A little explanation

I thought I would explain a little about my national identity and how I believe Scotland can become an independent State. Sorry if it’s long winded and maybe even rambling but it’s not exactly an issue you can put in a tweet.

I am Scottish, not British. It’s the word that springs to mind when I am asked my nationality in conversation or on a form of some sort (yet it is rarely a selectable option). It is an instinctual responce that also brings with it great feelings of pride and belonging. I am a Scot and I know my nationality is Scottish.

I am not a fan of the devolved administration at Holyrood; indeed I now refuse to call it a government because it is anything but a government. The administration is a department of Westminster as proved by the complete lack of any action once Scotland’s choice to stay in the EU was ignored by Westminster.

 I believe devolution only exists to extend the period of time before Scotland inevitably leaves the UK, so far that’s over 20 years. Holyrood is nothing but a trap to keep Scottish political talent away from Westminster and to get them dependent on a generous salary and pension that will end if independence is achieved. I believe that trap is working all too well.

This obsession the SNP has for mandate after mandate to continually ask for section 30 permission from the PM is the devolution trap in action. The SNP can blame the Prime Minister who will blether “once in a generation” etc… and independence supporters will begin to lose heart from their hopes being raised and then dashed time and again. This continual call for a mandate at every election is a sign of a party getting fat on Westminster gold and being drunk on ever decreasing scraps of power.

I believe the only way forward is to have a Scottish election based on the clear policy that if an independence party wins a majority, they will begin independence negotiations with Westminster on behalf of the people of Scotland. That is the mandate Scottish voters should be giving the SNP. They are a tool of our movement, not its leadership.

I hear people call for independence to be legal but Scots law cannot criminalise the majority of a population for enacting its sovereign right to choose how it is governed; a sovereign right recognised by Westminster. So how could the international community do so?

The final hurdle of the legal argument is the UN. To become a member the Security council members must vote; The UK being one of the members that basically have a veto, if they alone vote against Scotland’s application then it is turned down. You would think that they would never allow us to join but let’s remember that we are probably looking at a period of a few years after Scottish independence. A time when relations between Scotland and the UK will have been sorted out and be fairly routine.

The UK must accept Scotland leaving the UK indeed it has admitted that Scotland has the right to do so. If it cannot accept an independent Scotland then it will be failing in two key requirements of being a member of the UN itself and they are having a clearly defined territory and a permanent population.

Then there are economic considerations. It is cheaper to trade with your land neighbour whom you already trade with than to seek to trade with a country across a body of water. I foresee that what Scotland currently trades to the UK will still be needed after Scotland leaves the UK as well as vice versa. We live on the same island so both governments will need to cooperate on matters of defence and the environment. There is simply no way that either an independent Scotland or the UK will be able to function properly without good relations as equal States.

I feel that we find ourselves closer to independence than we have ever been before. 300 plus years ago the ruling elite sold us into the union after Westminster filled their pockets with gold. We cannot allow the same to happen now; this coming election can still be that vote that will set us free. We must push the SNP into action.