Dear All
Scotland’s unpopular
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is looking increasingly desperate and
ineffectual in the Scottish independence debate.
If there was a prize
for grasping at straws, she could be nominated; the independence campaign under
her leadership has all gone sideways, not in a slide to left or the right, but
in a slide straight into the political shitter.
In her Herald article
she starts off by telling us that:
“Scotland is an
ancient European nation”.
By that token does that
mean the eastern European states which joined the EU were also ‘ancient
European nations’ but they just didn’t know it, it is ludicrous to start a
serious discussion playing to sentiment.
Ms. Sturgeon playing
for the sympathy vote before the end of her first sentence; screams the
act of someone desperate and needy.
In her case, no
one is coming to help her, it’s just her, Salmond, their nasty vile poisonous
clique and hangers on that will be sitting on the ‘grassy knoll’, which
incidentally according to her is ancient and European and a nation.
Scots won’t be voting
for the United States of Salmond.
“That simple truth,
perhaps more than any other, undermines the recent ludicrous scaremongering of
the anti-independence parties in relation to our place in the European family
of nations”.
Sadly, Ms. Sturgeon is
trying to rewrite history, both ancient and modern and failing on both counts,
the Sun newspaper, courted by the SNP recently printed ‘EU Liar’, front page
regarding Alex Salmond. It seems that ‘scaremongering’ if it is to be called
that, is based on the truth.
So what is the truth?
The truth is that the
SNP Government and the Scottish National Party have done sweet FA, absolutely
sweet FA to prepare Scotland for independence or even produce a rolling blue
print, in their entire history.
Salmond and Sturgeon
are just making it up as they are going along from crisis to crisis, all of
their own making. Jim Sillars, former SNP Deputy said that the SNP is a one man
band, many people will agree with that sentiment, there isn’t the talent in the
party because it is as I previous blogged, it is run as a nasty poisonous clique.
It is particularly
odious in Glasgow where Nicola Sturgeon is trying to build her little ‘empire’....
with the little people.
Time for a quote;
‘it’s not where you come from but where you are going’, Bashir Ahmed.
Apparently this
Sturgeon piece is the exact opposite which many in the SNP espoused, Alan
Cochrane of the Telegraph says that the SNP will say anything to get what they
want which is a pretty unprincipled stance.
“For centuries
Scotland was an independent European country, trading with our near neighbours
on the Continent. And while that long pre-dated the modern European Union, the
point is this: those same trading and economic considerations mean the EU and
its constituent partners will want Scotland to continue in membership”.
Assumption, and not
based on fact.
The Spanish have
problems, Catalonia, it isn’t in their interest to support the SNP, then there
are other parts of the EU such as our Flemish cousins equally unhappy about
their situation.
“Why on Earth would
they not, given the huge resources and advantages that Scotland brings to the
European table?”
The answer to this
question is that the EU already has Scotland’s assets to draw on via the UK’s
membership.
The question is what
does the Scottish National Party have to bring to the table that isn’t already
there?
Nothing!
“Our greatest asset as
a nation always has been and always will be our people and their ingenuity, but
Scotland also has enormous natural resources. And it is stretching credibility
beyond breaking point to attempt to suggest, as some do, that Scotland –
already an integral part of the club for four decades – would be excluded when
we have such vast assets. Scotland has around 90% of the EU's oil reserves and
a huge share of the Continent's renewable energy, as well as some of the
richest fishing grounds in Europe”.
Again is being offered
something you already have a good bargaining chip?
Ms. Sturgeon offers
nothing, she has nothing, and she is willing to give up what is there by
negotiating it away.
Ms. Sturgeon is a
lawyer, worked and trained as a lawyer; she is making an offer on behalf of her
client that offer in its entirety amounts to nothing!
“Would Brussels really
want to lose such assets at a time when energy security is one of the
dominating political and economic issues of the early 21st century? Would
Spanish, French and Portuguese fishermen want to be blocked from fishing the
lucrative waters in Scotland's sectors of the North Sea and West Atlantic?”
There is according to
her no danger of that happening; didn’t Ms. Sturgeon say that Scotland’s EU
membership would be automatic?
Now, lets us turn to
something utter disingenuous and divorced from reality which highlights how
badly out of touch Ms. Sturgeon is.
“Realpolitik is a
German concept and it found perhaps one of its greatest modern expressions in
the country which gave birth to the term. When the Berlin Wall fell in late
1989, few at that point would have expected a united Germany to be part of the
then European Community within less than 12 months – but that is exactly what
happened when German reunification took place on October 3, 1990. Overnight,
East Germany, which had been subject to Communist rule for four decades, became
part of the Brussels club, despite stringent rules for new members which say a
functioning market economy and a well-established democracy are fundamental
prerequisites for membership. Realpolitik – hard-headed political
considerations – meant that the former East Germany was in.
What is so annoying
about this utter fantasy version of Realpolitik is that it fails to address
reality but more importantly law.
Germany is an EU
member, when the Berlin wall fell, Germany increased its size by
re-unification; re-unification was not a matter for the EU because it was an
issue of German sovereignty.
This is quite the
opposite situation in the UK with the SNP wanting Scotland to leave the UK.
The UK solely holds the
EU contract; Ms. Sturgeon should know this as it is simple contract law.
Once
Scotland leaves it becomes a new State and a new State according to Mr. Barroso
has to apply to join the EU.
For years the SNP
based their EU stance on a false premise of supposed rights citing that since
Scots had been citizens for 40 years they would keep that citizenship.
That isn’t true and
Ms. Sturgeon should know that isn’t true, so why is she saying this?
Some in the unionist
camp may opine that Ms. Sturgeon is attempting to deceive the Scottish people.
When asked would Scotland have to re-negotiate EU membership she said no.
Now her position is
yes, but yes because it is under the microscope, fantasy politics had to be
replaced by Realpolitik because she didn’t have a leg to stand on legally.
But EU membership for
Scotland isn’t just a legal matter, it is also a political decision, the UK
wasn’t allowed into the EU club for many years, being denied membership by De
Gaulle.
What plans are in
place if someone objects?
Nothing!
“How much more
straightforward is Scotland's case, given our 40 years of existing membership,
which by definition means we already meet the required criteria. The attempts
by some in the anti-independence camp to conflate the argument surrounding the
East German precedent in an attempt to draw comparisons between that country
and modern Scotland are truly pathetic and simply betray the utter paucity of
their arguments”.
Sadly, she fails to
understand that Scotland doesn’t have a membership, I am talking about law
here, everything to do with membership rest solely with Westminster.
“As a joint paper
published earlier this year by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the British
Academy put it: "There is no reason why an independent Scotland would fail
to meet the Copenhagen criteria (the basic standards required to be eligible
for EU membership, including democratic governance, the upholding of human
rights and a functioning market economy). That same paper also observed that an
independent Scotland's continued EU membership is "unlikely to be
opposed".
What does this paper
mean?
It means the same and carries
as much weight as the guy standing next to you in the pub.
Now let’s look at some
‘nuts and bolts’ leaving aside some of Ms. Sturgeon’s ‘decorations’ to pad it
out.
“Our consistent
position – as attested to by documents published since 2007 – is that the
specific terms of Scotland's continued EU membership will need to be negotiated”.
According to reports
she previously said that membership would be automatic and there would be no
need to negotiate. Perhaps she can’t remember what she says and when she says
it, luckily for her, her unionist colleagues in the spirit of being helpful
accessed the record.
“And while it is
perfectly reasonable to argue that we would jointly inherit the existing UK
opt-outs on the single currency and Schengen, it is nevertheless the case that
on the question of the euro, for example, there is effectively a double-lock –
there are other EU countries which have not adopted the single currency and
have no intention of doing so, with Sweden perhaps the best example, that no
nation can be forced into euro membership. And on Schengen, opting to stay out
and instead co-operate with Ireland and the rest of the UK in the Common Travel
Area is a justifiable proposition that, given their position in other circumstances,
our EU partners would understand”.
Perfectly reasonable
doesn’t mean anything in a legal sense, Scotland wouldn’t inherit any of the
existing UK opt outs, this although an argument is just fantasy on her part. Since
the climb down by Salmond and Sturgeon as they are busy themselves trying to re-write
history, they accept negotiations will take place.
If the EU will not
move its stance that new members join the Euro, what’s plan B?
There is no plan B and
there is no plan A either by Ms. Sturgeon.
In grasping to
anything, she highlights David Cameron who said:
"There are
countries in the European Union who have no early or immediate or indeed
longer-than-that prospects of joining the euro, and I think that is the
important point."
That is because they
are on their arse financially, and as we see in Greece and Spain, the Euro is so
unstable, it is literally tearing those countries apart.
Cameron has problems
in his own neck of the woods from Tory Eurosceptics who want a referendum and
Britain out. So, he is forced to say what he needs to say to get breathing
room.
His discomfort is
hardly what Ms. Sturgeon should be betting the farm on as evidence!
And it is feeble
politics to stagger into anti Tory territory rhetoric much like a Christmas Carol
of the ghost of Christmas past, did she waving metal chains over this part of
her piece and go ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh while making circular motions?
"The opinion of
European Commission President Barroso is important and is to be respected, as I
said to Holyrood last week. However, it is by no means the only or the decisive
opinion in the matter of Scotland's future in Europe".
The only opinion that Salmond listens to is his own, the SNP was a protest movement that became a political party which then became a clique, I don't see respect for the opinions of others high on Salmond's radar.
In ending her diatribe
of fantasy, anti Tory rhetoric and the ‘Devine right of Salmondism’, Ms. Sturgeon
is in no danger of usurping JK Rowling as a writer of fiction as she attempts
to weave fact and fantasy and appear ‘perfectly reasonable’.
We have seen the ghost
of Christmas past, we have seen the ghost of Christmas present and Scots will
have a pretty good idea of what the ghost of Christmas future has in store for
Ms. Sturgeon.
Her future is that her
goose is cooked.
Maybe she should go
back to health and kick Tiny Tim’s crutch away, then write another diatribe of that
what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger!
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human
Rights at Glasgow University
