Yes Scotland board member Pat Kane says SNP leadership Nato stance is "not a principled or honourable position", chickens come home for Salmond et al

Dear All

Here is a laugh; ‘leading’ independence campaigner Pat Kane has called the idea of Scotland seeking non-nuclear status within Nato "not a principled or honourable position".

Leading’ independence campaigner?

Pat Kane?

Is that a joke?

It must be a joke because I have never seen Pat Kane at any SNP by-election I attended.

Having said that I never saw his ex wife SNP MSP Joan McAlpine at any by-election I attended either.

And come to think of it, I never saw her attend a branch meeting when she was in the same branch as me or do a single day of activism for it.

The SNP seems to value people like these who aren’t willing to do the work but are willing to take the benefits.

Well Alex, you picked them, you’re stuck with them, good luck, they will be the people who will take you out of power.

Kane is a musician and writer and a former SNP member.

Despite that he was invited to the disastrous ‘Declaration of Cineworld’ launch and walked onto the board of Yes Scotland.

What does he know about campaigning?

I would say precious little.

Kane has stuck his oar in the water and said that NATO is "not a principled or honourable position" for the SNP.

However, he says the pro-independence camp would survive the shift in policy because everything would be up for grabs in an independence election two years after the referendum.

If the public think that the change of stance is opportunism and not genuine, they will not vote for independence. Awhile ago Alan Cochrane the journalist said publicly that the SNP would say anything to get what they want, you can judge for yourself the truth of that statement.

If the SNP doesn’t accept NATO then independence is done, it is completely finished and the campaign becomes a total sham.

The SNP CND conference in Glasgow reveals how out of touch with reality some in the party actually are, their recent event has caused a bit of a stir generating some interest. And following that they are planning similar events across the country.

The chickens are now coming home to roost for the Scottish National Party, what we are witnessing isn’t the birth of a nation, we aren’t living in the shadow of better days, we are witnessing decline.

We are witnessing a party pigeonhole themselves as unfit to lead an independent nation.

That is what the SNP CND group is doing in spades; they are laying out in clear concise detail why people shouldn’t vote for indendence.

Bill Ramsay, SNP CND organiser said:

"Unusually for a large mainstream party, the SNP still has in place a set of democratic structures which allows ordinary members a real say and a real voice”.

I don’t believe that from my personal experiences of the party.

Ramsay added:

"Probably because of this we are detecting a significant level of interest in the event due to take place on Saturday and we are already starting to think about organising similar events in other parts of the country to discuss what is not just a policy issue, but arguably an aspect of the party's very identity."

Many see the SNP’s identity as grudge, grievance and malcontent, opposition for the sake of opposition to build support from anyone by hitching their star to it.

Kane also said:

"I think there is a fundamental inconsistency between the SNP's identity as an anti-nuclear party, and membership of a military alliance which has, as one of its founding tenets, first-use of a nuclear deterrent. The argument from the SNP leadership is that NATO is a smorgasbord of options, you can decide not to participate in collective missions, you can refuse to have nuclear missiles on your soil, and still be regarded as a 'full' member. I don't think this is a principled or honourable position."

Could he be saying that independence is a waste of time because no one is capable of defending Scotland?

This part of his statement is funny:

A new nation which currently has nuclear weapons on its soil renouncing these weapons would offer "one chance to signal to the world our constructive, progressive, peace-oriented credentials".

Deluded, everyone will respect us because we are peace loving?

How many peace loving people in the world ended up getting killed because the political class was seen as weak by their enemies?

World War Two is a good example of what happens when the strong prey on the weak.

Pat Kane was quick to stress that he was offering his own views, not those of Yes Scotland, he said:

"I think the centre of gravity in Scottish policy is on the centre-left, so I'm looking forward to the arrival of Labour voters for independence, LibDem voters for independence, and other non-party-aligned organisations and individuals. Even within that range of supporters, we will have significant policy differences, and Nato membership may be one of them. But the idea that the proper horizon for life in Scotland should be an independent state is something that –if you're in the Yes campaign – you fundamentally agree on."

Don’t hold your breath; it isn’t independence on any terms.

His parting shot:

“I urge SNP members to reject the Robertson motion, but I am watching from the outside, alongside others who share the party's essential principle of independence for Scotland."

That’s right, you are watching from the sidelines because you deep down don’t want to do any real work, but you are quite happy to reap the benefits of the hard work of others much like your ex wife Joan McAlpine.

Who is Pat Kane?

Oh, that’s right he is part of the middle class clique attached to the SNP.

NATO is "not a principled or honourable position", well I am sure that Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon and Angus Robertson will be happy to know they are supporting such an unprincipled agenda.

Clown!

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University