Blog | (Still) Yes Highlandhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/2024-03-19T03:20:33+00:00The blog is our main discussion forum with with an eclectic selection of authors and thought-provoking articles. Grab a cuppa and join the debate, your contribution is always welcome.The Independence Hurdles2018-03-24T13:56:06+00:002024-03-19T01:57:07+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2018/03/the-independence-hurdles/<p>There is no doubt that the UK is heading on a downward spiral with: an incompetent right-wing Prime Minister in charge, the economy in peril as we (possibly) crash out of the Single Market & Customs Union and a Westminster government power grab. In Scotland we have a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Out_of_Jail_Free_card" target="_blank">get out of jail free card</a> in the form of achieving independence, but we have some hurdles to overcome before we achieve it.</p>
<p>It might be argued that achieving a Yes vote would be the biggest hurdle, but with a good campaign and lessons learned from 2014, a future referendum would be eminently winnable. This very winnability contributes to one of our biggest hurdles. It is likely that former UK Prime Minister David Cameron only agreed to have the 2014 referendum because he thought he would easily win any plebiscite<sup>[1]</sup>. In 2012, prior to the Edinburgh Agreement, support for independence was polling around 28%. From September 2014 onwards polling support for Indie has consistently been in the mid-to-high 40s. In fact, it is quite remarkable that without an official Yes campaign, while at the same time sustaining a barrage of anti-independence messages from the mainstream media, support hasn't diminished but even crept up a little. The reason our opponents are so vociferous in their calls for <em>no more referendums</em> is that they know they are quite likely to lose the next one.</p>
<p>Theresa May, and whoever succeeds her as Prime Minister, is unlikely to accede to a request for a Section 30<sup>[2]</sup> precisely because this time they may well lose the referendum. May's "<em>now is not the time</em>" excuse could be continued indefinitely. The Scottish Government could hold a referendum without a Section 30 but it is guaranteed that our opponents would portray a Yes vote as invalid in such a situation. Furthermore, a referendum without a Section 30 would, almost certainly, lead to protracted legal challenges<sup>[3]</sup> leaving the result uncertain and international recognition would be stalled. We only need to look at the current situation in Catalonia to see the problems a non-binding referendum could cause. There is also the possibility that without a Section 30 some Unionist controlled councils may refuse to participate in a referendum.</p>
<p>Shortly before the last UK General Election, the First Minster, intimated several times that the Scottish Government had a plan to either force the provision of a Section 30 or had a workaround for not having one. The details of this plan were never made public. Ben Macpherson MSP (SNP) <a href="http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=11035&i=100808" target="_blank">asked the FM</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Does the First Minister therefore agree with me that the principle clearly remains that Scotland’s future should be for the people of Scotland and this Parliament to decide, and that the section 30 request should remain on the table?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ms Sturgeon's answer included:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>On the issue of a section 30 order, I am saying today that we are not immediately introducing an independence bill to the Parliament. Therefore, the urgency of agreeing that section 30 order is not what it was previously. As a matter of principle, however, that power to decide the question of if and when there should be an independence referendum should be transferred from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament, and everybody who cares about the rights of this Parliament to take these decisions should back that.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Does the plan rely on the Scottish Government winning an argument based on matters of a democratic princple? Recent Westminster actions involving The Vow, EVEL, the most recent Scotland Act and The Great Reform Bill doesn't suggest it is an argument the Scottish Government would win.</p>
<p>This neatly brings us onto the second major hurdle to independence: the governing party needs to decide to actually have (or at least support having) a referendum. I don't think the Scottish Government legislating for a referendum before the end of the Holyrood parliamentary term (May 2021) is a given. The following is a snippet of the <a href="http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=11035&i=100808" target="_blank">statement</a> given by the First Minister, to the Scottish Parliament, on June 27th, 2017:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>At the end of the period of negotiation with the EU, which is likely to be around next autumn, when the terms of Brexit will be clearer, we will come back to Parliament to set out our judgment on the best way forward at that time, including our view on the precise timescale for offering people a choice over the country’s future.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The FM has committed to making another statement to Parliament by autumn 2018, but the "precise timescale" for a second independence referendum was left un-stated. It would certainly be the case that there are many senior people in the SNP who support a referendum before 2021 but that possibly isn't a universal view. The SNP isn't just a party of independence but also one that wants to govern and some might feel that its electoral interests are best served by not having a referendum before 2021. It might also be the case that some in the SNP believe a referendum before 2021 wouldn't be winnable. For example, there are still many SNP supporters arguing that a referendum shouldn't be contemplated until Yes support, in the polls, reaches 60%. The campaign that ran from 2012 to Septemeber 2014 raised Yes support from 28% to 45%. Proponents of the 60% view somehow believe that Yes support would increase by another 12-15 points without an official campaign, this seems extremely unlikely.</p>
<p>The timing of the second independence referendum is crucial for several reasons. Most importantly, there is no guarantee that there will be a pro-independence majority in Holyrood after the elections in May 2021. Secondly, it would make more sense to have the referendum while we are still in the EU, although the nature and length of the transitional period could have an impact on the timing. Even if the IndieRef2 campaign made a committment to a future EU in/out plebiscite that would be best done while we were still members. Thirdly, we would probably want to have the same franchise as in the first referendum, including the entitlement of EU citizens to vote. The status of EU citizens hasn't been formally agreed between the UK and EU and that includes all rights, not just voting.</p>
<p>So, there we have two fairly difficult hurdles to overcome before we can achieve independence. Those of us who would like a referendum (well) before 2021 need to apply some pressure on the Scottish Government to ensure they select that option. Then all we need is a strategy that will extract a Section 30 from the Westminster government.</p>
<p>Answers <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">on a postcard</span> in the comments section (below) as to how we can achieve these two objectives.</p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jxNEiZhpinY?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<hr class="note"/>
<h4>Notes</h4>
<ol>
<li>James Kelly has <a href="http://scotgoespop.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/if-you-want-to-get-section-30-order-you.html" target="_blank">argued</a> that David Cameron agreed to a Section 30 because the Scottish Government were threatening to go ahead with a referendum without one. I don't think James' analysis is correct. It is more likely that Cameron saw an opportunity to kill-off independence by comprehensively winning an official referendum. The No side did win, but not comprehensively. Cameron thought he could repeat the trick with the EU referendum, but this time he lost.</li>
<li>A Section 30 is a shorthand to describe the transfer of a reserved power from Westminster to Holyrood. The best known Section 30 was the one that allowed Holyrood to conduct a binding referendum in 2014, as defined in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_Agreement_%282012%29" target="_blank">Edinburgh Agreement</a>. A Yes result would have been binding on both Holyrood and Westminster, and crucially also recognised internationally. The name is used as this type of transfer was defined in Section 30 of the Scotland Act, 1998.</li>
<li>The legality of a referendum without a Section 30 would almost certainly be tested in court(s) and, therefore, the resolution might be a long time coming.</li>
</ol>
<p> </p>Rise and Fall of a No Campaign Meme2017-02-13T10:06:47+00:002024-03-17T08:30:55+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2017/02/rise-and-fall-of-a-no-campaign-meme/<p>Two things happened on June 23rd, 2016: the UK voted to leave the EU and the campaign for Scottish independence was reinvigorated. One of the foundations of the Better Together campaign in 2014 was that by voting "No" people were guaranteed to stay members of the EU. In the course of one day in June these foundations were completely undermined and the No campaign knew they were in trouble.</p>
<p>The Leave side winning the EU referendum by 52% to 48% <a href="https://yeshighland.net/blog/2016/06/too-close-to-call/" target="_blank" title="Too close to call">was a surprise to many,</a> none more so than former PM David Cameron <a href="https://yeshighland.net/blog/2016/06/have-eu-heard/" title="Have EU heard?">who promptly announced</a> his resignation. However, it was the scale of the Remain vote in Scotland (at very nearly two-thirds of the vote) in combination with the rUK Leave that set <a href="https://www.cairnstoon.com/product/cat-among-the-pigeons/" target="_blank">the cat among the unionist pigeons</a>. Scotland would be taken out of the EU against its will and, as has transpired since, also removed from the Single Market, the very definition of a hard Brexit. David Cameron's EU referendum, instigated to plaster over the cracks in his own party, had instead delivered the only likely <strong><em>material change</em></strong> required to hasten a second independence referendum.</p>
<p><img alt="Theresa May - hard Brexit" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/theresa-may-hard-brexit.png"/></p>
<p>Consistently, in the run up to the 2014 referendum, Better Together played their Project Fear card that an independent Scotland would be dumped out of the trading bloc and spend years trying to get back in. Better Together: the Tory, Labour and LibDem joint venture, may have gone but most of the principal actors are still around and they needed a new campaign meme, and needed it quick.</p>
<p><img alt="Better Together Team" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/better-together-team.jpg"/></p>
<p>Without an official campaign group the Unionists also required someone to deliver the new meme. Step forward The Scotland Office, the UK government's outpost in Scotland and, although staffed by civil servants, has been <a href="https://www.commonspace.scot/articles/1441/alistair-carmichael-and-memogate-timeline-leaks-lies-and-denials" target="_blank">used for party political purposes before</a>. The newly devised meme needed to play on an economic fear that leaving the UK would be far worse for Scotland than leaving the EU. Towards the end of 2016 The Scotland Office started Tweeting the graphic, shown below.</p>
<p><img alt="Scotland Office - Scotland exports to rUK" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/scotland-office-scot-exports.png"/></p>
<p>In essence the new No Campaign meme is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Don't leave us Scotland, look how important our trade is (but if you do think about leaving here is a threat: we'll block your exports).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Let's investigate this new meme and see if there is any substance to it.</p>
<p>Good old HM Government (Scotland Office) didn't bother giving a source and ignored repeated requests to supply one. The information is actually sourced from a series of Scottish Government publications called <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/Exports" target="_blank">Export Statistics Scotland</a>. Here is how the Scottish Government website describes the ESS:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Export Statistics Scotland (ESS) is based on the Global Connections Survey, an annual survey run by the Scottish Government, as well as other survey and administrative data sources. It produces estimates of the cash value of exports by destination and industry sector for all sectors of the Scottish economy including the primary, manufacturing and service sectors. This source should be used to obtain estimates of the cash value of exports.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The first thing to note is that the information comes from a survey. The respondents are self-selecting and the information provided is voluntary. The sampled information is then multiplied by the turnover of all companies in the relevant sector. The civil servants will take great care to ensure the methodology makes the data as reliable as possible <em>but the resultant statistics should only be considered as a guide</em>.</p>
<p>There are some more limitations with the statistics which you can <a href="https://yeshighland.net/blog/category/constitution/feeds/atom/#note1">read about below<sup>1</sup></a>. However, there is one gaping chasm in the Scottish trade figures estimated by ESS, namely the exports <strong><em>do not include oil and gas</em></strong>. Approximately 90% of oil and gas reserves are in Scottish territorial waters and the scale of new discoveries west of Shetland may increase that percentage.</p>
<p>We have established that the statistics should be treated with some caution as they may not be a true reflection of Scottish exports and we know that the oil & and gas exports have been excluded which would further close the gap. However, there will be some truth in the Scotland Office graphic as it is completely normal for adjoining states to trade more with each other. Shared language, cultural similarities and geographical proximity will all help increase trade between neighbours. Of course, this <strong>trade goes both ways<sup>2</sup></strong>.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/colin-dunn-lorries.jpg"/></p>
<p>The rest of the UK actually sells more to Scotland than the other way round (figures in graphic above is for England & rUK). It would be an incredible piece of economic self harm for rUK to impose any trade restrictions with Scotland as it would hurt them even more. The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has already been courting the US and Turkey as potential trading partners with the prospect of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_50" target="_blank">Article 50</a> about to be triggered. At the same time her government is trying to make us believe that rUK would impose trading restrictions with their nearest neighbours. It doesn't make sense, and wouldn't happen.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/wishart-desperate.png"/></p>
<p>The great thing about a meme is it allows other parties to pick it up and run it with a little customisation to fit their message. In Scotland this means that <a href="https://twitter.com/STVNews/status/824267132032651264" target="_blank">the media</a> (almost all the press and broadcasters take a pro-Union position) and the political parties can join in. The following graphic was <a href="https://twitter.com/scottishlabour/status/824238109923614720" target="_blank">Tweeted</a> by The Labour Party in late January 2017 (Burns' Day to be precise).</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/labour-join-in.jpg"/></p>
<p>The first rectangle is a repeat of the line from their friends at The Scotland Office. The second line is presumably Labour's own spin which makes absolutely no sense at all. According to Labour just having the option of an independence referendum puts our economy at risk but this is left unexplained. Labour also fail to mention the enormous effect a hard Brexit would have on the Scottish economy directly, and indirectly through the wider rUK economy suffering. Since late January we have learned that Labour are trying to play a two faced game when it comes to Brexit and the triggering of Article 50. In Scotland, Labour are <a href="https://www.holyrood.com/articles/news/scottish-labour-opposes-triggering-article-50-despite-uk-labour-supporting-it" target="_blank">trying to convince us</a> that they are against leaving the EU but the UK leadership, where the real decisions are made, <a href="http://archive.is/x3nTo" target="_blank">forced their MPs to vote for triggering Article 50</a> by imposing a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip_(politics)" target="_blank">three line whip</a>.</p>
<p>The final coup de grâce for the exports meme ironically came from the Scotland Office themselves when they had a follow up graphic trying to reinforce the same message but instead made Scotland's position look even stronger.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2017/scotland-office-elec-exports.jpg"/></p>
<p>Quite rightly the UK Government are pointing out that Scotland is a net exporter of electricity and the vast majority of it goes to England. Think about it for a second or two and you will realise that if there were to be any restrictions in exports between an independent Scotland and rUK, quite literally, the lights would go out in England. That wouldn't happen, of course, because restrictions in trade between an independent Scotland and the remaining UK wont happen.</p>
<p>As easily discredited as the meme can be we fully expect the UK government, and other supporters of the UK union, to continue with it, in one form or another, because they don't have much else to build a campaign on.</p>
<p>To summarise, the statistics used by the Scotland Office should be treated with some caution particularly as the Scottish exports will have been substantially under-reported. If we treat the statistics as a guide only we still need to recognise that trade goes both ways and the rUK is a big beneficiary of exports to Scotland. As highlighted by The Scotland Office some of our exports, electricity in their second example, are of key importance to the rUK economy and domestic energy requirements. Restrictions on trade between Scotland and rUK will not happen, as it is not in the interests of any of the countries involved.</p>
<p>For these reasons the meme can be logically dismissed but getting the message out to voters is difficult to do if we don't have the same access to them. It is a concern that our media are still happy to uncritically report UK government press releases. In particular, it is disappointing that the broadcast media do this as, unlike the printed press, they still have large audiences. As always it will be down to independence supporting groups and individuals using blogs, websites and social media to help counter these misleading memes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<hr id="note1"/>
<h4> </h4>
<h4>Notes</h4>
<p><strong>1.</strong> The ESS UK & export trade estimates should be treated with caution for three reasons. Firstly, companies are not obliged under UK law to produce accurate accounting reports below UK level. Without legal enforcement the accounting information provided may not be as accurate and the data may be inconsistent from one company to the net.</p>
<p>Secondly, trade figures to rUK may be masking Scottish exports because complex products may be being completed elsewhere in the UK before being shipped internationally. For example, if a company sells gearboxes to a car manufacturer in England and that car is then exported to Germany only the car sale may get counted towards EU exports, not the gearbox.</p>
<p>Thirdly, it is possible that survey respondents in Scotland may not be aware of final destination of products sold, even for non-complex products, due to the nature of distribution.</p>
<p><strong>2.</strong> Graphic courtesy of <a href="https://indyposterboy.scot" target="_blank">IndyPosterBoy</a>. Figures differ as they are from 2014 rather than 2015 as used by The Scotland Office.</p>The Good Guy2016-09-09T11:45:33+00:002024-03-16T02:07:33+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2016/09/the-good-guy/<h2>Guy Verhofstadt appointed as EU Parliament lead negotiator for Brexit</h2>
<p>Flemish politician Guy Verhofstadt has been<a href="http://www.euractiv.com/section/uk-europe/news/farage-slams-insulting-choice-of-verhofstadt-as-brexit-boss/" target="_blank"> chosen as the EU Parliament's lead negotiator</a> for the forthcoming Brexit negotiations. The former Belgian Prime Minister, MEP and leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe is also the founder of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinelli_Group" target="_blank">Spinelli Group</a> which aims for greater federalism within the EU. It is also rumoured that Mr. Verhofstadt's candidacy to become EU Commission President in 2004, following Romani Prodi, was opposed by the UK when Tony Blair was still Prime Minister.</p>
<p>Mr. Verhofstadt's selection could be seen as an indication that the EU will take a strong stance on the Brexit negotiations, particularly as he will be joined by the experienced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Barnier" target="_blank">Michel Barnier</a> from the EU Commission. Nigel Farage has described Verhofstadt, in light of his appointment, as "I can’t think of a man more insulting towards the British..." The feeling is probably reciprocated as Verhofstadt once described Farage, the MEP, as "<em>the biggest waste in the EU budget</em>".</p>
<p>In the photograph above Guy Verhofstadt is shown having discussions with, wait a minute, who is that? Mr. Verhofstadt was one of the senior EU politicians to meet with the First Minister following the EU Referendum result in late June of this year. On her whirlwind EU mission Ms. Sturgeon also met with Mr. Barnier's boss Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Parliament President Martin Schulz.</p>
<p>Only time will tell what the Brexit negotiations will mean for Scotland but at least the FM's early action will have raised awareness of our particular situation.</p>Have EU heard?2016-06-24T20:51:57+00:002024-03-19T02:13:44+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2016/06/have-eu-heard/<h2>Britain out, IndieRef back, Dave going</h2>
<p>Well, for a campaign that started off as uninspiring and lacklustre the EU Referendum has turned into one of the most fascinating political events ever. The polls predicted that it would be close and it was with 52% Leave and 48% Remain. In Scotland, however, Remain scored an emphatic 62% emphasising, yet again, how different the political scene is here compared to rUK. All of Scotland's 32 local authority areas voted Remain although some, like Moray at 50.1%, were much closer than others.</p>
<p>The First Minister, <strong>Nicola Sturgeon</strong> has stated that another</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Independence Referendum is now "highly likely" as it is "democratically unacceptable" for Scotland to be dragged out of the EU against its will.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>She also announced that the Cabinet will be meeting to discuss the implications of Brexit on Scotland and that legislation will be prepared to enable a new independence referendum.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in London <strong>David Cameron</strong> announced that he would be standing down as Prime Minister as he didn't believe it would right for him to</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination".</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He said he expected a new PM to be in place for the Tory party conference in October this year. In his speech he explicitly included the involvement of the devolved governments:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"We must now prepare for a negotiation with the European Union. This will need to involve the full engagement of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments to ensure that the interests of all parts of our United Kingdom are protected and advanced."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Mr. Cameron said that he thought it should be the new PM who takes the decision as to when Article 50 is invoked, triggering the Uk's departure from the EU. Once Article 50 is invoked the formal and legal process of leaving the EU must be completed within two years.</p>A wee reminder2016-03-20T17:09:39+00:002024-03-14T07:27:31+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2016/03/a-wee-reminder/<h2>A snippet from "Scotland's Future"</h2>
<p>This incoming Thursday is the 24th of March, 2016. Had a Yes vote prevailed in the referendum, <strong>March 24th would have been Independence Day</strong>. The following is a quote from "<strong>Scotland's Future</strong>" also known as "<strong>The White Paper</strong>".</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Between the referendum in 2014 and independence in 2016<br/>The period between the referendum and independence will see negotiations with the rest of the UK, represented by the Westminster Government, and with the EU and other international partners and organisations.</p>
<p>Following these preparations and negotiations, Scotland will assume our status as an independent country on 24 March 2016.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Instead, we are enduring:</p>
<ul>
<li>A majority Tory government at Westminster</li>
<li>The almost certain renewal of Trident</li>
<li>A politically motivated austerity programme targeting the poorest and most disadvataged</li>
<li>An in/out EU Referendum</li>
<li>Despite the "broad shoulders of the UK" the loss of thousands of oil sector jobs</li>
<li>Continuing and new foreign wars</li>
<li>Broken promises on shipbuilding leading to thousands more jobs lost</li>
<li>Increasing numbers reliant on foodbanks</li>
</ul>
<p><br/>If only we could have done something to avoid these things.</p>Next referendum announced2016-02-20T17:22:07+00:002024-03-19T03:20:33+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2016/02/next-referendum-announced/<h2>Erm, EU referendum, that is</h2>
<p>A short while ago David Cameron announced, from outside Downing Street, the date of the EU referendum: <strong>Thursday, June 23rd, 2016</strong>. He stated that following his "deal", secured late last night,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"I will be campaigning with all my heart and soul to persuade the British people to remain in the reformed European Union."<br/>"We are stronger, safer and better off inside this reformed European Union."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some of these words seem vaguely familiar, have they been used before?</p>
<p>The PM is expected to make the formal announcement to Parliament on Monday.</p>
<p> <br/> </p>Independence: it's not a game2016-01-22T17:37:59+00:002024-03-18T03:43:29+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2016/01/independence-its-not-a-game/<p>Ad's so bad even Better Together didn't use them</p>
<p>Do you remember how bad the Better Together advert's were during the IndieRef campaign? Will anyone ever forget Patronising BT Lady? Well, you ain't seen nothing yet!</p>
<p>For your amusement and delectation we present the advertisements that were considered so bad that even Better Together decided not to use them.</p>
<p> <img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2016/natlottery.jpg"/></p>
<p> <img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2016/getmeout.jpg"/></p>
<p> <img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2016/alright.jpg"/></p>
<p>Many thanks to <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/01/22/scrapped-ads-lampooning-alex-salmond-and-snp-scottish-independence-campaign" target="_blank">The Drum</a> for finding these images.</p>Union Jack begone2015-12-19T17:55:35+00:002024-03-15T20:21:07+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2015/12/union-jack-begone/<h2>Well, maybe</h2>
<p>The New Zealand government is currently running a referendum process which will decide which flag the country will use in the future. The first stage of the process asked for people to submit their ideas and designs for a possible new flag. The second stage of the process asked voters to select one of the <a href="https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/the-five-alternatives/" target="_blank">five shortlisted designs</a>. The second stage has now completed and the selected Silver Fern design will go up against the existing Union Jack based flag in a postal referendum in March 2016. The two flags are shown in the image below.</p>
<p>In March New Zealand's voters will be asked whether they want to choose the new design or keep the existing flag. In the recent five flag selection process around half of the country's electorate voted with just under 10% of spoilt papers. It has been <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11559764" target="_blank">widely interpreted</a> that many of the spoilt papers were from traditionalists who didn't want a change of flag. However, if that 10% is indicative of support for the Union Jack flag then it may well be replaced by the Silver Fern in March.</p>Catalonia says "Yes"2015-09-28T17:28:16+00:002024-03-16T09:35:00+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2015/09/catalonia-says-yes/<h2>Victòria independentista</h2>
<p>Parties supporting independence for Catalonia have won an absolute majority in the Catalan parliamantary elections held yesterday, Sunday, 27th September. The largest Yes supporting group was the coalition, JxSí, which is comprised of: Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC), Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), Democrats of Catalonia (DC) and Left Movement (MES). JxSí achieved 62 seats which when combined with the 10 seats won by the radical Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) gives the Yes parties an overall majority in the 135 seat parliament.</p>
<p>Catalan President Artur Mas, who is part of JxSí, called the election in January this year as an alternative vote on the independence of Catalonia as a referendum had been prohibited by the Spanish government. Although the Yes parties achived slightly less than 50% of the total vote (47.8%) it was more than those parties supporting No (39.1%). 11.4% of votes went to parties who supported neither a straight Yes or No.</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="muted-text">In the coming days we will find if JxSí and CUP can work together to further the independence cause and how the Spanish government in Madrid will react.</p>
<p>At the time of writing around 1% of votes still had to be counted so the final figures may differ very slightly.</p>Europe, we will vote!2014-03-22T13:21:27+00:002024-03-19T01:04:19+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2014/03/europe-we-will-vote/<h2>Come to Brussels on March 30th</h2>
<p>People of Scotland - we are not alone.</p>
<p>The International Commission of European Citizens (ICEC) are organising a demonstration in Brussels on the 30th of March at 11am at the Jubelpark. The objective of the demonstartion is to demand that the peoples of Europe have the right to self determination through democratic means.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2014/yes-to-self-determination.jpg"/></p>
<p>"Come to Brussels, to reinforce the Scottish referendum that will take place on the 18th of September of 2014 and to reinforce the Catalan referendum that will take place on the 9th of November of 2014. Communicating to the world that we don’t accept threats about being expelled from the EU or any other place depending on the outcome of the referendums, because that is as much as saying that there is a political will to punish European citizens if they decide to exercise democracy."</p>
<p>Please sign the online petition, organised by ICEC, and show that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"I support the initiative for the right to self-determination of the European Peoples to be formally expressed within the European Union as a fundamental human right and for its institutions to support all European Citizens and their nations should they wish to exercise this right."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The ICEC have already collected 550,000 signatures from across Europe.</p>Labour's Devolution Commission Report2014-03-13T11:45:54+00:002024-03-14T07:05:36+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2014/03/labours-devolution-commission-report/<h2>Further analysis</h2>
<p>In our previous article [not available, email only] took a cheap shot at Labour's Devolution Commission final report by suggesting we would list the major policy announcements and then presenting a blank page. The cheap shot was justified as the report itself is vacuous, filled with ambiguous statements and political double speak. Real positive policies which could improve the lives of Scots are nowhere to be found.</p>
<p>The only area in the report where there is some clarity is where they tell us what the Scottish Parliament won't be allowed to do. The screenshot below is from page 4 of the report</p>
<p><img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="https://yeshighland.net/static/media/uploads/blog/2014/labours-reserved-matters.png"/></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well, that list doesn't leave much scope for additional powers for Holyrood. Readers will note that the blacklist for the Scottish Parliament isn't even definitive as there is a qualifier: "Essential reserved matters include...".</p>
<p>Labour's Devolution Commission has been working on this report for two years and Johann Lamont has been leader of Labour in Scotland during this period. Perhaps Ms. Lamont can articulate what Labour are proposing to do. Judge for yourselves in this clip of her being interviewed on BBC Newsnight Scotland last night (18/3/2014).</p>
<p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vMnWUkW9kBY?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></p>Scotland's Future - update2013-12-01T12:13:11+00:002024-03-14T07:05:58+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2013/12/scotlands-future-update/<h2>Print editions are free of charge</h2>
<p>It has come to our attention that some people were anxious about ordering copies of <strong>Scotland's Future : Your Guide to an Independent Scotland</strong> as it might incur an unknown cost.</p>
<p>We would like to take this opportunity to clarify that electronic and print copies are both free of charge to people resident in the UK. Printed copies are also posted free of charge. This information was confirmed by Deputy First Minister <strong>Nicola Sturgeon</strong> during her statement to Parliament on November 26th 2013.</p>
<p>People from outside the UK can download free copies but printed editions will incur a charge. Bulk orders will also incur a charge.</p>
<p>All the information on obtaining your copy can be found <a href="https://yeshighland.net/blog/2013/11/scotlands-future/" target="_blank">in our previous article</a>.</p>
<p>We would like to thank Dorothy Sinclair for bringing this situation to our attention.</p>The White Paper2013-11-24T10:22:03+00:002024-03-14T07:24:41+00:00Editorhttps://yeshighland.net/blog/author/Editor/https://yeshighland.net/blog/2013/11/the-white-paper/<h2>Independence blueprint to be published on Tuesday</h2>
<p>The Scottish Government will publish The Independence White Paper on Tuesday November 26th 2013. The document is expected to be very substantial as it will cover in detail how Scotland will move to independence after a Yes vote.</p>
<p>Speaking about the White Paper First Minister <strong>Alex Salmond</strong> has stated</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>"Firstly, it will spell out the foundation that we will establish between the referendum next year and the first elections for an independent Scottish Parliament in the spring of 2016.</em></p>
<p><em>"Secondly, it will set out clearly and unmistakably that independence is about a Scottish Government that the people choose - an independent Government. And it will set out our vision of Scotland - the 'why of independence' - the Scotland that we seek."</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>A live transmission of the White Paper launch can be viewed via the internet by clicking <a href="http://voteY.es/livestream">http://voteY.es/livestream</a> [website no longer available] at 10am on the 26th. The link doesn't become operational until the launch time.</p>
<p>Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the White Paper as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>"... the most detailed and comprehensive blueprint for an independent country ever published, runs to 670 pages and more than 170,000 words.</em></p>
<p><em>The white paper has economic growth, jobs and fairness at its heart. The route to a successful Scotland is greater economic growth that benefits all and which supports greater participation – particularly amongst women – in the workplace and the economy as a whole.</em></p>
<p><em>It is a document designed, above all, for the public."</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Independence Day<br/>On a related topic the Deputy First Minister has also proposed that <strong>March 24th 2016 could be Scotland's Independence Day</strong>.</p>
<p>The Scottish Government has noted the significance of March 24th:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The proposed Independence Day of 24th March 2016 follows the dissolution of the current Scottish Parliament which is set to be scheduled to take place at midnight on Wednesday 23rd March 2016 (legislation requires that Parliament is dissolved 28 working days before the scheduled election). March 24th also happens to be the anniversary of both the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and of the signing of the Acts of Union in 1707.</p>
</blockquote>