GG's stance on Scottish Independence

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George Galloway predicts Scottish Labour's 'tubes and empty jaikets' will help SNP to independence victory
Controversial politician George Galloway has predicted victory for Alex Salmond and the SNP in the independence referendum planned for autumn 2014.
David Clegg,
political editor,
thecourier.co.uk (Fife and Tayside, Scotland)
24.04.12

Describing the current crop of Labour MSPs as ''tubes and empty jaikets'', the Respect MP said stopping the SNP's ''inch-by-inch'' campaign to break up the United Kingdom would be ''beyond them''.

Mr Galloway, who was elected Bradford West MP in a stunning by-election victory last month, hailed the ''amazing transformation'' of the SNP under Mr Salmond, the First Minister. He said the Nationalists have ''shamed'' Scottish Labour in recent years by taking ''principled positions'' similar to Labour's before Tony Blair took over as leader.

Mr Galloway repeated his personal opposition to independence, highlighting the similarities between a ''young person in Bradford and one in Barrhead''. But he said the SNP are now in such a dominant position, securing a 'No' vote in the independence referendum looks like ''mission impossible''. The assessment will worry the pro-Union camp, with many political commentators believing Labour will be key to convincing Scots to vote to remain in the UK.

Writing in Holyrood magazine, Mr Galloway noted that he had unsuccessfully stood for the Scottish Parliament in last year's election. ''If I'd gone to the Scottish Parliament I would have campaigned, of course, against this inch-by-inch to independence, which I've opposed all my political life,'' he said. ''Scottish people hate the Tories but they've largely given up on the hijacked Labour Party and I'm not sure they can ever be won back.''

After praising the changes made to the SNP by Mr Salmond, he added: ''I oppose the split because I don't believe there's a difference between a young person in Bradford and one in Barrhead, but the former will be poorer if it happens.''

Meanwhile, former First Minister Henry McLeish has backed Alex Salmond's plans for a second question on the independence referendum. The ex-Fife Labour MSP handed a huge boost to the SNP leader by insisting there is an ''overwhelming case'' for the option of more devolution short of independence being put on the ballot paper. Mr Salmond has said he is ''open'' to the possibility, but all the main unionist parties are against it.

Writing in a magazine this week, Mr McLeish said: ''There is an overwhelming case for a second question to give real choice to the Scottish people and if, as everyone says, the 'Yes' vote should be unambigious, then so too should be the meaning of the 'No' vote.''

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Dennis Canavan and George Galloway MP talk about Scottish independence.

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Socialism Would Wither and Die in Independent Scotland
George Galloway
28 May, 2012
socialistunity.com

FOR the best part of 20 years I sat in parliament with Dennis Canavan, the then-bearded ­Leviathan on the left-wing Labour benches. The same religion, the same politics, the same football team. I co-founded Scotland United with him, to campaign for a powerful parliament for Scotland, upon which we were both denounced by Donald Dewar as “collaborators” (with the SNP). When New Labour treated him shamefully, describing him as “just not good enough” to be in the Scottish Parliament, I stood by him, backing his election as an Independent MSP.

Last week on Scottish TV, he described me as his ‘erstwhile comrade’ because he has thrown in his lot with the SNP. It was the shape of things to come and a measure of the divisiveness of ­nationalism in this small country. Brother will be turned against brother, families will be separated, motives will be questioned, and scars will never heal.

It is the wrong course for our country as each passing day makes more clear. A numpty tweeted last night in ­relation to my views on Ireland: “So, it’s OK for Ireland to be independent, but not Scotland. Twisted logic”. I replied: “But it is OK, Scotland can be independent if it chooses (unlike Ireland). So why don’t you have a ­referendum, now, to find out?”

The SNP have been offering ­independence to us since the 30s, an offer unsubscribed to by the great majority. They could have a referendum now to settle the question, but instead plan one in 800 days, maybe. The Irish did vote for unity and ­independence nearly 100 years ago, and their choice was drowned in blood and Scottish settler terror.

There are no settlers in Scotland. If we want ­independence, not a shot will be fired to stop it. Scotland is not a colony of England as Ireland was (indeed many English think we’re colonising them). Rather Scotland and England colonised the world. Bigger numpties like to make a similar point in relation to my views on Palestine. But Palestine has been wiped off the map. Its people driven out as refugees. Scottish ­separatism treated on its own merits just doesn’t stack up.

Despite the convert Canavan, ­Scotland would be less socialist, not more. The only way it could compete with the permanently right-wing England it would leave behind, would be a race to the bottom in wages, public services, corporation tax, income tax and so on. That’s why Canavan’s new found “comrades” such as Stagecoach boss Brian Soutar and other provincial Scots business figures are on his side.

And when things get worse in our country as a result, in time we’d look around for someone to blame. Who knows who the finger of ­suspicion would be pointed at? Maybe Scottish Roman Catholics from Irish immigrant stock, with their peculiar ways, names and schools. Why not? It’s happened before, Comrade Canavan, hasn’t it? I am not a “Unionist”, I don’t think they’d accept me into that club.

I’m a socialist, or if you like, a Labourist. I have nothing in common with Brian Soutar, beyond the accident of birth of entering this world in the same parish. I share neither faith nor political values with him, in fact I hate ­everything he stands for. A bus driver in Newcastle, Liverpool or Blackburn, with whom I may share the same language, culture and outlook, is not a foreigner to me – it is Soutar who is the foreigner to me.

The fact that many other Scottish socialists of our vintage have betrayed the jersey is not a reason for losing faith in the team, or for joining our bitter rivals whose creed is division, nation against nation, whose plan can only mean partition and the weakening of working people on both sides of a wholly unnecessary border.

Canavan and I were once supporters of a multi-national, multi-faith socialist country called Yugoslavia. Our mutual enemies put a lot of time and money into fanning the flames of separatism, encouraging sectarianism, ethnic and religious hatred. Nobody reading this, least of all him, needs any reminder of how all that worked out.

Click for comments

and an interesting response...

George Galloway wrong on Scottish independence
Liam Mac Uaid takes issue with George Galloway’s rejection of an independent Scotland
June 2, 2012
socialistresistance.org

British Labourism’s deference to the reactionary trappings of the British state is as old as the movement itself. The party’s attitude to Elizabeth Windsor’s jubilee has been proof enough of that. The party has always been a willing accomplice of British imperialism. Blair started wars in Afghanistan and Iraq draping himself in the union jack. Previous Labour governments have enthusiastically conducted or supported colonial wars.

Even some on the left of Labourism aren’t immune to the contagion. George Galloway has a well deserved reputation for being one of the most anti-imperialist politicians of the last three decades. Yet he has expressed a visceral hatred of the idea of Scottish independence that pushes up against the boundaries of rationality and is accompanied by levels of personal abuse directed against his critics that is unlikely to lower the temperature in a debate.

In an article for the Socialist Unity website with the heart on its sleeve title, Socialism would wither and die in an independent Scotland, he envisions a bleak future for the country if it were to leave the United Kingdom.

Drawing on the capacity for striking imagery which makes him such a rousing speaker he predicts “brother will be turned against brother”. He goes on to foresee that wages will be driven down, Catholics and immigrants will be the victims of pogroms and, most alarmingly, that the country would see the sort of violence that accompanied the breakup of Yugoslavia. Not even David Cameron is predicting that.

Galloway’s commitment to the integrity of the British state is fairly mainstream in the Scottish Labour Party and among the country’s union bureaucracies. His visions of Armageddon are very much his own. There’s a good material reason for this loyalty to the idea of the union. Blair, Brown and the late John Smith all rose to the top of the British Labour Party. Alistair Darling, former Chancellor of the Exchequer will be fronting up the anti-independence campaign to which Galloway is so committed. Being part of the British state allows Scottish politicians to move from being prominent figures in a small country to “global leaders”.

Here’s how another opponent of an independent Scotland put the issue: “We’re stronger because together we count for more in the world, with a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, real clout in NATO and Europe, and unique influence with allies all over the world. We’re safer, because in an increasingly dangerous world we have the fourth-largest defence budget on the planet, superb armed forces and anti-terrorist and security capabilities that stretch across the globe.”

David Cameron’s message is that Scotland leaving the United Kingdom would see that country diminished as a player on the world stage. While Cameron might see something positive in the British state squandering such a vast portion of its wealth on the fourth largest defence budget in the world Galloway and every other socialist would much rather see it spent on things that are socially useful. Cameron and a big chunk of the anti-independence camp see a self governing Scotland as a weakening of British imperialism. If for no other reason than that the pro-UK left should see a big positive in it.

It’s quite an imaginative leap from sectarian rivalry, much of it focussed on two football teams, to pogroms and Yugoslavia style carnage. In Scotland it’s an Irish export which has put down some local roots. A big difference is that in Ireland sectarianism was an active part of British government policy over centuries. After Partition it was the policy of the northern state, the major political parties, industry and sections of the trade unions. This is not the same as drunken brawling between football fans.

To the extent that there is a violent right wing in Scotland its emblem is the Union Jack. Have a look at any group of Rangers supporters. Taking Scotland out of the British state immediately weakens not just their ideological foundations but it’s a blow to unionism in the north of Ireland.

His assertion that an independent Scotland will certainly be poorer is not backed up with any evidence. The pro-independence campaign has sections which are committed to a more equal distribution of wealth. Even Alex Salmond stands outside the pro-austerity consensus that spans the not so wide chasm between Alistair Darling and David Cameron. An independent Scotland with a much more equal division of incomes, strong trade union rights, an ecologically sustainable development strategy won through a mass campaign will not weaken the working class in the rest of the British state, it will inspire it.

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The Referendum Q & A: George Galloway
7 March 2013
haraldscotland.com

In the latest of our series, George Galloway explains his attitude to Scottish independence and how he'd be voting - if he could. George Galloway, originally from Dundee, is Respect MP for Bradford West.

Which way will you be voting in the independence referendum?
Well I won't be if it's conditional on being in Scotland as a registered voter. Obviously Salmond and co don't want to include Scots out of the country most of whom, I'd hazard, would be voting against.

If you could, how would you vote?
If I could, I would be voting no. I want greater devolution but not independence. There are too many countries in the world although, of course, if Scotland votes yes I will respect it.

Have you always been aligned with this view?
I was one of the founders of Scotland United so I was committed to devolution when it seemed a lost cause. I have never been in favour of separation.

Would you have a preferred a third choice, such as devo-max or devo-plus?
Yes, a third choice would have been equitable. I have no confidence in further devolution from either Labour, Tories or Coalition if 'no' is the winner. A devo-max yes would have nailed them.

How do you define your identity?
It's corny I know, but I feel a citizen of the world, obviously with a strong Scottish heritage

What are your views on Scotland and the UK’s relationship with the EU?
I think this is a bit of a false issue. If Scotland did vote for independence then I am sure that it would be a simple procedure - albeit taking some time - to have the new country ushered into the EU. I believe in Europe but not the undemocratic way it's constructed. I'm a European but not a fan of the EU.

What are your views on free tertiary education, health care for the elderly and welfare?
These should be available as of right to every citizen of the UK. Student fees are a scandal, a disgrace. And those who imposed them and upped them all benefited from free education and many had grants on top. This present government is penalising the poor, the infirm and the elderly. The SNP have got this right and I congratulate them on it, if little else.

Did the Olympic Games or the Diamond Jubilee in 2012 have any bearing on your opinion?
Be serious. The games were marvellous as a sporting event but had no other resonances.

What do you think of Alex Salmond’s plans for a written constitution?
Difficult to frame of course, but all grown-up states should have one.

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Scotland, Farage and Me
May 19, 2013
redmolucca.wordpress.com

The imbroglio involving Nigel Farage and a hate-filled mob on the streets of Edinburgh was a pure dead embarrassment to Scotland. Any sensible person can see that. It could have been so described by First Minister Alex Salmond if he was in any way prime ministerial, but it was not. Adding insult to injury Salmond put the boot in and made it all worse. For a popular elected politician to be forced out of Scotland’s capital city in a police van is intolerable and for many will be seen as the shape of things to come in the run up to the independence referendum and beyond – if Salmond were to win. Meanwhile the message sent to millions of English people who support Farage, to investors, tourists and customers, is that Scotland is not open for business if your face – or your flag – doesn’t fit. For me Farage is a right-wing populist Europhobe – the anti-thesis of everything I stand for. But he is not a racist – still less a fascist, and has every right to speak anywhere in the United Kingdom – so long as it exists.

The night before the roughhouse in the Northern Yorkshire town of Rotherham – filled with ex-miners and steel workers – UKIP won a sensational council by-election over Labour. A few weeks ago they scored 25% of the vote in English local elections. Unless millions of working class people in England have swung to Nazism this phenomenon needs better tools to fix than those deployed routinely against the likes of the BNP.

It is said that Farage feeds popular prejudice against foreigners – so do all the mainstream parties, including if the English are to be so described – the SNP. That he is not particularly sound on gay rights. As sound as Brian Soutter of stage coach – the million pound backer of the SNP – who funded homophobic campaigns throughout Scotland. Farage who is admittedly better if you catch him before lunch time is no different in these things from many other political leaders who, if this fashion catches on, will be told to regard Scotland as a no-go area for them. Where will that leave us?

Not every racist is a fascist; if they were, we’d be being run by men in black uniforms and iron heels. If you believe Paulo DiCanio not even every fascist is a racist. And the idea that folk not keen on gay marriage, for which I voted, should be denied a platform would make Scotland look like Albania circa 1980. These false trails will have to be combatted by more sophisticated arguments than the Doc Martens of a Scottish rent-a-mob. Such tactics will merely garner increased support for them and an increasingly unpleasant reputation for a Scotland itself divided along many different fissures.

Salmond sunk to the occasion showing himself less than a national leader, more as a faction fighter at the head of a motley crew. If the virtual social media spoke for Scotland this game would already be a bogey. Cyber-nats bestride the internet in an increasingly poisonous parade of flag-waving and militancy which makes me wonder what happened to the Scotland I left just eight years ago. In that they are the mirror image of the Faragists who think getting all red-faced going down to the channel ports and shouting boo at Johnny Foreigner can somehow solve our problems, which are not, as it happens, the fault of the English, the immigrants, the gays or the Europeans.

I have had to block hundreds of Scots on Twitter for example, who deny my own right to speak on Scotland’s future despite my having been born and raised here, elected to parliament four times from Glasgow and been a feature in Scotland’s politics for 40 years. All on the grounds that I now live in England. Not that they’ll be sending Sean Connery’s campaign cheque back of course. I have no doubt that when I pitch up to speak on the Fringe of the Edinburgh Festival this summer, that the same thing as happened to Nigel Farage will happen to me. What kind of Scotland is this? Is this really the kind of country you want?

It was once said that anti-semitism was the socialism of fools. So too is the idea that Scotland broken from the rest of this small, island of English- speaking people will somehow lead to some kind of progressive beacon of hope for the world. The opposite is true. Socialism in one country was a myth, even when the concept was coined to describe a state – the USSR – which stretched from the Urals to Vladivostock. In Scotland, a country of five million, largely empty and with the only population in Europe that is falling, it is even more absurd. We would be permanently joined to a perpetually Tory England and thus would begin a race to the bottom.

Tory England would always have lower corporate and personal taxation than a so-called socialist Scotland – unless Scotland undercut them. Where then would lie free prescriptions, tuition fees and free care for the elderly? Let alone the red-speckled dreams of the nationalist left fringe?

Independent, Scots would continue to be at the mercy of the waves of international vicissitude. The only difference would be that they had gotten out of an ocean-going liner and climbed into a Para-Handy puffer – with no life boats. The same is true of course of Farage’s fantasy of bulldog Britain. In that sense those waving their flags at each other in Edinburgh last week were bald men fighting over a comb and hair gel.

If Britain cannot face this storm alone how much less can an independent Scotland? I’ll tell you what would happen when an independent Scotland proved to be a chimera. Scots would turn inwards, turn on the English and turn on each other. First they would come for the ‘unionists’ as they describe people like me. We would become a ‘fifth column’. Soon other scapegoats would have to be found. Catholic schools, judging by the cyber-nats-speak, would have to succumb. Then it might be the immigrants, brown as well as white who would be ‘taking our jobs’, ‘our houses’, ‘marrying our women’ and the rest. We would become an embittered people, the very opposite of the Scottish internationalist we have been for so long. What a pity.

Who will guard Scotland’s 4000 miles of coast line. A Scottish Royal Navy? How will we pay for it? If you lose your passport in Uzbekistan when you’re scouring the world looking for work, who will replace it? The embassy of England? What currency will you use? Not the English pound I promise you. The Euro? How’s that going? The Icelandic Shilling perhaps? Covered in the ash of a volcanic national bankruptcy? Or would we bring back the Groat? Backed by what? Oil and gas reserves, fast running out? Or sell ice cream to tourists increasingly repelled by the kind of mentality we saw in Edinburgh…

Doesn’t all this seem like a high price to pay? To make Alex Salmond the Prime Minister, he’s just shown himself to be less than capable of being? A Brigadoon Scotland shrouded in the mist of Celtic obscurantism is not for me. Does it do anything for you? Are the people of Liverpool or Leeds really foreigners to you? You speak the same language as them, watch the same TV, read the same newspapers, listen to the same radio, eat the same food – usually curry. What foolishness is this? Did you consider the Beatles your fellow countrymen or not? Have you seen the statue of the late Scotland captain Billy Bremner at Leeds United Stadium? Do you know who has just followed the greatest living Scotsman Sir Alex Ferguson into the manager’s seat at Manchester United?

Scotland and England have been grafted together like bone, politically for 300 years, physically since the dawn of time. We have committed – in times of empire – many crimes together. But for a time in the face of real Fascism we stood alone and changed the world. When we did so together, it was our finest hour. Running Nigel Farage out of a press conference was not.

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A load of pish. Brigadoon ffs? GG often says that if Britain hadn't stood up to Germany in WW2 we'd all be speaking German - yet in this article completely ignores the fact that Scotland, Wales and Ireland had English forced upon them (it was illegal to speak Gaelic). Not only does he ignore it, but implies that it's something we should be happy about!

Utter pish.

Here's a more polite reply to his post. On Twitter GG said that he only read the first two paragraphs of this because he doesn't "wrestle with chimney sweeps". A cheap reply if there ever was one.

http://nationalcollective.com/2013/05/20/dear-george/#comments

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[MegaChairmanMao]

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George Galloway: Independent Scotland 'could be dragged into war'
3 February 2014
stv.tv

An independent Scotland could be pulled into US-led wars if the SNP's plan to remain in Nato goes ahead, George Galloway has warned. Commenting ahead of a speech in Edinburgh, the Dundee-born MP claimed that there were "giant contradictions" between the party's plans to get rid of Trident while remaining part of the treaty organisation.

Speaking to the Scotsman, he said: "An independent Scotland remaining in Nato would be jointly responsible for attacks in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. Scotland in Nato would have been part of the attacks. The Scottish people voted for MPs that voted for these wars and Scottish soldiers have been prominent in wars. The SNP intends for Scotland to remain in Nato with Britain. Scotland would be a nuclear strike force part of Nato."

The Bradford West MP continued: "Scotland would be in the same alliance as the countries with nuclear weapons and the idea that the USA, the leader of Nato, would be happy with the Scottish leadership of Nato removing a gigantic nuclear base from Scotland is ludicrous. There are gigantic contradictions in the SNP’s policy on Nato and nuclear weapons."

The SNP's defence spokesman Angus Robertson said it was "very strange" that Mr Galloway was supporting a Westminster system that had voted to go to war with Iraq in 2003. Mr Robertson told the newspaper: "George Galloway needs to get to grips with reality. Like the rest of the SNP I marched against the disastrous Bush/Blair invasion of Iraq, and independence means never again can Scotland be dragged into an illegal military adventure against our will. He is simply wrong - 24 of the 28 NATO countries opposed the Iraq war, and member countries have complete control of whether or not to commit military forces in any situation.

"In an independent Scotland, we propose that the deployment of any armed service men and women into combat would require to be approved by Parliament, and Scotland would only become involved in actions which carried the authority of the United Nations. It is very strange that Mr Galloway prefers to support a Westminster system that allowed the disastrous Iraq war to go ahead, rather than an independent Scotland which will be a good global citizen."

Mr Galloway was in Edinburgh for the latest date in his "Just Saw Naw" speaking tour. His appearance was met by rival protests by the left-wing Radical Independence group, which opposes his pro-union stance, and the right-wing Scottish Defence League, which opposes his links with religious minorities. The two sides were held apart by police outside Edinburgh's Assembly Rooms, with Radical Independence taunting the SDL with "Nae Nazis" chants, and the SDL calling Mr Galloway "a traitor".

Speaking ahead of his appearance, Mr Galloway said: "I would fancy being prime minister of Scotland but I would rather we had a real Labour prime minister of the whole of Britain. I want to avoid the break-up of the country which I think will beggar people on both sides of the border, will lead to permanent Tory rule in Westminster and thus the Bank of England which will control the Scottish economy. Unleashed will be a race to the bottom with England cutting taxes, regulation, public spending, and Scotland having to follow it. So everyone on both sides of the border will be worse off."

Mr Galloway took to the stage to the strains of Stealers Wheel's Stuck In The Middle With You, saying he chose the song for its chorus "clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right". "Flag wavers don't like me very much, whether they're Saltire flag wavers or Union Jack flag wavers," he said. "That's fine. There are a small number of Union Jack wavers who are opposed to my stand on war and occupation abroad, and my identification with religious minorities that they hate. "If they weren't protesting against me then I think I would be doing something wrong."

Mr Galloway said he believes in "united countries" including a united Ireland, saying he would support Northern Ireland's exit from the UK, in contrast to his bid to prevent Scotland from leaving. "I don't believe in breaking countries up as I think we have too many countries in the world, not too few," he said. "The Irish people were denied their right to unity and independence. The Scottish people never have been, and could have voted for independence at any time that they liked in the whole era of universal suffrage of nearly 100 years.

"People say that they want Scotland to have self-determination but they have self-determination, and always have, and will exercise that self-determination again in September. If it chooses to become independent then it will become independent, but I think it would rue the day."

He said he would contemplate becoming an MP of an independent Scottish Parliament in the "hypothetical" event of Yes vote. He added: "I am confident that the vote will be No, and I just want to make sure that it's a decisive result because otherwise the kind of hatred and division that this campaign is at risk of sowing will be a permanent feature of Scottish politics and public life."

Pat Smith, secretary of the Edinburgh Radical Independence Campaign, said: "Tonight's protest is about showing that another Scotland is possible, one where racist, Islamophobic views like those perpetuated by the SDL have no place and where George Galloway's cavalier attitude to politics is a thing of the past. Galloway's celebrity status may bring attention to his bizarre and often sectarian brand of unionism, but we know that people in Scotland will see straight through this attempt to feign interest in the referendum as simply another bout of self promotion.

"The Radical Independence Campaign offers a real alternative to the corruption and self-interest of Westminster politics which Galloway seems so comfortable with. We want to see a Scotland run for and by the people - a people's democracy, a society of equality, a great welfare state, a good neighbour, and pioneer of a just economy."

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Good on the RIC for standing up against the SDL - as for GG, he can piss right off for equivocating those who want independence with the foul bigotry associated with the SDL.

[MegaChairmanMao]

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/02/03/george-galloway-prime-minister-scotland_n_4719189.html

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interesting, I agree that I'd rather someone like him (the same sort of policies in general) as the leader, but he's already disparaged all those people who want independence, so who would vote for him in reality?

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George Galloway calls lawyers after venue bans anti-independence show
Matt Coyle
4 February 2014
stv.tv

George Galloway said he has called in lawyers after a Scots venue banned him from putting on his anti-independence show Just Say Naw. The Respect MP was due to put on the show at Stirling’s MacRobert Art Centre, which hosted the European premiere of Braveheart, on May 6 as part of his political tour in the lead up to the independence referendum.

However, the venue’s events and projects co-ordinator Robin Holden, got in contact on Tuesday to say the show would no longer go ahead. In an email, Holden said: "Thanks for getting the information across last week. I passed it onto both our Chief Executive and Creative Director. "Having reviewed the content and structure of the evening they have opted not go ahead with the booking at this time. I do apologise for any inconvenience this may cause but unfortunately the final decision rests with them. If you would like to discuss this at all then please feel free to give me a call."

It is the second time in recent months Galloway's Just Say Naw show has been cancelled by a venue. In January the show was also axed at Livingston’s Howden Park Centre, West Lothian.

Galloway’s spokesman Ron McKay said the Bradford West MP would be taking legal action and has been in contact with a lawyer. He added: "It was cancelled this afternoon. I received an email from Robin Holden at the Macrobert art centre in Stirling stating the show would no longer go ahead. We printed 50,000 leaflets for this tour with these dates on them and it’s going to cost us thousands as some of the dates have now been cancelled.

"It’s a clear case of censorship and we have been in contact with lawyers. It’s a cast iron case. It could be they feel the show is just too controversial in the current climate and don’t feel comfortable with putting it on. Regardless, this is the third time this has happened in Scotland, we will lose a lot of money as a result of their censorship and we will take legal action in order that George can reach some sort of settlement."

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I can't see them pulling out if there was a signed contract, which you would think they definitely be sure of before printing anything.

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Independence Debate - Newsnight

Jim Sillar repeatedly tried to emphasise the point that the independence vote isn't about the SNP, but about independence alone. Galloway could not accept this. And even if it is an SNP government, then what's wrong with that in a democracy?

[gordonrussell]

Interesting debate. Independence Debate - Newsnight
Sad, sad, sad to see George resorting to unprovoked gleeful goading, which didn't make Sillars get angry or back down, instead he got angry and resorted to speculative arguements more than Sillars did.
Certainly not George's " finest hour."

What no-one yet that I have heard on 'Yes or No' vote has even touched is what if the Independent vote wins and (5 years later ??? ) the next generation want another Referendum ?

Reminds me of the arguement of what would happen if a Democracy has a Referendum and votes to cease to be a Democracy ........ then the next generation decides they did not choose this and want ( justifiably ) to have that Refefendum again...and again..... and again.....
That's another debate they all avoid.

[luke]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2014/mar/26/george-galloway-scotland-say-naw-video

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Gordon, well it's taken 35 years since the last independence referendum, so maybe something along the same lines? Though whether England would want Scotland to return is another matter.

cheers for that Luke, but I'm actually starting to get the heebie-jeebies whenever I see GG these days.