ThunderDragon Blog

The SNP have launched a “national conversation” in Scotland on the issue of Scottish independence. Very simply, we should just let them vote. It took me a while tor each this decision because my gut, knee-jerk reaction was to say “no” simply because it could be divisive. But I have moved away from that opinion.

I am a Unionist, but the debate over Scottish independence seems that it needs to be had - and sooner is better than later. Opinion polls are showing that the majority of Scottish voters do not favour independence from the United Kingdom. They should have this referendum, held with a caveat that this decision would be final if the vote came out against independence. Another caveat that should be added in is that for independence to be voted for, it would require a minimum of 40% or so of the entire electorate, whether or not they voted - either that or compulsory voting [something which I am usually against] be required.

I don’t think that the SNP would win a referendum on independence. I think that the majority of the Scottish population wants the Union to continue, and so if they have their referendum and lose, then they will at least content themselves with the current level of devolution.

Another reason that I support the idea of a referendum on Scottish independence is that it is likely to stir English nationalism up as well,. and could very easily lead to the establishment of an English Parliament with the same powers as the Scottish one.

Sources: BBC, The Times, The Telegraph

Gordon Brown announced back in July that the Union flag could now be flown from public buildings on any day, rather than the previous restrictions of 18 days a year. However, this now seems to not apply to Scotland:

“Proposals to fly the Union flag every day on public buildings are set not to apply to Scottish Executive sites.
The government published the plans earlier this week, and they follow Gordon Brown raising the issue of celebrating Britishness in January.
The SNP said Justice Secretary Jack Straw assured the policy would not cover executive buildings.
SNP leader Alex Salmond, now first minister, previously said Britishness “went bust long ago” in Scotland.” (BBC)

Whilst it is understandable that on a few places, such as Holyrood, the Saltire [the Scottish flag] be flown alongside the Union flag, it should not replace it. We are all still in the United Kingdom, whichever part you may be in.

What this shows mostly, however, is that despite Gordon Brown’s oft-made commitment to Britishness, he is still at heart a Scot - and will give things to Scotland that he won’t to England. I have no problem at all with Scottish public buildings being allowed to fly to Saltire - but it should not be allowed as a replacement for the Union flag. And if Scottish public buildings can fly the Saltire, then English public buildings should be allowed to fly the St. George’s Cross, and Welsh public buildings the Red Dragon.

We are all supposed to be equal partners in the Union - yet inequality is rampant. If England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are equal constituents of the United Kingdom, then they should all have the same rights and abilities. And it is the English who lose out again and again. It is not acceptable.

Source: BBC

Yet more examples of inequalities within the Union, and when the Scottish Parliament is spending English money to give Scotland superior services. This time is it pledging English money to create an educational apartheid within Britain:

“Scottish Executive plans to cut class sizes north of the Border to 18, while children in England remain in groups of 30, sparked accusations of “educational apartheid” last night.
Fiona Hyslop, Scotland’s Education Minister, promised to recruit 300 extra teachers for nurseries and primary schools in the coming year. A total of £25 million would be spent, she said, cutting the number of pupils in classes in the first three years of primary school from 25 to 18.
The move provoked cries of a postcode lottery among critics in England, who claimed that taxpayers across Britain would pay for an improvement available only in Scotland.” (The Times)

So whilst more than 23,000 children in English schools suffer in classes of more than 30 children, the Scottish Executive plan to use English money to give children in Scottish schools a far superior primary education, with class sizes of just 18. Even my university seminars had 15 students in them!

Like I said before, I have no problem with the Scottish Executive doing this - and I applaud the aims - but not when it is English taxpayers’ money that is funding a far superior educational situation for Scottish kids. That is where the problem lies, and that is what the problem with the current devolutional situation is. Conditions should be equal across the entire UK, and definitely not so specifically distorted.

Source: The Times, The Telegraph

“The Scottish Parliament has voted against renewing Trident nuclear weapons - the first time Holyrood has taken a clear position on the issue.
The motion, backed by 71 MSPs to 16, with 39 abstentions, also congratulated the majority of Scots MPs for voting against a replacement system.
But it acknowledged that renewal was the responsibility of Westminster.” (BBC)

So why do it?! What is the point?!

Defence is not a devolved issue. Members of the Scottish Parliament have no more say on whether Britain renews Trident or not than any other citizen of the UK. They have no more say than I or you, and their opinion means no more on this issue.

Britain cannot and must not lose its nuclear deterrent. To do so would be utter foolishness. It is a strategic necessity in the modern world - and without it, Britain would have less power on the world stage.

It is nothing to do with the Scottish Parliament whether or not Trident is replaced. In the discussion it was proposed that Holyrood should use its powers to prevent the movement of nuclear weapons on Scotland’s roads and seas. But since this is a defence issue, I don’t think they have any.

The Scottish Parliament should concentrate on dealing with the issues that they control - preferably without requiring more and more English money - but that seems unlikely as they just keep on doing it. If they want to prove that Scotland can survive independently, disown the Barnett formula.

Source: BBC

Is it possible to the United Kingdom to survive the inequalities that exist within it - all of which are to the detriment of the largest constituent part of it, and which provides the funding for the inequalities as well?

Government has been devolved to both Scotland and Wales, with the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly - and yet England lacks any form of self-government as an individual country. This is not acceptable, not in the short-term and certainly not in the long term. The very least that should - nay, must - happen is that any Bill in the UK Parliament that only affects England should only be voted on by MPs with constituencies in England [and any that affect only England and Wales should only be voted on by MPs elected by constituencies in those countries]. This is, of course, a minimum - and only a viable alternative until a long-term solution of an English Parliament is reached.

What is most disturbing is the extent to which inequality is rampant within the United Kingdom. Two days ago I blogged on the fact that Scottish university students are gong to get free education - and grants - at the expense of taxpayers in England, just as student debt breaks through the £3 billion mark. Like I said there, and I will repeat again:

It really is hypocritical that the Scottish Nationalist Party will fund their policy on free university education through funding that they would not have were they an independent state. If they want to prove that they can act and live as an economically viable independent state, then they should only use Scottish-raised taxes to fund the elements of Scottish policy on which the Scottish Parliament currently controls.
If the SNP were to provide free university education from their own taxes, I could have no opposition to it - and I would in fact applaud their prioritising. But when they plan to provide free university education off English taxes when English student debt has breached £3 billion, I can have nothing but contempt for their hypocrisy and for this government for allowing it to happen.

It is just plain wrong when taxpayers in England are funding a policy of free university education in Scotland when England’s own student debt problem is soaring. Especially ironic since it is the SNP who are doing it. How can Scotland survive independently if they can’t even fund their policies in the areas they already control?!

And then there is this story on health:

“A drug that improves the eyesight of almost a third of people suffering from the biggest cause of blindness in Britain will be available on the NHS in Scotland from today, but not in England. While Scottish patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) will receive free Lucentis injections, thousands living south of the border could go blind if they cannot find up to £28,000 to obtain the treatment privately.” (The Telegraph)

So people in Scotland with this problem get drugs, but not those in England. Nice and equal that, eh?

If these inequalities do not get sorted soon, then I am not sure whether the Union can survive. I am even beginning to question whether it should if this is the state in which it will continue to exist - with a minority having such electoral power over the majority. And I haven’t even started on the West Lothian Question, with the still huge over-representation of Scotland and Wales in the Commons, despite having devolved government. There’s enough material there for an entire rant on that alone, even disregarding everything else.

Click here to sign the petition for an English Parliament.

Student debt, for the first time, has topped £3 billion. Yes, three billion pounds of debt owed by students, a rise of more than £620 million owed by undergraduate in England. This student debt of £3 billion is three times that owed by students in 1997.

Whilst Student Loans may be the cheapest loan anyone is likely ever to get [as interest is only at the rate of inflation] it is not nice to know that there is such a huge amount of debt hanging around your debt. I have more than £9,000 of student loans debt and several thousand pounds of other debt accrued through my time as a student [finally ending in September]. And first-years now will end their time at university with at least £18,000 of student loans debt - so from that perspective, I’m lucky - although my younger brother isn’t. I can, however, understand that to some extent students loans are necessary to fund the massive increase in the number of students - despite the fact that I think it is not a good thing.

What really annoys me is that Scottish students are set to have no fees at all - and most annoyingly, funded by English taxes:

“BRITISH taxpayers are to meet the £2 billion cost of reintroducing free university education in Scotland – but students from England and Wales will still have to pay the full fees.
Under plans to be announced by the Scottish executive on Wednesday, Scottish students who now pay £2,000 on graduation will be charged nothing from 2009. From 2011 at the latest they will also see loans wiped out and maintenance grants reintroduced.” (The Times)

It is outrageous that Scottish students get free education whilst English and Welsh students are paying through the nose, especially when the money to make it possible for this to happen is coming from England and Wales. It really is hypocritical that the Scottish Nationalist Party will fund their policy on free university education through funding that they would not have were they an independent state. If they want to prove that they can act and live as an economically viable independent state, then they should only use Scottish-raised taxes to fund the elements of Scottish policy on which the Scottish Parliament currently controls.

If the SNP were to provide free university education from their own taxes, I could have no opposition to it - and I would in fact applaud their prioritising. But when they plan to provide free university education off English taxes when English student debt has breached £3 billion, I can have nothing but contempt for their hypocrisy and for this government for allowing it to happen.

That a British Prime Minister can have his constituency where his own educational policies are not applied, and where indeed the opposite is happening, I don’t understand either.

Sources: The Telegraph, The Times