A LETTER FROM MUNGUIN
Now, let me put it as simply as I can.
Yes, we Scots had our referendum and bit by bit we got a majority to favour independence. But then your old boss, of whom more later, too scared to come to Scotland himself, sent his friend Gordon Brown to sell us a pack of nonsense about federalism and respect and equal partnerships, etcetera ad infinitum. So you won. Félicitations!
You’ll doubtless remember, Murdo, that during that referendum campaign, alongside threatening that jobs would be lost if Scotland left the UK… you know, like UK tax office jobs and passport office jobs (which have closed anyway; off to Croydon), and UK forces’ jobs moving to England (which they have done anyway), and pensioners losing their pensions (which was an out and out lie and would never have happened, even Iain Duncan Smith had to admit), you also told us categorically that we would be out of the EU if we were out of the UK.
And the Tories told us that would be a disaster. Indeed so did Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Presumably 62% of the Scottish population agreed with you. Of course, I don’t know how you personally felt about the EU, but your boss and your bosses boss were adamant. It would be a catastrophe for Scotland.
Anyway, when the result was announced and we had indeed, as you point out, lost, the First Minister resigned and Scots accepted the referendum result. Sad but resigned.
But we all know that the promises that Brown made on behalf of Cameron and Miliband were not kept. The vow was as solid as the Liberal Democrat pledge not to increase student fees in England. And on top of the previously mentioned items, the shipbuilding that had been promised in the heat of the referendum debate had been toned down and put on hold.
At the time of the referendum in 2014, the polls generally showed that the likely outcome of the 2015 British election would be a win for the Labour Party. But to make sure that the Tories wouldn’t lose seats to UKIP, your boss’s now departed-to-richer-pickings-and-a-life-of-leisure boss, promised a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. That would put at risk something so important that, you’ll remember, Murdo, we were told it would be a disaster if we lost it. (Indeed at some point Cameron mentioned a third world war if I remember rightly.) But anyway, it would stymie UKIP, so what the hell. Having, against expectations, won the 2015 election, Cameron had little choice but to announce that a referendum would be held on Britain’s membership of the EU.
In the meantime, there was a General Election in Scotland. And in that Election, various parties had, in their manifestos, a commitment to another referendum if Scotland were taken out of the EU against its will. Among these parties were The SNP and the Green Party. You may also be aware that, although the Ruth Davidson Party did well in these elections, they ended up with fewer than half the number of seats of the two parties which had a second referendum in their manifestos.
Your boss’s ex-boss lost his referendum, although he never thought for a second he would (people like him don’t lose things, not with Eton and Oxford and being related to the queen on their CV), and so, like the ex-First Minister, he resigned. In his case, in favour of the lucrative after-dinner circuit. Initially the new prime minister said that she recognised that Scotland had voted very differently from the UK and that she would listen to what the Scottish government had to say. The Scottish government prepared a highly detailed document on withdrawal, proposing special conditions for Scotland so that Scotlands voice to stay in both the UK and the EU could be heard and its wishes respected. Within an hour of its release, it had been dismissed by your Westminster colleagues.
Once again the respect promised was found to be wanting in substance. England voted narrowly for withdrawal, so “shut up Scotland (and Northern Ireland and Gibraltar), we really don’t much care what you want. And as for the lies we told during YOUR referendum… well, get over it. This is a great opportunity for Britain and America to take over leading the world again”. Hmmmm.
So yes, Murdo, there will be another referendum. Because that is what the Scottish people voted for.
Just in passing, though, I think that when you throw stones, you should be mindful of the fact you live in a glass house. (Who’s your orange faced mate, by the way?)
Lord knows Scotland is far from perfect, Murdo. In probably every single respect it could be better. But a criticism from someone who belongs to the party that has broken the social security system and presided over thousands of deaths of people denied benefits, that has overseen a health service cracking and at breaking point and a prison service where the prisoners appear to be in charge, not to mention the potential catastrophe that is Brexit, and a long list of other faults, is ill-placed to criticise.
Kindest regards
Munguin
Who voted for this clown?
Oops – sorry, no one did, he got in on the list after being soundly rejected a number of times by the voters.
One way things could improve is if we all got a say on who was on the lists, but of course the Electoral system is reserved to Westminster isn’t it?
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The SNP gives its members a vote on who is on the list. I don;t know about other parties.
I’ve never voted for any other party but the SNP on the list, so I’ve never even tried to find out who is standing.
Murdo used to seem reasonably sane. His idea of a new right of centre party separate fromt eh Tories appealed. and seemed like common sense.
Eventually Ruth saw the sense of that and at the last election it was the Ruth Davidson for Opposition Party.
In the meantime Murdo’s sense seems to have deserted him… or maybe it’s just Twitter brings out the worst in people (me included).
He seems to tweet a load of real trash, like this one, and the corker about the Queen’s Eleven. I suspect Liz doesn’t do Twitter. Just as well for Murdo. I doubt she confided to him which football team she supports.
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The electoral system is devolved to Scotland by sections 3-12 of the Scotland Act 2016.
These sections don’t yet have legal force because they haven’t been “commenced” by the issue of the relevant Statutory Instrument.
Once commenced any change to the electoral system will require a supermajority of 2/3 of MSPs.
We could change the Regional list system to an ‘open list’, where list MSPs would have to get personal votes, as well as party ones. A minor and simple tweak which would improve things. The trouble of course being the requirement for a 2/3 majority. Either Labour or Tory MSPs would need to agree. Seems unlikely!
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/11/contents/enacted
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_list
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Oh, thank you, Derick.
That means that 86 MSPs would have to vote for the changes. As you suggest it would involve co-operation from either the Tories or Labour and as they rely so heavily on the list it is unlikely that they would want it changed in any way that might make it difficult for their so-called big hitters.
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Brilliant – simply brilliant. I haven’t commented anywhere for a long time, this is exactly the type of article we need.
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Oh… Thank you very much. I’m fair pumped! 🙂
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Tris
Murdo Fraser is a prick, pure and simple, and while I normally tend to not call people names as it doesn’t really help, I have pretty much given up that rule when it come to Tory xenophobes and democracy deniers like Murdo The Queens Eleven Fraser. I wish him never ending diarrhoea and I mean never ending.
I hate the UK, I didn’t watch the BAFTAS last night but saw the Ken Loach speech, first thing I thought was Jakey Rowling clapping must have really insulted the man and then that so very few of the luvvies actually did clap. We are living in a yoon hell now. I have just been debating with a Liberal via his blog, he uses GERS figures for everything and is basically I am alright jack screw the rest of the you, you know the type. Scotland is too poor too wee and not as bright as Liberals are. I find it all so depressing that the yoons just don’t get it, they are British end of and the killer is the British establishment wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire. But they don’t care.
They are all full of hate now but as Wings pointed out today, they are also very afraid, the Historywoman person in his article is some piece of work, how disgusting is she in her views but she is the establishment now. I might not be a member of any political party, and never will be again, but the SNP/Greens are our only hope now. As you say Scotland is not perfect and I suspect we could do many things better, if not all, but as long as we are part of the UK we can’t even begin to try. We are just pawns in the rich mans game, as are the yoons, only we see it for what it is while they would eat shit if they were told to and it’s wrapped in a Tunnocks teacake wrapper.
I also hate the list that see people like Murdo Fraser and all of Scottish Labour bar one get elected, its a slap in the puss to us voters, we need PR and while the SNP would suffer a little it would at least be representative of the vote and hopefully stop people like him.
Bruce
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The old History prof is a worrying person.
I note from Stuart’s post that she didn’t actually threaten death to anyone, but she seems to have friends who do, and she seems not to chide them, or unfollow them when they openly threaten death to independence supporters.
I note that a lot of them would now vote to have rid of the Scottish parliament altogether. I wonder how popular that would be when Hunt was in charge of our health service and when our social care service was in the same mess as theirs.
There were a lot of things I could have added to the list of stuff that is wrong with England/Wales under Tory rule, but as Labour say in England, but not here, a lot of it is down to lack of funds. They seem to be determined to make the ordinary to poor person pay for the folly of the banking elites and the top people, who escaped austerity.
The failure of the top people has resulted in this dreadful European-wide “alt-right”, fascism we are seeing. Not to mention the orange faced idiot.
I’d love to see a change in the voting system. If someone consistently fails to be elected as an individual, I’m not entirely certain it is fair that they should over and over get the seat on the list.
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Difficult. Is it any better if they don’t stand for a constituency at all but just swan in on the list alone, like Sarwar?
And what aout Patrick Harvie? Would you insist that small parties like the Greens who will never win a FPTP seat have to keep changing their leader and can never nurture an experienced “big beast” in parliament? A continuous stream of inexperienced newies?
The fact is that when you have PR, parties with low support will get people elected. That’s what it’s all about. I don’t think you can then fairly say, you have low support so you souldn’t be here.
Of course Murdo is asolutely crass, but the Tories have a right to put up who they like and if people vote Tory on the list, well the list is there to be inspected, they know what they’re getting.
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Yes, I agree, it is difficult, Morag.
I think that the system is less than perfect. I certainly see what you’re saying about both Sarwar and Patrick Harvie. I also think that the system is fairer than the FPTP of Westminster.
I’m not sure that people check to see who’s on the list. And the list candidates tend not to get much publicity. (Of course in some cases, they don’t need it, because they are high profile people…like Sarwar, Harvie, Dugdale and Fraser.) In lesser known cases, it may be possible to find their name, even a potted CV, but what does that really tell you? And in reality, who is going to study all the lists and potted CVs of all the candidates in all the possible parties?
I suspect that most people vote on the list for “the party”. Their vote may help the first, even the second, maybe the third, person on the list. It’s a reasonable way of balancing out parliament, which would have originally been hugely Labour dominated and now would be hugely SNP dominated. Neither is good for democracy.
It is just an irritant when someone like Sarwar who could get elected as an MP can get himself a place at the top of the list because he knows the right people and needs a job.
In the current situation it’s unlikely to change, but in an independent Scotland we need to research a fairer way of electing our representatives. Of course no way is perfect. But maybe we should look at STV?
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You do not have to belong to a political party to be in a Yes group. Join one of them. Independence transcends party politics.
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David – that is the plan once things get going again.
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Yes, any party or none.
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Murdo who??????
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Ha ha ha
Murdo the Twitter..well Twit anyway.
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I’m not sure what his problem is, exactly. An independent Scotland will still vote Conservative to some degree or other and he’ll still likely get elected. In fact, I would imagine that the Tories would do even better in an independent Scotland than they do now because they’ll have the option to tailor their policies. I’d even say it’s in his own self interest to promote independence. His current stance, though, is so without nuance it would be hard for him to even stand for an independent parliament without being labelled hypocrite.
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After independence there should be the normal spread of political parties that exist in democratic societies. But that is perhaps one of the things that the Murdos and the tRuthless will be well aware of. After independence it is highly unlikely that there will be a place for people who loath their homeland so much that they want it to be just a region of an alien land. How could voters trust people who cannot prove their patriotism?
tRuthless will get her safe English seat – or ermine. Murdo will be forgotten. Wullie Rennie will be chucked aff the bus. Kezia’s successor ( for when they are humped in May she will have to go ) will only have a voice if he/she brings Labour on board the Yes campaign. And we will all live happily ever after.
This particular PR system is not likely to produce stable government. We are going to have to look at that again after independence. Perhaps the German model would be better. Like others say, how can we have a system where people get elected who are comprehensively rejected by voters?
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Yes, I think you’re right.
There will be left and right and centre and green and maybe even some nut jobs.
I guess that there will be people who hate the idea of an independent Scotland, and those who hate that enough may go live in England. Maybe some who loathe the EU will go to live in England too.
But of course, many English and Welsh people may decide that they would like to come live here. Possibly some Irish people too, but they are lucky; they already have the right to live in Ireland. (Another wee problem for May as these people automatically have dual nationality and have every right to work and live in Ireland.)
Do you think that Kezia will be replaced? Who do you think will get her job?
This is good :
https://iainmacwhirter.wordpress.com/2017/02/10/as-the-brexit-cliff-edge-looms-scots-face-the-hardest-choice/
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All this makes perfect sense, unfortunately the current Party reps in Scotland don’t seem to be on the same wavelength!
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Hi Anne,
I think they are just as you say, representatives of their head office in London. They say what they have been told to say. (Although, in fairness, Kezia seems to hate Jeremy so much that she goes out of her way to say the opposite of what he says on many matters, but I suspect she’s just waiting and hoping for someone more like Jim Murphy or LORD ffoulks).
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He’s just saying what London tells him to say, I suspect.
Albeit a rather silly person in London.
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Aye, well written tris. But of course as we on this side of the argument are only too aware, Fraser is merely one brick,(did I say brick?), in the establishment wall, a said wall which is collapsing faster than a public building built by the unionists using P.F.I/P.P.P.
As usual, the real opposition is not demented No supporters, but a compliant M.S.M, who regurgitate their nonsensical assertations, which change frequently, on a daily basis. If, I know I know, we had an unbiased media, who conducted a proper forensic examination of their policies, then the entire edifice would collapse like a house of cards.
Since will never happen, for me its back on the streets, chapping doors, trying to convince as many people as possible that independence is the only way forward for Scotland.
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Thanks Alex.
I think they are lucky that the media won’t question them, by and large.
Yep.
It all begins again soon, I think.
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I admire your patience in writing that letter, Tris. I’m afraid that if I was given that task it would have been a much shorter letter and one of the two words it contained would have been “off”.
I really hope that, by the time the next campaign actually starts & I have to go out talking to people again, that I’ve recovered my ability to talk in a calm & rational manner to Nos and undecideds because at the moment all I want to do is grab them by the…collar… & shake some sense into them.
Deep breaths, Hugh, deep breaths…
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Calm, Hugh.
When the time comes, you’ll do it.
We all know that shaking the bejesus out of them isn’t the way to win folk over, so you need to practise it in front of the mirror (although when no one else is in for preference!!)
🙂
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Oi … Murdo … who don’t you just f**k aff ya useless greed driven useless ignorant member of a xenophobic party!
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Oh, there was me thinking you liked the bloke. Would I be correct in thinking I was mistaken?
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Sent from Mail for Windows 10 Perfectly put, well done on your article on Murdo. He is a Bigot, and I do believe he is a member of the Orange Lodge. Can you do something on YES power ? We as a nation, have come along way towards Independence however, At Indyref 2, WM, every Right wing idiot, their aunts and uncles will be telling Disaster stories. YES side have the power of purchase, by that I mean don’t buy things that are on the NO side. Such as Sun, Record, Mail or Express. Tell people which brands are for no, which companies are against us. And explain buying the Record just for the sports pages, is still Buying the Record.
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Yes, as much as you can I’d say support those who support us. Don’t cut off your nose, though, and let the bathroom tap leak because you WON’T go to B and Q !!!
Be prepared for insults… Sticks and Stanes!
We have come a long way…still a long way to go though.
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Well said that penguin! I’m rather worried about some of the more, let’s say, colourful yoons at the moment. There seems to be some incitement to benevolence violence. Hopefully it’s just eejits bumping gums on twitter. But the Yes movement needs to caw canny and not rise to the bait.
The MSM is a big enemy – I agree if we had even a remotely unbiased media we’d be collecting our Scottish passports n the morning. Indyref2 needs to counter the lies more effectively next time. It’s all very well being positive but demolish the lies too.
Anyway this Yes (non party member) supporter awaits activation for Indy campaigning.
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Eek where on earth did benevolence come from? Jeez- delete. Though tbf we could do with an outbreak of benevolence.
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I wondered… but I got your meaning.
🙂
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Munguin wonders if Murdo will take the time to reply, PP.
I’m seriously worried about violence threats. I got two personally during the last campaign. Fortunately they were, on both occasions, from people that I could have dealt with. But it was disturbing none-the-less. (in one case it was some old fellow ranting about being disrespectful to the queen…sheeeesh!)
But I’m worried about violence being apparently, if not sanctioned, at least overlooked, by “establishment” figures like History Woman.
And in some of the tweets, it’s not just violence, but death threats. People looking for bloggers’ addresses.
The police should look into that. And they talk about cybernats!
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Well Stu Campbell tweeted he’d spent a couple of hours speaking with the cops so I suspect he’s taking it seriously. Getting it on the record so to speak. Very sensible.
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I’m pleased to see that Stuart has taken it seriously.
It’s probably just weird folk in the bedrooms late at night, but best to alert the police.
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Tris,
That was some brilliant diatribe. Seriously,whilst it is amongst the many good things you have written here, there was genuine outrage shining through. Not a side of our good host that I have seen too often.
Just to be clear, I share your outrage but perhaps not your incisive wit.
Given that they have no where else to go, I think the more ‘wired to the moon’ unionists are attempting to get a violent response from our side. Unfortunately for them, we have had, what, five years or remaining calm when this sort of utter idiocy is spouted at us. Did we respond after the George Square nonsense? No, we did not. Will we respond to Unionists trying to rile us. No, we will not.
Polls are gradually – Oh! so gradually – going in our direction, and that is even after winning folk over, the ‘low hanging fruit’ if you like. It will be tough, but by no means impossible.
I kind of trust Nicola to call this right.
Thanks for all you do.
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Well, thank you, Douglas.
Yes, sometimes I do get hacked off when they spout some of their more ridiculous nonsense.
All this nonsense about the SNP ruining Scotland is just what his “friends” want to hear. It bears no relationship to the truth.
But it irritates me that a man who gets £60,000 of our money should spend so much time running Scotland down when his colleagues in England are dismantling their way of life, and where they have the power, ours too.
Although it’s nothing to do with Murdo, the threats of violence, ignored (and therefore given a tacit nod) by people who really should know better are slightly scary.
I too trust Nicola…well, more than I trust most people.
🙂
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I suppose we are entering a sort of end game here. You quote, sort of:
“Although it’s nothing to do with Murdo, the threats of violence, ignored (and therefore given a tacit nod) by people who really should know better are slightly scary.”
Indeed it is. It is all they have left.
So far we have been in the Mahatma Gandhi camp. And I hope we stay there.
For I do not want anyone to go this way:
Our opponents would seem to fantasize about that.
It was satirical, well at least I think it was satirical.
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Murdo for king of Scotland (within our glorious union of course )
er King Yoon in fact he’s great able to get the nats steaming outta
their big lugs just by one wee twitter imagine iffen he dun two ha ha
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Are you somewhat unwell nikostratos? Just asking.
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Alas Niko is as well as he’s ever going to be. His moments of lucidity are getting few and far between these days.
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Keep up, Niko.
As he appears not to have much else to do, that’s how he spends a lot of his day. Tweeting!
Almost always utterly factless.
:0)
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conana nasty as ever using ad hominemn attacks against me as usual
sad !
Still as Murdo eludes the remain camp won the most overwhelmingly
massive result in all the history of Scottish Independence referenda.
so conclusive it crushed all idea of the silly notion of Scotland leaving
our sacred glorious eternal union for ever or even a generation
normal peoples and Alex Salmonds idea of a generation
[ C, + sing/pl verb ] a period of about 25 to 30 years, in which most human
babies become adults and have their own children:
contrast with the nats
generation which lasts about 2 1/2 hours or so
unless they won in which case the vote would last
forever and a day nats = hypocrites yeah !
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Aye Niko. Life’s a bugger with those damned Nats in power, huh?
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The behaviour of unionists in Scotland,particularly the Tory variety who believe in the independence of individuals,can only be explained by their denial that Scotland is a country.
Of course,they know that outside their secretive little societies that they cannot be seen to admit this,so they come up with all sorts of twisted logic to support that position.
Better Together and all that sort of nonsense.
Better to be governed by a cabal of delusional right wing imperialists in London than by ourselves.
Notice,these morons always claim that Britain and America will lead the world again,not America and Britain.
In their dreams.
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bringiton,
Tories have no belief in the independence of individuals, they believe we should be led by their class that they always had a right to rule.
Labour lied when they said that they opposed that. It is tough for folks to realise that the two – apparently opposing forces in our society were in cahoots.
There will be scream from both sides, but, the evidence stacks up against both of them.
We need to move on. For we are far better than either of these options.
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Spot on douglas. But of course the M.S.M will never point out that fact. Why? Because they are part and parcel of the same ruling class.
Does anyone else believe that with some of the unionist supporters now apparently advocating violent acts against anyone who disagrees with them, that this is due to the fact this particular theme was given free rein during the European Referendum campaign, in that the target on that occasion was immigration?
It seems to me that this hatred has now spilled over, as far as Scotland is concerned, onto the prospect of a second Scottish Independence Referendum.
I know that during last year’s Scottish Election campaign, my M.S.P was sent a death threat, not only involving himself, but also threatening to kill his family. Since his home address is known locally, he reported it to the Police, but for whatever reason it did not result in a prosecution.
I’m only a foot soldier for the S.N.P, but it has occurred to me when I’m out delivering leaflets on my own, as I was yesterday, I could be a target for any nut who disagrees with our aims.
The inflammatory language being used by some politicians, and others in the public eye, can only have one consequence, and that is to make Indyref2 as violent as possible,and to stir their extremists to acts which were previously thought to have no place in a political discourse.
As far as Westminster is concerned, this is a fight to retain Scottish wealth, to keep then Scottish people subservient, and in that vein, they will employ any, and I really do mean any, means of making sure we never become an independent nation.
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The EU referendum has stirred up hatred that was probably already there, but seeing it daily in the low brow tabloids which now should include the Daily Barclay Brothers has given this hate an air of respectability. So much so that people are leaving the UK in droves because they are frightened of the mob.
And now death threats to people like Stuart. If you legitimise hate, seriously, that is what you’re going to get.
If you can, try to go out in twos, or groups where there is someone not too far away, and take your phone so you can record any violent threats and involve the police.
The English had an MP murdered by a right wing thug. And some of the newspapers were sympathetic to his situation… worrying that his house was going to be taken by immigrants. So instead of a murderer he was to an extent treated like a victim.
We need to ensure that it stops now.
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We all know just what section of Yoonery these threats emanate from, and how they never proceed unless they are mob handed and drunk. Who can forget the bravoes of George Square and their assaults on teenage girls?
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Ah yeah … I remember
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2762876/Union-flag-waving-demonstrators-make-Nazi-salute-Glasgow-victory-celebrations-Police-separate-rival-groups-tension-increases.html
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FAO Murdo Fraser:
Another election?
Let me put this as simply as I can.
You had your election.
You lost 7 times.
Now shut up
and sort out the mess you’ve made of Scotland.
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What’s guid tae gie’s no ill tae tak
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Note to all: If I missed any comments, please excuse me.
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There are, quite a few.
Murdo’s a twat, and Niko’s a wind up merchant too.
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But we love him really…. Not Murdo.
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Alex Beveridge,
You said:
“The inflammatory language being used by some politicians, and others in the public eye, can only have one consequence, and that is to make Indyref2 as violent as possible,and to stir their extremists to acts which were previously thought to have no place in a political discourse.”
Couldn’t agree more. It is all they have left. We, I must be braver. I will not allow bullies to undermine us.
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Agreed, Douglas, and we must stay civil at all costs.
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