Are you looking for an example of dirty politics? Then look no further than the British Nationalist camp in Scotland as they rage against the drive for independence by the SNP administration in Edinburgh with this contribution from former Liberal Democrat bigwig and holier-than-thou politico Lord Steel, via the right-wing Daily Telegraph:
“Lord Steel of Aikenwood [ASF: actually its Aikwood] said broadcasters have told him that “SNP heavies” contact them so regularly trying to influence their coverage that it is verging on “intimidation”.
He said he has also been informed the Nationalists make more complaints to journalist news rooms than all the other political parties combined.
The former Liberal leader and Scottish Parliament presiding officer delivered the extraordinary attack during a House of Lords debate on the Government’s plans to devolve new powers to Holyrood.
Comparing Mr Salmond to Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s former dictator, the peer said: “We are seeing a trend towards the attributes of the one-party state, where news bulletins are led by stories of what the Dear Leader has been doing today.”
He said he was also worried about the SNP administration’s “touch of L’etat c’est moi”, referring to the alleged statement by Louis XIV of France that: “The state is me.”
Lord Steel also used the speech to attack the SNP’s “little Scotland” mindset. Although he is friends with a former Danish foreign minister, he said he does not want to see an equivalent Scottish post “with similar limited global influence”.”
Brit Nats. What are they like? Not so much a case of L’etat c’est moi as Le monde, c’est moi!
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AN SIONNACH FIONN 
Could it be that “Nationalists” make more complaints because they have cause? Maybe Aikenwood was a deliberate error on the part of a embedded “Nationlist” in the Telegraph…
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😉
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They will try and split Scotland,I copied this.Charles Patrick O’Brien
Could the British government ever try and cause Scotland to be divided like the fools did to Ireland,I would have said NO they can be that stupid,to try the same, divide the country and cause another war,Oh but they can and are preparing for it right now.Read this.
THE EARL OF CAITHNESS
[Amendments 89 and 90 are amendments to Amendment 88]
89
Line 8, at end insert—
“(2A) A referendum held under subsection (2) shall be advisory.
(2B) If a referendum held under subsection (2) results in a “yes” vote, the Prime Minister shall cause a further referendum, with the same question, to be held throughout the United Kingdom.
(2C) The result of a referendum held under subsection (2B) shall be binding.”
90
Line 8, at end insert—
“(2D) A vote in a referendum held under subsection (2B) of this section which results in Scotland leaving the United Kingdom shall not be binding on the residents of the Orkney Islands or the Shetland Islands unless a majority of the residents of the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands who voted in such a referendum voted that Scotland should leave the United Kingdo
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Thanks, Charles. I have explored in a number of posts the various ideas around a “partition” of Scotland that are currently being discussed in British nationalist circles. Check out the two most recent here and here.
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If we complain more, it is because we have cause to do so.
We are no longer silent.
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I have reposted this on several Scottish independence blogs
Thanks
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Thanks! 🙂
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I think one has to understand that not merely is this a question of Scotland being given the choice over whether it should be a part of the UK or an Independent country, it is perhaps even more importantly a question about the traditional and complex social structures that have been in place across this island and Scotland specifically for many centuries.
The question currently facing Scotland pertains to Identity and how one wishes to view oneself within the current established social and legal system, should one not like the current approach then the desire should be to bring about change in the legal and proper manner.
The vociferous fight against Independence by some I would suggest, is a cry of anguish over the potential loss of a system that has been of special benefit to those who are closest to the Crown.
Perhaps the concern is that in time an Independent Scotland will decide appropriately in my view that it is better to be a Republic than be a Constitutional Monarchy as we currently have.
For me I see great similarity between some who support the current system and those who suffer from what is a fascinating psychological phenomenon, the Stockholm Syndrome.
If you look up Stockholm Syndrome you will find it describes the occurrence when a hostage has feelings of strong sense of empathy for their captor. This it turns out in time to be quite unhealthy and to quote Wiki: “who essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors for an act of kindness”
With this in mind we hear such comments as, “Oh the Royal, they work so hard, they didn’t choose their role, they care so much.”
Upon analysis we realise that this is an empathetic support for a system that cares little for ourselves and see us as subjects, the care show is only offered on a conditional basis, the basis being that you show complete support for the system.
So when Lord Steel makes his comments comparing Mr Salmond to Kim Jong-il, i find this deeply offensive.
Never will I tip my cap and bow to another person merely because they have inherited a role, never will I consider myself a subject, never will I buy into this traditional view of Scottish and British life and forever it falls upon me to question these out dated and deeply divisive structures.
So for Independent Scotland to be completely free it has to throw out this old fashion tribalistic, feudalistic and narrow minded approach to life.
The wonderful thing about 2012 is that we in the UK can have this discussion, but that is not down to the benevolence of the traditional system, but down to the fight made over countless years by the masses.
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Fascinating views, Duncan, and I especially like the analogy of the “Stockholm Syndrome”. It is something I hope to explore in a future posting. I believe you may be on to something there.
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A grave disappointment. I always thought steel was a half decent, independent minded man. But in parroting the accepted pro-dependence line dictated by the Whitehall politburo, he shows that he is no more than a state functionary. Of course, he personally has a lot to lose when Scotland becomes free – his 300 pounds a day attendance allowance to begin with, and his feudal title. But that is no excuse for a once principled man to prostitute himself like this.
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