It's time the SNP delivered on their promise

Blimey - for a brief moment I thought David Cameron had undergone a revelation when I saw the headline in The Telegraph screaming that the Tories believed Britain was now divided into two nations.

I eagerly clicked on the link to read the great leader's words on Scotland's shame over the release of the murdering Lockerbie bomber while England basked in the pride of a stunning Ashes victory ..... but no.

Dave's not as tuned in to the mood of the nation as I would have hoped. Instead it's the forgettable Chris Grayling wittering on about the "two nations" of the have and have nots.

Britain has been divided by Labour into “two nations”, with deprived communities plagued by crime falling into "different worlds" from their wealthy neighbours, the Tories claim.

Good grief. How many times have we heard this crap trotted out by all sorts of lefties over the decades even though it is demonstrably untrue. There was far more poverty and greater discrepancy between the "different worlds" of the wealthy and the poor fifty years ago, but far less crime so it is quite obvious to anyone who wants to think about it that the link between poverty and crime is spurious.

If we're going to claim that the rich and poor of Britain constitute two distinct nations, then we might as well go the whole hog and recognise the multitude of "different nations" that exist in Britain - the Islamic nation, the Christian nation, the black nation, the Asian nation, the progressive nation, the social conservative nation etc. etc.

All this is a product of the ideology known as multiculturalism which encourages different groups to develop their own sub-cultures and then elevates those sub-cultures to make them equal to the prevailing national culture.

In that respect Britain is not two nations as the Tories claim, but a hundred different nations all competing for an ever greater share of the dwindling national resources and a greater position in the national culture. The only outcome this can achieve is the total break up of Britain into not just the four nations, but dozens of small statelets all warring with one another.

The Tories are supporters of this ideology and therefore as deluded as the Labour Party. Dave doesn't know how to fix it anymore than Blair did or Brown does - but like Blair he does know all the right buzzwords, catchphrases and soundbites to make it seem like he does.

The sooner we are two nations the better for England. England need to ditch the Scots and start governing ourselves once more. It's about time the spineless SNP delivered on their promise to deliver "independence" (what sort of independence is it when they are committed to being a subservient part of the EU?) and left the Union.

It would be better still if England could come up with a proper English nationalist movement of our own, but as long as we have the useless Tories and the regressive Labour Party that isn't likely to happen. Come on Salmond - put your money where your mouth is and take Scotland out of the Union.

He doesn't have the guts - the spineless poser.

Compassion? Sure - unless you're a victim of crime

The decision of the Scottish justice minister to release the Lockerbie murderer on "compassionate" grounds is a strange one. During his long winded, excuse riddled speech Kenny Macaskill* referred frequently to "humanity" and "compassion" being involved in his decision.

But not once did he show any humanity or compassion towards the victims of the murdering bastard. If he had an ounce of true compassion he would have realised that releasing this terrorist scum to live out his dying days among his family would cause huge upset to the families of the real victims.

The filthy Libyan terrorist is a victim of a horrible disease. That's bad luck, but not entirely undeserved, but it is not enough to justify releasing him from prison. Those who died at his hands were victims of a cold blooded calculating murderer and they deserve far more compassion and far more consideration than a terrorist.

Such a shame that Macaskill felt the need to demonstrate his fake "humanity" towards a convicted terrorist rather than the grieving families of the real victims.

* Am I the only one who finds an adult using a rather childish version of their name a little bit creepy? Kenneth or Ken would be fine - but Kenny ..... grow up sunshine.

Whose side are you on?

In an incredible (i.e. barely credible) item, The Telegraph reports that the Scottish Parliament are to debate the Israel/Gaza conflict - but MSPs have been told they can not take sides.

Despite having no control over foreign affairs, the Scottish Parliament has decided to pre-empt Westminster by discussing the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis.

So, even though it is not within their duties and at public expense, these MSPs have decided to have a debate which will serve no useful purpose for the people they are paid to represent.

They are not supposed to take sides in the "debate", but ....

It is understood the debate was initiated by Nationalist and Labour MSPs with Palestinian sympathies.

... it sounds like they already have.

In all honesty, I'm sure there are people both in the Scottish Parliament and in Westminster who are rightly concerned about what is going on in The Levant - both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian - but this smacks of providing MSPs with an opportunity for grandstanding to me.

Mind you, isn't that all politics is these days?

Smoking ban killing the traditional pub

Since the smoking ban came into force a little over a year ago it has been generally heralded as an unqualified success with the BBC in particular only too keen to parade delighted landlords across our screens telling us how lovely it all is now.

It seems, though, that the statistics tell a different story.

THE traditional local pub is facing an "unprecedented threat" from soaring costs and stay-at-home drinkers, experts have warned, as a new report reveals beer sales in bars have fallen to their lowest level since the Great Depression.

I'm not sure whether that is total sales of beer or a per capita figure - but if it is the total then that is a real worry seeing how our population is considerably larger than it was during the Great Depression.

Some 107 million fewer pints were sold between April and June this year than in the same period last year – a fall of 1.2 million pints a day.

Given that the national scourge at the moment appears to be binge drinking one would have thought that these figures are something to be pleased about - but the real concern is actually about losing a vital part of our heritage. The traditional pub.

The news follows estimates that as many as 350 pubs have closed in Scotland in the past two years, and has brought predictions of the "death" of traditional pubs across the country.

Scotland has, of course, had an extra year of the smoking ban and this has obviously taken it's toll. Again, some will see that this is a good sign - less beer will mean fewer health problems for Scotland won't it? - but I'm not convinced that this is so. You see, the traditional pub is still the favoured haunt of the average working man, but deprived of the opportunity to enjoy a B&H with his pint of heavy, the working man is, instead, staying at home having a crafty fag with a 30p can of super strength supermarket lager.

Meanwhile, more and more pubs are closing down or turning into those awful drinking warehouses that the young seem to favour. Places where the senses are constantly assaulted by loud "music" and flashing lights and where the simple pleasure of sitting down with a pint for a chat with your mates is impossible. Either that or they are being turned into "gastro-pubs" where the only thing more ridiculously expensive than the food is the beer.

Again, some people won't mind this. They are generally "progressives" who see the traditional pub as one of the anachronisms of British society - male dominated, dowdy and dull - and envisage turning Britain into some pastiche of a Euro-style cafe society.

Personally, though, I think the traditional British pub is not only one of the few institutions of the traditional working man it is one of our great cultural gems and anything that threatens that is a bad thing.

Faux independence

Like a lot of the media, The Telegraph is painting the prospect of a decisive win for SNP in Scotland on May 3rd as a precursor to the the break up of the United Kingdom.

But perhaps most importantly, a decisive victory for the SNP could lead to the break-up of the historic Union. Scotland is witnessing potentially the bloodiest and keenest contest. Every seat on the Holyrood Parliament is up for grabs.

It won't happen. Scotland voting for independence and causing the break-up of the Union, that is. I'm pretty sure the SNP will win and win big in Scotland, but I do not believe that Salmond is serious about taking Scotland out of the United Kingdom. He doesn't need to. Scotland now benefits enormously through the Union and most of the people of Scotland recognise that. An independent Scotland could not sustain it's current level of public sector employment and spending without the assistance of English taxpayers.

Sure, it would continue to receive plenty of funds from England via the EU, but nowhere near the level it currently gets. I also find it incredible that any politician can claim they want "independence" and yet remain committed to the European Union. It's a funny kind of independence that allows another government in another country staffed by foreigners to dictate your laws and regulations.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Personally, I won't be too sorry if the SNP do break up the Union. Yes, it will be a little bit sad to see the end of Britain, but I'm all for being in a proper independent nation - and that means withdrawal from the EU. I don't really mind if that is as Britain or as England, but I believe that as long as England and Scotland remain tied together withdrawal form the EU will not happen - but if Scotland does leave the Union I believe this will present England with a unique opportunity to get that independence.

I look forward to the day when I can breathe once more as a citizen of a proper independent nation. I look forward to being able to hand on that birthright to my kids. I look forward to the day when we, as a nation, can make our own decisions about everything. Perhaps then we'll regain some pride, spirit and backbone as a people. Perhaps then, the next time some tinpot despot thinks he can mess with our armed forces we can send him away with a bloody nose and humiliation writ large across his forehead.