tories – defiaye.com

It’s a done deal

June 27, 2017 No Comments

by C.C.Hamilton

So they finally got it over the line. The Tories managed to do their deal with the devil and ensured DUP support for the Queens Speech, Budget and Brexit. At a cost of £1Bn to the taxpayer and according to our Scottish Tories who are at Westminster standing up for us it is not “Barnettable” therefore there is no equivelent sum coming to Scotland or Wales at this time. Lets leave aside the money for a minute because for me that is actually secondary. It has actually been shameful how quickly everyone jumped on the financial aspect and seem to have forgotten who the UK Government have actually gone into a deal with.

The DUP’s record in Women’s and Gay Rights is pretty awful, let’s not kid ourselves and their links to Terror Organisations in the past and their history of Sectarianism is well documented and does them no favours whatsoever. The first thing to imagine is if Corbyn had done a deal with Sinn Fein ( the other party of Government in NI) to prop up a Labour Government. There would have been carnage. Secondly remember the billboards with Alex Salmond picking pockets in the run up to the 2015 election? The same kind of bollocks was put out this time around too and usually by “Proud Scots” and the SNP is a centre left social democratic party! But the thought of Scotland getting a few extra quid for public services for backing either a minority Miliband or Corbyn Government was a scandal in the press. The DUP are a hard right organisation, somewhere to the right of UKIP in some regards and the UK Government has bunged them a billion quid with the sweetner of further money in 2 years time, should the Government last that long. It is also worth noting the behaviour of Tory MSP’s like Murdo Fraser earlier this year when the Green Party manages to gain a few concessions from the Scottish Government in the budget. Screaming and name calling at the Greens in Parliament, so what does he have to say about this deal? I’m sure our press will remind him of his behaviour. And what of Ruth and auld snackbeard Mundell. Well, Ruth decided to attack independence as some kind of justification for her Government doing a deal with a party with, and let’s be kind here, questionable views on Catholics (she’s marying one) Gay Rights (she is gay) and womens rights (she is a woman.) It’s all deflection.There can be no right minded person in Scotland who likes this Tory/DUP pact, sure some of the crazy Unionists out there will be buzzing about it but the vast majority of Scots are rational and decent and know that this is a desperate measure from a dreadful Prime Minister and a dangerous one at that.

As far as the money goes, good luck to Northern Ireland. If the money is available they should have it but it shouldn’t have taken 3 weeks of haggling to get it. Here is the whole problem with devolution. Scotland, Wales and NI have to battle and scratch and moan to get a few extra crumbs from the table. And when they do they are called scroungers, sometimes by their own media! Can you imagine where Scotland would be without its own Government screaming and shouting all the time for a share? I can. It was called the 80’s and the Tories brought Scotland to it’s knees and the Labour party, in control just about everywhere in Scotland but in opposition in Westminster managed to do the grand total of fuck all to prevent it. And as we send more Tories to Westminster on the basis of shiny promises for fishermen and farmers (who THEY sold out in the first place) we should remember that. All Scotland did at the General Election was weaken it’s hand. We know that now. Snackbeard Mundell was on TV at the weekend guaranteeing a share of the DUP deal would make its way to Scotland and Wales by way of the Barnett Formula. It hasn’t. We may get a couple of quid at the budget as a sweetener to make the Thick Thirteen look a bit better. That’d be nice but I rather think that will be more about the SNP screaming and shouting again. Ruth said that her 13 will stand up for Scotland,but I ask to whom? Why do her MP’s have to stand up to their own Government? It is now clear already that these Scottish Tories are no different, indeed are much worse than previous ones. But I don’t think that that is unexpected. They have failed their first test, spectacularly. That is not unexpected either.

More than ever we need to be independent. It is embarrassing having to beg for crumbs from the UK table. No country should be reliant on another, no country’s purse string should be held by a bigger neighbour and no country should need protection from the policies of a larger neighbour who we are supposed to be in partnership with. The democratic deficit is alive and well. Once again Scotland is sidelined because we dream of a better future for everyone. Once again we give this union another go. We send a few Tories to Westminster to protect us from….Tories, increase our Labour MPS in the hope of something better under Corbyn and vote out some of our most capable politicians to give the union another go. Maybe this time, we will be treated as equal, maybe this time…..Nah. Same old same old. A Tory Government that more than 2/3^rd of the country didn’t vote for.

Time for Scotland the Brave, time to make our own mistakes and own them. Time to plot our own path with shoulders back and head held high. Confidently striding into the future as a welcoming, inclusive forward thinking nation. Not dragged back into deals with right wing, as the Mirror calls them today “crackpots.” Time to be in a position of voting OUT any Government we are not happy with. Time to spend money on Health and Education and proper defence rather than nuclear weapons in the Clyde that we will never use.

It is our time, Time to put all of us first. We’ve given the Union another go, it’s broken, we are too junior a partner to fix it. But we can fix us and work with the rest of the UK as equals. And you know what, if Scotland has a £15Bn deficit as is claimed, it just proves that the Union has failed us and that we are brave enough to take the difficult decisions to move Scotland forward. Come on, it’ll be an adventure, let’s get off our knees, Hope over Fear. Be the Scotland we wish to be.

You Yes Yet?

Politics

The Truth

June 26, 2017 No Comments

by C.C. Hamilton

The truth about Ruth

The images over the weekend of Ruth Davidson in military uniform gave me the dry boak. There is something very uncomfortable about a politician in military uniform. The “Lesbian kick boxer” as she was lovingly referred to in the English press at the weekend is just a parody figure in my eyes now. I cant wait to see her joining in with the party tunes at the next Armed Forces day at Ibrox. I am sure brother Adam and brother Murdo will teach her the words.

It was interesting to see the response from Keith Brown MSP, who actually served, on the subject. Dignified and considered. Such a contrast to what we have come to expect from this batch of Tories.

Gordon Wilson

As I write this, the news is coming through of Gordon Wilson’s passing. Gordon led the SNP through turbulent times and was, for me, a frustrating figure in recent years. I met him a couple of times as a young man as I fell in and out of love with the party, and found him courteous, patient and engaging. In contrast to people like Jack McConnell and Margaret Curran who I met around the same time but found rude and almost arrogant when discussing Scottish politics. I understand Gordon has a big family and he will be sorely missed. As far as the YES movement is concerned, like Jim Sillars, he was an important voice in recent years, a frustrating one at times as I said before, but an important one. He will be sorely missed by all of us who believe in self determination but we will carry on. A true patriot. RIP.

More Toxic Tories

I see the Tories in Scotland are in more trouble. The new MP for Stirling Stephen Kerr was picked apart by people on Social Media and picked up by the Sunday Herald for holding, shall we say, questionable views on Gay Marriage etc. He was, of course, pictured with “Lesbian Kick Boxer Ruth Davidson.” Amazing how beliefs can change when you get a whiff of power. We also had the incredible news that Ian Duncan, loser in Perth, is to be parachuted into the Lords and to get a top job in the Scottish office ahead of the other 12 useful idiots who actually won a seat ( with help from Scottish Labour of course!) Ruth’s Party is now being taken to court by a European list candidate who has been passed over for Ian Duncan’s MEP job in favour of one of Ruth’s pals, Iain McGill, who lost in Edinburgh . You couldn’t make this up. There is very little noise from the Timid Twelve (discounting snackbeard as he does have a kinda bigboy job) as the 35 SNP MP’s get back to business. It was always this way though, we know in Scotland if we send MP’s down to Westminster, either Labour or Tory, they are merely Lobby fodder with big expense accounts. The Tories in Scotland are actually a shambolic disgrace and the media (even the left leaning side like the Daily Record) gives them a free pass. No wonder the latest poll on trust in the media is an absolute shocker.

Labour

This week we had Owen Jones in Scotland to visit his sick father and to campaign for the Scottish Labour candidate in Leith. Most of Labour are wetting their knickers at the prospect of another election this year (the third in 2 years) because Jeremy has momentum behind him and he may win this one. Owen took the opportunity to attack the SNP, not the Tories but the SNP and campaign in a seat where the sitting MP is a very good SNP MP. Owen,of course, not so long ago was campaigning for Jeremy Corbyn to stand down, but now there is a whiff of power all is good with the dandy Socialist and Corbyn is his man again. Now, I like Owen Jones and I like Jeremy Corbyn and I have no problem with Owen coming to Scotland to campaign but surely his fire would be better used on The Tories in Scotland. The party of the benefits cap, Rape Clause and mired in allegations of Sectarianism, Racism and Homophobia. Remember even if Labour had swept Scotland Jeremy would still have been short of a majority, that’s how far behind labour had fallen in the UK. Now, of course, they made great strides at the Election but still fell well short of winning the Election against the worst campaign in history. I think, we all have to accept too that the Tories will NOT be that bad again. They will regroup to a degree and won’t make the same mistakes again.

There is also the hypocricy of Kezia Dugdale driving for another election, the third in two years, but campigning to deny a referendum, already voted through Holyrood, a second in 5-6 years if it takes place as seems most likey in 2019-2020. So I would respectfully ask Owen Jones, to look at the bigger picture here in Scotland. The SNP is not the enemy of Jeremy Corbyn, in fact the wider YES movement are some of the biggest friends he has in Scotland. And certainly MORE supportive of Jeremy and his socialist ideals than Scottish Labour.

Politics

Owning your vote

May 31, 2017 No Comments

by C.C.Hamilton

I think I have said before that I would never tell anyone how to vote but I think it is important that we all all own our vote. We have to be big enough to say “I voted for that party and for these reasons.” I am always, then, interested to read people voting Tory in this election based on the “No IndyRef” rhetoric. What they are of course voting for is to deny themselves a vote on Scotlands future. Voting to deny yourself your democratic right. Of course, people are buying into the Ruth Davidson line, parrotted on TV at the weekend that “NO ONE in Scotland wants another referendum” that is another lie from someone seeming to speak for Scotland while also saying that “The SNP is not Scotland.” In actual fact recent polling suggest 50% fancy another referendum in the near future and 58% think that it should be a matter for the Scottish Parliament where it has already passed with majority support. So to vote, simply on the referedum question is actually voting to deny the very democracy we claim to hold so dear. But there is a wider picture here. You don’t get to say I am voting Tory to deny another referendum and just ignore the rupugnant and divisive nature of THIS Conservative Party. Have a look at this shameful list:

Family cap (no child benefit for 3^rd child)
The Rape Clause (exemption for a child born after being raped, as long as you fill in an 8 page form, relive the abuse and name the child!)
Cuts to winter fuel allowance for pensioners, which will be devolved but we dont know when. The Scottish Government has said it wont cut.
The bedroom tax, which, again, the Scottish Government mitigates.
Getting rid of the triple lock protecting pensions.
Awful benefit sanctions regime
Damage done to our industry by the Tories in the 80’s still felt today.
The sell out of our fishing industry as “expendable” in the 70’s
The bigotry, racism and homophobia exposed in a number of new councillors.
Dog Whistle Sectarian terms used by senior MSP’s on Social Media
Increased food bank usage.
Removing free school meals for infants. Scottish Government will protect.
And thats all before we get to the fact that both the PM and the Tory leader in Scotland told us all before the EU Referendum that BREXIT was a bad idea. Ruth even telling us we were being lied to and now telling us that we just have to suck it up and make the best of it. A PM refusing to debate her policies ahead of an election. An election she said 6 times (at least) wouldnt happen. The EU negotiators must be rubbing their hands at the prospect of facing her.

Few of us will ever agree wholeheartedly with the party we vote for. I will vote SNP this time but have voted many other ways in the past but this Tory party stands for some pretty abhorrant and vile policies and include some pretty vile characters at their core. Not to be trusted with Scotland Ever. Be careful with your vote.

Debates

What a contrast in the dabates this time around. The ITV one minus the PM and Corbyn was enjoyable, policy was debated in a decent manner, had ntelligent questions and chaired well. Matters raised which were devolved was pointed out to the viewers but the devolved administrations still had ample time to make a point. The Channel 4 debate this week, again benefitted from being well chaired and enjoyed intelligent contributions from the audience. I will come on to Paxman later. Compare that to the shambolic BBC Scotland attempt where Sarah Smith was dreadful,we had the awful spin room idea again (why are journalists interviewing journalists?!) and Kez and Ruth screaming away. Totally dominated by devolved issues after Ruth had a disaster trying to defend immigration. Either we just dont have the talent up here to produce decent debates where policy and ideas can be explored or it’s to do with who you know. But I find it hard to believe that Sarah Smith would be anywhere near a TV studio if it wasnt for who her father was. Grim stuff and shame on the BBC and most of the politicians involved. Also worth noting that Claire Austin’s claim that she was asked back on to this debate as she hadn’t been allowed to ask a question on question time has never been properly addressed by the BBC. Something smells around Pacific Quay and it ain’t the Clyde!

Angry Men

One good thing to come out of this campaign has been that it is now clear that the old boys network of Andrew Neil, Andrew Marr, Jeremy Paxman and David Dimbleby or yesterdays men. Some quite dreadful performances from all of them in recent weeks,capped off by Paxman the other night. I want to hear politcians allowed to speak, develop ideas and feel safe to speak off the cuff and be honest. As it is politicians resort to robotic answers in the face of bullying, hostile behaviour from these guys. I think in this campaign we have seen that people like Faisal Islam can do things differently and still be effective. In Scotland I am not so sure, our reliance on Ponsonby, Brewer Smith and Bird, leaves us well short of the quality required for grown up political debate.

Nicola Sturgeon

I think it says a lot for the FM in the face of a mostly hostile press that she fronts up for each debate and answers questions patiently while the others around her are shouting and bawling. Or avoiding the debates as the PM has. Much like Corbyn, in that respect, she has refined her technique and become much more measured in her approach. Admiitedly her opposite numbers come across as just shouty bullies devoid of any actual policy but she has done well. As I have said before I am no SNP fanboy but I am particularly dismayed at Kezia’s performance because I genuinely think she is better than that. Ruth is a Tory and that’s what mostTories do: They shut down debate because they know that if the electorate get to their real policies they would never hold office. So they make a lot of noise and bully and bluster and the debate is over before you know it. If Ruth Davidson didn’t have the support of her former collegues in the media and the bigot vote in Scotland she would be gone long before now, because she just isn’t very good. Kezia is different and is capable of much better. My main critcism of the FM is that she becomes a bit robotic at times under pressure. I think she is an honest and decent, hardworking FM but there is only so many times we can hear slogans like “stronger for Scotland” before it starts to sound like a soundbite to avoid a question and she is tarnished with the “all politcians are the same” criticism. This is not the the land of milk and honey and this SNP Government is not perfect by any means but it is doing well and in many areas is doing better than others in the UK. It is good to hear her take responsibility for the education issues, in contrast, for example to Ruth Davidson’s avoidance of the Rape Clause debate and her lack of response to the Racist/Sectarian stuff from Councillors and activists in the last few weeks. The FM’s patience in defending devolved issues in a Westminster election campaign has shamed some in the Media and Opposition parties who have tried to set the agenda of “SNP bad.”

Polls tightening

As the polls seemingly tighten. Wouldn’t it be bizarre if our rural and fishing communities voted for the Tory Party MP’s that has sold them out in the past, the Tories ended up out of power and it was Nicola Sturgeons SNP that held the balance of power!

A nice Tory

It was great to speak at length the other day with a local Conservative Councillor. He has been in office now for almost 20 years and has proven to be a fine local councillor regardless of party affiliations. He was dismayed by the number of, in his words,”rockets” who had been elected for his party in the recent council elections. He was also at pains to point out that council politics often is nasty when it doesn’t need to be because of party politics. He cited the Lib Dems and the Tories in his council who politicise every issue and admitted he has become frustrated that local issues are alwys framed around the national political climate and councillors being told to toe the Party line as directed by central office. It makes you wonder if local politics should be out of political party hands and back to Councillors serving their communities first and always. Just goes to show that there are decent Tories out there though folks! Be nice to them.

Claire Austin

A final word on Claire Austin who was lauded by Kezia and the media after she (rightly) had a go at Nicola Sturgeon on TV over nurses pay. Its not been a good time for her. People commenting on her social media profiles, press doorstepping her and now reportedly a fine for a row with neighbours. But her story did make me think. My wife and I earn a fair bit less than Ms Austin, between us we have been made redundant (through no fault of our own) 3 times in the last 12 years, we have 2 children but thankfully we have never had to use foodbanks. Indeed when we shop we usually buy an extra bag of food to donate to the local foodbank. We may be just lucky, we have a fine family around us who helped in our hour of need, but we are careful with our money, try to save a bit for a rainy day. So when what felt like a disaster of redundancy happened we managed to tighten our belts, dip into our savings and fortunately picked up work wherever,doing whatever we could. None of this is really relative to Ms Austin, of course, as we do not know the circumstances of her referral to a foodbank and no one should be using foodbnks in 2017 anyway. But it does make it dificult for people like us who are on low income to fully understand the point she was making. By the way, we still do OK. We manage a family holiday every year, a special trip to Disneyland Paris every few years, weekends away, we have a decent car. We manage and we make choices every day on what we can afford. It doesn’t make us any better than anyone else. It is just how it is and how we choose to live our life. I hope we never have to use foodbanks but I am very grateful for the work they do particularly for those let down by the benefit system or those struggling to “just manage” as the PM put it. I truly hope Claire Austin never has to use one again either and I wish her well. The biggest sadness in this, though, is that it was a fine question but asked for all the wrong reasons and used by people like Kezia Dugdale and sections of the media to score political points, therefore diluting the point.