SNP SPRING
CONFERENCE
I did
attend the SNP Spring Conference in Dundee, but managed to see relatively
little,
John
Swinney’s tribute to Margaret Ewing, Nicola Sturgeon’s speech, and Alex
Salmond’s speech. This was because the Scots Independent had a stand at the
Conference, and Denholm Christie and myself were in attendance pretty much
all of the time; the Conference Café was right beside us, so we ate there as
well.
It
is not possible to give a report of the Conference, but we did speak to
quite a lot of delegates, and they all seemed in good heart; I think that
the soul searching after Dunfermline is past, but many activists, and myself
in particular are still very sore at the fact that that constituency was won
by the biggest bunch of hypocrites you could meet in a long day’s walk.
We
have provided the following links to give you a flavour of the Conference:
John Swinney’s
tribute to Margaret Ewing
Nicola
Sturgeon’s Conference speech
Alex Salmond’s
Conference speech
CROSS FREE
WITH SNP
The issue
of tolls and toll bridges is getting a lot of publicity, not least for the
fact that there are glaring anomalies; for instance, as was pointed out at
Conference, they cannot remove the tolls on the Tay Road Bridge, because the
debt has not been paid. There was plenty debt on the Skye Bridge, but that
is now toll free, and there is no debt on the Forth Road Bridge, so where’s
the problem?
Bridges are
just roads that go over water, and in Scotland I can think of two places
offhand, where the road is built on stilts, if you like, one over water on
the road to Oban at Loch Awe, and one along the side of the mountain at
Killiecrankie. Now these are remarkable feats of engineering, and would
have been very costly, but there is not a toll to use them, and in fact, you
are unaware that the road is built on stilts!
I now see that there is a project to fill in the Cumberland Gap – a bit of
the M74 in Cumberland, and that is going to cost £30 million per mile - no
toll there – but of course it is in England.
During the
Dunfermline by election, “promises” and “assurances” were given by Liberal
and Labour MSPs that the tolls would somehow be dealt with and magicked
away, while at the same time they were signing the contract to build the new
toll booths for the Forth Bridge! The Dundee Courier has apparently
published the pictures of the reprobates, who dutifully voted to continue
the tolls on these bridges – election over – “promise” scrapped, as we knew
would happen. I seem to recall the Labour MSP for Dundee West using the
justification for her change of heart as reluctance to putting the toll
collectors on the dole; she probably loves traffic wardens as well.
I remember
away back in 1968, Peterhead Branch of the SNP entered a float for the
Scottish Week parade; it was a model of the Forth Bridge, which we built
ourselves (the model – not the bridge), and we won first prize. The slogan
was: “Cross Free with SNP.” We knew then that tolls were unjust, and I was
very pleased to hear last Saturday Nicola Sturgeon giving the firm promise
that the first SNP administration would abolish the tolls on the Tay and the
Forth, and I know that promise will be honoured.
SCOTLAND’S OIL
At
Conference we also saw the broadcast with Sir Sean Connery’s voice over; I
had already seen it on TV, but it came over more powerfully on the big
screen. Readers of the newspaper, the Scots Independent, will know that Sir
Sean read about the McCrone Report and the subsequent papers in the SI, and
followed this up with his own researches.
The story of Scotland’s Oil is only at the halfway stage, if it is as far as
that, but only the SNP has the political will to change the ending; we, in
the person of Donald Bain, the Party’s Research Officer, dug out the
information in the early Seventies and the Oil Campaign was run by Gordon
Wilson. The London Treasury lied and dissimulated, helped by quislings,
first of the Labour and Liberal variety (hide your face Lord Steel) and in
due course by the Tories, helping Mrs Thatcher squander the money on
unemployment costs, while her fat cat friends in their coloured braces
shuffled figures about like racecourse bookies. Well, now we know that we
were right, and they knew that we were right, but greedy Westminster kept
the cash – and blew it.
Some
facts and figures; it is estimated that there are 28 billion barrels of oil
left in the North Sea. Oil has just hit $67 a barrel, so that means there
is $1876 billion worth; there are 260,000 jobs involved in the oil
industry. Other oil fields, like Nigeria, Iraq etc are very high risk
enterprises, and becoming even more so, so that will drive the price
higher. There is a lot to play for, and this is not a game.
CO-INCIDENCES
Pairty
Broadcasts are careful set,
Presenters best select,
An fav’rable conditions met
For maximum effect.
But Chance a maist peculiar thing
Sae aften interferes,
An News tae mak the rafters ring
Convenient disappears.
This happen’t
juist the ither nicht
Aboot Oor Scottish Ile,
Wi Telecast that should by richt
Gerred hale o Scotland bile.
Where British Pairties hud combined
Wi lees an sheer deceit,
Tae hae oor futures undermined
An led intae defeat.
Sleaze
disappeared frae off the screen
Alang wi sad Iraq;
Nae langer there for tae be seen
Nae even further back.
Whit epoch-shakin grave event
Occurr’t tae mak them go?
A silent burd wis heaven-sent
Frae Whae maks sic things so.
A hamely swan
whae widnae stray
Frae where it likes tae be,
Ner sow its oats sae far away
It has tae cross the sea.
Apparently this saintly burd
Hud met some ither kind;
Whae’d stopp’t tae pass a freendly word
An left its caird behind.
It’s sad for
politics at hame
When thinking back a bit,
Sic evidence in fawse-made claim
Misled the av’rage Brit.
Except that then wis tae promote
Invasion o Iraq;
An mebbe no aw Scots demote
An hud oor prospects back.
Noo. Ah’m no
yin for tae protest
This burd thing isnae true;
Ner “handling” oany wey suggest
A diff’rent kind o view.
But juist tae say co-incidence
Is choosy in its freens;
An helps the British government
Tae hide the wey it leans.
Christie
Grahame 11th April 2006
SNP’s Youth
Wing urges Young Scots to Txt 4 Scotland!
The SNP’s
official youth wing, the Young Scots For Independence launched what is
thought to be the first ever national text referendum in Scotland at the
party’s Spring Conference in Dundee.
The text
referendum will ask whether Scotland should be independent, to agree, people
will be asked to reply ‘Scot Yes’ and if they don’t to text back ‘Scot No’
to a simple 5 digit number - 60999.
The
inspiration came from the YSI’s sister youth wing, Cymru X – Plaid Cymru’s
official youth wing who last November launched the “Real Referendum” on
whether Wales should have its own law making Parliament.
Speaking at the
launch, YSI National Convenor Aileen Campbell said: “I am really excited
about this referendum. It will allow us to truly engage with young people
in Scotland and give them an opportunity to express their views using modern
every day technology.
“ The Electoral
Commission recommended parties take proactive steps to engage with young
voters and not just use them as publicity stunts. So we are taking the
initiative and are asking the young people of Scotland to make their views
known about Scotland’s constitutional future!
“What better
way to do it than by handing out flyers, going around university campuses
and actively giving young people the opportunity to think and to log their
opinions about politics using a simple text message?
“And it won’t
stop there. We have great plans to highlight pertinent issues around the
country that we know the young people of Scotland have views upon. We’ll be
asking them all to Text 4 Scotland!”
Adding her
support to the campaign and helping to launch it at Dundee, Bethan Jenkins
Cymru X’s organiser said:
“I am delighted
to be up in Scotland to help launch the YSI’s Text Referendum campaign. We
had a marvellous response to ours last year. It is good to take these
positive steps to get young people interested and thinking about politics
and to use methods that are simple and convenient to use.
“I also believe
that by our two youth wings working together it shows a refreshing side to
politics which is not all about men in suits. We hope to develop our links
with the YSI so we can further our respective causes using modern technology
to our advantage and to bring energy and vibrancy back into the political
world.”
Lending his
support to the campaign, Scotland’s youngest MEP, Alyn Smith added:
“This text
referendum launch is ground-breaking stuff and I congratulate the YSI for
making it happen. This kind of text referendum has never been tried before
in Scotland and is something new and interesting that will hopefully
mobilise the young people in Scotland to participate in politics.”
Notes:
-
The Text
Referendum will last one year with the results published in 2007 –
interim reports will be issued throughout the year.
-
Less than
40% of 18-24 year olds who are registered to vote in the UK actually do
so.
-
It is
thought that this is the first national text referendum of its kind to
happen in Scotland.
-
The YSI
will be travelling all around Scotland to encourage young people to
think about politics and Scotland’s constitutional future.
-
The YSI is
the autonomous youth wing of the SNP.
For further
information contact visit
www.txt4scotland.com
FOOT IN THE
MOUTH NOTES
Intrigued by the headline in an article in the Sunday Herald by Scotland’s
sole Tory MP; it said: “Tories need to show the people who we really are.”
I think that some of us already know.
I am grateful, yet again, to the indefatigable Andrew Kerr, for this little
gem; by line in the Sunday Mail, “Brian Lironi, Political Editor, at the SNP
Conference in Perth.” In the body of the report: “Sturgeon used her
keynote speech to the SNP Spring Conference in Dundee……..”
Not very good at geography, then.
George Robertson was a full time official with the GMB union, and then
became a Labour MP for 21 years; in the latter capacity he opposed any break
up of Caledonian MacBrayne through privatisation. He is now Lord Robertson
and is a non executive director of Western Ferries, who are seeking to break
up Caledonian MacBrayne.
The crude old refrain springs to mind: “The working class can kiss my arse,
I’ve got the foreman’s job at last.”
In February, Lloyds TSB reported a fall in profits, at a time when other UK
banks were increasing profits; the Group’s Employees Union said that the
most obvious reason for this was that customers were dissatisfied with the
offshoring of jobs, a claim Lloyds TSB denies.
Wonder how many customers are in the countries where they have their call
centres?
In December 1905, Ronald Amundsen set off to go to the South Pole with 5 men
and a dog sled; he got there 35 days ahead of Captain Scott. They started
off with 52 dogs, and they ate 36 of them.
And a husky wee voice said: “Oh, Advocates for Animals, where were you when
we needed you?”
Tory leader David Cameron got a lot of publicity for cycling to the
Westminster Parliament.
The car mileage allowance for MPs is 40p (up to 20,000 miles); the bicycle
allowance is 20p per mile, but no congestion charge.
Commenting
on the latest developments Mr MacNeil said:
Mr
Lochhead, who is the SNP's Fisheries spokesperson, has campaigned strongly
on the issue of Scottish fisheries since he was elected to the Scottish
Parliament in 1999. Tomorrow he will be visiting Buckie to raise the issue
of fishing in the by-election and how the Tories sold out the industry in
1973.
"We
announced our intention last year to bring forward a Patients' Rights Bill,
and today SNP members have affirmed this commitment. A Scottish government
led by the SNP will give every patient the statutory right to an individual
waiting time guarantee, based on their own specific clinical needs, and the
right of redress if this standard is not met.
In
moving the motion Mr Weir said that we had a window of opportunity to
develop renewables before the switch off of existing nuclear stations which
we must grasp.
Commenting
on the announcement by the Labour and Lib Dem Government of new funds being
made available to crack down on families involved in anti-social behaviour
in Scotland, SNP Shadow Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill MSP said:
‘S
ann air tàilleabh nach e dìreach san lagh a chì sinn an fheallsanachd seo ag
obair a bu chòir dragh a bhith oirnn. Bruidhinnibh ri tidsearan air
ionnsaighean drabasta air cloinn agus gheibh sibh a-mach gu bheil eòlas aig
iomadh tidsear (agus sgoilear) air daoine nach bu chòir a bhith ag obair le
cloinn, ach chan eil dòigh ann sin a thoirt gu aire na comhairle no an GTC.
Leis na riaghailtean ùra air Disclosure bidh sgoiltean nas sàbhailte do
chloinn na bha iad -ach bidh Disclosure dìreach a’ sealltainn dè thàinig gu
aire nam poileas. Tha e doirbh teagamh a thogail às aonais fianais agus cha
dèan duine sam bith rud sam bith co-dhiù. Mar sin tha e nas soirbhe a
chumail sàmhach, ged a bhios tu cinnteach gu bheil rudeigin ceàrr.
The
Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 2006 reflects the rich heritage of
whisky-making which is an integral part of the lives of the Speyside
communities. 
Gordon
Wright’s Scottish Photo
Library
17 April
1979
John
Malkovich
