UNIONIST BLOC TRYING TO HOODWINK SCOTS OUT OF INDY

United call for new Holyrood powers

SCOTLAND'S three main Unionist parties joined forces last night to launch a joint bid for more powers for the Scottish Parliament. Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservatives and the Scottish Liberal Democrats announced plans for their own "national conversation" to rival that launched by Alex Salmond, the First Minister, earlier this month to push for independence.

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1370472007

Labour and the Liberal Democrats were in power for the last two parliaments. If they had any genuine desire for more powers for the Scottish parliament they would have articulated that desire during their time in power. Although it was not properly reported prior to the election the independence movement as a whole was never more united than at the last election. All the major scottish parties (SNP, Greens, SSP, Solidarity) are agreed on political strategy (ie through a referendum and also delaying a final decision on the EU and monarchy till after independence to ensure maximum unity now) and all were actively working together within the Independence Convention and the referendum campaign Independence First.

In the past Labour and the Lib Dems lined up against the Conservatives for devolution (also motivated by a desire to outflank the SNP). The Conservatives were like King Canute, telling the waves of support for devolution to stop, before being washed away electorally. Now Labour and the Lib Dems have joined forces with the Tories and now effectively speak with one unionist voice bellowing NO to a Scottish public which wants a referendum. 'This far and no further' they effectively told the Scottish people at the last election, Devolution was 'good enough'.

Labour subsequently got cuffed by the SNP. Since the elections Labour, Tories and Lib Dems have started issuing joint statements and are now having secret meetings supposedly to call for 'more powers' but actually to decide the absolute minimum of power they think Scotland will be satisfied with. The message that there is no difference whatsoever between these parties is now ringing out very loudly and very clearly.

Most polls prior to the election showed a narrow MAJORITY for independence (if don't knows were excluded (see Independence First's website for more info) which explains why the unionst bloc is actually unwilling to countenance a referendum, they might well lose it!
If the unionist parties supported the 'Claim of Right for Scotland' which was the moral basis of the Scottish constitutional Convention in the 1980's then they would respect the Scottish public's desire for a referendum on independence (support for that is at between 60 and 80% according to the polls).

In fact they do not. All are London owned and controlled branches of larger British parties which require the status quo on the union to continue to allow them to gain power at Westminster. The more they act together the more the Scottish public will see who they can trust and who they can't to represent Scottish interests. It's not hard now we see a home grown Scottish party in power to see the difference in political ambition between the current administration and the last.

No doubt mistakes will be made by the SNP but no one can doubt their desire for more power for their fellow Scots. On the other hand one can easily see the moves by the unionists to call for 'more powers' are an obvious and pretty cynical last ditch attempt to hoodwink their fellow Scots out of the natural normal powers of independence.