And So Labour Pushes Itself Ever Deeper into Irrelevance

Welfare vote will 'haunt' Labour says SNP

The SNP has said Scottish Labour will pay a heavy price for not voting in greater numbers against planned welfare cuts by the UK government.

The prediction comes after plans to cut £12bn pounds from the welfare budget passed their first hurdle in the Commons on Monday night.

Forty-eight Labour's 232 MPs voted against the package.

SNP MP Hannah Bardell said Labour's position was a ''shambles'' which would "haunt" them at the Holyrood election.

The Commons backed the Welfare Reform and Work Bill by 308 to 124 votes.

The SNP voted firmly against the UK government's controversial proposals in the Welfare Reform Bill.

There were 48 Labour rebels but most, including Scotland's sole Labour MP Ian Murray, abstained on the orders of acting leader Harriet Harman.

Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham said his party made "a mess" of its approach and was "crying out for leadership".

He said he had agreed to abstain on the key vote because he was "not prepared to split the party".

...

"Labour have completely abandoned any pretence of being a party of social justice and progress - just as they did when they so shamefully voted to support George Osborne's £30bn more austerity cuts."

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was "sadly not" surprised by the party's decision to abstain.

The SNP leader added: "Labour seem to have lost any sense of purpose or any sense of direction."

"It really does beg a fundamental question, if Labour is not about opposing a Tory government that is waging an ideological assault not on skivers who don't want to work, but on people who are working hard on low incomes, if Labour is not about opposing that, what is Labour for?

"Last night just proves that Labour has lost any sense of purpose and it will be the SNP who increasingly will form the real opposition in the House of Commons."

The SNP really aren't doing themselves any favours in terms of public support or sympathy south of the border, when they partake in childish stunts like this, but they do have something of a point about being the 'real opposition' when the Labour party continually stakes its flag just slightly to the left of wherever the Tories are at any given point in time, and when they keep declining opportunities to actually oppose the Conservatives, begging time and again, what the hell are they for ?  There are other actual leftist parties in the UK, and the Lib Dems can claim to be the party of civil liberties, but Labour ?

Short of a personality to dominate the party, someone with the magician-like qualities to successfully convince the public that they are a centre-left party whilst pushing time-and-again centre-right (at best) policies, there is no future in 'New Labour.'  'New Labour' was Tony Blair, and worked solely because of Tony Blair.  There may or may not be much of a future in a principled 'Old Labour', but 'New Labour' is done, and it is the likes of Harman, Cooper, and Kendall that are clinging to the past, not the new intake of MP's who voted their conscience.

Which leaves us with 'friend of Hamas' Corbyn (who did vote against) and Brave Sir Andy, who really really wanted to oppose the Conservatives, but didn't want 'to split the party and make the job of opposition even harder' and so boldly abstained from voting Aye or No.

He added: "It was a mess, wasn't it? The run-up to this vote was a bit of a mess. It is quite clear that this is a party now that is crying out for leadership and that is what I have shown in recent days."

Um, yes it was.  Yes it does.  And no, you haven't.  Actually, I suspect that this could have been a crucial breakout moment for Burnham had he taken the lead on strongly opposing the Conservatives' plans.  As is, voters in the leadership-contest for Labour, have their Blairite candidates already, have their Old Labour candidate, and then have poor Andy Burnham, who like the party as a whole, stands for what exactly ?, and, whose bold efforts to not split the party will merely undermine his own appeal, whilst doing nothing to prevent the split of the party.

I find myself wondering, what if there were no Labour party ?  What if it were left to the Liberals and the likes of the SNP and the Greens to define the opposition to the Tories, and to provide alternative votes at the ballot-box ?  Would the UK be any worse off if Labour simply ceased to exist ?  But then the hypotheticals of how we might have come to a world without Labour lead me to 'A Wonderful Life'*-style musings about what the world might look like had it never had a Tony Blair.  And so tempting as that line of thought is, I'm not sure I want to go there at the moment.

* à la Fry & Laurie obviously.

I'll Say It Again: Cameron Killed the Union

This thing with EVEL (English Votes for English Laws) is just stupid and petty.  With English MP's already making up the vast majority of seats in the House of Commons, it isn't likely to have any practical impact, and is essentially just a sop to English nationalists* and Tory MP's, as a sort of 'revenge' for the degree of powers devolved to Scotland, and as an attempt at placating the anger at the concessions that were desperately made during the last minutes of the referendum for independence.

More than petty, it's childish.  And it was utterly insane at the time to start talking up EVEL when the votes of the referendum had scarcely been counted, but the Tories could have quietly dropped the matter after the election, were they serious about maintaining the union, which increasingly, it would seem they are not.  And were they a party of grownups, which also, clearly they are not.

And to push it through by simply changing the rules of parliamentary procedure, when this is something of such constitutional significance is disrespectful not just of the Scots, but of the entire nation.

But I'll let the Indy speak to the matter, in this Q&A from an article which they have headlined 'Nicola Sturgeon threatens second independence referendum over 'English votes for English laws', which is the way everyone seems to be framing it, though I haven't seen an exact quote to support the assertion of a threat, beyond that she suggested it would increase support in Scotland for another referendum.  Which it obviously would.

Q&A: English votes for English laws

Q. So is that it – the West Lothian riddle, finally solved?

A. Not quite. Grayling has merely restructured Westminster’s political games  rather than deliver a  genuine solution. The Tory MP Martin Vickers asked where Grayling’s “stumbling” was heading towards. The answer is either a federalist UK, or Scotland leaving the UK.  No democratic chamber where there are two classes of members is likely to endure.

Q. Surely the government has thought hard on this?

A. No they haven’t.  After the panic-ridden deployment of the “vow” to keep Scotland in the UK club, it took Downing Street only a couple of hours to wreck any post-referendum unity. William Hague was quickly despatched to sketch out a plan to placate English Tories angry at the concessions Scotland was about to be handed. John Redwood offered a plan strikingly similar to what Grayling told the Commons, suggesting not much more thought has gone into this.

Q. The SNP members in the Commons, all 56 of them – they’ll be furious?

A. Furious at what?  The SNP have a vested interest in seeing the union fail, and Pete Wishart  is entirely correct in forecasting Grayling has helped the nationalists’ cause. Extend the consequences of what this means and it’s hard to see how a Scottish MP can ever again become prime minister, or indeed hold many of the top ministry jobs. Limit the ambition of members of any club, and they’ll take their business elsewhere – in this case out of the union.

Q. Is the change really that big?

A. There will be three new legislative grand committees: one for English MPs, one for English and Welsh MPs, and one for English, Welsh and Northern Ireland MPs. They will dictate what a lot of the full House gets to vote on.

Q. So where are the Scots?

A. Exactly.

Q. The SNP MP Ian Blackford asked why the Conservatives are bothering with all this - why not just create an English Parliament ?

A. Good question. Scotland already resembles a one-party state.  The nationalists have tight control of Holyrood.  Labour, the LibDems and the Tories all have only one MP north of the border. This isn’t an English Parliament, but it’s close.

Hundreds of years of unity destroyed in such a short space of time.  And peoples who have intermingled (genetically, culturally, linguistically) for generation upon generation upon generation, now likely to be artificially divided along the lines of ancient arbitrary borders that haven't held that much significant relevance for centuries.  And David Cameron's party would seem to have destroyed it in the course of just one electoral cycle.


* And it still seems a little bizarre to me that there could even be such a thing as English nationalism.  The degree to which a truly Welsh or Scottish identity exists separate from a British identity is vastly overstated, never mind the degree to which one could separate out an English identity.  Other than geography, what does it really mean to be 'English' and not 'British' ?  No-one seems to know.

Tradition, Tradition, Tradition for Us; Austerity for Ye

So, the Houses of Parliament, are crumbling, and in order to save the British taxpayers a few billion (not to mention several decades) on the repairs, an independent committee has suggested, that either both Houses, or Commons & Lords in turns should temporarily relocate...

...which has inevitably brought about/renewed the question: Why couldn't parliament be relocated...permanently.


But ministers don't want to consider even a temporary move, of course.

Leader of the House Mr Grayling said he was "not warm" to the idea of relocating."My very clear view is this building is an important part of our national heritage and our democracy, and it must remain as such," he said during Business Questions in the Commons.

Can't have change now, can we ?  National heritage !

There must be no “self-indulgent” reforms to parliamentary procedures as part of the expected refurbishment plan for the Palace of Westminster, Sir Alan Duncan has said.

The Conservative former minister told the Times: “What would be catastrophic is if self-indulgent people who know little about parliament say ‘let’s have electronic voting’ or ‘let’s have a semi-circular chamber’. I’m absolutely with Churchill after the place was bombed who said ‘let’s keep the traditions’. The institution is bigger than anybody in it.”

 A report and accompanying statement from the House of Commons Commission will be published tomorrow laying out the options to renovate Parliament.

Tradition is the all-important thing in British government isn't it ?  I mean, sure, there have been some changes over the centuries, but only ever incremental change, and nothing too recent, because, well of the importance of tradition.

---

The function of highest court of appeal now performed by the recently-created 'Supreme Court' traditionally rested with the House of Lords.  But you changed that in 2005.

Membership in the House of Lords was traditionally via hereditary peerage, but, in your desire to further weaken the House and increase the power of the Commons and the Prime Minister, you reformed that in 1999, and brought in mostly political appointees for the Lords.*

The traditional right to Habeas corpus is many centuries old, but you did away with that in the name of 'Terror' back in 2005.

The tradition of fixed-term elections has been around less than four years, dating to the Act in 2011.

The traditional central rule of Scotland from Westminster dates back to 1707, and that of Wales to the 1500's, but you re-established the Scottish parliament and established a National Assembly for Wales in 1998.

---

And these are just some of the changes that come to me off the top of my head.


And for a lot of people, the traditions of the Houses look, frankly, silly, embarrassing even.  See for example the row over the SNP clapping, versus the traditional braying and shouting and jeering.  Never mind how the British people see the daily antics in Parliament, how do you think it looks to people in other countries ?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/queens-speech-snp-told-clapping-5772809

And as for the actual buildings themselves, they only date back to the 1840's, which is nothing in the context of British history.  The fact of which wouldn't hurt their repurposing as a tourist-attraction, given the gothic design, and the common assumption that they are far older.

And frankly, I don't see any more reason for Parliament necessarily having to be based in London, than the BBC, large parts of which have been banished to other regions of the country, especially Manchester.  Television Centre is arguably as iconic as the Houses of Parliament (albeit rather newer and a little less well known, especially outside the UK), but you sold that in 2012.  At least you held on to Broadcasting House...

And you keep talking about the fact that the other regions of England, including in the North, are under-represented.  What better way to do something about that than relocating Parliament to Birmingham or Manchester ?  It'll also help with Gideon's notion of a 'Northern Powerhouse'.


In fact, I'm not sure there are any good arguments against relocating Parliament, whether simply to a newer more modern facility more 'fit for purpose' (to use a horrible hackneyed phrase so beloved of British MP's) or to also move the body out of London altogether.  Other than...it's tradition.

Good arguments, that is, as opposed to the self-interest of politicians, who might be inconvenienced by having to move, and who might feel their status diminished by having to work out of Birmingham or Leeds say.  Forcing BBC staff to relocate to Manchester, no problem.  Allowing British jobs to be outsourced to the likes of India, who cares ?  But MP's, Never !  How dare we suggest that they not be allowed to continue to shout and bray in the traditional chamber with 'its magic quality' ?  How dare we deny them their taxpayer-funded second homes in desirable London postcodes ?.  How dare we threaten bringing them into the twenty-first century, one where so many jobs have done away with physical offices and desks altogether ?


In the end, they won't move.  Not permanently at any rate.  And refurbishing the creaky old Victorian edifice will probably cost a lot more than seven billion pounds.  But the more we can have these sorts of conversations the better; and the more chance there may be for some actual change, and change that benefits the people, rather than just the powers that be at that.


* And note that as a result of this, and David Cameron's attempts to stuff the House with so many new peers, that it is now so physically overcrowded that it 'risks the House being unable to do its job'.

** Yes, I am well aware that most of the (fairly radical & questionable) constitutional changes mentioned above happened under Tony Blair's watch.  And ?

*** When I say 'you'  or 'your' above, I am referring to Parliament generally, not specifically to Mister Grayling or Sir Duncan, or even to that fascist fuck Blair.

**** Oh, and 'forty years' !!!  WTF ?!

Drill Baby, Drill...

Nicola Sturgeon will today call on the UK Government to consult urgently on incentives to boost exploration in the North Sea.

The First Minister will make the demand at the annual Oil and Gas UK Conference in Aberdeen.

Figures show that North Sea exploration last year reached its lowest level in at least two decades, with 14 explorations wells drilled compared to 44 in 2008.

The Scottish Government claims the Westminster Government has yet to deliver any follow up action after committing at the end of 2014 to further work on options for supporting exploration through the tax system.

The First Minister will today suggest that financial incentives, such as a new exploration tax credit or an expansion of the investment allowance, will help companies to find new oil.

She will also point to the example of the Johan Sverdrup field in Norwegian waters, which was discovered in 2010 in a mature area which had previously been explored without success.

Speaking ahead of conference, Ms Sturgeon said: “North Sea exploration needs urgent support. You only need to look to Norway to see the impact that effective stewardship and the right policies can have on exploration, where more than 40 exploration wells were drilled in 2014. 

Of coouurrse she will.

Y'know what it is, don'tcha ?: The evil English are blocking new exploration because they want to deny you the revenues for independence.  That, or maybe the oil isn't there to find.  If it were, we'd be drilling.

From the Arctic to the Falklands, from Canadian oil-sands to fracking, energy-companies are looking at just about every possible option to extract every possible molecule of fossil-fuels from the Earth (Never mind the fact that doing do so will likely doom humanity).  And we've been drilling in this part of the world since the 'sixties.

Although, actually, now that I think about it, I'm torn: On the one hand, I do think we need desperately to move away from fossil-fuels.  But, on the other hand, maybe if we gave you your exploratory rigs, and they turned up dry, you might realise how quixotic your dream of an independent Scotland truly is.  Come back to Britain, Nicky !

Is David Starkey Senile ?

David Starkey criticised after comparing SNP to Nazis

TV historian under fire after likening Saltire to swastika and the SNP's view of the English to Adolf Hitler's anti-Semitism.

David Starkey has come under fire after controversially comparing the Scottish National Party to the Nazis during an interview.

The historian and TV presenter said both groups have a “twisted cross” as their symbol – the Saltire and the swastika – and likened the SNP’s view of the English to Adolf Hitler’s anti-Semitism.

The comments were criticised as “irresponsible” and “deeply offensive” by a new SNP MP after the party won 56 of 59 seats in Scotland last month,

Mr Starkey made the comments during an interview with The Sunday Times, saying: “What are the points of comparison?

“Well, we have a political movement that has a single historic explanation for why your country is facing such terrible oppression; it's either Versailles or the Treaty of the Union.

“You have a particular group of people who are responsible for this; it is either the English or the Jews.”

He went on: “You have as a symbol the twisted cross: the saltire or the swastika. You have a passionate belief in economic self-sufficiency: known by the Nazis as autarky and the Scots as oil.

“And also you have the propensity of your elderly and middle-aged male supporters to expose their knees,' he said, passing comment on the traditional dress of Scotland and Germany.”

Nothing wrong in calling out the nationalism of the SNP, or nationalism generally.  Nothing wrong with a bit of hyperbole either, although comparing people to Nazis does generally tend to be frowned upon.

And as for the symbol of the SNP, well yes there was an unfortunate angled version of the clootie at one point, and indisputably, it does rather resemble a noose.  What the logo of the SNP is NOT is...the saltire.  It may be based upon the Saint Andrew's Saltire, yes.  As is...this old thing:

And actually, the offset Saint Patrick's Saltire in that flag could arguably be called a 'twisted cross' if you look at it just right.  Which says what about the Irish ? (Well nothing, obviously)  That flag by the way is the flag of the United Kingdom.  Maybe you forgot ?  What it is not is the symbol of the ruling Conservative party.  That would be this (which in its current incarnation is shamelessly nationalistic itself I must say):

And lest we forget, and I'm sometimes guilty of this myself, half the people of Scotland voted against the SNP in the last elections, however many seats they may have won under first-past-the-post.  The SNP is NOT Scotland.  And the Clootie is NOT the Saltire.

In other words:

≠

One is a logo for a political party.  One is...a flag.


Shit, now I'm starting to feel like Father Ted:

* And yes, I do realise that Starkey was probably speaking about the way in which the flag of Scotland is used a symbol by nationalists, just as the Cross of St. George is used by such disparate groups as the BNP and supporters of the England Football-Squad.  Yes, flags can be used as political symbols, but it's just stupid to conflate a political party with an entire nation, and if Starkey were talking about the Scottish people, rather than a political party, then what would we call that but racist ?

And while it might make some sense to compare the SNP's logo (the old angled version especially) to a 'twisted cross', it just doesn't make sense to me for the Saltire.  'Crooked cross', maybe (not that we know for certain at what angles the Romans placed their wooden crosses for the crucifixion to which all these crosses on flags symbolically refer).  But calling it a 'twisted' cross is just pushing the language to its limits.  Is perhaps 'twisting' it in fact.

Is Labour Listening to This ?

A fine speech from the unofficial opposition in Westminster, by a former member of the Labour party.

Wish I'd Said That...

Hmm, why does this sound so familiar to me ?...

SNP will form the real opposition to the Tories, says Angus Robertson

The SNP will be the “real and effective” opposition to the Conservatives, the party’s Westminster leader has said.

With Labour searching for a new leader since Ed Miliband’s resignation, Angus Robertson said the SNP would be a strong voice for people in Scotland and across the UK.

The SNP are now the third-biggest party in the House of Commons with 56 MPs taking their seats when parliament resumes this week.

Robertson said: “For the sake of people in Scotland and across the UK, it is vital that there is a strong and effective opposition to the Tory government at Westminster – and that is a responsibility the SNP are ready and willing to discharge.

“We will work in partnership with the Scottish government and members of the Scottish parliament, and are prepared to reach out across party lines at Westminster.

“Indeed, I believe that the SNP will form the real opposition to the Tories. Labour are leaderless at Westminster and mired in a leadership crisis in Scotland, but the issue is deeper than that.”

It's a mystery.

God Bless the Unofficial Opposition

This is how it's going to be, isn't it ?  Until perhaps Nicola & Alex finally admit to plans for a second referendum.

If we're honest, the stupid naïve nationalism aside, the SNP is the sort of party would-be Labour-voters (and many Greens and some Lib-Dems) were hoping for when they wrote in an 'x' besides the name of a far less credible and/or far more compromised and corrupted party in Westminster.  Thanks to the last-minute desperate fearmongering of Cameron & co., the Union may only have (last year's seemingly now pointless referendum not withstanding) a few years remaining.  But, in the interim, and with the usual slightly-less-right-wing suspects in Westminster politics utterly impotent, Nicola Sturgeon may well be the Union's best defender of traditional social-democratic values.  Alba gu bràth ?

Embers

Surely that's only eight...oh, the pie...,okay.  Well, I'm glad about...the...and...if...the.....no, your list just sucks.  And for the record, 'though Ed's fate was probably inevitable, and Nick can go fuck himself, I do feel slightly sorry for Nige'.  Almost looked on that stage like he might cry...

Well...yet another right-wing win then.  That's how many in a row now (yes, I am counting Tone' & co. obvs.) ?

But hey, congrats. to Nicola & the SNP and to the Scots generally.  May they long hold the Sassenachs' feet to the fire in Westminster.  And the Welsh, well, maybe it's time they took some lessons from their Scottish cousins.  Wales at least controls its own capital, unlike the Saudi-Arabian/Emirate/Russian enclaves that make up what used to be central London.  England died already, don'tcha know ?  Maybe it's time we gave it a decent burial ?

Stopping now before I start sounding too much like a 'kipper and before even getting started on Northern Ireland.  Happy next five years !

Breitbart haz a Brilliant Idea

(Headline courtesy Breitbart & UKIP, stupid captions courtesy MS Paint)

Well, if you're looking to convince that percentage of the electorate that isn't already convinced that LibLabCon are all the same, and further strengthen UKIP & the SNP into the bargain, then yeah, go for it !  And take care to make the most of what may be your last government for a good long while.

Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ

Be Afraid !

Very Afraid !

They're coming to take your jobswelfare ! (Cough)Bullshit(Cough)

Bomb.  Bomb.  Bomb !  Your City !  BOMB !

'Vengeance !' Your 'worst nightmare' !  Behold, the terrifying wee Scots warrior-queen practising her deadly martial arts in preparation to wiping out the Sassenach scourge !

Well, it was always really only a matter of time, wasn't it ?

What Family of Nations ?

Is it really just over half a year since the referendum for Scottish independence ?  Hard to believe perhaps with the Tories and the national UK media tripping over one another in England to come up with ever more outlandish scaremongering claims about Nicola Sturgeon & the SNP.  All the promises, all the pandering, all the out-right bribery...  And with the referendum so soon forgotten, and a general election underway in which the SNP could decide the balance of power, it's throw Scotland under the bus time.  If it weren't for Trident, I'd almost be rooting for the SNP myself at this point.

Debate !

Is it just me, or is there not something really weird about seeing Ed on stage, debating the leaders of the nationalist parties (& Greens), while Nick & Dave are nowhere in sight ?  Not sure if the optics are good or bad for Labour, just strange and oddly unbalanced.


Update: And the Telegraph phones in their pre-scripted responses to the debate.

Uh, no.

Nick Clegg's 'Coalition of Grievance'

Fuck you, Nick.

In Which The Telegraph Trolls Scotland

Oh goody, an editorial by Bruce Anderson in the Telegraph.  This the same 'duty to use Torture', 'Torture the wife and children' Bruce Anderson ?

Last Thursday’s debate will have little impact in England. Scotland is another matter. Nicola Sturgeon’s performance has made it inevitable that there will be a constitutional crisis in North Britain and that we will be arguing about Scottish independence for the foreseeable future. Even the French ambassador’s (disputed) account of her apparent attempts to manipulate the balance of power at Westminster will not damage her.

La Sturgeon was effective: clear, confident, combative without being shrill. One could add a fourth “c” word: cold. It is less a question of a splinter of ice in her heart, as a few scraps of heart tissue clinging to an icicle. She has all the human warmth of a tricoteuse waiting for a tumbril. But that was not so apparent during the debate. There is an irony. If she had given such a display as a Labour politician, she would now be the strong favourite to succeed Ed Miliband. As it is, she has expunged any prospect of a Labour recovery in Scotland.... 

 Not shrill you say.  Just a cold-hearted bitch, huh ?  And...' "c" word'...hilarious !

The Scottish public mood is extraordinary. Over the past few months, millions of Scots have been baying at the moon. The most bizarre fantasies have not only circulated; otherwise sane people have given them credence. There are supposed to be massively valuable oilfields whose existence the English are concealing. Though that is about as plausible as Enoch Powell belonging to a satanic cult, it is now part of everyday discourse.

Wait, WTF ?  So The Telegraph, the paper you are currently writing for, reported some bullshit about UKIP & Enoch Powell, and what ?  UKIP are a 'satanic cult' ?  Is that what you're saying ?

The Nat rumour machine also claims that there are large new oilfields to the west of Shetland. But there are three problems with that. First, oil companies have been prospecting in that area, without success. Second, if oil was found, it would be in rough seas. At anything like current oil prices, extraction would not be economic. Third, if Scotland were to secede, Shetland might try to opt out. Those are easy points to make. Scottish friends of mine have been doing so on the doorstep – and getting nowhere.

See nothing to fault here.  And if I was...

How can this be happening? The Scottish Enlightenment represented the triumph of rationalism, always in a calm and restrained fashion. Its philosophers and economists believed in using reason to improve the human condition, not to reshape human nature. They virtually invented free enterprise; they elevated Scotland to the intellectual leadership of Europe. In a splendid setting, the Castle on one side, the sea on the other, their contemporaries laid out the New Town. Calm, rational and beautiful buildings: it is the Enlightenment as architecture.

While it would be absurd to claim that every Scot has read Adam Smith, there were grounds for believing that Enlightenment values had influenced the Scottish character...

Adam Smith.  Of course, Adam Smith, the famous free-market fundamentalist...  A man whose modern-day fictional avatar bears as much resemblance to the original as the Coca Cola Santa Claus to Nikolaos of Myra.

Scots came to think of themselves as shrewd, canny, hard-headed. They persuaded much of the world to accept them at that valuation: a nation of Dickson McCunns. Where is the canniness now?

It was undermined by three historical developments. First came the end of the British Empire. Not only was it often a job-creation scheme for Scots....

Trolling, trolling, trolling...

Once a Royal Duke lowered the final Union Flag, it was easier for malcontents to claim that Scotland was England’s last colony. (Those sentiments are expressed in characteristic language during the film Trainspotting, much the most depressing portrait of Scotland ever written or broadcast.)

There followed the inevitable decline of heavy industry. Two generations ago, most Scots lived within 50 miles of a steelworks, a shipyard, a coalfield – or all three. A lot of Scots regarded that as part of their economic birthright. This came to a rapid end. But it is unfortunate that Margaret Thatcher was prime minister in the final phase....

It was not her fault that globalisation had changed the terms of trade.

Wait, so Globalisation is a thing that...just happened ?  Spontaneously, out of thin air ?  An act of God ?  Something in which the political classes had no hand at all ?

Indeed, on any sensible audit of the Thatcher years, Scotland should regard her as a benefactor.

Still trolling...

Silicon glen, financial services, oil and gas: Thatcherism created the conditions in which the new industries could flourish. But no credit came her way. Her voice did not help; it set many Scottish teeth on edge. That was a childish reaction: there was a lot of childishness about, encouraged by both Labour and Nationalist politicians. It suited them to pour abuse on her and her party, to turn Toryism into political toxic waste.

How dare they ?!!

So there was a quarter of a century of demonisation, which drove economic common sense out of Scottish public debate.

More like a quarter-century of oil-revenues perhaps ?

By the end, many young Scots had come to believe that Scots’ values were superior. Scotland stood for social solidarity, and indeed socialism. It stood for the public sector, not for private enterprise. Mrs Thatcher and her English capitalist friends hated the Scottish ethos, which is why they had set out to destroy the Scottish economy. This brainwashing explains why Nicola Sturgeon will have earned huge applause in Scotland for attacking Ed Miliband from the Left. Scottish Labour helped to sow the dragons’ teeth, never expecting that the dragons would turn on them. They ken the noo.

And still trolling...

Not since the Thirties has a once great nation been in the grip of so many delusions. This is malign thraldom, and it is not clear how it can be ended. Nicola Sturgeon and her party are on the side of Trainspotting Scotland, not Enlightenment Scotland. Yet there is no sign of Scotland coming to its senses.

It's almost like the Tories want Scotland voting SNP, huh ?  And vice-versa ?  But I don't imagine the Telegraph would have any stories speculating upon that particular conspiracy-theory...

How Liberals Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Iranian Bomb

So it turns out the 'western Left' is totally cool with the idea of Iran having a nuclear arsenal, the possession of which actual weapons (as opposed to current theoretical capability) would likely as Lumish rightly points out lead to a new arms-race in the region.  And that the Obama administration is actively working to enable an Iranian 'Jihadi Bomb'.  Who knew ?  And why ?  Because of 'white liberal guilt'.  Sorry about that whole Colonialism thing y'all.  Lollipop make it better ?  No ?  Well how about some thermonuclear weapons ?  Here, have some of ours why don't you -- how about these Trident missiles -- Britain doesn't need them anymore according to the SNP.  There, all better now ?  But don't go doing anything naughty with those warheads now, promise !  Fascinating read from the artist formerly known as Karmafish.