Scottish independence: when is Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon going to stop trying to ‘selling the lie’ of a currency union, that tactic is dead in the water, the 'huge deception' is fooling nobody

Dear All

No one trusts Alex Salmond, if you do fall into his trap, you have conned.

Salmond has been accused of a "huge deception" over his plans for a currency union after a Yes vote.

There will be no currency union.

Despite repeated attempts to sell this lie, Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon keep trying to hoodwink Scots.

Now, two leading figures from the banking industry have decided to speak out as Salmond is still saying Westminster will agree to a deal to allow an independent Scotland to continue to use the pound.

Chancellor George Osborne and his Labour and Liberal Democrat counterparts have already stated that they would not agree to such an arrangement.

They have formed an unbreakable pact, who ever breaks it loses the 2015 Westminster election by default.

The only "bluff and bluster" is by the SNP leader who is desperate and needy enough to continue the lie.

Sir Martin Jacomb, the former chairman of Prudential, and Sir Andrew Large, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, have said that a currency union is "not compatible with Scotland being politically independent and is therefore not on offer".

Not on offer at any price, the solution was to plan for a Scottish pound.

That opportunity has been missed by stupidity.

In an article in the Times, they said:

"On the future currency people are understandably puzzled. Alex Salmond claims that nothing much will change, that threats otherwise are a bluff and that Scotland would keep the pound sterling - but although Scotland could keep using the pound, to promise 'no change' is a huge deception: the consequences would be enormous."

A spokesman for Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney said a formal currency union would be "in the overwhelming economic interests of the rest of the UK".

This doesn’t mean anything either politically or financially.

Jacomb and Large stated:

"The best way to keep the pound would be through a currency union like today. That is what Mr Salmond says he wants, but it is not compatible with Scotland being politically independent and is therefore not on offer."

That means Vote No!

Swinney's spokesman said:

"As part of the United Kingdom, economic wealth is drawn towards London and the South East; however, the powers of independence would enable Scotland to rebalance the economy and give Scotland a competitive edge. Scotland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, more prosperous per head than France, Japan and the UK itself, but we need the powers of independence to make the most of our huge resources. The Expert Fiscal Commission Working Group, which includes two Nobel laureate economists, has already looked at different currency options and concluded that an independent Scotland should keep the pound, which is as much Scotland's as it is the rest of the UK's, a position accepted by a UK Government minister who told the Guardian that 'of course there will be a currency union'."

He added:

“The comments on Scottish notes are simply wrong as by law every Scottish note is backed by deposits held by the Bank of England and would continue to be issued on the same basis.

"A formal currency union is in the overwhelming economic interests of the rest of the UK."

There will be no currency union, and there will be no lender of last resort, these two things will plunge Scotland into darkness and chaos.

As the independence campaign draws down to its end, the pressure on the SNP will grow to tell the truth about their economic plans for cuts to services and budgets. All the lies will be exposed and the fairytale concocted by Alex Salmond will be a living nightmare.

On the 19^th September, Scotland will wake to the fact that the whole political campaign by Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon was one massive political fraud on Scots. Salmond’s future isn’t in doubt, he doesn’t have one, and neither does unpopular Nicola Sturgeon.

The Bank of England is closed to these two buffoons!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Emergency Landing on M77 motorway by Jet plane, expecting a 90 minute Nationalist called Hamish to complain that somewhere in the world there has been an emergency landing on a motorway!

Scottish independence: Yes sheep copy Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond who brought politics into sport by his crass flag waving stunt at the Royal box in Wimbledon, his unthinking sheep are trying to do the same at Commonwealth Games, another bad Nationalist plan which has now imploded

Dear All

It seems that despite calls for a non political Commonwealth Games, the Nationalist side has no intention of doing so.

The Yes side have been carrying Scotland Flags with Yes written on them in a rather silly planned co-ordinated fashion using Facebook.

Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond has been hoping for a Yes bounce, so far the public have ignored him.

Salmond wants to whip up Nationalist pride with the irony that he doesn’t give a toss about the Scottish people.

Now, the Yes side is angry that fans attending Glasgow Green have been told them to remove their Yes badges.

Some argue this is an infringement of their right of expression. Freedom of expression is a human right, and should be protected; this however doesn’t apply in this case. When Yes supporters visit an venue, they agree to abide the rules of the event.

If that means they don’t permit Yes badges or No badges, that is the rule, and the same rules should apply to anyone.

Spectators were told to take off the button badges at the gates by security guards who told them they ‘represent a protest’.

You could argue the merits of that definition, however, the Games and associated events are deemed non political.

Allegedly some people were reportedly told they could wear the badges if they were hidden from view, this is a compromise, what isn’t acceptable is if they are allowed in then choose to break their word.

One of the Glasgow 2014 venue rules states that no flags are permitted within a venue; or the vicinity of the venue if they are associated with causes, organisations or affiliations.

That is very clear, the Yes side thinks that they have been clever, as we keep seeing, they despite coming up with little badly thought-out plans continually fall flat on their face.

Glasgow resident Neil Patton said:

“My Yes badge is not offensive, it is not a protest - it simply represents my personal view.”

Well, Mr. Patton met someone working in a security position who will recognising his right, also recognised that the rules are rules, no matter if some people don’t like them. He therefore doesn’t have a legitimate complaint.

A spokesman for the Yes Scotland group said:

“Organisers quite rightly want to keep politics out of the Games.”

Earlier in the Games, a pro-independence spectator was ejected from Tollcross swimming centre for holding up a Saltire with a Yes slogan on it. If I was doing security, I would have offered them a choice, have the flag confiscated or leave with it.

No other options would be made available.

This is a non political Commonwealth Games and it should remain so, complaining about being caught breaking the rules is rather feeble.

Yours sincerely

George Laird 

The Campaign for human Rights at Glasgow University 

Scottish independence: when is Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon going to come clean about the SNP’s secret plans to cut welfare and pensions, joining the Euro and forcing massive austerity on the poor and vulnerable?

Dear All

Have you ever been screwed hard?

Do you fancy being screwed by Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond or unpopular Nicola Sturgeon?

Well, regardless whether you fancy it, Salmond and Sturgeon really want to screw you, the SNP government has big plans as they privately prepare for cuts to jobs, welfare benefits and pensions in an independent Scotland.

Scotland wouldn’t be the ‘Athens of the North’, not the land of milk and honey, not nirvana, not the home of the Gods on Olympus.

Foodbanks, foodbanks and foodbanks!

This is Alex Salmond’s legacy to the Scottish people, hope replaced with hopelessness and a race to the bottom economically leading Scotland into a second Thatcher style era which will make the struggles of the 80’s working class look like a Golden era of joy.

The harsh and brutal economic reality is that the SNP leadership will slash welfare and other services to the poor and vulnerable to balance the books. Thousands of Scots will be thrown onto the scrapheap and future generation face being denied a future.

You see Alex Salmond runs a rich man’s party; this party is anti working class. In the run up to the referendum, you might think everything will be wonderful like an episode of Borgen, Sturgeon’s fav telly show.

Scotland faces a bleak economic future, the template of that will be what happened in modern day Greece, their entire economy was wrecked and their assets were effectively stolen from them by a weak Greek Government who sold them out.

To make matters worse, SNP Ministers in Edinburgh if they did get a Yes vote would also happily accepted the Bank of England in London would still have a controlling veto over public spending in Scotland. Salmond would automatically give up Scotland’s sovereignty to what would be a foreign government. That although currency union is now unlikely, it is still a carrot used by the SNP to voters that nothing will change after independence.

That is one of the big lies of the Nationalist’s campaign, the mythical currency union, you see the Nationalists are willing to say anything, you see they need time, time to prepare to take Scotland into the Euro.

The pound is a smokescreen, the louder they shout the less people will look at their real agenda, they want ‘lender of last resort’ facility from the European Central Bank to underwrite their government. The pound is stepping stone to EU membership and eventual joining of the Euro. The SNP leadership would play grudge, grievance and malcontent to justify accepting the Euro, we would have a story spun of the bad English hurting Scotland out of spite with Alex Salmond as the ‘hero’. Salmond’s finally journey of ‘the man who saved Scotland’ in its time of need. A fairytale which is a horror story without a happy ending for working class Scots!

If you think that North Sea Oil will save the day, think again, oil is a great asset but you cannot base an entire economy on that taxation revenue constantly being high.

Independence is forever, oil is not!

In human terms think of it like Alex Salmond’s political life, each day a little less is left, his political DNA is continually recycling downwards, in each cycle it becomes more and more mutated, rather like the aging process. At some point the recycling process will become unsustainable and lead to sudden and total shutdown.

In Scotland, life will go on without him, he can’t re-invent himself; he is the man who lost the Scottish independence referendum. He is man who didn’t plan; he is man who attempted to push a massive political fraud on the Scottish people. His ‘jolly fat man’ act, his fake ‘man of the people’ routine will be exposed pieced by piece for the sham he and his party are.

Maybe at that point some time in the future, a new proper Nationalist party can emerge which puts the people of Scotland as its prime concern instead of the rich, that party will not be the Scottish National Party, they have shown their true colours in this campaign.

This referendum is all about one man and his vanity project, that man is Alex Salmond, a vote for independence is a vote for Alex Salmond. The fact that he roped in some gullible idiots of various persuasions such as the members of the Scottish Greens and SSP to join his voyage of the damned shouldn’t detract from that observation.

It is interesting that in the latter stages of this campaign the Scottish Greens are starting to edge away from Salmond, they should have never climbed in to bed with him in the first place.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish independence: Top Labour figure Ian Price sidelined in referendum campaign, his ally, Labour MSP Johann 'photo op' Lamont doesn't inspire confidence, the lack of a proper work ethic is Labour's problem, they aren't saving Scotland, in September, ordinary people are doing that!

Dear All

As a keen observer of the Scottish political pond, I can put my hand on my heart and say that the Scottish Labour Party’s campaigning from what I am seeing in the Scottish independence campaign has been shit in my area. No leaflets from the Labour Party who are wrongly are running their own separate campaign to the detriment of the Unionist cause to keep Scotland part of the United Kingdom. 

On Saturday, I was going to the supermarket to get some bread, the Labour Party were out in Cardonald. Their event was at the Aldi supermarket, it started at 10 am, when I passed by circa 11 am, one person had turned up; that was the organiser who was handing out material. After doing my shopping, I went to check my email, as I returned back towards the supermarket later on at about 11.30 am, no one was there. The Labour event was scheduled as starting at 10 am and finishing at 2 pm at the supermarket.

In Pollok which is the seat of Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont; the Labour Party turnout for Better Together events has in my opinion been nothing more than an outright disgrace.

It seems that the ‘dedicated’ Labour followers including Johann Lamont, Ian Davidson and both Labour Councillors are still to do their proper ‘first day’ with the current team that is covering the area.

Johann Lamont and Ian Davidson have been noticeable by their absence, of course in fairness, they have done some BT street stall events at Silverburn Shopping Centre where they turn up late and ‘do an hour for Scotland’.

Maybe someone could explain leadership to them. It is said that Johann Lamont was reluctant stand for the Labour leadership in 2011, pretty reluctant to be a proper activist as well.

Johann 'photo op' Lamont!

Apparently Johann Lamont has heard of my blog, and doesn’t like it, so I imagine she probably won’t like this post because it hardly paints her as the labour leader saving Scotland, even in her own area!

At a previous event I attended I was informed by someone called John Coyle (Labour Party) that he had complaints about my blog and I was told ‘don’t talking to the politicians’. Given that the only politician there at the time was the Asian Labour Councillor who walked up to talk to me, it all seemed rather cryptic in nature.

Later on at that event Johann Lamont turned up which explained the ‘don’t talk to the politicians’ crack. At end I said to Mr. Coyle if he had less cryptic and said straight out what the problem was it would have cleared matters up for me. I also informed him in front of the Asian Labour Councillor, I had no interested in meeting Johann Lamont or talking to her.

When the Better Together group photo was taken by John Coyle, I was excluded from it, it was Labour people only; hardly Better Together, the irony is that of the people featured in that photo as being BT activists, none are doing BT events currently in Pollok. I said to Mr. Coyle if I had known he was running this event as a Labour event I wouldn’t have come, he asked me to come back the next day which was a Labour event on the Sunday, I declined, not because of what happened but because I was going somewhere else.

Anyway, it appears that the Scottish Labour general secretary Ian Price has been sidelined in his party's referendum campaign, amid concerns about the party's strategy and effectiveness on the ground.

It seems that there are too many generals and not enough troops who are willing to work however given the staged managed photos of United with Labour; you might be tempted to think they were putting a good effort in. In some respects it is a bit like the farce of Pollok SNP when they put on their ‘happy face’ at the Pollok shopping centre and later got bounced by the security staff, they weren’t happy that day. If there is a programme of internal Labour reforms, you have to wonder how shit they were at campaigning before they ‘improved’.

As to the problem of fractious relations between MSPs, MPs, councillors and trade unions, this could be solved rather easily, you get people in for a chat and tell them in a quiet but firm voice that if they don’t pull their weight, they are out, no matter whose coat tails they are hanging onto. Just as a cull was needed in the run up to the 2012 Glasgow Council Election, it can be done again.

Price  won a decent amount of by-elections, he did so when the Nationalists were in decline, but nothing should be taken away from him, it is a decent record but we should remember the credit isn’t his alone and neither are the failures.

Price’s problem is that he was head of public affairs at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in Scotland (RSPB); what does he know about activism on the ground. I suspect not a lot in that regard which might explain why at Cardonald only one person was doing the Labour event which was billed online as ‘referendum campaigning’.

Party fixer Frank Roy MP joined the Better Together campaign in April in a "political co-ordination" role, his job is described as "Labour's eyes and ears" in the body. Maybe rather than Labour having him as "eyes and ears" they should stick him out with the activists to work, perhaps a spell in the trenches will open his eyes to the problems of elected Labour people backsliding and force Labour into giving Better Together more support. 

One insider said:

"Ian Price came with a good reputation, but it's recognised he's not been great at some aspects of the job. Sheila Murphy was brought in to shore up Scottish Labour, while Frank Roy was also introduced to ensure we get the right result in September."

That is code for doesn’t understand politics, which is rather odd given his position in the Labour Party. Also you can pretty sure the ‘right result’ won’t be down to anything that Frank Roy thinks or does, the Scottish people will take care of the result.

As To Johann Lamont, her future is said to be doubt, and it looks increasingly unlikely that she is capable of winning the 2016 election for Labour. The favourites for her job are said to be deputy leader Anas Sarwar, East Renfrewshire MP Jim Murphy and Kezia Dugdale MSP.

I don’t see either Anas Sarwar or Jim Murphy as Scottish leader, however both have excellent track records; Jim Murphy certainly brings considerable political experience. As to Kezia Dugdale MSP, you can forget that as a non starter, it has always been Ken Macintosh as Scottish Labour leader who stands the best chance of beating Alex Salmond in 2016. The sooner the Labour Party wraps their heads round that one the quicker they will turn round their problems.

Dugdale cannot win!

As Price has been sidelined, the Labour Party has brought in Sheila Murphy, the former regional director of Labour North West to work on Labour's distinct referendum campaign. One of the things I have observed in politics, is someone is hailed by the leadership as being ‘very good’, but when you see what they produce, you have to wonder how anyone could come to that conclusion.

In 2012, Alex Salmond hailed the dreadfully inept Glasgow SNP leader Allison Hunter as a ‘wonderful leader’, the truth was somewhat different, she was crap, she wasn’t a leader of men and she was a Nicola Sturgeon crony.

She went on to lose the 2012 Council election; the word ‘slaughtered’ aptly describes that result. Hunter was said to have trained up the current SNP elected members which begs the question why they were so ignorant and stupid.

The legacy of Allison Hunter was that she was the catalyst for the soon to be epic defeat on 18^th September 2014 of Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon. The failure to take Glasgow was an real epic disaster which proves the point that cronyism cannot replace talent, and Hunter had no talent.

As to Johann Lamont, she needs to stop Labour’s campaign and fold everything into Better Together as should the Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and Lib Dem Leader Willie Rennie.

Having one guy turn up at a Labour event isn’t an event, it is embarrassing, but Sheila Murphy’s first task should be to address the lack of a work ethic at the top and why so few Labour activists are coming out.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Terror air attack on Glasgow movie clip- a George Laird film production

Scotland’s inept Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill has washed his hands’ over armed police fiasco, par for the course, Scotland has been without a Justice Minister since 2007, MacAskill is destroying his brief to escape the Al Megrahi legacy, that stigma will stick to him forever, so he might as well do his paid job

Dear All

Scotland has been without a Justice Minister since 2007.

There is someone drawing the salary, his name is Kenny ¬MacAskill.

Kenny ¬MacAskill is famous for release the worst terrorist ever held in Scottish custody and then letting him left the jurisdiction of Scotland.

Al Megrahi is Kenny MacAskill’s shame, his stigma, his legacy.

After this incident, MacAskill has been trying to erase the stigma by leaving another legacy, destroying Scotland’s Justice System.

But, no matter what he does, the stigma of Al Megrahi will be around him to the day he dies.

Not a man to leave a thing part destroyed, Kenny ¬MacAskill has been quick off his mark to further the reasons why he should be sacked.

He has accused of “washing his hands” over armed police on Scotland’s streets.

Scottish Labour’s justice spokesman, Graeme Pearson, said Mr MacAskill was ¬“apathetic” to an issue which had caused huge public concern.

The arming of Scottish Police on the streets has been badly botched by the Chief Constable, and MacAskill really has been apathetic. In September 2010, I proposed the Scottish National Police Force at the SNP National Assembly, stage one was the creation of the force. Stage two involved further reforms, one of which was the armed force; post independence. This was because the Scottish army would be small and the Police would serve in time of war as a secondary force who would be weapons trained.

There would be no armed police force prior to independence because of lack of consultation, other than regular trained officers.

One of the PR disasters has been armed officers attending a routine incident at a McDonald’s in Inverness.

Also the motorist in Aberdeen who said he was questioned by four armed ¬officers over an alleged traffic ¬offence.

It doesn’t take four armed officers to do a traffic stop.

Labour MSP Graeme Pearson, a former police officer and director general of the Scottish Crime and Drug ¬Enforcement Agency, says MacAskill appears to be ¬“entirely disinterested”, however we should remember that if the Labour Party was in power, they too would be entirely disinterested as well.
The difference is that it would be their Justice Minister passing the buck. Pearson says received a letter from MacAskill which said the matter was one for Sir Stephen House, chief constable of Police ¬Scotland.

Pearson said:

“Kenny ¬MacAskill has completely washed his hands of all responsibility and appears to be entirely disinterested in an issue which has sparked significant public concern and calls for improved accountability at a local and national level. The operational independence afforded to Police Scotland should not extend to fundamentally changing the nature of -policing. Policing by consent has long been one of the central tenets of law enforcement in Scotland, but this can only be delivered when consultation with the democratic processes are delivered before action, not simply in hindsight.”

You should remember what Pearson says incase Labour win in 2016 because they wouldn’t do anything different, therefore Pearso’s intervention is not only meaningless, it is also bizarre.

As to the call for ¬MacAskill to appear before ¬Holyrood instead of “passing the buck” to Police Scotland, there might at some stage be a ‘show’ that achieves nothing if enough media interest takes hold.

MacAskill has said:

“On issues of operational independence, ¬effective governance and scrutiny, the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 clearly establishes that the chief constable is responsible and must account to the Scottish Police Authority for the policing of Scotland.”

Begs the question why MacAskill is still in place and why we should be paying him a salary!

The reason we are paying this deadbeat a salary is because he is the pal of Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond.

Salmond’s Cabinet is a Cronies’ Cabinet in which for the most part there is very little talent with a few exceptions.

Not the best of the best and certainly not talented.

MackAskill has lost control of his brief then you could argue, he never had it in the first place.

At present the Scottish Government has been shut for the last three years as the SNP are all out chasing independence, Scotland's on pause.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish independence: lack of breeding, Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond shows his lack of class and personal integrity by breaking his word not to politicise Commonwealth Games in a personal attack on George Osborne, just a gubby little man

Dear All

One thing about Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond of the Alex Salmond Party (SNP North East provincial Scotland region) is that his word isn’t worth a damn.

You can’t trust him whether you are a poor working class Scot or an American billionaire such as Donald Trump.

Alex Salmond is lower middle class with a lust for power and a taste for luxury; he is rather common in his dealings which betray a distinct lack of breeding.

His word isn’t his bond.

Alex Salmond made a ‘promise’ not to talk about Scottish independence for the duration of Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games.

He promptly broke his self-imposed ban within few seconds.

The Nationalists have been warned not to use the Commonwealth Games as vehicle for independence however; it seems that Yes supporters plan to do just that by having Scottish Flags imprinted with Yes inside the venues.

When people think of sporting events being used for politics, the bench mark was the 1936 Olympic Games in Hitler’s Germany were Nationalists hoped to show Ayran superiority.

The Nationalists are so desperate to effect a ‘braveheart’ moment that they will attempt to hijack and use the sporting events to drum up support for a Yes vote. Piggy backing on the success of others as if they had something to do with it, quite frankly it is all rather pathetic.

The sight of Salmond’s rich Nationalists and Sein Fein lite republicans fawning over working class Scots sportsmen and woman like they are old pals is deeply offensive given the SNP under Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon have done nothing but give lip service to the poor.

The Scottish National Party doesn’t stand for fairness, equality and social justice.

That being said, what does it say about the lack of moral fibre and personal integrity that Salmond displayed by using a press conference at the Games media centre to carry out a personal attack on George Osborne for being based in London?

It shows that as First Minister, he demeans the Office that he holds, and it isn’t the first time that Alex Salmond has done that, if we think back to Wimbledon Tennis, we saw the puerile spectacle of Salmond unveiling the Scottish flag behind the Prime Minister’s head when Andy Murray won Wimbledon.

When the widespread criticism started coming in, Alex Salmond ‘grassed’ up his wife as an accomplice saying she had hidden the Saltire in her personal belongings, it rather suggests that the sudden show of national pride was pre-planned and therefore just a meaningless and crass stunt to attempt to kick start the failing and ultimately doomed Nationalist independence campaign which has had little effect as the polls continually show.

At the 2012 London Games, the SNP were less than enthusiastic as they continually carped about money and contracts in the House of Commons with SNP MP Pete Wishart making some really embarrassing statements. Matters were compounded by the fact that Salmond and his Cabinet attempted to politicise the London 2012 Olympics, urging Scottish people to get behind the ‘Scolympians’.

A crass term he invented to describe the Scottish competitors, the video of the SNP Cabinet being rather narrow minded instead of statesmanlike was a new low even for the SNP, what their message should have been was to wish Scottish athletes well and also the rest of the Team GB athletes.

Apparently both sides of the referendum campaign intend to maintain a low profile during the Games, that doesn’t mean much, campaigning will continue if either side can find people to work for them.

A spokesman for the pro-UK Better Together campaign said:

“Alex Salmond not talking about his obsession for ten days? He can’t even manage ten seconds.”

In stark contrast to Alex Salmond’s personal attack on George Osborne, the Chancellor also in Glasgow delivered a speech to a Commonwealth business conference.

He did not mention Alex Salmond during his keynote address, you don’t give oxygen to a loser like Salmond; you just ignore him.

Osborne used his speech to announced £5 million of funding for Glasgow School of Art’s new Graduate and Research Centre. As well that that ‘goodie’ he unveiled £17 million of UK Government money to support the life sciences centre in Glasgow and £1.7 million for a business centre in the city.

After the defeat of Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon, the Nationalists will have to address the lack of breeding within their ranks and the pre-occupation and tendency to act like pigs.

Pigs with money are still pigs; the lack of breeding and personal integrity rather says it all, playing the tradesman instead of the gentleman.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University 

Scottish independence: President Barack caused a shock when he came out against Scottish independence last month, now he comes back again to say to Scots 'if it ain't broke don't fix it', the leader of the free world gives massive a vote of No confidence in Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon

Dear All

Last month, the Americans in the shape of President Barack Obama waded into the Scottish referendum debate; that was surprising because previously the Americans were sitting on the fence.

What got them off the fence was Faslane, the base is home to the nuclear submarine fleet of the UK and holds a key strategic position by its location in Scotland.

The SNP has declared they want to remove nuclear weapons off Scottish soil if they win independence.

Previously the SNP were very much anti Nato, however I believe their ‘conversion’ to sense is just a smokescreen as Scots want to remain part of the Nato alliance.

That policy will be reverse when they lose the indy vote and seen as the sham it always was, the SNP don’t want to be part of nato and never did, it’s all about trying to secure a vote cache.

  

As the vote gets nearer, the US president is back again, if it is worth saying once by Obama, it is worth saying:

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

President Obama has given Scots further insights why he believes Scotland should continue to work together with England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

His intervention was a bombshell intervention because it was a resounding vote of No confidence in Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon, obviously he wants the UK should remain united and strong.

Britain is a key US ally and has been so for decades, it was previously dubbed the special relationship in the 1980’s by President Ronald Reagan.

 Obama was speaking to Labour leader Ed Miliband along with Douglas Alexander at the White House, something which has been denied to Alex Salmond, he usually gets palmed off with a junior official.

Although President Obama is a strong No, he doesn’t get a vote, but he acknowledges that the matter is a choice for Scots.

It is interesting that the Americans should be so openly against Salmond and Sturgeon, however, I don’t believe that the opposition is just based on “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I would suggest that American analysis have looked closely into the Scottish National Party and how it operates and concluded that these are people that you can’t trust and can’t do business with on the international stage.

Trust remains a serious problem for Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man;’ Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon not just domestically but also abroad.

Some Observers were stunned that Obama publicly backed a No vote when the US is officially neutral but I wasn’t, in May 2012, while on the BBC Big Debate, I said the SNP needed to go pro Nato and pro Faslane remaining as a nuclear base.

Salmond and Sturgeon botched it with the simple minded student union politics mentality.

By going the way of pro Faslane, the Nationalists would have made it harder for the Americans to take sides, they don’t side with the ‘stupid people’, so no wonder they came out against the Nationalist leadership.

But George Laird got it right as per usual.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish independence: Unpopular Nicola Sturgeon, needy and desperate goes begging for Labour votes for independence, Sturgeon scraps the bottom of the barrel, as the SNP manage to get 7 politically unaware pensioners, another epic Sturgeon failure!

Dear All

Some time ago I wrote a piece on the Scottish National Party’s attempts to reach out to Scottish Conservatives to vote for Scottish independence.

In my opinion, this was a complete non starter.

The article that prompted my post was something I read written by the SNP’s odious and publicly unelectable candidate Natalie McGarry. McGarry went on to be soundly defeated in the Cowdenbeath by-election having imploded the Nationalist vote by almost 50%.

During that failed campaign Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave her an endorsement saying McGarry was a ‘good friend’. That was probably like the ‘kiss of death’; Nicola Sturgeon as I keep saying is unpopular, if she thought her endorsement meant anything meaningful then she is sadly out of touch and totally deluded where voters are concerned.

After I wrote my piece, odious Natalie McGarry went on to link my blog to a hate account set up by someone McGarry and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon both know well.

In computing there is such a thing as ‘save as’, and I did regarding her tweet of 20^th January. The person running the hate account has been arrested by Police Scotland and charged.

Just as odious Natalie McGarry couldn’t get the Nationalist vote onboard in Cowdenbeath, she won’t get the Tory vote anywhere else or even the women’s vote under the guise of women for independence!

Now, unpopular Nicola Sturgeon, the ‘face of independence’ is trying to get Labour voters to build what she says would be a more equal Scotland by voting for independence.

That is a sick joke!

Nicola Sturgeon as Health Sec let Scots women die of cancer by failing to ensure that drugs available in England which could have saved them were made available here in Scotland!

No one is coming to help Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon, so her desperate and needy plea to Labour voters that she already previously made at the SNP conference in April will fall on deaf ears again.

A few Labour voters will vote yes, but the vast majority of them will vote to keep Scotland as part of the UK on the 18^th September.

Scottish Labour in response said that the Yes Scotland campaign is getting "increasingly desperate" as they realise they can’t reach their target.

At present the No side has a 16% lead in the polls, and the polls aren’t moving. All the efforts by the SNP are a complete waste of time, money, energy and resources.

In a piece of political analysis which is complete rubbish, Sturgeon said a 'Yes' vote in September's independence referendum would be the "the chance of a lifetime for Labour voters to reclaim their politics and their party.

That’s just not credible any way shape or form; most of the issues that concern voters are already devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

To add to the tripe that Nicola Sturgeon spouts, she trotted out the failed SNP policy on Trident and coupled it with poverty since using Trident doesn’t sell at the ballot box. The People of Scotland have spoken on Trident; they want to keep the Nato shield of defence in Scotland. At Westminster elections most MPs returned are unionist, the SNP manage to get 6, the ‘feeble 6’ led by Englishman Angus Robertson.

Sturgeon said:

"I have canvassed many Labour voters in many elections, and failed to persuade many of them to vote SNP”.

In Govan, I have met many women in Ward 5 who refer to unpopular Nicola Sturgeon as an “arsehole”.

That being the case, it is understandable that she failed to persuade many of them to vote SNP.

She added:

"But I have yet to meet a Labour voter who puts bombs before bairns, which is one reason why I have spoken to so many in this referendum campaign who are voting 'Yes'."

Did she persuade anyone who thought she was an “arsehole” to vote Yes?

Or did she singly manage to avoid them while out canvassing, do tell us Nicola?

Apparently Nicola Sturgeon only meets enthusiastic supporters who think she is wonderful while out campaigning, it’s the stuff of legend and myth of the popular leader.

It’s also crap!

  

Ms Sturgeon's latest call to Labour voters came at the same time that seven of the central figures from the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS) work-in wrote an open letter to the Daily Record outlining their reasons for supporting independence.

I suppose a question to these seven people is; ‘why are you so politically ignorant’?

In their letter, the seven workers wrote:

"The UK government is attempting to portray itself as the protector of shipbuilding in Scotland, but nothing could be further from the truth. Despite the efforts of the trade union movement, shipbuilding has been neglected by Westminster governments, and there is a stronger, brighter future for our shipbuilding industry in an independent Scotland."

90% of shipbuilding contracts in Govan come from the UK Ministry of Defence, if Scotland is out of the UK, both Govan and Scotstoun will go to the wall, military shipbuilding in Scotland will end, and pretty much kill the entire industry.

The letter was signed by pensioners David Torrance, Linda Hamill, Betty Kennedy, Jimmy Cloughley, Ronnie Leighton, Tam Brotherston and John Gibb, they aren’t risking their jobs but they certainly are willing to risk those employed in the yards by making such gullible statements which have no basis in fact.

The nationalists have also used two former Labour government ministers Peter Kilfoyle and Leslie Huckfield to try and advance their cause, one of their previous stalwart former Labour backers; John Cowan has been dropped when allegations emerged about his past behaviour regarding women.

Labour MSP Drew Smith said:

"Nicola Sturgeon has spent her life campaigning against the Labour Party. But her campaign is becoming increasingly desperate, no doubt because so many previous SNP voters aren't buying the separation which Nicola Sturgeon believes in above all else. The SNP will say anything to get over the line in September, but I believe Scotland will see through the empty promises and unfunded polices which the 'Yes' campaign is trying to sell."

So, unpopular Nicola Sturgeon has managed to scrap together seven people who are politically unaware….. what a ‘star’, what a magnificent campaign strategy, what a coup, Labour voters can “reclaim their politics and their party”.

If there is anything working class Labour voters should be ‘reclaiming’; it is their determination to Vote No.

Is it not funny to see unpopular Nicola Sturgeon reduced to ‘begging for votes; rather shows how her substance lite indy campaign has spectacularly blown up in her face.

I guess the anti English, it’s all Westminster’s fault wasn’t such a good idea, not an A Team strategy!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish independence: due to the actions of Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon spending decades fostering grievance, the Yes campaign is nothing more than a full blown anti-English campaign

Dear All

Brian Monteith of Think Scotland  has penned a rather interesting article in which he says that Scottish nationalism is about being anti-English.

I would say he is both right and wrong.

There are many people who would recognise the anti English element, and twitter is a poster board for that crowd.

That said, there are some in the independence camp whom anti English plays no part in their thinking.

These people however don’t really ever get heard even in the Nationalist camp which is dominate by grudge, grievance and malcontent.

I would also say there is a stronger anti British element such as the ‘Sein Fein lite’, these are people aren’t nationalists but who hate the British for their involvement in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The Scottish National Party in order to garner support sucked up to various little anti British factions as it tried to cobble together anyone to work for them to push their agenda.

At the head of this miserable group sits Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond as a puppet master, Salmond remains the most divisive politician in the UK.

His leadership in his own party is all about divide and rule, Salmond in my opinion isn’t a nationalist, he has no regard for the Scottish people. At the start of each new parliament, Salmond says ‘my first loyalty is to the Scottish people’.

A con trick as his record in government amply shows!

The poor and vulnerable in Scotland are suffering and Salmond doesn’t care. He is only interested in certain minority groups which have surrounded him and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon.

A nasty vicious clique

The SNP has become under his and Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership a ‘rat ship’, a party within a party, unworthy of independence and unworthy of government, the saying ‘unfit for purpose’ could have been coined for his government.

Recently Alex Salmond went to Orkney.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t85Ao7zLiXQ

At that Nationalist lovefest, he went onto talk about Scottish identity; there are three versions of that according to him.

1/ People born in Scotland

2/ People who weren’t born in Scotland but have Scottish ancestors

3/ People who live in Scotland  

Scottish identity is recognised by many as people born in Scotland, English identity is recognised by many as people born in England, British identity recognised by many as people born in the United Kingdom.

Number 3 on his list is linked with what the SNP call ‘civic Nationalism’.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_nationalism

This is a kind of nationalism is identified by people who believe in a non-xenophobic form of nationalism that is compatible with values of freedom, tolerance, equality, and individual rights.

That translated in the SNP landscape is boosting minorities to the detriment and interests of the Scottish people, and at their expense.

In the SNP, a working class Scot is a second class citizen.

Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon also aren’t campaigning for Scotland to be run by Scots; they never did in my opinion. Some might describe as one group of foreigners replacing another group of foreigners approved by Salmond.

Alex Salmond’s nationalism stinks!

Brian Monteith recently argued:

“One can only conclude that the civic nationalism of Scottish nationalists and their cheerleaders is in fact racially, not institutionally based. It is an arrogant superiority built upon a conceit that Scots will behave better – whichever way better is defined by those that seek to set our moral compass”.

The problem there with that statement is that Salmond and Sturgeon are seen by many to use ‘Scots’ and ‘Scottishnes’s as a tool to promote themselves and the minority groups they have climbed into bed with.

Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon don’t care about the Scottish working class that is what the SNP brand of civic nationalism is. It is as false as their concerns about Scottish people.

After the referendum is finished, all the Political Partie;s unionist and nationalist will come together in a false show of unity for the cameras, but the hatred generated by Salmond’s campaign will not be going away.

People now know what they suspected; there is a deep well of hate that comes from the Scottish National Party and their cohorts.

So, when Alex Salmond did his speech in Liverpool to reassure Scottish Labour voters that we would all still remain buddies if Scotland votes Yes, you can be fairly certain that won’t be the case, either internally or externally of Scotland post 18^th September 2014.

Salmond if he won can’t get a currency union so he will default on Scotland’s share of the UK debt, so how ‘buddy buddy’ will his administration be with Westminster if he got his way?

The SNP has always in my opinion wanted the Euro; they want that as a further wedge to ensure there is no going back.

Such is the strength of anti Englishness that has been developed that the writer Joyce McMillan has publicly said the Yes campaign is not anti-English.

Has she been asleep and missed the SNP Conferences where Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon blame Westminster, according to them, it’s always the fault of Westminster, the sub text is it’s always the fault of the English.

Decades of hate; conference after conference with the little anti British factions sitting waiting their turn to promote their “cause” whether it is anti Trident or anti Monarchy.

Recently I attended the BBC Indy debate at Bridgeton in Glasgow, SNP MSP John Mason attended along with Louise Bachelor for the Scottish Greens. During the show, available to listen to online, John Mason said that Scots were more popular in Europe than the English. That statement didn’t go down well with the audience. Having made that political gaffe, a few minutes later, he felt compelled to say it again.

Wrong the first time, wrong the second time, if he had gone a third, it still would have been wrong and not found favour with that audience.

Have a listen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b049661k

You can also if you listen out hear me asking question number 4 on the EU, and speaking on why there is Israeli involvement in Gaza and making a point about Article 49 regarding EU membership and why the SNP is wrong.

Anyway; are Scots more welcome than the English in Europe as John Mason said?

I wouldn’t say this is the case, to Europe, we are mostly seen as British, are Scots superior to the English, are we more fairer as the Nationalist camp says, the answer is no.

Whether a person is fair has nothing to do with nationality.

Finally, yes, the current Scottish independence campaign run by the Nationalists is anti English.

Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon haven’t a positive vision or message to sell; they just peddle grudge, grievance and malcontent which is now flowing out as hatred of the English.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University 

Fly the friendly skies, air plane animation with a camera wiggle, normal blogging will resume as soon as possible, think of this like a Test card!

Scottish independence: Tory MP Priti Patel says independence debate is great opportunity to slash spending in Scotland, Patel’s track record is that she is an idiot, if she thinks she is ministerial material then the Tories really are in trouble, people of Essex need to bin her in 2015

Dear All

I have blogged on Backbencher Priti Patel before regarding her wanting to take away the right of prisoners to get access to education.

I will be blunt; she is a stupid, ignorant individual who is an embarrassment even to the Tories.

She appears to me to be an attention seeker who possibly thinks she is ministerial material.

Not in a million years!

Her latest outburst is against Scotland were she says David Cameron should target Scotland for brutal spending cuts.

I can’t speak for David Cameron, but I would suspect his opinion would be less kind than polite society would demand.

To look at her claims that the Prime Minister should demand the country (Scotland) starts to “pay for itself” we should remember that she speaks from a position of ignorance.

Patel, a member of the influential 1922 Committee, says Scots get a better deal than the rest of the UK due to policies like free prescriptions and tuition fees.

These are political choices of how the Scottish budget is spent, that’s called democracy.

Does Ms. Patel like democracy?

If not what is she doing being an MP.

Her speech organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs who are a right wing think tank says the independence debate provided a “good opportunity” to slash spending.

Scotland has unique problems; this is recognised by Westminster Governments of whatever colour, like in all partnerships, there are pros and cons.

But the real issue is that how the Scottish Government spends its budget is a matter for the Scottish Government.

Her call for a reform of the Barnett Formula, which calculates how much money Holyrood receives from Westminster will fall on deaf ears as well! Although the formula isn’t great, it isn’t up for a review in the near future.

One can only wonder what Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson will think of patel flagging up ‘bad tory anti Scottish’, personally if I was Davidson, I would be writing a letter of the unpleasant variety.

Patel by her stupidity is undermining the Better Together campaign to keep Scotland in the UK.

Patel said:

“There are many areas such as elderly care, tuition fees and prescriptions where Scots are basically getting a better deal than the rest of the country. Failure to reform the Barnett Formula has effectively meant that Scotland receives £1600 per person more than the English average which inevitably puts a greater strain on public finances.”

Why does she campaign on elderly care, tuition fees and prescriptions for English people then?

Having been flung a bone, in trots SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn to pick it up, I remember him for Glasgow University, he served on the SRC.

A clown!

A Scottish Tory spokesman said:

“Priti Patel obviously does not understand that while Scotland benefits from free prescriptions and free personal care, we have 2000 less nurses – and patients with rare cancers go without life-saving drugs, unlike in England. Politics is all about choices and she would do well to take this into account when making future speeches about the devolved settlement in Scotland.”

Tad weak and mealy mouth stuff from the spokesman there, hopefully, Davidson will be on the phone to Cameron.

Patel has been the MP for Witham, Essex, since 2010, in 2015, if she isn’t deselected, the people of Essex would be better to get rid of her.

If she wants to be a clown, find a circus!

In the past, Patel has demanded Cameron target funding for trade unions and foreign aid to cut the deficit.

Plainly she is a little shit!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Scottish independence: Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond scaremongers over privatisation in the Scottish NHS, his false guarantee that independence will protect it is the sham politics of the Student union, delusion and deception, hallmark of a loser!

Dear All

Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond is going to Liverpool, having been rejected by Scots, Salmond is looking for any place to get an audience to speak.

One the latest themes by the SNP and Women for Independence scaremongering over the Scottish NHS!

Scotland’s health service will not be safe from the effects of privatisation unless a Yes vote is cast in September says Salmond.

This is a lie!

There is already private companies doing NHS work has have been for years.

Governments at Holyrood change and therefore Salmond’s guarantee that the NHS will be protected from the privatisation agenda south of the Border is worthless.

Whether independent or not only the government of the day will set policy!

Healthcare in Scotland is currently a devolved issue, controlled by Holyrood so where the NHS in England goes private which it won’t, it won’t affect Scotland because the Scottish budget is decided by the Scottish Government.

If there is an affect a mechanism exist for Westminster and Holyrood to discuss this on an official basis.

Salmond said:

“the process of privatisation and fragmentation” of the NHS south of the Border had continued. Scotland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with strong public finances. But under the Westminster system, cuts to spending in England automatically trigger cuts in Scotland.”

Does that mean he won’t be giving any money to Nicola Sturgeon cronies in Glasgow Southside to set up little organizations then?

Scottish Labour’s health spokesman Neil Findlay said:

“It is a mark of how desperate the First Minister has become that he is introducing the privatisation of the NHS as a campaign issue when everyone knows it is devolved to the Scottish Parliament and the Tories can’t get their hands on our hospitals and health centres.”

This was flagged up by Dr. Philipa Whitford under the guise of Women for Independence, it is low grade pap. It doesn’t have any traction in Scotland and although Salmond is now flogging the same dead horse, it will not get to its feet.

Is it a coincidence that both Salmond and Women for Independence are doing this at the same time?

I think many people would think not, co-ordinated Yes scaremongering.

Grabbing any issue and running silly stories, pathetic, today I met many strong NO voters; the tactics of fear aren’t working Salmond!

Imagine going to Liverpool to give an independence speech when they don’t have a vote!

Cock up as usual; the Nationalists have picked a poor choice as their champion!

Finally, let us remember that unpopular Nicola Sturgeon let Scots women die of cancer by failing to end the postcode lottery, the Scottish NHS isn't safe in Nationalist hands, but you don't hear a peep out of Dr. Philipa Whitford. 

Sturgeon fucked that service right up!

Yours sincerely

George Laird 

The Campaign for Human Rights as Glasgow University

Scottish independence: Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon see their EU membership blow up in their faces, No new EU members for 5 years says EU President, George Laird gets it right 6 weeks ago on assessment and halt to EU expansion

Dear All

Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon are seeing their independence campaign literally die a death of a thousands each day.

On the issue of membership of the European Union, it has been blunder after blunder; assertion isn’t of fact, lies instead of truth. As the readership knows, I do write about the EU from time to time and not just in relation to the Scottish independence campaign.

The European Union has the potential to be a great institution, the trouble is that the EU hasn’t evolved properly, it lacks direction and to some extent purpose. The problems of the organisation have festered over years; real reform has been put off through a lack of political will.

In EU countries, it is hardly surprising that there has been a rise of the right wing political element bolstered by support from the people, the expression of this in the UK is Ukip.

They won the EU election of 2014; an historic victory not seen in over 100 years, where neither the government nor main opposition party won the majority of seats.

Ukip is the lightening rod that ordinary people have been drawn to because the main political parties have stopped listening to people some considerable time ago. Today, I was listening to a speech on youtube given by a new Ukip MEP who partly blamed the EU for the troubles between Russia and the Ukraine. All I will say on that ‘gem of wisdom’ is that it was an inappropriate speech, and judging by the look of Diane James, Ukip MEP behind him, she might agree with me. Ukip need to employ someone as a thinker to raise their profile in a good way and do away with stunts and gesture politics.

At the start of last month, I did an article on the 3^rd June stating that the European project needed reform and an assessment carried out; also I said that there should be a halt to EU expansion. I have been saying this for some time because the project faces a difficult time over the next few years.

http://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/tony-blair-notes-that-rise-of-ukip-is.html 

Also If you think back to 2012, Scotland’s unpopular Deputy Nicola Sturgeon was at the BBC Big Debate which I also attended. I spoke and said the SNP needed to go pro Nato and pro Faslane, on both issues I was proved right. Ruth Davidson also attended that programme and pulled out a letter which said the SNP had neither as an opposition or Government ever sought advice from the EU on membership.  After that programme, we had the most pathetic spectacle of unpopular Nicola Sturgeon trying to hawk herself round Europe trying to give the impression that she was creating a dialogue with European Officials.

As some people say ‘Bollocks’!

The EU in the form of then President Jose Manuel Barroso blew her off when the SNP Deputy leader wanted a meeting. A meeting with unpopular Nicola Sturgeon talking tripe about automatic EU membership and phantom EU legal advice which never existed, Barroso wisely got his Deputy to fire off the standard letter.

No thanks!

Barroso joins the long list of men and women who have rejected Ms. Sturgeon in some form or another.

As part of the Sturgeon pitch failed, she then tried to put forward another tack and argument, the prospect of an independent Scotland joining the European Union within 18 months of a Yes vote.

How did this ‘strategic mastermind’ come up with this one, someone just made it up based on assumption, then an ex EU official then said that was possible.

Hey presto, instant ‘fact’ just add water, Sturgeonesque logic!

To return to my post of 3^rd June which mentions a halt to expansion, the new President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker has called for a five-year freeze on EU enlargement. Actually, it needs to be ten years, but as most people know, sooner or later everyone comes round to the George Laird view.

Before Juncker was in post; Prime Minister David Cameron was leading a lot of opposition against his appointment. The Scottish National Party went the other way, they said they could ‘work with him’; well his keynote speech has shattered their plans.

I have stated and I will state again, there is a genuine lack of talent in the SNP. Looking at what he says, if Scotland became independent, and the five year freeze is in place, that means, no EU funding between 2016 and 2019, this also raises the question of when EU law would become void in Scotland.

I seriously doubt the ‘white paper’ has a provision for an enabling act between 2016 and a successful membership application. And there is no guarantee that in 2019 there would be a successful bid due to the right of veto of the 28 members. This also has implications for what currency would be available for Scotland if there was a successful independence bid. This leads onto another issue which I said was essential, the preparation for a Scottish currency, the Euro would be ruled out as would access to the European Central Bank and lender of last resort to bail out Scotland in the event of a financial collapse such as the banking crisis.

Juncker told EU lawmakers that the Union must “consolidate what has been done with 28” current members. It is too early to see how his Presidency will pan out, but he certainly has made a good start and it should calm David Cameron’s concerns that Juncker is ‘old Europe’.

The Scottish Government’s position that Scotland would secure its EU membership as an independent country by March 2016 by Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon is looking increasingly bizarre. The EU won’t enter in talks until after matters between Westminster and the Scottish Government were concluded if indy was successful.

So March 2016 was never possible! And that SNP claim that Scotland is already in the EU and would only have to renegotiate its membership terms is utter rubbish, this bogus claim is deception, an outright bareface deception attempted on the Scottish people to make them think Scotland has a contract with the EU regarding membership. It doesn’t because the contract is held solely by Westminster and as such it isn’t transferable. Scotland leaves the UK, it also leaves the EU.

In trying to make capital out of the Tory reshuffle down south, Alex Salmond claims that the appointment of Philip Hammond as Foreign Secretary in today’s UK cabinet reshuffle “has put one hand on the exit door leading the UK out of the European Union”.

No, it doesn’t, this is just Alex Salmond scaremongering because he can’t argue on the basis of facts. Philip Hammond in my opinion is not the best choice for Foreign Sec but UK Cabinet responsibility means he will not uses his position to undermine the UK position in official dealings.

President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker said:

“There will be no new enlargement in the next five years. The EU needs to mark a pause in its enlargement process so that we can consolidate what has been done with 28.”

3^rd June, George Laird wrote that the EU needed to carry an assessment and call a halt to EU expansion until such time an assessment was finished and new direction established.

George Laird right again!

Time for a quote:

“My problem is that I have too many talented people and not enough Cabinet positions”.

Alex Salmond.

Is there an explanation for the Sturgeon failure on the EU other than gross stupidity?

Some time ago, I received a rather snide comment on the blog from a cybernat which stated, ‘why did I think I should be the SNP leader at Glasgow City Council when you have never even served on a Community Council?’

Surely the answer to that question is rather obvious now?

Maybe unpopular Nicola Sturgeon should apply to join a community council to get some ‘experience’ because apparently that is considered by some Nationalists as entry level for those of low calibre and little ability. She could sit there talking shite in a surrounding and atmosphere were hugginess and empathy abound.

Unpopular Nicola Sturgeon just an embarrassment.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University