Referendum aftermath

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/devo-pact-unravels.25379998

Quote:

The devo pact unravels

Tom Gordon
Scottish Political Editor
Sunday 21 September 2014
THE three Unionist parties were last night at each other's throats over constitutional reform, as a row over "English votes for English laws" threatened to derail the timetable for more devolution that was promised after a No vote.



Gordon Brown giving a speech on the impact of the No vote to schoolchildren in Dalgety Bay, Fife, on Saturday Photograph: Tolga Akmen/LNP

First Minister Alex Salmond accused Westminster of "tricking" voters over the offer of extra powers for Scotland, saying: "I feel sorry for those in the No side who were tricked by Westminster into believing there would be an immediate offer of extra powers. Within 24 hours they started to tear up the commitments."

Despite Gordon Brown warning the "eyes of the world" were on them, the three main Westminster parties clashed publicly over the fallout from the independence referendum.

Alistair Darling, chairman of the No campaign, insisted there was "no question whatsoever" the timetable outlined before the referendum would not be adhered to, with a draft bill giving Holyrood more powers over income tax and the welfare system to be published next January.

However, that was undermined by a series of spats between MPs over David Cameron's surprise plan to link the Holyrood reforms with a new mechanism giving only English MPs the right to decide on laws that affect England alone, as well as constitutional reform for Wales and Northern Ireland - a process that would be fraught and lengthy.

The Prime Minister announced the idea just hours after Scots voted by 55% to 45% in favour of maintaining the Union, a decision influenced by a "vow" to deliver substantial new powers to the Scottish Parliament after a No.

Cameron said: "The question of English votes for English laws, the so-called West Lothian Question, requires a decisive answer, so just as Scotland will vote separately on their issues of tax, spending and welfare, so too England as well as Wales and Northern Ireland should be able to vote on these issues.

"All this must take place in tandem and at the same pace as the settlement for Scotland."

His insistence on the two processes moving "in tandem" threatens the devolution time- table because there is no cross-party agreement on restricting votes on English law to English MPs. Because such a move would empower Conservative MPs and disadvantage Labour, there is the potential for a long, bitter dispute that could scupper the timetable for Holyrood.

*chuckle*

http://www.itv.com/news/story/2014-09-21/salmond-writing-is-on-the-wall-over-independence/

Salmond: 'Writing is on the wall' over independence

It is only a matter of time before Scotland becomes an independent nation, Alex Salmond has suggested.

The First Minister, who this week announced his intention to resign from his post, said the majority of younger Scots supported independence.

He told Sky News' Murnaghan programme: "When you have a situation where the majority of a country up to the age of 55 is already voting for independence, I think the writing's on the wall for Westminster."

http://news.sky.com/story/1339600/salmond-no-voters-tricked-by-westminster

[video]

Strichen Loch looks very nice today; I shouldn't imagine the Vowers are feeling so cheery today.

http://wingsoverscotland.com/a-lie-wont-fly/#comments

Meanwhile, membership of Labour was around 13,000 at the end of 2013 and will be plummeting now. Lib Dems even less, around 4,000 I think.

===========

SNP tweeted, they have now just over 9000 new members between Thursday and Midday today bringing membership to 34705 currently.

Wings Over Scotland retweeted
Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 37m
SNP take 16% lead in post-IndyRef 2016 Holyrood election (const) from Survation has %:-
SNP 49.2
LAB 32.7
CON 13.4
LD 3.4
UKIP 0.2
GRN 0.6

I am currently laughing at the tangle the Vowers are getting into over this business of Scots MPs being able to vote on purely English matters in Westminster, Lily.

The SNP solved this years ago, without any uproar or expense. Their MPs, currently six in number, simply leave the chamber when England-only matters are being debated and voted on.

Simples.

I told you it would be all right. More ways than one to skin a cat.

You have simply taken a detour but the destination is still there. 

What makes it really really good is that Vower Cameron would be delighted if Scots MPs couldn't vote on England-only matters, as there's only one Tory in Scotland.

Unfortunately, it would be a disaster for Vower Millipede if Scots Labour MPs couldn't vote on England-only matters, as there's more than 40 of the troughers, and they put Party before Country every single time.

It wouldn't even be an issue if they took the SNP attitude that it doesn't concern them, so they won't take part.

We look forward to more merriment as the Vowers try to get out of this mess they created - they're already.

PS - Farage is chortling with glee about the whole thing, as UKIP in England is going to be the beneficiary of all this, just as the SNP already is. And it's only, what, three days since the referendum?

I can hardly wait for the next Election. I have suddenly developed a passion for politics after thirty years in the desert. But thank God I don't have to decide who to vote for.

I must admit to having developed a new respect for the Greens, after seeing their Scottish leader maul Galloway, but maybe it's just Scots Greens that do things like that.

Oh, my aching ribs.....

Wings Over Scotland retweeted
The SNP @theSNP · 2h
Due to a unprecedented demand for new party memberships; http://SNP.org has crashed. More server power is being added. Downtime 2hrs

Cheers, Vowers, the SNP couldn't have acheived this without you.

And Westminster have done this all to themselves.

Any chance of finding out how many English people have joined The SNP?

More server power.......

It doesn't break down by ethnic origin, Sabot, though 'English for Independence' groups did wonders at the referendum - just one of the many reasons people were so outraged by the Daily Mail and its ilk. There are new Scots from all over the world - and they're more committed to the future of their chosen nation than the 'my granny came from Ecclefechan, ProudScotsBut', squad.

No, it doesn't matter, Bonny. I would just like to think that some Outlanders are as passionate about Scotland as the true Scots.
I know that I would have been.

Incidentally, my sister is a Plaid Cymru Supporter, and she can get much more shirty than me. Heaven help Westminster if she kicks in.

As was demonstrated by the unionist thugs, Sabot, racism tends to be confined to the Rule Brittania squad - and the 90-minute patriots who swear their blood runs tartan because their granny came from Ecclefechan. They're the ones that were furious because new Scots got to vote, and they didn't, despite that Ecclefechan granny.

I find it astonishing that, in the 21st century, anyone should think voting rights should be conferred by ethnic origins.

Of course it shouldn't be conferred by ethnic origin. It's the people who live and work there that matter. If you leave then you leave, no matter what the reasons. But that is obvious. At least to me.

Tis strange for me, living on the other side of The Chanel. I sort of switched off after years of the misery of England, and the political corruption at Westminster. So I sat here and laughed.
It was my deliberate decision not to vote for some ten years before I left.
Funnily enough, while discussing this present day thing with a neighbour last week, who is a relatively intelligent man, he castigated me for not voting. So I asked him who he thought I should have voted for. He said that he voted for The Lib Dems because he knew they wouldn't get in. What a waste of time.
And I was a Tory Activist some thirty five years ago, much to my father's disgust. Working class, and proud of it.

I am almost delighted to come out of the political wilderness, even if there isn't anything I can do.

I am even beginning to think about becoming a French Citizen. Next year I will have lived here longer than I have ever lived anywhere.

Well, if you were a French citizen, then you could be a Breton separatist. They're getting feisty. And they also have good parties with Mebyon Kernow.

Maybe, Bonny. Time enough to think about that. I just suddenly feel that it is time to make some commitment to a country that has been very good to me, with kindness and assistance.
I have never applied for any benefits, but some of them are given to me because I have always made a Tax Declaration.
The Inland Revenue know how abysmal my income is, and pass this on to other Tax Offices, who then automatically deduct large chunks from my House Taxes. I haven't had to pay for a TV Licence in fifteen years.

Food Banks? The Restaurant de Coeur. They give a weekly food allowance to people who can prove that their income is below poverty level. The British State Pension is below what they think is acceptable. There's a laugh. I survived for three Winters on what they gave to me when I wasn't doing very well financially. And never was I made to feel like a charity case.
I could probably still claim it, but I am no longer desperate. I have found other ways to survive.

Vive La Belle France, for me.

Sounds like France has got the basics sorted out a bit better than Westminster has then, Sabot.

bb1 wrote:Sounds like France has got the basics sorted out a bit better than Westminster has then, Sabot.

Well, at least the various Offices do communicate with each other, Bonny. I don't have to do anything. And consequently, never feel as though I am begging.

James Cook ‏@BBCJamesCook 5h
The SNP says 10,000 new members have now joined the party following the vote against independence. #indyref

I wonder if the Voice of Westminster can see the irony in that?

You can but hope....