Greater England Sends A Message To Scotland

Hold onto your hats, things are about to get hairy!

The latest poll on Scottish independence, being played up big time in the British media, shows almost half of those questioned are opposed to it – in England that is.

According to a report in the BBC:

‘The ComRes survey for BBC’s Newsnight and Radio 4’s World at One found 48% of voters in England wanted Scotland to remain within the United Kingdom.

If Scotland voted for separation, 45% said they would like a referendum in the rest of the UK.

ComRes chairman Andrew Hawkins said it suggested both nations should have a say in any decision about the Union.’

Oh really? Talk about loading the dice. This idea of English voters having a say on Scotland’s freedom has been floated several times in recent months and seems to be gaining some currency; at least in the right wing, nationalist media down London-way (even the infamously ‘North British’ Scottish Unionist press have not tried to run with this one).

A previous means of stemming the onward march of Scottish nationhood is the insistence by some English ~~Unionists~~ Nationalists on two referenda: one a ‘non-binding consultative’ referendum to be held by the Scottish Government on the basic proposal of independence and then a ‘legally binding’ one organised and administrated by the British Government on what kind of independence (scrupulously fair I’m sure… ahem).

The British are quiet good at this kind of gerrymandering, and they know full well that by tying a Scottish vote to an English one they can block or change the will of the Scottish people. It’s not like we haven’t been here before.

Of course one could always ask: if the English get a vote – well, what about the Welsh too? But as usual ‘England and Wales’ means just England. The Welsh caved in, on the political front at least, long ago. Though in terms of language and culture they leave the rest of us trailing in their wake. Perhaps the two facts are not unrelated? A politically powerless Wales uses language to assert its identity while a political powerful Scotland uses politics – and has largely abandoned its language (revival not withstanding).

There is one interesting titbit from the survey, though:

‘36% say England should become an independent country, irrespective of any Scottish vote while 57% say it should not.’

Hmmm. Maybe the Scots and English can find some common ground after all? At least, Scottish and English nationalists can.

Meanwhile the poor old Lib Dems have become the new Tory Party of Scotland – as in: Lib Dems who? As the Scotsman newspaper reports a group of Liberal Democrat councillors in Scotland, who resigned en masse in favour of the SNP, are urging their colleagues to join them over in the brave new world of Scottish, centre-left nationalism (wit’ n’ery a commie in sight!).

‘A GROUP of former Liberal Democrat councillors who defected to the SNP have called on their former colleagues to join the Nationalists.

But the move was dismissed by Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie who branded the SNP “inward looking” and obsessed with separation from the UK.

Glynis Sinclair of Highland Council, Mike Dillon and Marie McGurk of Renfrewshire Council and Mary-Jean Devon of Argyll & Bute Council all left the Lib Dems following May’s election.

The quartet issued a joint statement…

“It’s time to move on, it’s time to join the SNP,” it stated. “The Lib Dems have lost their way. By going into coalition with the Tories last year, the party leadership sold Scotland out.

“By becoming the spokespeople for the Cameron government they have abandoned the very principles that the Scottish Liberal Democrats were founded upon.

“The party is now unrecognisable to all of us. Members and supporters of the Lib Dems do not understand why their party leadership in Scotland have become the cheerleaders to Tory policy and Tory beliefs. They’ve had enough.”’

Ouch. Long term prognosis? Bye-bye Lib Dems, hello Scottish Liberals.