Scottish independence; Scotland has no legal right to hold referendum says Westminster MPs, Alex Salmond under pressure to deliver

Dear All

The fight for independence is that exactly that, it’s a fight, although it over two years to the final bell, the early rounds are going to the unionists, not only are they outclassing, outwitting and outfighting the nationalists, even their own MSPs are sinking the boot into their own SNP campaign.

Plus you could toss in the Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon middle class clique have run out of puff, a paralysed and out of touch government and people refusing to come out and be activists.

Alex Salmond is running out of allies.

So, lots of problems and no vision and solutions.

And of course, there is the law, it is said that the “overwhelming” weight of evidence shows Holyrood has no legal powers to hold an independence referendum.

This ditto was contained in a report from the Commons Scottish affairs committee who aren’t sympathetic to Alex Salmond.

If the SNP Government doesn’t get their Section 30 order, there stands the risk of “indefinite” legal wrangling over the referendum.

And that bunny is a minefield that Alex Salmond doesn’t want to walk into via the UK Supreme Court.

It could be stuck down at the courts if Alex Salmond decides to go it alone, think of General Custer’s last stand starring Errol Flynn, ‘The died with their boots on’ but without the moral victory attached.

Alex Salmond has to produce a referendum in any form for his members or risk angry words.

The House of Commons report which is just published says that there is a raft of evidence from legal and constitutional experts.

Scotland’s Advocate General Lord Wallace has also stuck his 10 cents in by saying that Holyrood had no power to deliver a referendum of any kind and to do so would flout a “fundamental principle of democracy”.

Given Cameron says the Scots have a moral right to an in/out referendum but as regard to the second question, there is no right, no mandate and no legal authority for that, include that this second question means Holyrood is in effect mandating Westminster to do its bidding.

Westminster will not be legally accountable for implanting something which is run through Holyrood regarding its powers.

Devo max isn’t an option for the ballot paper, it never was and never will be, the tail doesn’t wag the dog as any vet student can verify.

The reason why devo max is a pipedream; is that nation’s constitutional future rests with the UK parliament and there is no ‘divine’ right of anything to change that.

And the public knows this and understands this fully.

One of the legal eagles worth a read is Aidan O’Neill QC who has submitted a written submission, who said:

“neither the Scottish Parliament nor the Scottish ministers have the legal powers” to hold an independence referendum under the terms of the Scotland Act of 1998 that led to devolution”.

In layman’s terms, that means the Scottish Government is technically ‘f*cked up the ar*e with a dick the size of an elephant’. (Tom Cruise, The Firm), scene set in the Grand Caymans.

To which the client said:

“do you know that as a fact”!

So, there is a very strong legal argument that Holyrood would not be able to legislate for a referendum, which also comes from Professor Adam Tomkins, of the school of law at the human rights abusing University of Glasgow. Tomkins has previously spoken to this fact on Newsnight Scotland.

The SNP Government however takes a different view and insists Holyrood is legally competent to hold the independence referendum on its preferred date of autumn 2014.

Recently the SNP Government is said to be considering an idea for ‘fining’ innocent purely on the basis that they attend court.

You can judge for yourself what value you wish to place on their opinion.

Awhile ago I said it looks like the referendum may end up in the courts and this may suit the SNP given the disastrous polls, however if the First Minster thinks that the ‘big smile and outstretched arms’ approach of it’s the nasty Westminster doing us down will work when he fails to deliver a referendum he will be wrong.

He has to deliver a referendum.

If he doesn’t then Oliver Cormwell aptly put it:

“You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University