Happy New Year!

The idea that Scotland is well served by the union is an absurd one. The fact is that (as Wendy Wood once memorably pointed out) England is far larger than Scotland and has far more Westminister MP's and if the analogy was a football match then England would have over 100 players to our eleven!

Our unionist 'friends' appear to believe that's just dandy that it's some kind of honour and privilege to have a poor rate of growth in the economy and to give up taxes on oil revenues, that it's great to be a nuclear target and have nuclear weapons that Scotland does not want or require to prop up a relationship with the US which benefits only one side. Brown's Britain might psychologically require a nuclear virility symbol to maintain delusions of grandeur but Scotland does not need or want such rubbish, what we do need is the international representation that membership of the UK denies to us.

There is a clear choice nowadays between those who want normal powers for our country and those who want to see a situation continue where we have a pocket money parliament which lacks crucial political powers. Between those who want no Scottish representation at the UN or the EU and those who want proper representation.

Between those who want to hold a conversation about self government and those who just want to provide the bare minimum of powers that won't upset their party leaders in London.We know where Labour stand and it's not in Scotland's corner. If they are getting cuffed in the polls then it is well deserved.

When the Tories ignored Scottish opinion they achieved long term pariah status. labour deserve the same and their former junior partner the risible undemocratic liberal party deserve to go down as well.

Happy New Year all!

Last year was the year when for the first time the largest group of Scots voters voted for a party that believes in Scotland. I'm very proud of that achievement particularly when the press coverage was so ridiculously biased against the SNP.