Scottish nationalism: Petulance, grievance and victimhood
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Theresa May is to block a second Scottish "independence" referendum...
Scottish independence: Referendum demand 'will be rejected'
16 March 2017
BBC News
Theresa May: "We should be working together, not pulling apart"
The UK government is to reject calls for a Scottish independence referendum before Brexit after Theresa May said "now is not the time".
The Prime Minister said the focus should be on getting the best Brexit deal for the whole of the UK.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said Nicola Sturgeon's demand for a vote by the spring of 2019 would be rejected "conclusively".
Ms Sturgeon said blocking a referendum would be a "democratic outrage".
Ms Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, told BBC Scotland: "It is an argument for independence really in a nutshell, that Westminster thinks it has got the right to block the democratically elected mandate of the Scottish government and the majority in the Scottish Parliament.
"You know history may look back on today and see it as the day the fate of the union was sealed."
Ms Sturgeon has called for a referendum to be held in the autumn of 2018 or the spring of the following year, to coincide with the conclusion of the UK's Brexit negotiations with the EU.
But Mrs May said her message to Ms Sturgeon was clear - "now is not the time".
The Prime Minister added: "I think we should be working to get the right deal for Scotland and the UK with our future partnership with the European Union.
"It would be unfair to the people of Scotland that they would be being asked to make a crucial decision without the information they need to make that decision."
The Prime Minister also said the country should be "working together, not pulling apart".
SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
Scottish Conservative Party leader Ruth Davidson says a second Scottish independence referendum should only be held after the UK leaves the EU
Ms Davidson later told a media conference in Edinburgh that the people of Scotland should have the right to see how the UK was working after leaving the EU before deciding whether or not they wanted independence.
She added: "People should only be asked to make a judgment on whether to leave or remain within a 300-year-old union of nations when they have seen for themselves how that union is functioning following Brexit.
"They should also know what the alternative entails and we have seen no clarity from the SNP on even the basic questions of their proposition."
Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: "The proposal brought forward is not fair, people will not be able to make an informed choice.
"Neither is there public or political support for such a referendum.
"Therefore we will not be entering into discussions or negotiations about a Section 30 agreement and any request at this time will be declined."
Scotland voted by 55% to 45% to remain in the UK in a referendum in September 2014 - but Ms Sturgeon says a second vote is needed to allow the country to choose what path to take following last year's Brexit vote.
MSPs are due to vote next Wednesday on whether to seek a Section 30 order from the UK government, which would be needed to make any referendum legally binding.
The Scottish Parliament currently has a pro-independence majority, with the Scottish Greens pledging to support the minority SNP government in the vote.
A second Scottish referendum
What are the key dates to watch?
2017 Brexit will be triggered in March
2018/19 Sturgeon's preferred vote dates
2019 Two year Brexit deal period ends
2020 Next UK general election
2021 Next Holyrood election
AFP/Getty
What are the challenges ahead?
By BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor
The Tory triumvirate - PM, secretary of state, Scottish leader - stress that a referendum might be feasible once Brexit is signed, sealed and settled. David Mundell seemed particularly keen to stress that point.
However, if they won't contemplate Section 30 meantime, then the time needed for legislation, consultation and official preparation would suggest that - by that calendar - any referendum would be deferred until 2020 or possibly later. Possibly after the next Holyrood elections.
Options for the FM? She could sanction an unofficial referendum, without statutory backing. Don't see that happening. It would be a gesture - and Nicola Sturgeon, as the head of a government, is generally averse to gestures. Unless they advance her cause.
She could protest and seek discussions. Some senior Nationalists believe this to be a negotiation ploy by the PM, the prelude to talks.
Will the first minister proceed with the vote next week at Holyrood, demanding a Section 30 transfer in which the Greens are expected to join with the SNP to create a majority? I firmly expect her to do so, to add to the challenge to the PM.
Read more from Brian
Scottish independence: Referendum demand 'will be rejected' - BBC News
Scottish independence: Referendum demand 'will be rejected'
16 March 2017
BBC News
Theresa May: "We should be working together, not pulling apart"
The UK government is to reject calls for a Scottish independence referendum before Brexit after Theresa May said "now is not the time".
The Prime Minister said the focus should be on getting the best Brexit deal for the whole of the UK.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said Nicola Sturgeon's demand for a vote by the spring of 2019 would be rejected "conclusively".
Ms Sturgeon said blocking a referendum would be a "democratic outrage".
Ms Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, told BBC Scotland: "It is an argument for independence really in a nutshell, that Westminster thinks it has got the right to block the democratically elected mandate of the Scottish government and the majority in the Scottish Parliament.
"You know history may look back on today and see it as the day the fate of the union was sealed."
- Reaction to UK government ruling out referendum
- Indyref2: Your questions answered
- BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor on a political stand-off
Ms Sturgeon has called for a referendum to be held in the autumn of 2018 or the spring of the following year, to coincide with the conclusion of the UK's Brexit negotiations with the EU.
But Mrs May said her message to Ms Sturgeon was clear - "now is not the time".
The Prime Minister added: "I think we should be working to get the right deal for Scotland and the UK with our future partnership with the European Union.
"It would be unfair to the people of Scotland that they would be being asked to make a crucial decision without the information they need to make that decision."
The Prime Minister also said the country should be "working together, not pulling apart".
SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
Scottish Conservative Party leader Ruth Davidson says a second Scottish independence referendum should only be held after the UK leaves the EU
Ms Davidson later told a media conference in Edinburgh that the people of Scotland should have the right to see how the UK was working after leaving the EU before deciding whether or not they wanted independence.
- Scottish independence: Indyref campaign groups gear up again
- Indyref2: What is the SNP's approach to EU membership?
She added: "People should only be asked to make a judgment on whether to leave or remain within a 300-year-old union of nations when they have seen for themselves how that union is functioning following Brexit.
"They should also know what the alternative entails and we have seen no clarity from the SNP on even the basic questions of their proposition."
Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: "The proposal brought forward is not fair, people will not be able to make an informed choice.
"Neither is there public or political support for such a referendum.
"Therefore we will not be entering into discussions or negotiations about a Section 30 agreement and any request at this time will be declined."
Scotland voted by 55% to 45% to remain in the UK in a referendum in September 2014 - but Ms Sturgeon says a second vote is needed to allow the country to choose what path to take following last year's Brexit vote.
MSPs are due to vote next Wednesday on whether to seek a Section 30 order from the UK government, which would be needed to make any referendum legally binding.
The Scottish Parliament currently has a pro-independence majority, with the Scottish Greens pledging to support the minority SNP government in the vote.
A second Scottish referendum
What are the key dates to watch?
2017 Brexit will be triggered in March
2018/19 Sturgeon's preferred vote dates
2019 Two year Brexit deal period ends
2020 Next UK general election
2021 Next Holyrood election
AFP/Getty
What are the challenges ahead?
By BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor
The Tory triumvirate - PM, secretary of state, Scottish leader - stress that a referendum might be feasible once Brexit is signed, sealed and settled. David Mundell seemed particularly keen to stress that point.
However, if they won't contemplate Section 30 meantime, then the time needed for legislation, consultation and official preparation would suggest that - by that calendar - any referendum would be deferred until 2020 or possibly later. Possibly after the next Holyrood elections.
Options for the FM? She could sanction an unofficial referendum, without statutory backing. Don't see that happening. It would be a gesture - and Nicola Sturgeon, as the head of a government, is generally averse to gestures. Unless they advance her cause.
She could protest and seek discussions. Some senior Nationalists believe this to be a negotiation ploy by the PM, the prelude to talks.
Will the first minister proceed with the vote next week at Holyrood, demanding a Section 30 transfer in which the Greens are expected to join with the SNP to create a majority? I firmly expect her to do so, to add to the challenge to the PM.
Read more from Brian
Scottish independence: Referendum demand 'will be rejected' - BBC News
Wait, what?
More people who don't want to be a part of England?
Colour me surprised.
You guys get to choose if you leave the EU.... now suddenly when Scotland does the same thing to you, there's a problem?
And weren't people saying the same things about how many of your people were moaning on and on about leaving the EU?
Well stick a carrot up me **** and call me Wilbur.... that's just odd.
Scotland did get a vote on whether or not to stay in the UK - in September 2014 it voted to stay in the UK.
That means that Theresa May is honouring the democratic wishes of the Scottish people, whereas Nicola Sturgeon is riding roughshod over the democratic wishes of the Scottish people in wanting to hold a "once in a lifetime" (her own words) referendum again. Theresa May is more in touch with the Scottish people on this issue.
By the way, what Nicola Sturgeon and her plastic nationalists (they aren't true nationalists as they want Scotland in the EU ruled from Brussels) won't tell you is that more Scots voted to remain in the UK in September 2014 than voted to remain in the EU in June 2016.
Coffee House
How can the Scottish Greens reconcile their manifesto promises with backing Sturgeon?
Fraser Nelson
Scottish Green leader Patrick Harvie with a manifesto pledging only to support a new referendum if it was the "clear will" of Scots.
Fraser Nelson
17 March 2017
The Spectator
It has been barely two years since the last Scottish referendum, with no sign that opinion in Scotland has changed since then. Yet still Nicola Sturgeon hopes to vote to request a new referendum in the Scottish Parliament next week. But here’s the thing: last year, Scots voted to strip the SNP of its Holyrood majority, precisely so they could stop pretending that their agenda is the will of the nation. Thus stymied, Ms Sturgeon would need help in her vote for a new referendum from the six Green MSPs who support secession. But how could they reconcile this with their manifesto pledge (pdf, p19)?
Scotland can champion a more open and participative law-making process: Citizens as legislators. Citizens should be able to play a direct role in the legislative process: on presenting a petition signed by an appropriate number of voters, citizens should be able to trigger a vote on important issues of devolved responsibility. As we proposed on the one year anniversary of the Independence Referendum, this is the Scottish Greens’ preferred way of deciding to hold a second referendum on Independence. If a new referendum is to happen, it should come about by the will of the people, and not be driven by calculations of party political advantage. In such a referendum the Scottish Greens will campaign for independence.
So here, in black and white, is the Greens' pledge to the voters who returned its MSPs to Holyrood: they would only approve a second referendum if it was manifestly the “will of the people” which (then) they rightly distinguish from “party political advantage” of the SNP.
But where is the evidence suggesting that a new referendum is the “will of the people”? Polls show just a third of Scots back it. No one has come up with an opinion poll suggesting a majority want to re-enact the referendum, an even smaller proportion than those who support secession. Which raises a new question: how can the Greens possible justify supporting the SNP in an exercise that is – as they so rightly said in their manifesto – about party political advantage?
Only yesterday, we heard about soaring child poverty figures in Scotland. The school attainment gap between rich and poor is a national disgrace. The SNP’s record is catching up with it. Nicola Sturgeon’s approval rating is so low it’s below that of theScottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson. The SNP need a distraction, hence the new call for a referendum. This makes sense for the SNP. But how does it makes sense for the Greens? Or for Scots? Most of us show no sign of sharing the SNP’s obsession.
Nicola Sturgeon, meanwhile, is heading into the second act of her staged drama: l’Ecosse, c’est moi: “my ideas are the Will of the Scottish People, to defy me is to defy the whole of Scotland” etc. This rather creepy mentality is one of the darker aspects of nationalism. By calling a new referendum the SNP is acting in defiance of the will of the Scottish people. The democratic force supposed to keep the SNP’s messianic impulses in check is the Scottish Parliament – specifically, the Scottish Greens and the contract they made with their voters in a manifesto.
So the question next week is simple: how strongly do the Scottish Greens value democracy? How seriously do they take the pledges made in their manifesto? And how could they explain tearing up their own manifesto pledge, in support of the SNP’s sectarian agenda?
We’ll find out next week.
https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/...econcile-manifesto-promises-backing-sturgeon/