Scotland the Brave

[eefanincan]

Scotland the brave

Sun, January 14, 2007

Tartan land marks 300th anniversary of an increasingly disunited union with England.

By BEN MCCONVILLE, AP



EDINBURGH -- With barely the raising of a glass, Scotland is preparing to mark 300 years since accepting the Treaty of Union with England -- which bound two countries together and gave the world Great Britain.

The anniversary Tuesday of the Scottish parliament's voting to accept the treaty is focusing attention on growing discord, with advocates of Scottish independence gaining strength in their campaign for a referendum on breaking the union.

"This treaty can and will be undone and at the moment there is a wellspring of Scottish nationalism," said Murray Ritchie, former political editor of The Herald newspaper and convener of the Scottish Independence Convention. "What we need is a referendum to settle the issue."

The Union has been contested since 1707, when mobs took to the streets of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Though Scotland's parliament dissolved, the country maintained much of its national identity, its own legal and education systems and its own religion -- Presbyterianism, although Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the Church of Scotland.

Scotland's most famous poet, Robert Burns, labelled those who voted for union as a "parcel of rogues" -- but recent books by historians and academics argue Scotland prospered as a junior partner in the British Empire.

The tricentenary, and the strong opinion poll standings of the pro-independence Scottish National Party, have given the topic a fresh impetus for Scotland's population of five million.

Even Christopher Smout, the Queen's official historian for Scotland and emeritus professor of history at St. Andrews University, said that independence is "perfectly feasible."

Smout said the English were "completely indifferent to whether or not the union remains in its current form," he said. "Although I do think the Queen would be sorry."

He said most Scots cared little for concerns over liberty, democracy or nationalism, claiming the debate would come "down to simple, straightforward taxation."

"They don't want to pay a few more pennies in the pound on tax as they probably would under independence," Smout said.

Some of England's 50 million people grumble that Scotland effectively rules the United Kingdom -- bemoaning the abundance of Scottish lawmakers in high-ranking positions and the key factor Scottish polling districts play in determining national elections.

Prime Minister Tony Blair was born in Edinburgh, while Scotsman and Treasury chief Gordon Brown is almost certain to succeed Blair in office by September. The only potential challenger would be another Scot -- Home Secretary John Reid.

Brown, writing in the Daily Telegraph newspaper yesterday, called for the union between England and Scotland to be made stronger.

"It is now time for supporters of the union to speak up . . . to acknowledge Great Britain for the success it has been and is: a model for the world of how nations cannot only live side by side, but be stronger together but weaker apart," Brown wrote.

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http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/International/2007/01/14/3361964-sun.html

[faceless]

The leader of the SNP (Nationalists), Alex Salmond, has a 20% lead over the Labour puppet Jack McConnell in opinion polls just now... but that's probably more down to the voters wanting someone in charge who isn't just a lackie to another lackie (Tony Blair) than anything else. Nobody likes to be led by a sheep in sheep's clothing.

[eefanincan]

"It is now time for supporters of the union to speak up . . . to acknowledge Great Britain for the success it has been and is: a model for the world of how nations cannot only live side by side, but be stronger together but weaker apart," Brown wrote.
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Seems like a strange sort of set up to me. You don't have your own parliament, but yet still have your own legal & education systems and your religions. You're a separate country, but you're not. For me, it would be kind of like the USA saying, OK, you join us and we'll be a union, but we'll run you politically, but you can handle everything else. We are united only in the respect that we are in North America.

I'll admit I'm very ignorant in the area of politics, but this just seems too weird to me.

[faceless]

WE do have our own parliament now - it came in 1997 under the description of "devolution". It doesn't have tax-raising powers or any influence over defence, but these are the two main issues that Scots aren't happy about, which is why there's so much support for full independence. And when countries like Ireland or Estonia are shown as examples it really doesn't make any sense to be controlled by London.

It is true that a lot of Scottish lawyers and politicians hold the reins of power in London, but if all they want is simply to play for a bigger team rather than to make their electors happy then they can bollocks right off if you ask me!

[eefanincan]

[faceless]

[IRiSHMaFIA]

[fritz]