Scottish independence: SNP MP Angus Robertson calls for UK General Election delay, the suggestion is ridiculous and divorced from reality, 55 million people in the rest of Britain will not be put on ‘pause’ for Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon

Dear All

Talk about deluded, in a failed attempt to seem relevant, SNP MP Angus Robertson has called for the Conservative-led Coalition to stay in power for an extra year.

Is this because he genuinely believes that the SNP are going to win?

He wants the Tories to complete independence negotiations, is that because he thinks they will give Scottish people a better deal?

This is spin!

Angus Robertson is what is termed the leader of the SNP group at Westminster; he runs the ‘feeble six’ who don’t do the full range of debates in Parliament. He is also laughingly referred to as the SNP defence spokesman.

So, not a leader of men and very poor on defence, a flip flopper!

This ill judged stunt will be ignored by Westminster politicians, the timing of the next General Election in the UK will go ahead as normal.

Robertson arguesMinisters should not be diverted in the middle of that process, assumption on his part presented as a de facto event.

His stunt however is great ammo for Labour who accused the SNP of calling for another year of "the bedroom tax, austerity and David Cameron".

Smart move Angus Robertson, not a man who can look at the big picture!

The SNP Government has set a deadline of just over a year and a half to complete independence discussions; this is because they want an extended election campaign for Holyrood which shuts out other parties from the process.

This timetable is nonsense and is utter incompetent on their part, it shows what I keep saying about a genuine lack of talent in the SNP which is run as a clique for the rich few surrounding Salmond and Sturgeon.

Britain is going to the polls for the next UK General Election around the half way point in May 2015, that’s a given, it is what parties have been planning for at Westminster.

Due to the introduction of five-year fixed term parliaments at Westminster, May 2015 is now set in law.

To change this date would require legislation to allow it to be moved, that means white paper and no one is going down that road.

55 million voters in the rest of the UK will not stand for it either, not to accommodate Alex Salmond.

And there is real opposition against the current Tory-LibDem government; it would also be political suicide for the Conservatives to give any ground.

Their line is that Scottish independence is a matter for Scots, and only for Scots.

Unsurprisingly both sides of the Coalition have rejected the idea out of hand.

And it was stupid to ask, it is another substance lite stunt which shows the SNP is all about spin and gimmicks.

Did Angus Robertson think this rubbish up himself or did it come from SNP HQ?

One senior Coalition source described the SNP idea of a change of date as ludicrous.

Robertson said:

"Will there be a UK General Election in 2015? That is actually an issue for the UK government to consider. I think there is a very good case for putting the UK General Election back by a year. The reason why I say that is because of course a Yes result in Scotland will lead to a very, very intense period of negotiation between the UK government and the Scottish government - transitioning Scotland from a position within the UK into the EU, Nato, the United Nations and agreeing a whole series of other important measures.

He added:

"I think it is going to be very important for decision-makers at Westminster to wake up to the consequences of the Yes vote and why it will be in their interests to have a grown-up relationship with the government and the people of Scotland. And perhaps being diverted by a General Election in the middle of that process is certainly something one should be thinking about."

I think David Cameron put it best when he silently mouthed off to Angus Robertson at the dispatch box, ‘will you fuck off’!

Margaret Curran, the Shadow ­Scottish Secretary, said:

"The Scottish National Party want another year of the Tories. Another year of the bedroom tax, austerity and David Cameron and if they win they'd rather ­negotiate with David Cameron than Ed Miliband. If any election should be moved it is the Scottish election which should be brought forward, so we can have a government which takes Scotland off pause and addresses real issues while the SNP revels in its irrelevant obsession."

When exactly is Scotland coming off pause?

This term of the Scottish Parliament has been totally wasted, it is one of the worst terms in Holyrood history; nothing has been achieved of note other than Scottish National Police Force and the Scottish National Fire Service.

I proposed both these ideas at the SNP National Aseembly in 2010.

A UK Government spokesman said:

"Parliament has legislated for fixed term parliaments and the next General Election will be in May 2015. The Scottish Government knew this when it chose the ­referendum date."

This is a point well made, Alex Salmond and Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minster Nicola Sturgeon jumped the gun; they put the referendum back because they didn’t have any people to work for them more or less than their own small activist base. The Greens and SSP are irrelevant to the debate.

I can’t take Englishman and SNP MP Angus Robertson seriously, and neither does anyone at Westminster, as a member of the ‘feeble six’, he has been an asset to Westminster, his view of defence is amateur, it appears in the SNP the ‘cut and paste’ work is the major factor in policy.

Change the date of the UK General Election?

Finally word from David Cameron:

“Will you fuck off”!

Angus Robertson should go for a walk round London, it’s lovely, so much to see and do, and while he is out, he should think seriously about whether he should get involved in politics as a career.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish independence; Alex Salmond attacked, mocked and scorned by opposition parties over EU letter, not EU to Scottish Government letter but to a ‘punter’ who received a general reply, he is now sinking like a stone, where’s the A Team Alex?

Dear All

Here is a George Laird quote which apparently some people in the SNP don’t like:

“Rather than 'The A Team' it looked more like 'The GAY Team' in nature”.

This was in relation to the disastrous ‘Declaration of Cineworld’ event, Alex Salmond's day getting his blessings from the rich.

My further thoughts on that just click on the link.

http://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/braveheart-alex-salmonds-indy-launch.html

The Scottish independence has been a massive flop, now Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond has been accused of misleading voters.

This time, it is over claims he had official confirmation that an independent Scotland could be fast-tracked into the EU.

That as we all know can’t happen, the EU has a process and you can’t avoid not going through the hoops.

Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland recently cited a letter from a European Commission official saying it would be "legally possible" to re-negotiate Scotland's membership while it remained inside the EU.

During these talks the letter states this would mean Scotland would still be part of the UK but the catch 22 is provided other member states agreed.

So this letter, where did it come from?

The letter it seems was not a response to the Scottish Government's proposals for fast-track EU membership.

Oh no, a reply to a general inquiry from a member of the public.

If this is the best the SNP can do to try and shore up their feeble position, then here is a quote:

“Rather than 'The A Team' it looked more like 'The GAY Team' in nature”.

Rather than being jokers, the joke is firmly on them.

Scottish Labour keen to see the end of Salmond has accused him of an "amateurish and shameful" attempt to mislead voters and called on him to apologise after he quoted from the letter during First Minister's Questions.

An apology from Alex Salmond!

Never happen, he is just passing the time till his indy defeat and possibly looking for other opportunities post losing.

Alex Salmond is a buffoon yesterday he casually dismissed the Spanish premier's warning and insisted an independent Scotland would be fast-tracked into the EU.

He told MSPs:

"Can that happen legally? Would it happen? Can the process be completed within 18 months? I have here a letter from the head of unit of the European Commission's secretariat-general, which addresses exactly the first question."

He then went on during FMQs to quote from the letter and said he would lodge it with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre for MSPs to read.

What a great pity for him that people can read!

So, Braveheart now relies on a reader of a pro-independence website to justify his position when he has an entire government to draw on, the bad news however for him, is that it did not discuss the Scottish Government's proposed legal mechanism to bypass the usual EU membership procedure under Article 49 of the main Brussels treaty.

It is said that the Brussels treaty would have to be amend.

Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said:

"Alex Salmond tried to suggest he had an opinion from the EU saying his case for EU membership was right. It doesn't. Did Alex Salmond write to the EU Commission to ask for this opinion? No. Did the Scottish Government? No. The fact is we do not know who wrote the original letter or what they asked because Alex Salmond pulled the letter off the internet. This is an amateurish and shameful attempt by Alex Salmond to mislead the people of Scotland. It seems that Alex Salmond is basing Scotland's future on his ability to Google."

Now lets us return to a quote from George Laird:

“Rather than 'The A Team' it looked more like 'The GAY Team' in nature”.

The SNP think everything is one giant joke, they think their opinions and assertions somehow equal fact, when they don’t, Lamont is right, the SNP is amateurish and as I pointed out, there is a genuine lack of talent in the party. The party is run as a party within a party using the ‘cult of personality’ where only a few voices matter. 

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson MSP said:

"This shows just what a shower of rank amateurs this SNP government is when it comes to conducting international diplomacy."

Quite so ma’am!

Anyway, it looks like Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond won’t be looking so jolly now, the truth eventually comes out, and this miserable little episode just shows that ‘smart mouth’ doesn’t equal ‘smart brain’.

In May 2012, I finished my post by saying:

“Let’s hope that the ‘It Ain't Half Hot Mum’ concert party don’t get taken on the road otherwise some people won’t even get a nickel for their mother!”

George Laird right again!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish independence: Ex PM John Major says Scottish Nationalists use anti-English sentiment, SNP unofficial policy of 30 years of grudge, grievance and malcontent backfires on Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon; voters have walked away from them

Dear All

On Tuesday after I attended the BBC radio show, one of the other guests who is English but lives in Scotland related one of his experiences of anti English sentiment directed towards him.

One of the things I assured him of is that this isn’t the attitude of the majority of ordinary Scots, but as we all know, you do get people who are small minded and just plain bigoted everywhere.

Now Former Prime Minister Sir John Major has decided to rightly speak out about Scottish nationalists who deliberately use anti-English sentiment to irritate and enrage.

The Scottish independence campaign has been portrayed by the SNP leadership as a “positive campaign”, the reality is that on the ground the hate just drips out of them, even in their own white paper, they set the date of the breakup of the UK as 24/3/2016, 309 years after the Act of Union as a final slap in the face to the English.

John Major said in a speech to the Institute of Directors in London an independent Scotland will not keep the pound and its memberships of the European Union (EU) and Nato are doubtful.

That is a reasonable opinion; the UK Government and opposition both say no currency union, EU membership maybe blocked by countries like Spain who have internal domestic problems. Nato membership is also doubtful because the SNP don’t want to sign up to Nato protocols regarding nuclear weapons. The SNP think they can dictate their membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, no, no, no, doesn’t work that way.

Alex Salmond made a major tactical blunder over the future of the Faslane naval base on the Clyde, he should have went pro nuclear but because he isn’t a statesman he bottled it, he had to keep onside his SNP CND supporters who the SNP use as menials to do the leafleting and other chores the leadership think is beneath them. 

Major said:

"Anti-English sentiment from separatists irritates and enrages, as it is intended to do, but across the UK people know and value Scots as partners, work colleagues, friends and neighbours. It is hard to imagine Scots becoming foreigners. The SNP have chosen the ancient anniversary of Bannockburn for their referendum. Yet a greater anniversary looms. Next year sees the centenary of the beginning of the Great War, in which the English, Scots, Welsh, and Irish, the whole of the United Kingdom, fought together for freedom as they would again 25 years later. Would it not be a tragedy if, as we honour their sacrifice, we do so as separate nations?"

Major added:

"Independence means Scotland walking away from the UK and its institutions. This must include the Bank of England and Sterling. "A currency union, which the SNP assume is negotiable, would require the UK to underwrite Scottish debts. That cannot - will not - happen if Scotland leaves the union."

On the disaster that is the EU, the SNP have been totally inept about how they have gone about it, who would have thought it was possible that the SNP had never contacted the EU about membership at a most basic level.

Conservative leader Ruth Davidson exposed that blunder on live TV in a BBC Scotland referendum debate, Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was shown to be out of her depth reduced to spending the rest of the evening ‘banging the freedom drum’.

And she wasn’t a good drummer that night!

There is a real possibility that many EU states wouldn’t want the accession of some term a ‘separatist member’, the most likely being Spain. Their domestic problems in Catalonia are a major issue for the Spanish Government; they will want to deter Catalonians as must as they can from even thinking of holding their own referendum.

On the key issue of the economy, he added the SNP's oil revenue projections are "twelve times greater" than official UK figures.

The SNP appear to think that Oil can solve everything, it can’t, they have overplayed their hand on that issue, and then there are the issues that the money it generates is needed for daily spend and the Oil Fund, if money is placed there it means cuts to services and budgets, you can’t spend cash twice.

After the farce of the indy campaign is over, the rank and file members of the SNP will know:

1/ The leadership of Salmond and Sturgeon is responsible for defeat.

2/ The party is a clique run for the benefit of one man, Alex Salmond.

3/ There is a lack of genuine talent in the SNP.

4/ Scotland’s unpopular DFM isn’t the ‘unity candidate’ after Salmond goes; neither is that pathetic individual called Derek MacKay touted as a future leader.

5/ SNP will need a new Nationalist leader with vision.

6/ The SNP have betrayed their working class rank and file members and it’s time to leave.

A spokesman for First Minister Alex Salmond said:

"Sir John Major is quite wrong to suggest that the rest of the UK should lay exclusive claim to all the assets of the UK, which the people of Scotland contribute to and of which Sterling is one”.

Still sinking, and reduced to parroting out utterly bizarre nonsense.

There are many Nationalist supporters who stink to high heaven of anti English sentiment, they have turned many Scots off independence and will continue to turn more off, the leadership of the SNP is just snide. They have encouraged these extremists by the tone of their language over decades.

And it is now all coming home to roost.

There is no positive campaign in this SNP referendum, you can tell also by the way the SNP leadership and cohorts are trying to pick a fight with David Cameron against Alex Salmond in a TV debate.

Scottish independence has nothing to do with the people of England; this is a matter solely between Scots.

But Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon can’t win that battle.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish independence, Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ is still peddling the utter falsehood that Scotland can join the EU from the ‘inside’, Scotland's membership is because of being part of the UK, Spanish Prime Minister presents realism to Scots, not in UK not EU member

Dear All

The SNP lied to the people of Scotland when they said that Scotland would have automatic EU membership.

It’s a lie and worse still it is a lie that the SNP having been caught still keep pumping out in various guises.

Alex Salmond insists there is “substantial evidence” that Scotland will not be kicked out of the EU.

There isn’t, and another falsehood is that if Scotland was independent it can renegotiate membership from inside.

If you are already on the ‘inside’ you have membership.

So, that is false.

The Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warns last night that Scotland would be forced to exit the EU after a Yes vote in the referendum.

This is because there is no contract of membership between the Scottish Government and the EU.

There has never been, so Salmond can’t renegotiate from the inside.

One of the things which I expected not to be in the white paper was a Bill to enable EU law to continue if there was a Yes vote between Scotland leaving and possibly gaining EU membership. And there is no guarantee when that would take place or how long talks would take place.

Spain’s Prime Minister is being “straighter with Scots” than the SNP, which is hardly surprising since Alex Salmond and unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon continually face major questions regarding trust, not just in their defunct Government but in them also.

Can you trust Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon?

No, you cannot trust Salmond and Sturgeon. 

The issue of the EU is central to the independence debate, over 18 months ago, unpopular DFM Nicola Sturgeon was destroyed on the BBC when Tory Leader Ruth Davidson pulled out a letter that the SNP had never been in touch with the EU regarding membership… in their entire history.

If Scotland is out of the UK, there are concerns that a “renegotiation” as the Nats term it could mean Scotland forced to adopt the euro currency, join the Schengen open borders area with mainland Europe and lose the UK’s multi-billion pound budget rebate.

The UK’s multi-billion pound budget rebate remains with the UK, it cannot be transferred to Scotland because that is a separate contract.

So, no rebate for Scotland, and in the gap, it means no EU grants either for a non EU member Scotland.

At FMQ’s Salmond is stsill pedling the falsehood that:

“Scotland will be negotiating its position from within the European Union.”

Untrue, untrue and untrue, it is a con trick from a man who can’t even be straight with the people anymore.

Salmond is relying on a letter from the head of unit of the European Commission Secretairiat-general, he stated:

“The ongoing democratic process is a matter for the UK and Scottish Governments and the Scottish people. It would be legally possible to renegotiate the situation of the UK and Scotland within the European Union.”

That doesn’t mean it would be legal in fact just that the Scots could legally start negotiations, it is an attempt to use words to construct a proposition which isn’t valid.

This shows how much utter contempt Alex Salmond holds working class Scots in such low regard.

Former European Court judge Sir David Edward has also said the EU would be “obliged” to enter negotiations before Scotand become fully independent.

No, there are not “obliged” because there is the issue of member veto on any new potential member wishing to apply, each country in Europe has a veto. The SNP keep relying of people who have no position in the EU like Edward because they can’t get the EU on side. Edward’s opinion is of no more value than anyone else on this matter.

Labour leader Johann Lamont said that the Spanish Prime Minister had made it clear that by leaving the UK, Scotland would also leave the EU and have to “reapply as a new member.”

She added: “What part of that statement does the First Minister not understand?”

Oh, he understands it perfectly; his hope is those working classes Scots aren’t too clever, well sadly for him, in this country at this time; there is an education system.

Spain has problems with the Catalan independence movement, they would reject Scotland’s membership to ensure their own position becomes more stable at home; it isn’t a secret that Spanish politicians will put Spanish interests before Scotland’s membership application in the event of independence.

 

Rajoy has a rising Nationalist movement in the Catalonia region of Spain, a million and a half people marched in Spain, in Scotland, Alex Salmond could only get 8,000 to walk the streets in a recent march.

He said he intervened because the consequences of a Yes vote should be presented with “realism to Scots.”

The truth is the most devastating weapon in politics, not lies; not spin, not doctoring the truth, not trying to be clever with words.

At a press conference in Madrid, the Spanish Prime Minister laid out the bottom line by saying.

“I know for sure that a region that would separate from the European Union would remain outside the European Union and that should be known by the Scots.”

Ms Lamont said:

“The Spanish Prime Minister is being straighter with the people of Scotland than the First Minister.”

And less we forget, EU President Jose Manuel Barroso has also said Scotland would have to re-apply to join the EU.

I think we are sick to the back teeth of the SNP claiming things as fact and after they get found out that they claim they were ‘acting in good faith’.

Nobody is that stupid.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish independence: Boris Johnson takes a dig at David Cameron for refusing to debate with Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond, you don’t throw a lifeline to a politically drowning man, you watch as the fear and panic sets in without emotion

Dear All

Boris Johnson, the London Mayor wants to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, it is one of the worst kept secrets in politics.

Known simply as Boris, he has carved out a name for himself on the political landscape.

He opines that Margaret Thatcher "would comfortably see off Alex Salmond" if she were Prime Minister today.

This isn’t true, because Margret Thatcher doesn’t have a vote in this referendum and also the Conservatives and Unionist Party in Scotland is still a toxic brand.

In a bit of self serving publicity seeking, Boris Johnson says Thatcher would be "fighting like a lioness for the union" during a lecture to the Centre for Policy Studies.

The topic of the lecture is entitled ‘What would Maggie do now’?

People have their time in political history but it doesn’t mean they can forever span time, for example Churchill after the Second World War was removed by voters.

Boris said she put "the 'great' back into Britain" after a century of decline, many working class people both sides of the border would strongly disagree with that statement. She literally torn the guts of this country, she made greed acceptable, callousness and lacking in empathy was seen as her trademark.

In Scotland, she was hated with passion, after her death, some people celebrated the event, most trendy students doing socialism before they leave University and join a merchant bank or equivalent enterprise.

As part of his lecture Boris reminds us that she defended "the Falklanders' right to self-determination."

Well, at present Scots are doing an exercise in self-determination.

Would she defend that?

No? Hmmm!

As well as been seen to be firmly in the pocket of the City of London financial establishment, he also had a pop at nobel laureate Joe Stiglitz who advises Salmond under the guise that those "on the left" have failed to find an alternative to capitalism.

Capitalism is fine, the problem isn’t that, it is the unacceptable social policies that hard right wing bring in to restrict opportunities for the poorest in society, that is the problem.

Something that Boris does touch on is that according to him, Thatcher would have ended "the madness" of the immigration system.

It is true that there is an immigration problem, the more people that are here the less life chances people at the bottom get in many key areas of society.

David Cameron has declined to take part in a televised debate with Alex Salmond, Cameron has got it right, why debate with an idiot who wishes to use it as a platform to rehash grudge and grievances, when someone is making a mistake don’t interrupt them.

Boris should know this concept.

And Salmond and Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have made so many, they are firmly stuck, can’t go forward and the only way is downwards. Alex Salmond has produced utter trash as a white paper, it doesn’t help him, isn’t a game changer and was a total non event.

If Thatcher was in power, she would still be a major hate figure, and would drive people to vote Yes in many cases, however, we should remember it would be a case of who do you hate least!

Boris Johnson also said of Thatcher:

"She would now be fighting like a lioness for the union, and she would comfortably see off Salmond, as she saw off so many smart alecs, because she would have instinctively identified the heart of the matter. This isn't about whether or not the Scots will be £800 per year worse off per head. This is about the demolition of Britain, about taking the blue background from the union flag, lopping the top off the most successful political union in history. It would diminish both Scotland and England, and it would be no consolation to her that the loss of Britain, as a concept, might also mean the end of the BBC."

The SNP made a major misjudgment when they said they would replace the BBC in an independent Scotland, as I stated repeatedly real lack of genuine talent in the SNP.

Pro immigration Boris concluded his lecture:

"By 2060 we will have more people than Germany. I don't know exactly where they will all go; though when I drive through the cities of the north I see plenty of depopulated space. By the middle of this century we will still have a crown and we will still have a union."

The reason is a lack of jobs, I am sure his lecture was entertaining, however the value of it leaves me to believe it was more about show than substance, something that Boris and Alex Salmond have in common.

Scottish independence is off!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow

And now the SNP white paper has been a total flop, a missed opportunity, a bungled mis-step, the end of Alex Salmond's career, here is something completely different, enjoy!

Scottish independence White Paper: Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond delivers his 'less than impressive' blueprint for a new Scotland, unionists fall over laughing as they brand it a 'wish list without price tag', Salmond presents a few cherries, where’s the cake?

Dear All

Yesterday, the SNP Government revealed their 670-page document; I was invited by the BBC to travel to Edinburgh to give my views as part of a radio broadcast.

So, let’s get down to brass tacks.

The blue print isn’t great, it doesn’t take the debate very far forward and it isn’t a game changer for the SNP and the Yes Camp.

Also Alex Salmond refuses to accept there would be any downsides if the country votes Yes next September.

That is a major misjudgment, in any scenario there will be winners and losers, the blue print by not addressing this issue flags up what I said on the BBC, there is a major issue of trust regarding Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon with the people of Scotland.

One of the other points I made that the SNP are saying that every Scot will be £600 better off if they vote Yes, and I made the point, can people in Scotland be really bought off for £600?

Have they so little respect for their integrity?

I don’t think the majority of my fellow countrymen and women are like that, although I acknowledge that short term greed may appeal to some people.

The blue print is a hash of SNP manifestos for Holyrood and Westminster, the blue print doesn’t come with a price tag and is therefore just a wish list.

In a carefully stage-managed press conference broadcast around the world the SNP has presented very little as very much.

The 670-page document was branded a “wishlist as unionist politicians had a field day laughing at it.

Headline pledges contained in the paper include:

* A revolution in childcare with the aim of getting a generation of women back into the workplace

* The bedroom tax abolished

* Minimum wage to “rise alongside the cost of living”

* State pensions protected

* The Trident nuclear system removed from the Clyde by 2020

* All BBC programmes available in Scotland - including Strictly Come Dancing - in addition to the output of a new Scottish broadcaster

* Scotland to keep the pound, with no proposals for a much anticipated Plan B on the currency set out

* Membership of the European Union and Nato to continue, although critics point out that this cannot be guaranteed

It is the old gripe, grievance and malcontent of Salmond and Sturgeon, poison presented as fresh fruit.

Alex Salmond says the White Paper, entitled Scotland’s Future: Your Guide, is the most comprehensive blueprint for an independent country ever published.

I would to him what is this tripe and that is what it is tripe, even the press I spoke to outside Holyrood said to me that independence isn’t on.

Salmond added:

“But more than that, it is a mission statement and a prospectus for the kind of country we should be and which this Government believes we can be. Our vision is of an independent Scotland regaining its place as an equal member of the family of nations. However, we do not seek independence as an end in itself, but rather as a means to change Scotland for the better. We know we have the people, the skills and resources to make Scotland a more successful country. What we need now are the economic tools and powers to build a more competitive, dynamic economy and create more jobs. This guide contains policies which offer nothing less than a revolution in employment and social policy for Scotland, with a transformational change in childcare at the heart of those plans. Our proposals will make it far easier for parents to balance work and family life, and will allow many more people, especially women, to move into the workforce, fostering economic growth and helping to boost revenues – which will in itself help pay for the policy. With these policies, we can begin the job of undoing the damage caused by the vast social disparities which have seen the UK become one of the most unequal societies in the developed world. We believe it is only with the powers of independence – by completing the powers of our national Parliament – that we will gain the tools we need to create a more prosperous and fairer society.”

You’re done Salmond, it is time to clear your desk in preparation for the defeat that is coming.

Obviously Salmond has rejected independent analysis from the Institute of Fiscal Studies which said an independent Scotland would have to hike taxes or cut spending.

Because he doesn't like it!

Salmond’s claims don’t stack up with the Treasury figures which say independence would cost the average Scot £1000 in tax.

Symbolism, is the hallmark of this rubbish, under his bizarre misguided  and botched campaign if Scotland voted for independence, then Independence Day would be March 24, 2016, that would be 309 years to the day after the 1707 Act of Union.

It literally reeks of anti English.

Unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

“We want as many people as possible across Scotland to read the guide and make up their minds about Scotland’s future. This is an incredibly thorough and detailed guide, which includes 650 questions about an independent Scotland – and delivers on the answers. When it comes to social equality, health, quality of life and economic performance, Scotland has too often lagged behind the performance of our near neighbours across northern Europe – many of them a similar size to Scotland. We know Scotland has huge natural resources and enormous talent among our communities and our workforce – but only independence will give us the ability to make the most of our potential. This is an unprecedented chance to transform our country for the better.”

This is a woman who left Scottish women to die from cancer, who left health just as the problems started to come out to be the face of independence, and she hasn’t done a good job.

Blair Jenkins, of the Yes Scotland campaign, said of the White Paper:

“It addresses the questions and concerns that matter to the people. It will open a new dimension in the choice we face next September over the opportunity to make our own decisions according to our own needs, priorities and aspirations or sticking with a Westminster system that is simply not working for Scotland.”

You just can’t take him seriously can you! He probably thinks that he might be in line to head the Scottish Broadcasting Service, he won’t be, Salmond fired his last bullet yesterday and it spectacularly missed its target.

White Paper key points:

* Keep the pound and the Royal family               =  SNP U turn

* Scrap the bedroom tax but not until 2016    = SNP populism for votes

* Our own tax service                      not original, not a game changer

* 1140 hours of care for children between three and four    can already be done by councils

* Separate Scottish armed force with 15,000 regulars and 5000 volunteers =  nothing new

* Three per cent tax breaks to attract big business  = SNP stupidity

* More women in work, creating 35,000 jobs  = SNP fantasy

* Scots will be £600 a year better off  = SNP appealing to greed

* Trident will be scrapped by 2020  =   SNP bonkers on defence and incapable

* More women on company boards =   SNP state control, North Korea?

* Scottish Broadcasting Service set up = SNP hate the BBC

* Renationalise Royal Mail =   that won’t work, SNP fail

* Scots will be able to take part in Rio Olympics = SNP scrapping bottom of barrel

* Separate oil fund to stabilise the economy = SNP cuts to services and budgets

* Own foreign embassies and passports = who gives a shit, better protection under UK

So, there you have it, many trees were ‘murdered’ to produce Alex Salmond’s pulp fiction and he is getting his blue print well and truly torn apart, expect much laughing all over the country at this most detailed document.

Yesterday was Tuesday in Scotland, today is Wednesday; nothing historic happened yesterday, nothing at all.

Isn’t 18^th September 2014 getting really close now?

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish independence: Alex Salmond uses his last bullet as he and Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon try to weld a Holyrood and Westminster campaign together to garner votes, a mixture of Braveheart and Borgen, SNP are out of ammo now!

Dear All

In Govan today, the weather was dark and cloudy as Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon delivered the White Paper on independence.

Govan was like a ghost town, the streets were deserted as people got on with a normal day, there wasn’t thousands lining the streets for the SNP ‘histroic’ day.

Nope, there was none of it, no excitement, no crowds but plenty of rain.

Super Tuesday, the day when Alex Salmond fired his last bullet has been spent.

The 670-page paper sets out how independence could have an impact on all areas of life, including currency, taxation, childcare and education, pensions, welfare, defence and broadcasting.

So, on currency, the SNP have blown it by not going for a Scottish currency = SNP fail.

On taxation, the SNP plan a race to the bottom on issues corporation tax , and can you believe that there will be a fairer tax system, as painful as it is, public services must be paid for =SNP fail.

On childcare, this measure is designed to capture the women’s vote = SNP fail.

On education, that is a complete shambles run by Mike Russell = SNP fail.

On pensions, these are un-costed and what is said in public is different to what is said in private by the SNP = SNP fail.

On welfare, the SNP are against bedroom tax and universal credit, construction a system around a few policies to garner votes isn’t how it should have been done = SNP fail.

On defence, the SNP’s Trident pledge is unworkable, it is wrong and the general approach to defence is one where the SNP is completely out of their depth = SNP fail.

On broadcasting, the BBC is to be replaced by the SBC, this was a major error of judgment, the SNP can’t control the BBC, this is their revenge for not dancing to their tune = SNP fail.

So, this is a mixture of two SNP campaigns rolled into one, a Holyrood and Westminster campaign, big on promises, but short on delivery.

The SNP also seem to be now saying that a Yes vote will mean "the most important decisions about our economy and society will be taken by the people who care most about Scotland that is by the people of Scotland".

Previously it was the people who live here, so change of tack?

No, it is just another con trick.

So, we also got the usual this is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity” from Salmond, well it is his "once-in-a-generation opportunity” and judging by the polls, he has already lost it.

Salmond added:

"But more than that, it is a mission statement and a prospectus for the kind of country we should be and which this Government believes we can be. Our vision is of an independent Scotland regaining its place as an equal member of the family of nations. However, we do not seek independence as an end in itself, but rather as a means to changing Scotland for the better. We know we have the people, the skills and resources to make Scotland a more successful country. What we need now are the economic tools and powers to build a more competitive, dynamic economy and create more jobs. This guide contains policies which offer nothing less than a revolution in employment and social policy for Scotland, with a transformational change in childcare at the heart of those plans. Our proposals will make it far easier for parents to balance work and family life, and will allow many more people, especially women, to move into the workforce, fostering economic growth and helping to boost revenues - which will in itself help pay for the policy. With these policies, we can begin the job of undoing the damage caused by the vast social disparities which have seen the UK become one of the most unequal societies in the developed world. We believe it is only with the powers of independence - by completing the powers of our national Parliament - that we will gain the tools we need to create a more prosperous and fairer society."

This is a lot of talk from a desperate man who says he stands for fairness, equality and social justice, but the truth is that only applies to his clique, so far he hasn't delivered any of that during his tenure as First Minster of Scotland.

On the key issue of currency, the White Paper said "the pound is Scotland's currency just as much as it is the rest of the UK's".

That is true if Scotland remains within the UK, plainly he and Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon don’t get it, and this isn’t within their providence to grant.

And it won’t ever be, so Plan McB for a Scottish pound has been rejected in favour of doing no work, how much less impressive can Salmond and Sturgeon get?.

"We will therefore retain the pound in an independent Scotland," the paper says, that leaves the independence case politically bankrupt.

As a result of this bizarre claim, the paper says:

"There will be no requirement for an independent Scotland to raise the general rate of taxation to fund existing levels of spending."

There is a financial black hole can we at least have some honesty from the SNP on that bunny!

To fix it requires increase tax and cuts to public spending, that will see austerity for Scots for a decade.

This bit is telling:

"We'll have to tackle a legacy of debt, of low growth, of social inequality, bequeathed to us by Westminster control of our economy."

The Yes campaign has been loaded with Salmond and Sturgeon’s cronies, in the Euro campaign, all the SNP MEP candidates are all Salmond and Sturgeon’s cronies, so the SNP leadership isn’t even willing to tackle social inequality within their own party.

He continued:

"Ultimately at the heart of this debate there is only one question and one choice. Do we, the people who live and work in Scotland, believe that we are the best people to take decisions about Scotland's future? That question will be the subject of an impassioned and, I hope, positive debate between now and next September."

Actually, the question is does the people of Scotland trust Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon that is the real question on the table.

The answer is no!

He added: "As First Minister, I want everyone, whatever their viewpoint, to play their part in thinking about the sort of country we wish to become.

Type in Google SNP Vote Rigging, Alex Salmond unsurprisingly reading the names, it appears that those who stand to benefit have a direct connection to you in some capacity.

Unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who accompanied him on stage at the formal launch for moral support, said the country will take its place in the "family of nations" on March 24 2016.

Scotland as part of the United Kingdom, that is the ‘family of nations’ that people want, there is no William Wallace figure, no one that has emerged to speak from people’s positions, it is all about a SNP clique headed by one man.

The White paper also argues that an independent Scotland "will continue as a member" of the European Union (EU). This is dishonest because Scotland doesn’t have a membership in its own right, therefore any membership will have to start from scratch.

That means we lose all the British opt outs plus no guarantee on membership.

The SNP want Westminster and EU member states to "agree the process whereby a smooth transition to full EU membership can take place on the day Scotland becomes an independent country" on March 24 2016.

What it misses out is that 27 member states have a veto on membership.

On Nato, a key failed area of SNP policy, the paper goes on to state:

"Scotland would take our place as one of the many non-nuclear members of Nato."

Membership is not something the SNP Government can claim as a right, and their plan to move Trident is nonsense, utter nonsense, Nato protocols would have to be signed up to that means Nuclear weapons allowed on Scottish soil.

You can’t pick and chose the bits of membership you like.

To try and re-capture the women’s vote after Nicola sturgeon’s friend was smashing in women’s faces over decades the paper states that, by the end of the first term of an independent Scottish Parliament, every three- and four-year-old could benefit from 1,140 hours of free childcare.

This equivalent of 30 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year!

So, this White paper is a mixture of two themes, Braveheart and Borgen, one a movie and the other a television show and finally garnished with side orders of stupidity and get out of jail free cards by using words like ‘sustainable’.

The Devil is in the detail, and using a 'Us and them' argument isn't helpful to their cause, Salmond and Sturgeon just can't help themselves.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish independence, this is what will happen to the power supply in an independent Scotland under Scotland's 'jolly fat man' Alex Salmond and Scotland's unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, lights out Nation!

Scottish independence: 24 hours to save the political career of Alex Salmond as he puts economy at the heart of independence White Paper, one bullet left, this is the last chance to kick start his failed rich man’s campaign, the countdown has started

Dear All

24 hours to save the political life of Alex Salmond.

24 hours!

Tomorrow sees Alex Salmond firing his last bullet to galvanise public opinion for a Yes vote.

As part of the plan, Salmond and his Ministers are putting Scotland's economy at the heart of tomorrow's independence White Paper launch.

We can expect an ‘everything will be rosy in the garden’ approach, nothing bad ever is going to happen and if it does, well that is the fault of the Union legacy.

There will be Nirvana, milk and honey will flow with pledges to create thousands more jobs and secure the nation's future.

Don’t believe a word of it.

Recently Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon went to Govan Shipbuilders with people under the belief that she was going to save 835 jobs.

She didn’t save a single one, but she did point the people in the direction of the Govan Job centre.

Now, there is only one bullet left in the magazine, one chance, one chance to kick start the SNP’s failed and utterly inept campaign.

But there is no William Wallace figure to lead the charge, just Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond and Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The White Paper is to be launched in Glasgow and according to reports SNP MSPs are to be banned from attending, the impression the SNP want to create is that this is a people’s event.

It’s not!

It is another staged managed piece of spin to dupe voters.

It’s a sales pitch from a man who is more like a second hand car salesman than a world leader, using emotion to say that that no country has ever been better equipped to become independent.

And the old SNP mantra that Scotland's has "vast natural resources, key growth sectors and human talent", so why are they planning mass immigration then? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out what that will mean; working class people will be marginalized from jobs and opportunities.

Salmond has also named March 24, 2016, as the date he hopes Scotland will break free from the United Kingdom if Scotland votes Yes!

That will never happen under his watch or indeed Nicola Sturgeon, they aren’t bright enough; they are opportunists, nothing more.

Salmond will attend a meeting of the Scottish Cabinet at the Glasgow Science Centre before presenting the "Scottish Government's guide to independence" to the world's media.

The ‘historic’ setting of Glasgow Science Centre! That is just as bad the picking of a cinema for the less than historic ‘Declaration of Cineworld’.

A formal statement to Holyrood will take place later in the afternoon; George Laird will be going to Holyrood tomorrow for a BBC programme.

Salmond says he will build on Scotland's "firm foundations", but his vision is built on quicksand and he is sinking fast.

He is to say:

"The White Paper will make the economic, social and democratic case for independence and show that the better Scotland we all seek can only be achieved by putting the decisions about Scotland's future in the hands of the people of Scotland."

What does that mean?

Scotland ruled by Scottish people?

No!

Alistair Darling, head of the Better Together campaign is having a great campaign, last night ­he questioned the speed of establishing independence on the back of a Yes vote in just 18 months.

Complex negotiations take time but Salmond wants to ram everything through in 18 months to meet an election timetable for 2016!

It will take time disentangle the 300-year-old union, and you can add in negotiations with major institutions such as membership of the EU, Nato and other international organisations. When it comes to international affairs, the SNP leadership believes they can simply go and tell the other parties want they want and they will just say yes!

These people are beyond stupid, inept and incapable.

Darling added:

"We are entitled to ask what sort of a deal we are likely to get on such a tight timetable and what the back-up plans are."

We would get a bad deal and there is no back up plans.

We have seen a minor skirmish over the SNP's supposed desired currency union, with Alistair Carmichael, the Scottish Secretary, insisting it would not work and no major party is prepared to accept such a situation.

SNP MP Stewart Hosie said refusing to allow Scotland to use ­sterling was "bonkers."

That is the positive case, Stewart Hosie wants to ‘help’ England, he wants a currency union with people who are 'bonkers'?

So, stay tuned, tomorrow is Alex Salmond’s last chance to kick start his campaign, it won’t work, tomorrow is just another day for Scots, there isn't a build up, there is no excitement and no one is talking about it.

Last chance, one bullet!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University 

Another disaster at Yes Scotland, the three-month probe by Police Scotland fails to find evidence at all that Yes Scotland emails were hacked, is it time to hire an A team, the Team Salmond and Team Sturgeon cronies are embarrassingly incapable

Dear All

Do you remember the outrage when Alex Salmond got on his high horse and said that allegations that emails from the official pro-independence campaign have been hacked where "very serious" if true?

Well, it seems that that Police have found no evidence that Yes Scotland's emails were illegally hacked.

What does that mean?

Well, it means that the SNP crony ridden campaign down at Hope Street Glasgow are all now looking rather silly….. again.

Yes Scotland, the SNP front isn’t staffed by the ‘best of the best’, there are no ‘Top Guns’, there is no A team there.

For the last three months officers have been investigating after Blair Jenkins called in the Police, he said that the group's email accounts were attacked by "a force or forces unknown".

And in a statement to highlight his heightened sense of ‘fear’ he added that this was an assault on democracy that had disrupted the independence campaign.

Where’s the evidence Blair, assumption it appears has replaced fact in the Nationalist ranks.

Detective Superintendent Steven Wilson said:

"Police ­Scotland has investigated a complaint regarding unauthorised access to a private email account where communications with Yes Scotland were illegally accessed. Inquiries to date have revealed no indication the access of this material was the primary motive of the culprit. Yes Scotland has assisted Police Scotland at every stage of the inquiry, which continues in relation to the offence committed against the private individual."

The Better Together campaign accused the Yes campaign of wasting police time.

A spokesman said:

"Under serious pressure over the damaging allegations contained in the leaked emails, the First Minister implied media involvement in hacking the email accounts of the independence campaign and threatened serious repercussions for the media. Blair Jenkins then claimed they had been subject of a sinister criminal attack. The reality is this was a deliberate and cynical attempt to deflect attention away from the fact the Yes campaign had been caught deceiving Scots. This has been an extraordinary waste of police time."

And that ends another glorious chapter in the failed Yes Campaign run by the cronies of Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond and Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Finally we should all remember that the claims coincided with ­revelations that constitutional expert Dr Elliot Bulmer had been paid by Yes Scotland following an article he wrote for The Herald.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish independence: Scotland line up against Alex Salmond's case for Yes vote, his take on independence is looking increasingly bizarre and isolated, Salmond stinks of fear as he tries to firefight at FMQs

Dear All

It seems that Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond is under attack, rather than fighting on a single front, he has been forced to fight on all fronts as experts and opposition parties questioned his plans for immigration, pensions, oil, business and broadcasting in an independent Scotland.

Immigration, the SNP cannot be trusted on immigration, they want to flood Scotland claiming we ‘need’ skilled labour while at the same time saying Scotland has huge talent.

So, which is it Salmond?

Also why aren’t Working Class Scots getting the opportunities to position them for these skilled jobs?

Why does the Working Class always lose out under the SNP?

On pensions, the SNP have been saying one thing in public and another in private on affordability, so there is an issue of trust there right away.

On business, the SNP one cure fixs all is a race to the bottom on corporation tax, that means less money coming into Government resulting in cuts to budgets and services.

On broadcasting the SNP want to destroy the BBC, they want to replace it by a new state broadcaster; the BBC shouldn’t be touched, targeted because the SNP don’t like freedom of speech or people asking the hard questions.   

So, roll on ‘Super Tuesday’, the all singing all dancing White Paper that points the way to "brigher future" for Team Salmond and Team Sturgeon’s little nasty poisonous cliques. It deosn’t paint a bright future for the Working Class Scots.

As questions flow like a torrent towards the increasingly desperate SNP, it piles up the pressure on the Scottish Government.

Even Dr Who is allegedly in danger from Holyrood.

That of course is nonsense unless the SNP ‘House on UnScottish Activities’ Committee meets and deems it too London based.

Yes Scotland, the SNP front has published a list of 75 countries where Dr Who is broadcast to reassure Dr Who fans.

Finance Secretary John ­Swinney whose reputation is being eroded like a coastline as the independence campaign rumbles on has hit back at the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, after he said he would try to block the SNP's plan for a currency union between an independent Scotland and the UK.

It is extremely doubtful that Westminster will go into a currency union, they have made that quite clear and definite.

John Swinney made a rather unfortunate gib by claiming Mr. Jones was only interested in increasing Wales's share of funding at the expense of Scotland.

He said:

"If Scotland votes No Labour's Welsh leader will be one of the first people asking for a cut to Scottish funding."

More SNP scaremongering, it is becoming tiresome in the extreme.

Labour has warned of border controls due to Salmond’s vow to increase immigration, long queues due to Salmond not recognising that a joint policy is more appropriate in the unlikely event he wins, he won’t but it shows how badly he has planned this bid.

Salmond said ‘talented’ overseas students would be allowed to stay and work in Scotland instead of being "kicked out by the UK Border Agency".

What all of them?

So ineffective Salmond is leaving Scotland open to mass immigration and allowing Scotland to be a door way to England.

Just sign up for University then skip the country and go down south.

Labour's shadow minister for immigration, David Hanson claims an independent Scotland, if it joined the UK and Ireland Common Travel Area, would have to pursue similar immigration policies.

He warned:

"If the SNP want an independent Scotland to have a radically different immigration policy then he is raising the real and frightening prospect of border posts between the two nations."

Hanson thinks like me, sadly there isn’t the talent in the SNP which is a considerable problem for the Nationalists; the party is a party within a party run for the benefit of a one man band.

Salmond is scared, he knows he has already lost the argument and the trust of the people, so he used First Minister’s question time to rebut Labour and Conservative claims. He is on the run from the IFS think tank report from earlier this week had undermined the case for independence in spades.

That tends to happen when you sit on your arse and don’t do the work.

The report said an independent Scotland faced higher taxes or spending cuts to bring debts under control over the next 50 years.

Salmond said:

"What happens over the next 50 years will depend on the policies pursued in this country, and that in turn will depend on whether we have got control of the policies pursued in the country. I say let's get control of these economic levers, let's increase productivity, increase our exports, invest in our economy, let's grow the Scottish economy and move forward to that better future."

Let’s remember the people at Govan Shipbuilders, 835 jobs lost, the SNP turned up to ‘help’ and it is still 835 jobs lost.

Salmond has no plan, no vision and no future, everything is off the cuff, back of a fag packet and knee jerk reaction such as opposing the Bedroom tax, all done for votes.

He added:

"This party, this Government, has ambition for this country. We think we can invest in the future, grow our economy and give all our people a decent future."

The SNP from previously declaring a racing certainty is now firmly on the back foot, we see this by their changed language now it is ‘hope’ and ‘we think’.

A spokesman later accused the SNP's opponents of peddling scare stories, including a "bogus" claim Dr Who would not be shown on a new national broadcaster set up after independence.

To recap:

Labour's shadow minister for immigration, David Hanson says Salmond's promise to increase immigration raised the "frightening prospect" of border posts.

Experts warned pensions would be hit if an independent Scotland opted for a different tax and regulatory regime from the rest of the UK.

A survey by accountants Ernst & Young found eight out of 10 senior oil executives in Scotland feared the industry would be taxed more heavily in an independent Scotland.

A poll by the Forum of Private Business showed three quarters of small business owners wanted Scotland to remain in the UK.

Bottom line, no one is backing Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.

Yours sincerely

George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University