question which took me
aback. Even then, a scant forty years ago, New Year was
celebrated as Christmas, in some areas, and Christmas itself was
largely ignored. I think it was as a result of the Reformation,
and Christmas was seen as a Catholic festival, but some
celebration was required at that time of year.
The unfortunate thing is that
Christmas is now celebrated as a material festival, rather than
a religious one; we did not celebrate New Year at all in my
parents’ house, but I now celebrate both. Christmas is the
religious and family time, and not time for a booze-up, and New
Year is the time for a booze -up, restrained of course. Anyway,
we at the Flag have decided that we are only politically correct
in our views on Scottish Independence.
MERRY CHRISTMAS LORD
STEEL
We
have received, through the post, a communication in the form of
an email from Lord Steel; this was sent from the House of Lords
to the Scots Independent at Cowane Street, Stirling. The
communication, dated 30 November 04, takes issue with an item
which appeared in The Flag in the Wind on 6 Feb 04.
(www.scotsindependent.org/2004/040206/index.htm)
Lord Steel disputes the
three points which the article made:
1. He denies that he ever
referred to "that bastard Ewing" (Fergus Ewing MSP); as our
knowledge of this was only hearsay, we accept the noble lord’s
word on the matter.
2. Lord Steel also
says that he did not "doctor" the minutes of the all-party
Corporate Body; we accept that the use by us of the term
"doctored" was inappropriate. The minutes supplied to MSPs were
an edited version of the full minutes, only showing decisions;
the full minutes recorded items which were confidential, and
politically sensitive, so were not given to MSPs.
3. Our comment, that Lord
Steel spent a lot of his time travelling the world, was a light
hearted quip on the question from John Campbell QC, at the
Fraser Inquiry; he had asked Lord Steel if he had not thought to
take a walk down to the new Parliament building and see for
himself what was happening. Our comment was not intended to be
malicious, and if we had looked at the Official Record, as
suggested by Lord Steel, we would no doubt have seen that he had
indeed spent a lot of time on his duties.
CASINO
NOT SO ROYALE
The
Scottish Executive has decided that it will pass all powers over
gambling to a combination of Westminster and local authorities;
this is being done by a Sewel motion, and was the subject of
heated debate at the transport and local government committee.
It appears that they think that handing power to London means
that they can exert more influence, a curious anomaly, but then
Labour shall speak to Labour.
The committee voted
five-three along party lines to recommend that the Parliament
pass a Sewel motion, which would give Westminster full control
of the bill; there has also been an exchange of letters in the
press between Fergus Ewing , SNP, MSP, who opposed the decision
and Bristow Muldoon, the Labour Convener of the committee. Bruce
Crawford MSP, speaking for the SNP, said that there was powerful
evidence that a super casino would increase compulsive gambling
by 50% in a radius of 50 miles, and 90% within a radius of 10
miles. He was advocating the Scottish Parliament should have
control of the planning issues, and that by allowing Westminster
to bypass the Parliament and local authorities to compete for
casinos, then we would end up with these authorities competing
with each other for the lucrative casino trade.
A few weeks ago, I was in Las
Vegas, which is in Nevada; when we visited the Hoover Dam, the
tour guide thanked all of those who were visiting Las Vegas for
keeping his taxes down. According to what I was told, for every
one armed bandit in Nevada, $1000 per month is paid to the
state, thus paying for all the amenities; and in Las Vegas there
are pawn shops by the score, where people come to get more cash
to recoup their losses. In the casinos, the waitresses come
round all the time, dispensing free drink, as long as you keep
spending the cash on gambling. I gambled, cautiously, and came
away with a profit - well we started with 45 dollars - and came
away after two moderate sessions - with 46 dollars!
There are no casinos in
California, or in Arizona, two states which border on Nevada,
and in fact when you come into Nevada from California there is a
big casino at the border crossing point - Whiskey Pete’s-
together with a big funfair for the weans, while Paw and Maw
lose the family silver. The lesson here is that the American
states have more powers than the Scottish Parliament, but then
they don’t have a supine Executive asking Washington to make
their laws.
THE SHORTEST DAY
The
fact that this week contains the shortest day of the year,
reminded me of the annual furore about the clock change; we have
southern English MPs fulminating about how this is done for a
few obscure Scottish farmers, and this creates danger for
schoolchildren coming home from school, English schoolchildren.
"This practice must be stopped" is thundered every year.
I had always imagined that
changing the clock was a peculiarly British phenomenon, and was
surprised to find that all but two of the American states change
their clocks; California changes it to make for lighter
mornings, and my cousin looked at me askance when I asked him.
Of course, the United States has 8 different time zones; one of
them, between Nevada and Arizona is on the Hoover Dam itself.
There is an interesting story about this; when the Hoover Dam
was opened in 1935 by President Roosevelt, it was called, in his
official address, the Boulder Dam. This was because it had been
conceived and started under the Hoover administration, but
completed under Roosevelt’s, so was named after Boulder City, a
few miles away, where no drinking, gambling or loose women were
allowed, thus permitting Las Vegas to clean up, or something.
Anyway, on the day of the official opening, the programme had
been based on Eastern time, and not Nevada time, so the
President appeared, made his address, and left - some hours
before most of the official guests arrived. Nice to know that
other governments screw up as well.
So that’s another piece of
useless information for Flag readers, and no doubt some of our
American devotees will correct me if I’m wrong; I don’t think
they’ll threaten to sue me, though.
FOOT IN THE MOUTH
NOTES
The
Chancellor’s Working Tax Credit (WTC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC)
policies are creating havoc for the 6 million families who
receive them, or are trying to receive them; the schemes,
administered by the Inland Revenue, suffer from serious computer
problems, major administrative failings, frustrated helpline
staff who cannot control the situation, and forms that do not
make sense. The policies were designed to "help hard-working
families."
On the other hand,
pensioners feel that they are largely being ignored by the
Government, but judging by the "hard-working families"
experience, I’m quite happy to be suffering from benign neglect.
Great puzzlement in the
circles of academia; it seems that although the crime rate is
falling, the prisons are full.
Perhaps it is too
simplistic to think that if a lot of criminals are locked up
they are prevented from committing crimes, but maybe I have
missed something.
The
Westminster Parliament has breached the devolution settlement by
passing a law on housing in Scotland; civil servants have
apologised saying it was "simple human error".
All perfectly
understandable; the Scottish Executive has pushed through so
many Sewel motions ceding power to their pals in London that the
civil service there haven’t really noticed that there is a
Parliament in Edinburgh.
Still on the subject of
crime; another survey has found that 90% of housebreakers think
that their occupation is relatively low risk. One might wonder
where one finds a collection of burglars to be surveyed, and in
fact the survey was conducted in the prisons.
If their occupation was
really low risk, they wouldn’t be in the pokey.
When
you rush to answer the phone, thinking it may be important, nine
times out of ten it is Graham, or Andrew or Carol, and they tell
you it is a courtesy call, or ask "Do you own your own home", or
whether you have a mobile , or a BT landline, and if you listen
long enough, how they can save you money.
Whoever, whenever or
whatever, all they want is your money.
POLICY POSTCARDS
We continue our publication of the SNP Policy Postcards;
we will publish a new one every week, each one dealing with
a different aspect of SNP policy. The full list can be seen
on the SNP website under "Vision" and "Policy"
Since 1997, New Labour has failed to
successfully reform the benefits system. Rather,
the system has become even more complex,
bureaucratic and confusing.
A devolved SNP
administration will argue for social security to
be transferred to the Scottish Parliament. With
Independence, we will review the system to
create an integrated tax and benefits system. We
will create a system that ensures that, for
those who can, work pays - and that those who
cannot work receive an adequate income.
-
18% of
Scotland’s working population is in receipt
of one or more key benefits. It is therefore
vital that the tax and benefits system works
effectively to prevent poverty.
-
The
benefits system is inefficient and failing.
It is estimated that up to 80,000 older
people are missing out on a combined total
of over a million pounds a week in Scotland.
-
With
Independence, the SNP will create an
efficient, integrated tax and benefits
system that is designed to make work pay and
enable people to keep what they earn in
order to tackle poverty.
The Working Life of Linda
Fabiani MSP
Click here to read SNP MSP Linda Fabiani's working diary.
SYNOPSIS
A brief snapshot of what some of our Parliamentary
representatives have been up to over the last week.
Shadow
Energy Minister Mr Richard Lochhead MSP has revealed that the
DTI have dropped plans to transfer nearly 60 jobs in the Energy
Resources Development Unit from London to Aberdeen.
The jobs appear to have been
earmarked for dispersal to Aberdeen under the Lyons Review
published earlier this year that called for the dispersal of
civil service jobs from London to the rest of the UK. Lyons even
highlighted the 1993 decision to establish the DTI oil office in
Aberdeen as an example of good practice. Two floors in
Aberdeen’s Atholl House are currently lying vacant in
anticipation of a jobs move that has now been cancelled. Mr
Lochhead said:
"This decision is a bitter
blow to Aberdeen and must be reversed. All civil service jobs
that relate to the offshore industry deserve to be based in
Europe’s oil capital not in London. It seems London is not
content with keeping our offshore revenues but wants the jobs as
well.
"The fact that the DTI
prepared to expand its Aberdeen office but then changed its mind
rubs salt into the wound. Boosting Aberdeen’s energy profile
would have been a logical development given Chancellor Gordon
Brown’s statement in July that he supports the dispersal of
civil service jobs from London. Gordon Brown must stand by his
pledge and support Aberdeen’s case for these jobs."
There are currently 90 DTI
staff based in Aberdeen’s Atholl House carrying out duties that
relate to the North Sea oil industry. Scores of others remain in
the DTI’s London office.
The SNP and Alex Salmond MP successfully campaigned in the 1990s
for the establishment of the DTI’s oil office in Aberdeen, when
the House of Commons Energy Select Committee supported the case
for establishment of the DTI’s oil office in Aberdeen. In 1993,
the UK Government announced the establishment of the new office
now in Atholl House. The SNP has continued to campaign for all
offshore related civil service jobs to be relocated to Aberdeen.
Angus
MP, Mike Weir has demanded that the UK delegation, including the
Scottish Executive’s Fisheries Minister, Ross Finnie and UK
Fishery Minister, Ben Bradshaw, stand up and fight for the
future of the Scottish fishing communities at the EU’s Common
Fishery Policy discussions which take place this week. Speaking
ahead of the meeting, Mr Weir said:
"From the fishing skipper to
the company that makes the nets, this week is one that the tens
of thousands who work Scotland’s fishing industries must dread.
"Every year the UK delegation,
including the Scottish Executive’s Fisheries Minister and the UK
Fisheries Minister, promise to fight for a better deal for
Scottish fishing and every year they come back with a worse deal
than before. Last year deal was disastrous and the Ministers
even had to return to Brussels to review the ‘unintended
consequences’ of the deal they had negotiated.
"Moves, by EU ministers, to
close more areas from fishing and further reductions in the days
at sea will be a further blow to our fishing communities. The
fishing industry is one of the most important in Scotland and
deserves better. It provides ten of thousands of jobs and is
worth hundreds of millions to the economy. Scotland needs its
own voice at the European top table to ensure that our fishing
industry gets the support it needs and deserves."
Shadow
Health Minister Ms Shona Robison MSP and SNP MSP for Banff and
Buchan Mr Stewart Stevenson have welcomed the statement from the
BMA, RCN and Royal College of Midwives that supports the SNP
amendment to the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Bill, which calls
for legislation to be extended to protect all NHS staff.
Commenting, Ms Robison said:
"The SNP has long campaigned for the Emergency Workers Bill to
be extended to protect all NHS staff.
"Every employee has the right to go to work without threat of
abuse or attack and this is why the Executive must award
all front line staff the same rights.
"We continue to hear of nurses that are attacked in the
workplace just for trying to do their job and this is
why
better safeguards must be put in place as soon as possible."
Speaking later Mr Stevenson said:
"My amendment to the Bill would ensure greater rights for all.
There should be universal protection for staff, whether they
work in the emergency services or indeed other areas of the NHS.
"This statement from the BMA, RCN and Royal College of Midwives
simply proves that greater security is needed and I hope that it
will spur MSPs from across the political spectrum to vote to
support our NHS staff."
Crusaders Catch Lands in
Brussels Tuesday 21 December 2004
Presentation of 162,500
signature petition for freedom from CFP
The
largest petition ever handed to the Scottish Parliament has now
been presented in Brussels to Ian Hudghton MEP, for onward
transmission to Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg.
Members of the United Fishing
Industry Alliance, an organisation which was set up last year to
campaign for freedom from the Common Fisheries Policy, handed
over the petition in front of the Council of Ministers building
where annual quotas were being negotiated.
The petition calls for control
of fisheries management to be returned to national governments.
This is in line with Alex Salmond's Fisheries Jurisdiction Bill
currently before the UK House of Commons which seeks to take the
United Kingdom out of the Common Fisheries Policy and
redistribute those powers to the Scottish Parliament, Northern
Ireland Assembly, Welsh Assembly and Westminster Parliament (in
regard to English waters).
Receiving the petition from
UFIA Chairman Gary Masson, Ian Hudghton commented.
"This demonstration of the
strength of feeling against the CFP gives notice to the new
Commissioner that Scotland's fishing communities have had enough
pain and misery inflicted from Brussels, and I made that very
clear to Mr Borg when I met with him in Strasbourg last week."
The Leader of the Scottish
National Party, Mr Alex Salmond MP, has been joined by MPs from
across the political spectrum as they made the case for the
impeachment of the Prime Minister in the Chamber of the House of
Commons.
Alex
Salmond MP said:
"On the day that Tony Blair is
visiting Iraq, a country that is still blighted by conflict, it
is right that we should debate ways in which to bring the Prime
Minister to account for his actions in taking us into a war. It
is a war that has cost the lives of many tens of thousands and
which shows no sign of abating.
"There can be few greater
allegations than that a Prime Minister took the country to war
on the basis of a lie. The House of Commons has the power to
bring impeachment proceedings against the Prime Minister to make
him answerable for his actions. In my view and in the view of
millions in this country, the Prime Minister has misled
Parliament and the people of the United Kingdom and deserves to
be impeached.
"A recent poll in Scotland
showed that the SNP was the most trusted party in Scotland. It
is clear that people do not trust Labour to stand up for
Scotland and they do not trust the Prime Minister to tell the
truth. It is time to make the Prime Minister accountable for his
actions and for time to be given for a full debate in the
Commons on impeaching the Prime Minister."
Speaking following the
announcement that the Scottish Executive has abolished tolls on
the Skye Bridge, the SNP welcomed the move but called for a full
examination of the factors into the fiasco. They called for the
establishment of a Public Inquiry into the events leading up to
the u-turn, and the quashing of previous convictions for
non-payment of tolls.
Shadow
transport Minister Fergus Ewing MSP said:
"Today's announcement should mean that PFI should RIP.
"The scandal of PFI has cost taxpayers across the country dear,
not to mention the great personal expense to bridge users. We
now need a full Public Inquiry into this fiasco to ensure that
we cannot have a repeat of it in future.
"It is the Executive who have the criminal record on this
matter, and individuals who have had any convictions in relation
to non-payment of tolls on the bridge should have their
convictions expunged.
Rob Gibson SNP MSP for Highlands and Islands added his voice to
congratulate the people of Skye and the Outer Isles for being
liberated from Skye Bridge tolls.
Rob was one of many Skat protesters who was arrested and fined
for non-payment in 1997. He said,
"I am delighted the islanders and all visitors to Skye and the
Outer Isles have been rid of the draconian toll regime.
"To my knowledge I am the only MSP with a criminal record for
non-payment at the Kyle of Lochalsh toll booth.
"Many people were fined for tolls non-payment. I paid a £100
fines for two offences and hope that all outstanding
prosecutions will be stopped immediately. Also concerned
citizens from all Scotland showed solidarity with Skye, so I
will be asking the Law Officers of the Government to quash
existing convictions.
"We are delighted a solution is now opening up but deplore the
personal cost of all who had to pay tolls for the last nine
years."
Commenting
following her ejection from the Chamber of the House of Commons
during the statement on the Scottish regiments, Annabelle Ewing
MP said: "I have every respect for the Deputy Speaker, but
absolutely no respect for a shameful minister who has put
Scottish soldiers in the line of fire and then stabbed them in
the back.
"Over these past few months I
have spoken to dozens of current and past members of the Black
Watch and their families. They are outraged by the government’s
plans and I share their anger.
"Hoon is a disgrace to his
office and deserves nothing but contempt for this cowardly
decision. To cast aside the regimental structure is an act of
political vandalism made more appalling by the fact it is purely
cost driven and the result of defence cuts. It is bad for the
troops, bad for their families and an insult to Scotland."
The Leader of the Scottish
National Party, Mr Alex Salmond MP, gave Annabelle Ewing MP his
full backing.
Alex Salmond MP said:
"Annabelle Ewing’s words were
absolutely true. It is not her who should have been ordered from
the House of Commons, but the Defence Secretary who should be
drummed out of office. Annabelle Ewing has broken the rules but
Geoff Hoon has broken the hearts of Scottish soldiers."
