Referendum aftermath

Oh, thank goodness, he isn't standing down right away.

I am immensely proud of the campaign which Yes Scotland fought and of the 1.6 million voters who rallied to that cause by backing an independent Scotland.

I am also proud of the 85% turnout in the referendum and the remarkable response of all of the people of Scotland who participated in this great constitutional debate and the manner in which they conducted themselves.

We now have the opportunity to hold Westminster's feet to the fire on the vow that they have made to devolve further meaningful power to Scotland. This places Scotland in a very strong position.

I spoke to the Prime Minister today and, although he reiterated his intention to proceed as he has outlined, he would not commit to a second reading vote by March 27 on a Scotland Bill.

That was a clear promise laid out by Gordon Brown during the campaign. The Prime Minister says such a vote would be meaningless. I suspect he cannot guarantee the support of his party.

But today the point is this. The real guardians of progress are not the politicians at Westminster, or even at Holyrood, but the energised activism of tens of thousands of people who I predict will refuse meekly to go back into the political shadows.

For me right now, therefore there is a decision as to who is best placed to lead this process forward politically.

I believe that in this new exciting situation, redolent with possibility, party, Parliament and country would benefit from new leadership.

Therefore I have told the National Secretary of the SNP that I will not accept nomination to be a candidate for leader at the Annual Conference in Perth on November 13 to 15.

After the membership ballot I will stand down as First Minister to allow the new leader to be elected by due Parliamentary process.

Until then I will continue to serve as First Minister. After that I will continue to offer to serve as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeenshire East.

It has been the privilege of my life to serve Scotland as First Minister. But as I said often during the referendum campaign, this is not about me or the SNP.

It is much more important than that.

The position is this. We lost the referendum vote but can still carry the political initiative. More importantly Scotland can still emerge as the real winner.

I can see a possible way out of this but it would probably be classed as radical - I posit a partnership, ie a federation of the four countries with each one having its own parliament, raising its own taxes, healthcare etc but coming together on matters that affect everyone ie defence.  And MPs would only sit in their own Parliament and would have no way of affecting or directing the decisions of another member country.  No-one loses face, which is what the current set-up causes.  JMO and my thoughts.  Please don't hit me!   LL  

No hits from me, LL. It's just about the only way out of the mess created by Cameron and the Vow, but it will never happen. London simply will not give up all that money and power. Can you see all the Little Englanders spitting racist hatred that would NEVER be allowed against any other ethnic group settling for being just another country in a federation?

Never. Britannia rules the waves, doncha know.

It's all a bit much for me at the moment. But I don't feel as though Scotland has lost. It's a win, win situation as far as I can see.

Cameron and the other lot have shown themselves to be a bunch of lying, self serving arseholes. Which we all knew anyway. But what a spectacular own goal. There is nothing short of giving in to Scotland that they can do to recover a face of honour.

I might not be able to do anything at the moment, but I can fester until something occurs to me.

I am hoping someone makes 45%-er badges, Sabot. I would hate to go out in public and have anyone thinking I support food banks, WMDs, illegal wars, attacks on the disabled, schemes to further impoverish the most vulnerable in society while the troughers get richer, etc. And I'd really, really hate anyone to think I'd sold my country down the river for a pack of lies from some of the biggest crooks ever seen in politics.

Interesting piece on Sky:

Alex Salmond is THE story right now, but over in Northern Ireland Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has called for a border poll on independence for Northern Ireland. "It (the Scottish referendum) showed that it is possible to discuss important constitutional issues in a spirit of respect for all sides. I believe we could do that without opening up divisions which would be detrimental to the institutions."

Yes, right....the Orange Order will go apesh*t if their beloved Butcher's Apron is in danger, and that will all kick off again.

Councillor Jeremy Rowe, deputy leader of Cornwall Council and cabinet member for devolution and localism, said: "Scotland's independence referendum has inspired a renewed enthusiasm for the democratic process and I'm encouraged to hear the noises made by the Prime Minister around devolution.

"We're keen to make sure that this conversation isn't limited to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland nor indeed to English cities.

"I hope the Government will take this opportunity to have a broader discussion with local areas to see if between us we can find ways to provide better services to the taxpayer.

Here we go.

Keith Wakefield, leader of Leeds City Council, has called for further devolution for cities and regions in England: "The Scottish referendum has proved people feel passionately about, and want to get involved with, political debate when it directly involves them and their local communities," he said.

roddymansfield 9 hours ago
With Scotland saying No to independence, campaigners for Cornish devolution are determined to win increased powers for Cornwall.

Cornish party Mebyon Kernow is fighting for the creation of a National Assembly for Cornwall

I give the 'United Kingdom' ten years.

Wings Over Scotland retweeted
National Collective @WeAreNational · 58m
It would have been a Yes majority (54.3%) if you removed the 65+ vote. The Yes generation is not going anywhere. #IndyRef

And that 54.3% has stood up to all the sh*te, lies, threats and bribes that has been thrown at us; it crosses party boundaries now, and isn't just the SNP struggling alone for independence.

Your son should read this, LL, and see how the number-crunching comes out.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/7-fascinating-insights-into-why-scotland-voted-against-indep#2jul5v8

It ends:

Scotland remained in the union because of old people, concerns over pensions, and people who wanted to keep the pound.

See you next time.

Interesting to see that YESes think we'll be back here in five years, while ProudScotsBut imagine there's going to be Union Jack-waving forever more.

bb1 wrote:I am hoping someone makes 45%-er badges, Sabot. I would hate to go out in public and have anyone thinking I support food banks, WMDs, illegal wars, attacks on the disabled, schemes to further impoverish the most vulnerable in society while the troughers get richer, etc. And I'd really, really hate anyone to think I'd sold my country down the river for a pack of lies from some of the biggest crooks ever seen in politics.

Can someone tell me where to buy one if they do make them? Or a carsticker will do just as well. I so want to be one of The 45 Club.

I am so proud of Glasgow and of Dundee, both of which are dear to me from my time in Scotland. Remember the Wild Cat I saw on the road to Dundee.

There is some mention of Dundee in The Outlander books.

bb1 wrote:I am hoping someone makes 45%-er badges, Sabot. I would hate to go out in public and have anyone thinking I support food banks, WMDs, illegal wars, attacks on the disabled, schemes to further impoverish the most vulnerable in society while the troughers get richer, etc. And I'd really, really hate anyone to think I'd sold my country down the river for a pack of lies from some of the biggest crooks ever seen in politics.

How to turn a defeat into a victory.

bb1 wrote:Keith Wakefield, leader of Leeds City Council, has called for further devolution for cities and regions in England: "The Scottish referendum has proved people feel passionately about, and want to get involved with, political debate when it directly involves them and their local communities," he said.

roddymansfield 9 hours ago
With Scotland saying No to independence, campaigners for Cornish devolution are determined to win increased powers for Cornwall.

Cornish party Mebyon Kernow is fighting for the creation of a National Assembly for Cornwall

I give the 'United Kingdom' ten years.

As long as that? Two Cornish sons I have. And neither of them are faint hearted.

There you are then, Sabot, you can be Cornish, it's just a hop across the Channel.

bb1 wrote:There you are then, Sabot, you can be Cornish, it's just a hop across the Channel.

I would rather be Scots, thanks, Bonny. But I don't mind being the mother of two Cornishmen

*sigh*

The unionists appear to be hell-bent on starting a northern Ireland-type fight in George Square:

George Square latest

Posted at 18:48
There is definitely evidence of riot-trained police officers now coming in.
The trouble started very quickly with the charge from the Loyalist side. We believe it was a coordinated charge. It came from different parts of the square and different angles.
You could see flares going off in different directions. You could see people running in and they had concealed Union flags within their coats and jackets which they pulled out.

Cameron Buttle
BBC Scotland
More on George Square

Posted at 18:51
The Loyalists have signs saying "Scotland is British". I see a flag that says Springburn/Derry Union up on the railings.
Another flag says "Scotland is British, No surrender". There is lots of shouting of "this is our country".

Scum.

Meanwhile, someone's on a helicopter and looking strangely happy...



First Minister Alex Salmond tweets: Heading home to Strichen. With love and thanks from Moira and I for all your kind messages of support.

Glad to see they are.

Comment in the Herald:

The SNP in 2011 gained 909,915 constituency votes. In 2014 just three years later the pro-Independence movement garnered1.6 million. A new surge of 700,000 people have defeated fear.
We hear that the 25-54 year olds won the YES vote as did the 16-17s but the over 65s voted 73% NO. So the future is pregnant with hope.

I would say that the future is.  They younger people are going to become even more determined.

Reuters US News tweets: 1 in 4 Americans open to secession in urge to cut ties with Washington.

You next, Lily.

I can't think why that is.....

On the left, George Square a few nights ago. On the right, the scene tonight. Unionist thugs are fighting and brawling - but I bet the Mail won't mention that. Scum.

Of course they won't.