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29/04/07 Post Office closures, EU to blame 27/04/07 The Cost of the Union, Energy 26/04/07 The Cost of the Union, Agriculture 23/04/07 The Cost of the Union, Oil and Industry 23/04/07 Trade Union Secretary to stand in Free Scotland Party regional list 13/04/07 Free Scotland Party, Scottish Parliament elections, Manifesto Launch 11/04/07 London parties are the basket case 17/03/07 London subsidy junkies, Olympian incompetence 15/03/07 Trident vote: Scotland ignored 03/03/07 Scottish Parliamentary Campaign Launch 10/02/07 Bridge tolls vote; logic, fairness? 28/01/07 Brown hands off Scottish football 14/01/07 Treaty of Union, democratic deficit "The Treaty of Union was forced on the population of Scotland by the actions of the few in the then Scottish Parliament who represented not the people but the aristocracy, landowners and merchants", said Jim Fairlie, candidate for the Free Scotland Party in Perth. "We are getting very selective history trotted out as we approach the 300th anniversary of the passing of the Treaty of Union. The majority of Scots opposed the end of Scotland's independence but they were not represented in the Scottish Parliament. There was a huge democratic deficit. Only those of property had the right to vote for MPs who understandably represented the interests of the aristocracy, landowners and merchants and not the people." "England applied some very unsubtle pressure to the Scottish Parliament by passing the Aliens Act which laid down that Scottish landowners would have to forfeit their land in England, that Scottish merchants would not be allowed to trade in England and that there would be no trade between Scotland and English colonies." "Scottish MPs
responded to the self interest of their tiny electorate, and "300 years on and nothing has changed. Each of the Scottish electorate now has a vote and we can be against a war in Iraq but are dragged into it, Scotland can be against Trident but still have it situated in Scotland, can be against EU directives but have them forced on Scotland. There was a democratic deficit in 1707, there is still a democratic deficit in 2007." "It is time to get out of the unions of the UK and the EU. It is time for voters in Scotland to elect a government elected by and answerable only to voters in Scotland." 05/11/06 Jim Fairlie to stand in Perth in 2007 Jim Fairlie will contest the Perth Constituency at the May 2007 elections for the Scottish Parliament for the Free Scotland Party. The candidate for Perth will be Jim Fairlie, who last contested the seat for the SNP in 1987, running second to Nicholas Fairbairn. Mr Fairlie, an ex deputy leader of the SNP, left the party in 1990 because of the SNP’s policy on the EU and was out of active party politics, until he joined the Free Scotland Party two years ago. Free Scotland was formed by long standing members of the SNP, together with other Nationalists, who want Scotland to be independent of the UK and the EU. Free Scotland have consistently argued that the SNP’s “Independence in Europe” is a contradiction in terms and the Scottish people are being lied to. Free Scotland argue Scotland can be independent or it can be a member of the EU, but it cannot be both. Mr Fairlie said, “Opinion polls have consistently shown over 50% of Scots favour independence and some very high profile Scots have recently added their weight to the argument. But only 30% of Scots are prepared to vote for the SNP and it has to be recognised that there are many Scots who support independence but will never vote for the party. There are also a great many Scots in every political party who reject the idea of further political and economic integration of the EU and a recent business survey showed a majority of business people in Scotland have given serious thought to leaving the EU.” Mr Fairlie continued, “Free Scotland offers Scots who favour independence from both the UK and the EU, a platform and a voice for the first time. We also offer a fresh start to those who have become sickened and disgusted by the duplicity of the Westminster parties have lied for over thirty years about the value of Scotland’s oil, Scottish regiments have carried a disproportionate burden and Scottish lives have been lost in Iraq, sent there on the basis of a pack of lies to fight an illegal war. Sleaze and corruption under New Labour is as bad if not worse than it was under the Tories and all the Westminster parties have debased politics and government. The SNP has consistently lied because it is not offering the Scottish people independence, it is offering another Union, where Scotland’s economy will be run from Brussels rather than London. The SNP has joined the other parties in the conspiracy of silence on the way in which the EU continues to encroach on our daily lives.” Mr Fairlie concluded, “Free Scotland is taking on the SNP in its heartland and will force them to debate and justify their slavish commitment to the EU, and their intention of swapping one incorporating union for another.” ENDS Jim Fairlie Political CV joined the SNP in
1955 aged 15 on joining Free Scotland in 2004, Jim Fairlie said, "Why join a party now? When I first left the SNP my intention was to take the arguments about the EU into the public domain, without having the restraints of party loyalty. I felt the debate was too important to be shelved because the SNP had decided to adopt its Independence in Europe line, and the SNP expected its senior members to adhere to the party policy. I hoped the SNP would change, as many members at that time insisted to me that it would." "I have always missed the involvement in political debate, hence my frequent but irregular appearances in the letter columns of the press. I went along as part of an invited audience to a debate in the Scottish Parliament, run by The Institute for Citizenship, on the question of the EU and the proposition that if people knew more about the EU, they would support it more. The panel included Alyn Smith SNP MEP and I have never seen someone elected on an SNP ticket so totally ignorant of the history of the SNP and so ill equipped to argue the case for Scottish Nationalism. I came away from the meeting seething with frustration and decided to become involved again." "I had hoped that in time, the SNP would present their case on the EU honestly but that possibility is further away than ever. The SNP has invested far too much political capital in Independence in Europe to change now. I believe that Free Scotland is the only political party in Scotland whose commitment to the restoration of Scottish sovereignty is unconditional therefore my only alternative if I want to be involved in nationalist politics again is the Free Scotland Party." "Free Scotland wants a government in Scotland elected by and answerable only to the people of Scotland. This means that Free Scotland does not accept that a devolved parliament is enough, a position that some nationalist parties seem to be moving towards, and we do not accept interference from the European Union (EU) or the UK parliament in Scottish affairs." "Scottish solutions to Scottish problems is an oft heard refrain which cannot be achieved in the EU, in the UK or in a devolved parliament situation.”. 14/06/06 MP barking......up wrong tree on Post Office "So, Alistair Carmichael, MP for Orkney and Shetland, wants to ensure the viability of the rural Post Office network something that we can all agree with. However, a 90 minute debate in the Houses of Parliament misses the crucial point that the decisions about the Post Office are being made elsewhere", said Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party. He continued, "The privatisation of the Post Office is being driven by the EU and much as Mr Carmichael may wish to talk to the minister responsible for the postal services that minister is only nominally responsible for postal services. Change to the Post Office at every level are happening because of EU directives." "EU directive 97/67/EC stated that items weighing more than 100 grams (small parcels upwards) were opened up to competition on January 1 2003, with private companies coming in to compete on the most lucrative parts of the market." "This year from January 1, 2006, the Royal Mail lost its monopoly when EU directive 2002/39/EC opened up the delivery of all items of more than 50 grams (roughly the weight of the average letter) to competition." "Encouraging competition is all fine and well but if the Post Office office has to deliver to every household in the land and private companies can pick and choose what to deliver then it is obvious that the competition is skewed towards the private companies." "With the Post Office's main avenue for making a profit crippled in this way, all the other services that the Post Office supplies then come under scrutiny and some will be lost." "Mr Carmichael support for rural Post Offices is welcome but the target for his ire should be the European Union but that would not sit well with the Liberal Democrat's enthusiastic support for the EU." 13/06/06 Half a million Strasbourg signatures, and counting "Half a million people across Europe have signed the petition asking for the closure of the second EU Parliament base in Strasbourg, France. The EU Parliament is normally based in Brussels but once a month decants to Strasbourg at a cost to the EU tax payer of €200 million a year." "One million signatures are required for the EU Parliament to discuss the closure of Strasbourg. They only meet in Strasbourg because France insists on it meeting there. Many see this as a French abuse of EU funds with the costs met primarily by the other member states. Strasbourg has not helped its case with allegations of inflated rents for the Strasbourg building." 31/05/06 Strasbourg Petition, http://www.oneseat.eu Brian Nugent, spokesperson
for the Free Scotland Party, has called for "Normally,
the EU Parliament meets in Brussels but once a month the EU "The costs are met primarily by the other member states. The cost of the EU Parliament in Strasbourg is estimated at over €200 million a year, these figures are based on 2004 figures, the latest figures are from before the union was enlarged with ten new member states in May 2004." "Apart
from the inconvenience and expense, Strasbourg itself has brought the
issue to the fore by charging extortionate rents, last month there were
"Now a number
of MEPs of various political parties from various countries "You are invited to surf to http://www.oneseat.eu and submit your signature. You could consider sending this address to all in your address book." 23/05/06 BA, 40%, competition "So, Tavish Scott, Scottish Government Transport Minister, is giving £11.2 million of tax payers money to British Airways (BA) and says this is a good deal. And, no doubt, BA agree. Pity that the Transport Minister has confused subsidising BA with subsidising islanders," said Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party. He continued, "British Airways announced profits on Friday which have soared in 2005-06 despite whopping increases in fuel costs, profits going up by 19.1 percent to a pre-tax profit of £620m in the 12 months ending 31 March." "What is needed is not a scheme to subsidise BA but a scheme which encourages competition on routes like Shetland. If this scheme is to continue then BA should be forced to open up their books for Island flights to see how they justify such high prices because even with a 40% reduction, islanders will still be paying top dollar." "What is needed is a scheme to encourage competition. A number of years ago, Business Air briefly flew in and out of Shetland at lower prices than BA. BA cynically undercut Business Air until they had to withdraw and then BA bumped up their prices again. Rather than subsidising BA, Globespan, Ryan Air or similar airline companies should be brought in and subsidised to compete against BA." "The fact that the scheme does not work, application forms did not go out properly, completed forms are still to be entered into the system, cards and pin numbers are not yet issued when the scheme is up and running, is a further slap in the face for islanders." 22/05/06 Montenegro, welcome to the World! "Montenegro, welcome to the World! All nationalists will be delighted for the Independence movement in Montenegro that they have got over the EU imposed hurdle of a 55% majority to regain their Independence and correct a wrong from 1918 when redrawing of maps after World War One led to the inclusion of Montenegro in Yugoslavia," said Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party. "The 55.4% majority is being described as narrow, why? The government in Italy changed with only a handful of votes to seperate both sides. Why was Montenegro different? Why should the EU have the right to interfere in the internal affairs of Montenegro or any other country?" "The EU should not be setting standards for Independence referendums especially when they would have had no idea what to do next if the majority had been less that their 55%." 13/05/06 EU Plan B for Montenegro? “What happens if result of the Montenegrin Independence Referendum is support for Independence but with a percentage that lands in that grey area between 50% to 55%, the EU imposed barrier? The majority will have lost! A crazy Alice in Wonderland system that only the EU could have come up with.” “In a volatile area there will the danger of internal instability between Serbia and Montenegro. What is the EU plan B for a mess of their own making? They can not walk away from a situation that they will have set up.” “Let us hope that May 21 sees the emergence of Montenegro as a fully Independent nation on the world stage and that Montenegro will say goodbye to a State Union dreamed up by the EU, despite the anti democratic rules put in place by the EU for this Independence Referendum.” “Montenegro is a multi-ethnic country which was wiped off the map by the Allies after World War 1, a country with a 1,000 year history was deemed not to exist. Montenegro with a population of 670,000, 41 percent Montenegrins, 30 percent Serbs, 14.7 per cent Bosniaks, 7 percent Albanians and one per cent Croats stood together while violence visited other parts of the former Yugoslavia.” “When Italy can change governments on a handful of votes, the EU has ordered that Montenegro has to get 55% in favour of Independence and that at least 50% of the voting population must vote. Why have higher democratic controls been set on Montenegro than would be set in an election anywhere else in Europe? Does the EU want Montenegro to fail and be stuck with Serbia?” “With such a divisive referendum, we can only hope that the OSCE and ODIHR foreign monitors are on top of their job and route out any fraud or suggestion of fraud as every vote will count.” “Montenegro deserves the support of nationalists and democrats everywhere. Montenegro has already declared that it will respect the historic and traditional links between the states of Montenegro and Serbia, and aims for a future alongside their neighbour based on ‘mutual respect, understanding, equality and friendship’.” “A long list of guarantees on behalf of the future State of Montenegro to citizens of Serbia includes all the human and civil rights and freedoms exercised by the citizens of Montenegro, property rights, rights to education, insurance, healthcare, pensions, ex-servicemen and disability protection rights, citizenship rights.” “How will Serbia react? Will they respect the majority in a grey area vote? Can Montenegro look forward to a Czech-Slovak velvet divorce? The EU will be responsible for this situation, they can not walk away.” 28/03/06 TEAM Conference (TEAM the European Alliance of EU-critical Movements) TEAM Conference, AGM weekend 31 March - 2 April 2006 in Vienna, Austria Opposition to the EU is growing across Europe with 35 participants from 19 countries attending this key event in Vienna. Among speakers will be Anthony Coughlan (National Platform, Ireland), Lave Broch (Peoples Movement against EU, Denmark), Normunds Grostins (Movement for Independence, Latvia), Kevin Bonice (Campaign for Independence, Malta), John Boyd (Campaign against Euro-federalism, United Kingdom). Discussion will
include the steps being taken by the EU and other vested Team are hoping
to encourage a public debate on the Constitution, the TEAM, The European
Alliance of EU-critical Movements 27/03/06 Pension rights strike support The Free Scotland Party backs local government workers in their strike on Tuesday (28/03/06) on pension rights. "Local government workers are right to make a stand on their pensions because if the government gets away with this first cut, it will only be the first of many. Why should they pay for the incompetence of politicians and Gordon Brown?" said Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party. "We should be able to rely on MPs to sort out the pensions mess, but the only pensions they are interested in are their own. Most pension schemes deal with eigthieths, some sixtieths for years of service calculations, but the MPs voted themselves fiftieths. The reason given for this hike to the value of their future pensions is that an MP is effectively on a short term contract. That must sound a bit hollow to the many public and private sector workers who are on short term, low paid contracts with no pension perks." "You cannot rely on Chancellor Brown to sort out the pensions mess. Brown has provoked the pension crisis with a pernicious and lucrative stealth tax. Each year as Chancellor, he has removed the tax refund on share dividends which used to go to pension funds. In Brown's first year, this was worth £5billion, this year £7.3billion a year, and what would this (£50billion approximately) be worth over the 9 years had it been invested rather than burnt by Brown? All of this is lost to the pension industry and to you and me investors in the pension industry." "Black holes in pension funds are down to Brown, they are also down to private companies taking pension holidays in the good times and now in the bad times dumping their responsibilities to their employees by closing pension funds. There is no sign of any directors or chief executives taking a similar hit to their pension funds." "Current politicians have destroyed the pension industry and they will walk away in the same way that governments in the past Labour, Conservative and New Labour have all walked away from the state pension. The state pension in real terms is dropping in value and that is a matter of deliberate policy." " National Insurance Contributions (NIC) are taken off your wages and the theory was that this money would be invested partly to pay for the state pension and partly to invest, but in reality NIC is just another tax and is spent. NIC should be banked or invested to pay for the state pension, it should be invested in funds that potentially could increase in value over time instead of being just another black hole." 21/03/06 Margaret Ewing, MSP, RIP We mourn the passing of Margaret Ewing MSP who died from breast cancer on Tuesday, 21/03/06. A committed Nationalist who represented the SNP both at Westminster and in Edinburgh. Scotland has lost a champion. She will be sadly missed by all in the Independence movement. Our thoughts and prayers are with Fergus and family members. 21/03/06 Montenegro Independence Referendum, EU Interference “Is Montenegro to be held prisoner by the EU?” asked Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party. He continued, “in the EU’s own words Montenegro is part of ‘manifestly dysfunctional confederation’, the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro that the EU helped bring about in 2001-2002. Montenegrins are entitled to campaign for Independence on their own terms but the EU, having manufactured the problem, appears to be trying to influence the outcome of the forthcoming referendum.” “The formula proposed by EU goes against the basic democratic principle that each vote should have the same value. In most democracies a majority means 50% plus one vote of those who vote. The EU has imposed two hurdles in the way of Montenegrin Independence; a 55% majority must vote for Independence and 50% of the electorate must vote on May 21. Where is the democracy in these two hurdles? Why has the EU selected Montenegro to apply these tests to a democratic referendum when these tests do not apply in any election or referendum in the states that make up the EU? Why the double standards?” “We were told that a one vote majority would be enough to take Britain into the Common Market in the 1975 referendum but it will take 55% in 2006 to take Montenegro out of the State Union. The worst possible scenario will be a majority for Independence but below the 55% mark, meaning the majority lose and the minority win. This stance runs contrary to the right of self-determination. Montenegro has been around as a self-conscious identity and nation for a thousand years, so if Montenegrins want to be independent again, why not? “The 50% of voters must vote is like a re-run of the 1979 Devolution referendum in Scotland and the Cunningham 40% amendment. The Cunningham amendment stated that at least 40% of those on the electoral register had to vote in favour for devolution to be accepted. This figure was almost impossible to get.” “The register was completed in October with the referendum held in March the following year. Electoral registers go out of date quickly. Voters move and do not register at their new home. Voters die. With the 40% rule, the dead and all those who abstained effectively became No voters in the Devolution referendum.” “Another anomaly is that students can be registered to vote in two places, their home address and their university address. If a student voted at one or the other and voted yes, that vote was cancelled out by not voting in the other area because of the Cunningham amendment. If they voted no, they had two no votes in effect.” “Scotland voted in favour of devolution by 52% to 48% but the majority equated to 32.9% of the electorate so the majority were denied what they wanted and lost, the minority won.” “If as the EU says Montenegro has taken major steps to earn the right to make its own decision free of outside pressure, why has the EU applied it’s own outside pressure to Montenegro with not one but two unusual voting stipulations?” “It is almost as if there is a secret EU agenda to keep the State Union together. The EU are, at least tacitly, encouraging the anti-independence opposition, indirectly stimulating the opposition to boycott any referendum meaning the majority would not matter. What are the EU’s motives? Are they trying to avoid another Balkan state that will demand EU aid and expect a separate seat at EU negotiations?” “What right does the EU have to interfere in a country? What happens in a referendum in Montenegro may seem far away but in the event of any future Independence referendum in Scotland or Catalonia or the Basque country or wherever else in Europe, the EU may want to interfere there too. The EU is setting a precedent that should not become a template for Independence referendums. Democratic rules as applied elsewhere should apply to independence referendums.” “You have to admire the cheek of EU given that the EU is itself not democratic. What you can not admire is the blackmail used against the Montenegrin independence movement. The EU threatened to withhold international observers from the referendum if the 55% rule were not accepted. International observers give legitimacy to any election result if they find it fair.” “Miroslav Lajcak, the EU's envoy to the region said rather menacingly, ‘I don't believe that the Montenegro government would choose to step into contradiction with the EU over this issue’. The EU’s use of blackmail and threats shows how corrupt the whole organisation is and one best avoided in the future by an Independent Montenegro.” “Finally, Scot Sir Fitzroy Maclean who parachuted into German-occupied Montenegro in 1943 said of Montenegro ‘If I were ever to be reborn, outside of Scotland, I would like to be born in Montenegro and to be protected in my direst hours by Montenegrins’. Along with that recommendation, the Free Scotland Party wishes Montenegro well in its quest to overcome the EU’s hurdles and become Independent.” Sources http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/pdfs/20060304/D22.pdf 23/02/06 Free Scotland Party to join TEAM, the european alliance of EU critical movements TEAM, the european
alliance of EU critical movements, is considering an Brian Nugent, spokesperson
for the Free Scotland Party, said, "the Free TEAM is a information
sharing network bringing together 57 EU-critical The organisation was set up in 1992 to defend democracy against the emerging EU State and against the ongoing erosion of democracy in the EU. TEAM's common beliefs
are in the principles of democracy requiring John Boyd, Team
co-ordinator, said, "The building of a centralised "The centralisation of more and more power to Brussels and Frankfurt removes decision-making and control from national governments and parliaments, which are democratically accountable to their voters and citizens, to bureaucrats and politicians at EU-level, who decide policy package deals among themselves behind closed doors." "The project
of an EU Superstate is being pressed by the euro-federalists Brian Nugent added,
"Free Scotland believe that we all owe a debt of http://www.teameurope.info/
John Boyd, TEAM
Coordinator 08/02/06 Aaland, to leave EU? The island Aaland, recent competitors in Shetland in the Island Games, is threatening to leave the EU unless it is allowed to make its own policy decisions on the tax-free sale of snuff in their own territorial waters. Aaland is a small semi-autonomous island but becoming part of Finland in 1921 it maintained its Swedish language and culture and kept self-governance over internal matters like education, culture, healthcare, post and police matters, while foreign policy, customs and monetary matters are handled from Helsinki. When Finland joined the EU in 1996, Aaland agreed to join on condition that it could keep some of its crucial laws, such as keeping Swedish as the only official language, and having complete demilitarisation of the island. The ferry-sale of Swedish style tobacco called "snus", a brown moist powder that users shape into a wad and stick under their upper lip, is a major source of income for the island. An EU ban on moist snuff applies to the whole EU bloc except Sweden, which has claimed that the use of snus is part of the Swedish traditional heritage. Swedish-speaking Aaland declared that the cultural and historical bond to Sweden should make the island state eligible for the same exception to the rule. Another important aspect of this issue is that Aaland regards the waters surrounding the island as their own, not part of EU waters, which should allow for tax-free sales on passenger ferries from neighbouring countries in Aaland waters. Finnish users have to travel by ferry to either Aaland or Sweden to fill up on personal stocks. Much to the annoyance of Aallanders, the Finnish government has announced that it will side with the EU on this matter. This comes on top of a number of EU bans affecting Aaland this year such as a recent hunting ban. Britt Lundberg of Aaland's government explained that Aaland could not support a European treaty without even having a say in matters concerning the island's own interior politics. Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party, commented, "the EU is interfering in every aspect of life across every community, trampling everyone and everything underfoot that disagrees with its policies. No one signed up for the micro management of their life." 31/01/06 EU propaganda unit "Legitimate press coverage or propaganda paid for by tax payers that is the question to ask with news that a 'white paper on communication' is to be unveiled on Wednesday (1 February) by the EU," said Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party. He continued, "One of the proposals is to create an EU press agency to join the existing 24-hour TV news channel Euronews, currently funded by both the Commission and the European Parliament." "The EU seem to find it difficult to accept that voters when asked are likely to vote down EU proposals such as the French and Dutch voters rejecting the Constitution. They are involved in a "reflection period" after the rejection of the Constitution, and it would appear that they feel that voters are to blame for being misinformed or under informed about the Constitution, the project and elitist EU institutions. Blame the voters would seem to be the approach." "The Commission argues this debate should be 'inclusive', with all citizens having access to information. Presumably, press coverage will cover EU corruption, Commissioners, MEPs and civil servants on the gravy train, rampant bureaucracy, lack of democracy in EU institutions and the fact that EU accounts have not been signed off for 11 years or then again, maybe not." "Another worrying proposal is that better awareness of Europe could also be achieved by lessons in EU history and institutions being part of the school day. Brainwashing children is not on!" 30/01/06 Scotland v Faroe Islands in Shetland The Free Scotland Party is writing to the Scottish Football Association suggesting that Shetland play host to the Scotland v Faroe Islands match in the 2008 Euro qualifying competition. "The SFA should take the opportunity thrown up by the 2008 Euro draw which sees Scotland and the Faroe Islands in the same group to award the Scotland home match against the Faroes to Shetland. The SFA should be promoting football throughout Scotland and moving this international to Shetland would be a great reward for the dedicated football followers in the islands", says Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party. "Shetland did
a wonderful job of organising the Island Games in July of 2005 with
football being one of the major sports. The Shetland Football "Apart from
the experience of organising football competitions, Shetland 16/01/06 Brown's Britishness bellow bombs "Great Britain,
what is great about being British? They had a fine sense of "Scotland
does get to supply all our resources to maintain Britain. "Despite a Treaty of Union that stated that there would not be different tax systems in different parts of the union, the Poll Tax experiment was imposed in Scotland. Scotland has had its Steel and Fishing industries sacrificed, Steel by Mrs Thatcher when the EU needed a cut in production and Fishing with an ongoing death by a thousand cuts with the major fishing effort in Scotland but our fishermen represented in EU negotiations by a British Minister." "Why
did Mr Brown not speak out when England stole 6,000 square miles of
Scotland's coastal waters in the North Sea? What of a London centric
"Everyone
suspects that Gordon Brown is trying to sell out to England's 27/12/05 Free Scotland join SCAEF SCAEF, the Scottish Campaign against Euro-Federalism, have welcomed the Free Scotland as their newest group member. Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party, said "Free Scotland are delighted to be members of SCAEF and believe that as more and more voters in Scotland become disillusioned with the EU and they need organisations such as SCAEF and Free Scotland to support." "Free Free Scotland wants an Independent Scotland, Independent of the UK and Independent of the EU!" "Free Scotland says hold a 2 question referendum, Question 1 on the Euro, Question 2 on membership of the European Union (EU). Free Scotland says vote No both to the Euro and to membership of the EU." "Free Scotland support any referendum or measures to diminish the powers of the EU over Scottish Life." The Scottish Campaign against Euro-Federalism is the Scottish affiliate of CAEF. (CAEF is the UK Campaign against Euro-Federalism.) Formed in 1992, the Campaign against Euro-Federalism campaigns against the growing centralization of the EU, its increasing use as a vehicle for enforcing directives on privatization and competition and its erosion of the democratic powers of parliaments in member states. The Scottish Campaign was established in 1996. Today its members include trades councils, trade unions, political parties and individuals. It is chaired by Eddie Maguire, Chair of the Musicians Union in Scotland. Its two honorary presidents are Alex Falconer and Alex Smith. SCAEF is currently working with other groups on the Left to campaign against Services Directives and any attempt to resurrect the 2004 EU Constitution in new forms. CAEF's statement of aims stresses: · The rights of states to self-determination, the only true internationalism · Anti-imperialism - for independence, peace, democracy; against racism · Democracy - the needs of the labour and trade union movement and people whom these organisations normally represent, including democrats, socialist, trade unionists, students and pensioners SCAEF exists to promote awareness of the dangers posed by the EU to democracy and the economic and social rights of working people in Scotland. It has organised conferences, debates and fringe meetings at trade union gatherings. SCAEF, Scottish
Campaign against Euro-Federalism web site "Being part of the EU costs Scotland money, being part of the UK costs Scotland money," said Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party. 21/12/05 EU, UK costs Scotland money and jobs "Being part of the EU costs Scotland money, being part of the UK costs Scotland money," said Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party. He continued, "being members of a club you have to pay your dues and the EU is not cheap but with the reduction in the British rebate from the EU being members just got dearer. One billion pounds dearer and paying more into the EU means that the British tax base has to be increased, higher taxes, to maintain current levels of spending or that current levels of services must be cut. The one billion will have to be found from somewhere, either in increased taxes or cuts to services." "The EU costs Scotland money in implementing EU regulations and policing them. Many of these EU regulations have added huge costs onto businesses which threaten the viability of the businesses. Slaughterhouses are knee deep in EU regulation and many have closed due to the burden. Businesses which use high amounts of water in their processes are complaining bitterly about the burden of EU regulation. Fishermen are being ground down by EU regulation." "While businesses close or struggle by, lawyers and some administrators are making a good living out of making the EU regulations work often to the detriment of fellow Scots workers. There is the problem that when Scots factories close we have to import material, food for example, and that food may have been produced in unregulated circumstances. So Scots lose jobs and replace home production with questionable material produced in questionable ways." "But the cry goes that EU funds are helping this project and that project which they are but the EU does not have funds to distribute. The EU gets its money from member states and the member states get the money from tax payers. EU funded projects are the EU giving Scotland back some of its money, and spiriting the rest away to feed the EU machine." "Being part of the UK also costs Scotland money. Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has raised tax on profits in the North Sea oil fields from 10% to 20% and is looking to make £2.3 billion pounds a year. Shell have already announced a cut back in exploration costing jobs in Scotland. You only need to look over the North Sea to Norway to see how a small, independent country can secure its future on the back of oil. They have built up Statoil and huge funds over the years meanwhile Scotland is the only country in the world to discover oil and get poorer." 01/12/05 Support St Andrews Day holiday WEDNESDAY was St Andrews Day and how did you celebrate Scotland's national day? Probably like most Scots the day passed you by. Scotland does not celebrate its own existence, unlike just about every country in the world, including our neighbours in the North Sea. The Norwegians celebrate Constitution Day on 17 May as their national holiday, Iceland have their Independence Day on 17 June while the Faroe Islands celebrate Olavasoka on 29 July. So why is Scotland different? Dennis Canavan, Independent MSP, has put forward a bill in the Scottish Parliament to celebrate St Andrews Day as a national holiday. Hardly a radical proposal you would have thought but the best that First Minister Jack McConnell can come up with is that he had "yet to be convinced" by the merits of the idea. The denial of a case for a national holiday is one aspect of a political problem for the Unionist parties, having admitted that Scotland exists by setting up a devolved parliament, how do they keep a lid on the bottle of Scottish ambition. Unionist politicians are always looking over their shoulders to Westminster to work out what will be acceptable to their political masters, they know their careers depend on it. Politicians in Scotland should represent Scottish interests and not the interests of another country. Labour ran Scotland as their personal fiefdom from the 50s onwards. They were not interested in promoting Scotland among its own population. All Labour wanted and needed was subservient Labour voters at election time. The lack of a St Andrews Day holiday is but a straw in the wind. Why do 500 members of the Literature Forum for Scotland feel the need to send a petition to the Scottish Parliament to ask that Scottish literature, history and language are taught in Scottish schools? Obviously, they feel that it is not happening currently and that is remarkable. Peter Peacock, education minister, was suggesting last month that the teaching of history be removed from the curriculum completely. Is there any other country in the world that goes out of its way not to teach its literature, history and language? The Labour establishment in Scotland in charge of the school curriculum did just that, trying to eradicate any aspect of Scottish life, culture, history from the curriculum, a subtle form of ethnic cleansing. Don't take my word for it, ask the Literature Forum for Scotland. Learning about your own area and country gives you a grounding to be able to appreciate and understand other countries and cultures. Scotland's problem is that we are in bed with an elephant, England, and that we have to keep selling our own country short for our bigger neighbour and be thankful for getting the odd crumb. Good luck to London on getting the Olympics but let us not pretend that this is a British event, it is an English event pure and simple. The offer of a football game at Hampden and some rowing at Strathclyde Park smacks of nothing more than beads for the natives. Scotland is being patronised but we will get the opportunity to partly fund the games by Scottish sports funding being cut. The response of some to the Scottish Football Association's refusal to be part of a UK football team in the Olympics beggars belief. To some extent the Scottish football team has kept the name of Scotland in people's minds the world over. There is considerable pressure on FIFA to merge the UK football teams into one. If Scotland were to join a merged football team for the Olympics that would be like the proverbial turkey voting for Christmas. Scotland should not be asked to lay down and die at every opportunity but should take every opportunity to promote itself on the world stage. Why the hysterical response to asking that a Scottish team go to the Olympics? A painless campaign to support surely at www.c-scot.org/SupporttheCampaign.htm but no, Unionist politicians were tripping over themselves to condemn such a move. If Hong Kong can go to the Olympics, why not Scotland? Unionist politicians are trying to ride two horses at the one time, they are bound to fall off. It is a perverse career indeed that makes them want to denigrate Scotland, and argue against even the simplest acknowledgement that Scotland exists and to do it with such gusto. 16/11/05 Disproportionate Scots war losses "The
Scottish Parliament should demand the right to determine how many Mr Fairlie
continued, "At a time when the memories of those who died in the
wars of the last century, are fresh in the minds of their relatives
and "Instead of
campaigning to save the Scottish regiments, MSPs should be "Scotland provided 25% of the troops in the first Iraq war and when I asked Lord Clyde why this should be, he replied, "It was their turn." A closer look at Scotland's military history shows that it is always Scotland's "turn". In WWI, 27% of Scottish troops mobilised were killed, as opposed to 12% for British forces overall. In WWII, Scots dead were a third of the UK total and in Korea it was 25%. Casualty lists like that do not happen by accident." Mr Fairlie concluded,
"It took many years after the events to find out the 15/11/05 11 in a row! EU accounts not get signed off, again! "The EU has failed yet again to get its auditors to accept its accounts. Would you want to be a member of a social club that failed to get its accounts passed by its auditors?" asked Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party. He continued, "It is not just that the European Court of Auditors have refused to sign off the EU’s accounts that is astonishing but that they have refused to sign the accounts off for the eleventh year in a row." "Who would join a social club on this basis? No one, and yet we all get the chance to pay tax to an organisation with a £68 billion budget that is corrupt to the hilt. Fraud is rife within the EU." "There are people, being paid fancy salaries, responsible in the European Commission for beating corruption, the auditors have just told them that they are failing miserably. On an EU wish list there probably is a wish to eradicate corruption but where is the the political will?" "The Court of Auditors say that 90 per cent of the £68 billion EU budget is open to fraud with "structural weaknesses" in accounting procedures and that internal policies "do not provide sufficient assurance as regards the legality and regularity of payments." The European Court of Auditors issued its Annual Financial Report on the European Union’s 2004 accounts on November 14." 07/11/05 Free Scotland Party welcomes public launch of Independence Convention The Free Scotland Party today welcomed the announcement of the public launch of the Independence Convention on St Andrews Day by the Interim Forum for an Independence Convention. Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland Party, said, “Free Scotland is delighted that the Independence Convention will be going public after a lot of hard work in the background by representatives of political parties, including Free Scotland, and others.” “St Andrews Day is the perfect day for the launch of the Independence Convention which we can all hope will rival the success of the Scottish Constitutional Convention in achieving it aim.” “The major fault with the Scottish Constitutional Convention was that it set limits on the ambitions on voters in Scotland. Why stop at devolution? The aim of the Independence Convention is to give voters the opportunity to answer the question about Independence that should have been asked along with the others in the devolution referendum.” “The Independence Convention will give normally fractious political parties the chance to work together towards a shared, common goal along with members of Scotland’s civic society. Let us hope that the aim is more important than any perceived self interest.” “Free Scotland agrees wholeheartedly with the Independence Convention that Scotland is a nation and is as entitled as any other to self-determination. Free Scotland look forward to the day that voters in Scotland become confident enough to see past all the Unionist misinformation for a majority to vote for Scotland to become an independent country.” For more information, visit http://www.independenceconvention.org/ 21/09/05 Scottish Pound, Scottish Central Bank, policy launch, Free Scotland Party Jim Fairlie, Free Scotland Party economics spokesperson, today (Wednesday) launched the Free Scotland policy calling for the setting up of a Scottish Pound and a Scottish Central bank. He said,"Parties that promote an Independent Scotland need to know where they stand with regard to the running of the Scottish economy after independence. Too many of the parties have woolly or vague position while the SNP are confusing fiscal autonomy with the running of the economy." He said, "Fiscal
policy is the raising of taxes, income, VAT, customs and "If, at the
same time, the Scottish Central Bank allowed interest rates to "The euro zone means those member states control raising revenues, fiscal policy, but the ECB, European Central Bank, controls monetary policy, interest rates. Despite pleas especially by Germany, France and Italy, to reduce interest rates, the ECB continues to apply rates which do not suit the economies of the three biggest economies in the euro zone." "The interest
rates applied to the UK rarely suit Scottish economic "The same applies
in the USA, despite the size of the country and the "The SNP tries
to argue for fiscal autonomy as the final step to "Thus,
fiscal autonomy does not give any country control of its economy, nor
does it mean independence. Free Scotland argues that to be truly "Free Scotland says establish a Scottish Central Bank with a Scottish Pound to control the Scottish economy. The other political parties all want either the Bank of England to control monetary policy, or the ECB, and that is why Free Scotland's position is unique among all the other parties who claim to want Scottish independence. If the UK insists that monetary policy should be controlled by the Bank of England, it is perfectly consistent for a party which wants Scotland to be independent to argue that monetary policy must be controlled from Edinburgh." 19/09/05 Scottish Politicians: Power without responsibility "Tavish Scott, the Transport Minister in the Scottish Parliament, says Cal Mac must tender because of EU law. What EU law would be? And when were voters in Scotland, never mind Britain, asked to vote on the ascendancy of EU law?" said Brian Nugent, spokesperson for Free Scotland. "Voters are asked to vote on MEPs who do not have law making powers so where is the democracy in the EU? The EU Commission sends down law from on high, people on whom voters have no selection or more importantly deselection rights. Scottish politicians at Holyrood or in Westminster can do no more than wring their hands in frustration." "How
does the EU get away with it and why are Scottish politicians not "The
major problem is an abdication of responsibility by Scottish "The Free Scotland party would argue that only politicians elected by others in Scotland should make decisions about Scotland in Scotland, Westminster and Brussels should have no input on Scottish Life." 12 09 05 SI (Scots Independent) article - Free Trade Faced with the same problems, would the government of an independent Scotland have reacted any differently? The answer, to some extent, would depend on whether or not Scotland was a member of the EU. The problems of course, are those associated with the ability of the Chinese to outsell just about every other country in the world, when it comes to retail clothing, and shortly any number of other goods and services. The imposition of embargoes on goods from countries from outwith the EU, does not auger well for the liberalisation of world trade, of particular significance for developing nations. While lip service is paid to the concept of “free trade”, between the EU and countries which are not members of the club, the rules which are applied between member states, tend to be more rigidly adhered to; witness the loss of the fishery protection vessels to a Polish yard. OK, OK, it was the Executive’s fault, they could have “interpreted the rules differently”, as one Nationalist spokesman put it. But what kind of system is it, that for it to work, the rules have to be interpreted according to the prevailing political wind in the member states? The question of protection of domestic companies and markets is a serious one, and one that is better to be decided in Edinburgh than in Brussels. Would an independent Scotland seek to impose quotas on Chinese goods, in order to protect Scottish textile companies, or any other manufacturing companies? Or would the government of an independent Scotland recognise that Chinese costs of production will always undercut those in Scotland, for the manufacture of run of the mill goods; and that as a quid pro quo, we would be looking for entry into the vast Chinese market for the kind of luxury goods that we can produce better than most? As China, India and South East Asia develop, the kind of situation currently facing the member states of the EU will only get worse. But the answer is not quotas. The only realistic answer is to increase the skill levels of the Scottish workforce and compete where the value added is the greatest. A small country has much more to gain, by not being part of a large trading bloc, intent on creating a fortress built on trade protection. Could that attitude be adopted across the board and for every industry? Is there any argument worth making, other than the social consequences, of not allowing a ship builder like Ferguson to go to the wall? Yes there is and it is the same argument, as the one for other manufacturing products. A country with the history for manufacturing innovation and shipbuilding skills, such as Scotland, would be extremely foolish to allow those skills to disappear completely, particularly in a country, which has an offshore oil industry as important to the economy as ours. Then there is agriculture. The problems facing agriculture are several and varied, but not least among them is the part played by supermarkets. Ironically enough, if it were not for the CAP, a substantial number of farmers in Scotland would not be in business. The farmers’ market movement is just getting off the ground and after the original was started in Perth about six years ago, there are now about 50, which operate regularly every month. However, the burden of regulation on health and quality control, is in danger of killing the movement before it has a chance to make a real impact. Over regulation is making it very expensive for slaughter houses to operate and at the same time, allow farmers to compete with the prices being charged by supermarkets, which are free to sell imported meat, not subject to the same regulations. The public has shown it is prepared to pay more for food, providing it can be sure of getting quality. Can, or should, any country watch its agricultural industry being destroyed by unfair competition? Or, should we be looking at devising a system whereby farm subsidies are stopped and farmers are forced to compete with each other, for markets, which are guaranteed to take local produce. For example, free school milk and free school lunches using local produce, would answer critics of the present fare being dished up to school children and at the same time, force farmers to operate on a more business like basis. Add to that, the meat and produce served to the forces and there is a substantial market available, for those prepared to go out to capture it. There is no such thing as free trade, any more than there is such a thing as a free lunch. Unless it has its priorities right, an independent Scotland would find that out very quickly. 12 08 05 SI (Scots Independent) article - Ethnicity I am well aware this is a touchy subject and I expect a few knee-jerk reactions, but when it comes to nation building, there are a number of touchy subjects which have to be broached and this is only one of them. In the aftermath of the London bombings, Tony Blair announced that the rules of the game had changed. By that he meant that Islamic fundamentalists, so-called hate preachers, and those whose loyalties to Britain were suspect, would no longer be tolerated. Blair’s targets, almost by definition, fell within a narrow range and I can think of no good reason why any country would want to give house room to such odious creatures as the like of Abu Qatada, a fugitive from his native Jordan, and Omar Bakri Mohammad, wanted for questioning in both Syria and Saudi Arabia for his membership of extremist Islamic groups. However, the public reaction in some parts of the UK has been to be rather more general in targeting those it considers “suspect”. Norman Tebbit’s famous/notorious “cricket test” is now being applied. The self-styled liberal elite have had it their own way for too long, demanding that all faiths, all cultures must be given equal standing and in some cases, superior status over the native British culture, whatever that is. No matter how many generations of immigrants have lived and been born in the UK, they are still deemed to belong to that ever increasing group called “ethnic minorities”. More importantly, the “ethnic minorities” insist on remaining “ethnic minorities”, encouraged by those who see multiculturalism as the epitome of a civilised society. Until now, no one who could make a difference, has stopped to ask, “At what point do the ethnic minorities become just British?” In our attempt to rebuild a Scottish nation state, do we have anything to learn from the mistakes of the past. As Nationalists, the notion of “Britain” is anathema to us but I think we can look forward to the establishment, in both Westminster and Holyrood, making every effort to persuade us that although we live in the greatest little country in the world, we are really only a part of a much bigger whole. It is not that Scotland has been free of the same kind of mistakes that have been more recently made in other parts of the UK. Sectarianism is still a running sore in the West Central Belt, although it has improved greatly from the gaping wound it once was. I had my baptism of fire at a very early age, seven years of age to be exact. The winter of 1947 was the worst in living memory and we had moved to a new house, about two and a half miles from my school. My father was a Protestant, who had been disowned by his family for marrying a Catholic and I attended the only Catholic school in Perth. I was repeatedly refused passage on the service bus, on the grounds there was a school bus that I could take. There was no school bus because there were only three of us going to the Catholic school. During one of the worst snow storms of the winter, I had been turned away from the service bus three times when my father rose from his sick bed and insisted I get on the next one. The crew took me round a bend in the road about two hundred yards from the house and put me off again, to the applause of a section of the passengers. I had no idea what a wee Fenian bastard was, but apparently I was one. I am still the only Catholic ever recruited into Perth City Police, a force that disappeared with regionalisation in the 1970s. What followed was two years of relentless sectarian abuse,, culminating in my sacking a mere two hours before my probation ended, on the grounds of “lack of education.” There was no right of appeal but for attempting to fight back, I was blacklisted, failing in other applications to some of the most under-strength forces in the UK, without ever being told why. As a devout atheist, I hate sectarianism and the SNP can take an enormous amount of credit for the fact that Nationalism in Scotland has never been sullied by either racism or sectarianism. Neither race nor religion was ever an issue in the party and I had no idea what religion, if any, was practised by the many colleagues and friends I had in the party, until the Orange Lodge decided to publish the names of prominent members of the SNP who were Catholics. I had long ceased to be even a nominal Catholic but my name was there with the rest, a wee bit like original sin. I mention all of this because calls have been made from a number of quarters, including the SNP, for immigrants to be directed to Scotland. The current fashion is to believe Scotland needs immigrants in substantial numbers, in order to achieve the required levels of economic growth to sustain our position as one of the slowest growing economies in Europe. The jury is still out on that one but if we are to attract immigrants, let us make sure they realise they are coming to Scotland and not something the establishment will insist on calling Britain. Nationalism in Scotland has failed to make a lasting impact in the West Central Belt and part of that failure can be laid at the door of the history of the last large immigrant group to come to Scotland – the Irish. Unfortunately we do not see many Saltires at either Ibrox or Parkhead. Perhaps the last word should be left to Cardinal Keith O’Brian, who said, “As a society we must be greater than the sum of our parts. We should respect and value our fellow citizens’ cultural and religious identities yet at the same time, share with them a bigger common national identity." 19/07/05 Cal Mac: So, who rules the waves? “Who do politicians answer to”, asked Brian Nugent, spokesperson for the Free Scotland party. “Is it their electors or an unelected cabal in Brussels?” “The Free Scotland party would argue that the politicians elected by voters in Scotland should make decisions about Scotland in Scotland, the politicians in the Scottish Parliament are answerable to Scottish voters, bureaucrats in Bruss | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
