Scottish Independence is restoration NOT secession (Part 4B)

Introduction

The UK General Election in 1945 saw the loss of the Motherwell constituency by the Scottish National Party (SNP). It was not until the UK General Election of 1997 that the SNP was to retain a Westminster parliamentary constituency which it had gained at a by-election (Perth 1995). Between the Motherwell and Hamilton by-elections overall electoral support was never more than 5%. The last 25 years of the 20th century was for Scotland a period of significant constitutional activity which was preceded by the SNP victory at the Hamilton by-election.

1948 - 2002:

National Covenant Campaign

This campaign straddled the latter years of the first half of the 20th century and the beginning of the second half of that century. Although it attracted almost two million signatures the National Covenant also exposed the divisions that existed regarding a Scottish Parliament.

'The Covenant itself was hugely successful in generating signatures, with approximately two million estimated to have signed the document (Brand 1978: 147)...Whilst it demonstrated a substantial level of support for Home Rule from 1949 into the early 1950s, it did not result in a Scottish Parliament. The Covenant was largely ignored by the Labour government, though it was concerned at the growth of the Home Rule movement during this period (Mitchell 1996: 148)...However the main parties went no further, with neither willing to entertain the Covenant's aim of establishing a Scottish Parliament.'

SOURCE: 'SNP - The History of the Scottish National Party' by Peter Lynch, p.78, ISBN 1 86057 0046 and 0038.

Hamilton By-Election

On 2 November 1967 the Scottish National Party (SNP) achieved a significant electoral victory by winning the Hamilton by-election. The SNP candidate, Winnie Ewing, received 40% of the votes cast. In her acceptance speech, after being declared the winner and the new Member of Parliament (MP) for the Hamilton constituency she said -

                                             "Stop the world, Scotland wants to get on."

Winnie Ewing was the MP for the Hamilton constituency until the the UK General Election in 1970.

'In the same year that the SNP won its famous victory at Hamilton. Plaid Cymru also achieved successes in a by-election and in local contests against Labour. As the veteran nationalist, Oliver Brown, wryly observed, "a shiver ran along the Labour backbenches looking for a spine to run up".'

SOURCE: 'THE SCOTTISH NATION 1700-2000', by T. M. Devine, p.574, ISBN 0-713-99351-0.

UK General Elections of 1970 and 1974

In 1970 the SNP gained its first constituency seat in a UK General Election - the Western Isles. While this was progress in itself the seat won by Winnie Ewing at the Hamilton by-election in 1967 was lost.

'Nevertheless, in 1970 Scotland found itself once again under Conservative rule, although the party itself was in a minority north of the border. The new Prime Minister Ted Heath, had been one of the first modern British politicians to acknowledge the importance of devolution for Scotland in his Declaration of Perth. However, the SNP performed poorly in the general election of 1970 by winning only the Western Isles...Heath then took the opportunity to shelve the plans for a Scottish Assembly formulated by Lord Home's constitutional committee which he had appointed.'

SOURCE: 'THE SCOTTISH NATION 1700-2000', p.584.

In 1974 there were two UK General Elections - one in February and another in October. At the February election the SNP won seven constituencies with 22% of the overall vote.

'Within a week, the incoming Labour government embraced devolution as a real commitment despite having fought the election on a platform opposed to it.'

SOURCE: 'THE SCOTTISH NATION 1700-2000', p.575.

The sudden conversion of the Labour Party to devolution for Scotland took many by surprise, not least members of the Labour Party in Scotland many of whom were resolutely opposed to it.

The outcome of the October election was that the SNP won 11 of the 72 constituencies with 30% of the overall vote. The greater concern for the Labour Party was that the SNP had come in second in 42 constituencies.

'As Michael Foot [then leader of the Labour Group in the Westminster Parliament (Parliamentary Labour Party) confided to Winnie Ewing: "It is not the eleven of you that terrify me so much, Winnie, it is the 42 seconds." Within three months Labour published a White Paper, Devolution in the UK - Some Alternatives for Discussion, which set out five options for change...Constitutional change for Scotland was firmly back on the political agenda within seven years of the SNP's historic victory at Hamilton and was due in large part to the two great surges of support for the party in 1967-8 and again in 1973-4.'

SOURCE: 'THE SCOTTISH NATION 1700-2000', pp.576-7.

Scottish Assembly Referendum 1979

A devolution Bill, the Scotland and Wales Bill, was introduced to the UK Parliament by the Labour government. The Bill passed its second reading but was later defeated by a combination of Conservative, Liberal and some Labour MPs. Two new Bills were later introduced to replace it - one for Wales and one for Scotland. While the Scotland Bill was being debated by the UK Parliament an amendment to rig the result of the referendum was introduced -

'Labour MP George Cunningham succeeded in amending the bill to ensure that a referendum required the support of 40 per cent of the electorate (not those voting), for devolution to become law.'

SOURCE: 'SNP - The History of the Scottish National Party', p.149.

The Scotland Act was passed on 31 July 1978 and the referendum was held on 1 March 1979. In the actual campaign an odd circumstance occurred. Because of opposition by many of its branches the Labour Party at constituency level often depended on SNP activists to help distribute its pro-devolution leaflets. This division in the Labour Party in Scotland was also the cause of substantial confusion to the electorate, particularly among Labour voters, as well as being a factor in the low turnout. The referendum for a Scottish Assembly was held on 1 March 1979. The result was 'Yes' 51.6%, 'No' 48.4% on a Turnout of 63.8% of those entited to vote.

                                                               

'...but the 40 per cent rule was to have a decisive impact on the outcome of the referendum. Whilst 51.6 [per cent] of the votes cast supported the establishment of a Scottish Assembly, they represented only 32.9 per cent of the votes case [electorate] well short of the requirement for 40 per cent of the electorate to vote 'Yes' before devolution could be instituted.'

SOURCE: 'SNP -The History of the Scottish National Party', p.152.

Post 1979 Referendum

The initial reaction of the SNP to the referendum defeat was to call on the Labour government to honour its manifesto commitment to the establishment of a Scottish Assembly. 

'The SNP launched a 'Scotland Said Yes' campaign to urge the government to press on with devolution.'

SOURCE: 'THE SCOTTISH NATION 1700-2000', p. 588.

In the end a motion of no confidence in the Labour government succeeded and there was a UK General Election in May 1979. The SNP lost 9 of its 11 MPs and support for it fell to just over 17%. A Conservative government was elected and a lengthy period later to be referred to as 'the Thatcher years' began.

'Even if the social consequences proved damaging, there was to be no reversal of economic policy or a repetition of Ted Heath's ignominious surrender in the face of trade-union power in the early 1970s. As Mrs Thatcher famously declared at the Conservative Conference in 1981: "You turn if you want; the lady's not for turning."

Against this background the chairman of the Scottish Council (Development and Industry) predicted in October 1980 that Scotland would be more vulnerable than many parts of England in the new economic and political climate. He was proved right. Between 1979 and 1981 Scottish manufacturing lost 11 per cent of output and around one-fifth of all jobs.'

SOURCE: 'THE SCOTTISH NATION 1700-2000', p.592.

'During the Thatcher years personal dependence on the state, far from declining, became a way of life in many working-class neighbourhoods.'

SOURCE: 'THE SCOTTISH NATION 1700-2000', p.599.

In 1979 the Conservative Party had 22 MPs elected from Scotland. The number of MPs it had elected from Scotland decreased at every subsequent election until the 1997 UK General Election.

'The problem was...the Conservatives were impregnable in the Midlands, London and the south-east, where British general elections were usually decided. This fact alone was enough to bring the constitutional issue back on to the agenda, especially as the unpopularity of the Thatcher government in Scotland was to increase even further after 1983.'

SOURCE: 'THE SCOTTISH NATION 1700-2000', p.602.

The 'Poll Tax'

This iniquitous tax, formally called the 'Community Charge', was introduced to replace Domestic Rates on April Fool's Day 1988. The 'Poll Tax' was implemented in Scotland one year before it was implemented in England. A mass campaign of non-payment was started to protest against the tax and to draw attention to the fact that there were many people who genuinely could not afford to pay it.

'In practice, it was widely regarded as an unjust tax which took no account of the ability to pay...When the poll tax was eventually killed; its demise was ensured not by a massive campaign of non-payment in Scotland (in its first year an astonishing 700,000 summary warrants for non-payment of the tax were issued) but because of riotous protest in England and the likely impact on Conservative electoral fortunes.'

SOURCE: 'THE SCOTTISH NATION 1700-2000', p.603.

Campaign for a Scottish Assembly (CSA)

'We came to see that if Mrs. Thatcher could so insure the powers of her office, the crown prerogatives, the extent of patronage and the parliamentary system to cut down all real power elsewhere in the name of spurious individualism, then any future Prime Minister could do the same. We realised that our real enemy was not a particular government whatever its colour but a constitutional system. We came to understand that our central need, if we were to be governed justly and democratically was not just to change the government but to change the rules.'

SOURCE: 'The People Say Yes', Wright, p.141.

'The idea of a constitutional convention had been promoted by the group of left-wing Nationalists and Labour Home Rulers associated with Radical Scotland magazine and the Campaign for a Scottish Assembly for a number of years. The SNP had also discussed a constitutional convention in 1980, 1982 and at the annual conference in 1984, but these suggestions had fallen on stony ground, especially within the Labour Party.'

SOURCE: 'SNP - The History of the Scottish National Party', p.184.

In July 1988 the CSA published a document titled 'A Claim of Right for Scotland', the following is an extract from it -

'All questions as to whether consent should be a part of government are brushed aside. The comments of Adam Smith are put to uses which would have astonished him, Scottish history is selectively distorted and the Scots are told that their votes are lying; that they secretly love what they constantly vote against.

Scotland is not alone in suffering from the absence of consent in government. The problem afflicts the United Kingdom as a whole. We have a government which openly boasts its contempt for consensus and a constitution which allows it to demonstrate that contempt in practice.

...

It is a sign of both the fraudulence and fragility of the English constitution that representative bodies and their activities, the life-blood of government by consent, can be systematically closed down by a minority Westminster Government without there being any constitutional means of even giving them pause for thought.

...

The United Kingdom has been an anomaly from its inception and is a glaring anomaly now.'

The Claim of Right was signed on 30 March 1989, it reads as follows -

'We, gathered as the Scottish Constitutional Convention, do hereby acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of Government best suited to their needs, and do hereby declare and pledge that in all our actions and deliberations that their interests shall be paramount.

We further declare and pledge that our actions that our actions and deliberations shall be directed to the following ends:

To agree a scheme for an Assembly or Parliament for Scotland;

To mobilize Scottish opinion and ensure the approval of the Scottish people for that scheme; and

To assert the right of the Scottish people to secure implementation of that scheme.' 

The SNP had previously decided to withdraw from the Scottish Constitutional Convention because it had decided that independence was not to be an option. One of the Scottish Labour MPs who signed the Claim of Right was Alistair Darling, later to become leader of the Better Together (No) campaign opposed to Scottish Independence in the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014.

'For Forsyth and other Tory spokespersons, the revenue-varying powers were nothing other than the 'tartan tax' imposed on the Scottish people simply for being Scottish. The attack struck home and the Labour response sent tremors through the ranks of those who had long campaigned for Home Rule. To the outrage of its partners in the constitutional convention and the fury of many of its own supporters in Scotland, the Shadow Cabinet decided in June 1996 that a general election victory was not in itself sufficient for such a momentous constitutional reform.'

SOURCE: 'THE SCOTTISH NATION 1700-2000', p.616.

UK General Election 1997

The Labour Party won a landslide victory at this election winning 56 of the 72 Westminster seats in Scotland, the SNP won in 6 seats - doubling its representation - the Liberal Democrats took 10 seats whilst the Conservative Party took 0 seats. This effectively made Scotland a 'Tory free zone' in a parliamentary sense. Shortly after coming to power the incoming Labour government arranged for a pre-legislative referendum concerning a devolved Scottish Parliament to be held on 11 September 1997.

'However, initially the SNP avoided any firm post-election commitment to devolution. The logic for this was twofold. First, as suspicions over Labour's intentions over devolution remained strong, there was a desire to see exactly how the timetable for devolution and the details of thew devolution scheme would develop. Was Labour committed to the type of devolution outlined by the Scottish Constitutional Convention or would Whitehall produce a more restrictive scheme for devolution? Such considerations meant that the SNP waited for the publication of the government White Paper on a Scottish Parliament in July 1997, before committing itself to support the proposals at the referendum. Second, there was the question of the referendum itself. The SNP could not give carte blanche to support another referendum without knowledge of the type of question asked, the timing of the referendum or the existence of a 40 per cent rule or any other serious hurdle...Following the publication of the government's devolution White Paper 'Scotland's Parliament' , on 24th July, the SNP moved to support the Yes campaign. The party's National Executive placed a motion before National Council to officially shift the SNP into the Yes camp. The motion stated that

"National Council re-iterates standing policy that gives primacy to the Independence campaign, but which does not seek to obstruct devolution. In that context, National Council resolves that the Scottish National Party will campaign for a 'Yes,Yes' vote in the referendum on September 11th and instructs the NEC to organise and run a distinctive SNP Campaign designed to mobilize the support of the more than 620,000 people who voted SNP on 1st May and the many others who believe in independence. Council further instructs the NEC to co-operate with 'Scotland Forward' in order to strengthen the positive turnout for the referendum."

This resolution was overwhelmingly supported at National Council and the SNP's positive position towards the referendum was accepted without internal conflict.'

SOURCE: 'SNP - The History of the Scottish National Party', pp.221-222.

'When the results were declared, 74.3 per cent of those who voted supported a Scottish parliament and 63.5 per cent agreed that it should have tax-varying powers.'

SOURCE: 'THE SCOTTISH NATION 1700-2000', p.617.

When the Scotland Bill was enacted as the Scotland Act 1998 it was found to contain a sub-section which had not been in the original Bill.

'28 - (7) This section does not affect the power of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to make laws for Scotland.'

In other words the United Kingdom Parliament could still make laws for Scotland EVEN on devolved matters.

'Labour has been equally inconsistent signing the Claim of Right asserting that the sovereignty rested with the Scottish people (Campaign for a Scottish Assembly 1988), but then insisting in its devolution legislation that the sovereignty of Westminster remained unabridged...its claims to original authority are twofold: its basis in the referendum of 1997 as an act of self-determination; and the residual traditions of Scottish constitutional law and practice which never accorded untrammelled sovereignty to Westminster.'

SOURCE: 'SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE: A Practical Guide' by Jo Eric Murkens with Peter Jones and Michael Keating, p.296, ISBN 0-7486-1699-3.

After the Scotland Act 1998 had been passed but before the first elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999 was approved. It removed a substantial area of the North Sea from Scottish waters and transferred it to English waters. This meant that Scottish fishing boats which had previously landed their catch from that area at a Scottish port had to land it at an English port thereby removing part of the economic contribution of the fishing industry from Scotland.

Members of the Scottish Parliament consist of 129 MSP's - 73 constituency MSP's elected on a First Past The Post basis and 56 MSP's from a Closed Party List. At the first elections to the Scottish Parliament in May 1999 the results were as follows -

                                        SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS 1999
                                                                     RESULTS (1)

                               PARTY              SEATS               SEATS                  SEATS
                                                             ALL                   FPTP                     LIST

                               CON                        18                          0                           18

                               LAB                         56                        53                             3

                               LD                            17                        12                             5

                               SNP                          35                          7                           28

                               OTHERS                   3                          1                             2

                               TOTALS                129                        73                           56


                                       SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS 1999
                                                                    RESULTS (2)

                                PARTY           SEATS%             VOTE%                      DIFF.
                                                            (1)                         (2)                         (2 - 1)

                                 CON                   14.0                       15.5                          -1.5

                                 LAB                    43.4                       36.2                         +7.2

                                 LD                       13.2                       13.3                          -0.1

                                 SNP                     27.1                       28.0                          -0.9

                                 OTHERS              2.3                         7.0                          -4.7

                                 TOTALS           100.0                     100.0


                       NOTE: The VOTE% is an average of the FPTP Vote% plus List Vote%.

At the opening of the devolved Scottish Parliament on 12 May 1999 Winnie Ewing said -

       "The Scottish Parliament adjourned on 25th March 1707 is hereby reconvened."

The election system for the Scottish Parliament is a hybrid of FPTP and Additional Member (Closed Party List) supposedly designed to ensure that elected representation is broadly proportional. It was also the intention of those who designed the system, specifically the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, supposedly that no one party gain an overall majority (more about that in Part 5) - particularly the SNP.

Scottish Independence is restoration NOT secession (Part 4A)

Introduction:

The 20th century was to be the most significant period in Scottish political history since the Treaty of Union in 1707, especially from the end of World War I onwards.

Entente Cordiale and the Auld Alliance

In 1906 a treaty was agreed between the United Kingdom and France. This treaty, better known as the Entente Cordiale, also formally dissolved the treaty made in 1295 between Scotland and France (the Auld Alliance).

'French rights in Scotland were dissolved in 1906, but the French government declared that the terms of previous Franco-Scottish treaties remained valid in French law for every Scot alive at the time of the Entente - meaning that a Scotsman born before 1907 would possess the full rights and privileges of Franco-Scottish nationality.'

SOURCE: 'The Auld Alliance: 'still in vigour'?' by Dr. Siobhan Talbott in 'history SCOTLAND' magazine, Vol. 12, No. 1, January/February 2012, p. 6.

Liberal Government and Scottish Home Rule

'During the Liberal governments from 1906 onwards, a Government of Scotland Bill was almost an annual event, and the Liberals could unquestionably have carried such a bill through if they had really meant business, but the matter was not regarded as one of urgency.'

SOURCE: 'Scotland: The Shaping of a Nation' by Gordon Donaldson, p. 127.

Red Clydeside

An event in Glasgow, following World War I, very quickly resulted in the name 'Red Clydeside' being used. Blatant political misinformation led to an over-reaction by the British Government which was to have far-reaching consequences.

'The emergence of 'Red Clydeside' and the Labour breakthrough was only one part of the realignment of Scottish politics after the Great War. The most decisive feature was the complete collapse of Liberalism as an effective electoral force...Ironically, Labour itself owed much to pre-war Liberal radical policies for reform of the land, education, housing and Scottish Home Rule...

Scottish Labour was reformist rather than revolutionary, but the troubles on the Clyde during the war had raised the spectre of the 'Red Menace', despite the fact that the conflict was about pay and conditions rather than the founding of a socialist utopia by means of a workers' uprising...A 40-hour strike had been called to support the demand of the Scottish Trade Union Congress that the working week should be cut to help reduce unemployment which was increasing as demobilisation accelerated. The strikers were trying to prevent the removal of wartime regulation of wages and control of rents. The strike culminated in a mass demonstration of around 100,000 people in Glasgow's George Square which ended in a 'riot' as the police charged the crowds with drawn batons. The evidence suggests that there was no revolutionary conspiracy, despite the flaunting of the red flag, and that the disorder was sparked off by police over-reaction. This however, was not how the government saw it at the time. The Scottish Secretary advised his Cabinet colleagues that the situation in Glasgow was not a strike but a 'Bolshevist rising'. That day, 12,000 troops were sent in, six tanks in the Cattle Market and machine-guns were placed at the post office and the hotels. Glasgow was an occupied city.

The strike soon petered out and the 40-hour week was not granted. However, 'Bloody Friday', as it soon came to be known, had important longer-term political effects.'

SOURCE: 'The Scottish Nation 1700-2000' by T.M. Devine, pp. 313-315,

'The upshot was what Gallacher was to christen 'The Revolt on the Clyde', in effect a series of incidents mainly involving the engineers between 1915 and 1919. The most important of these were the 'tuppence an hour' strike in 1915, the struggles over the Clearance Certificates demanded under the Munitions Act before a man could leave his job, and over 'dilution' - i.e. the limited employment of women in certain mass-production munitions jobs like making fuses and shells. It culminated in the disruption of a meeting held by Lloyd George to convince the CWC shop stewards and their sympathizers of the necessity and importance of dilution, followed by the suppression of Tom Johnston's 'Forward' for reporting the incident accurately, and the deportation of the leading shop stewards to Edinburgh in February 1916. Thereafter there were no more troubles until after the end of the war.

There was, however, a dramatic post script in January 1919, when the CWC called the 'forty-hour strike' in support of a claim for a shorter working week to avert postwar unemployment. The unsuccessful attempt to make this a general strike of the Glasgow workers, and a subsequent riot when police charged a large demonstration of strikers in George Square who were thought to be interfering with the power supply for the tramcars, was enough to persuade the Secretary for Scotland that he was dealing with a Bolshevist rising (it was, after all, scarcely a year since the Russian Revolution). Next day, the citizens of Glasgow woke up to find six tanks in the Cattle Market, a howitzer at the City Chambers and machine-gun nests at the hotels and the post office: 'It was a strange experience to see...soldiers who were not from the front but walking the streets to hold us in check.' [H. McShane, 'No Mean Fighter' (London, 1978), p. 107]. Emmanuel Shinwell, the seamen's leader, who spent a month in prison for allegedly inciting the crowd to riot, recalled that the troops 'had nothing much to do but chat to local people and drink their cups of tea' while the officers 'complained about fraternization with the "enemy"' [E. Shinwell, 'I've Lived Through It All' (London, 1973), p. 46].

But Glasgow was obviously not Petrograd, or even Berlin, and it never could have been.'

SOURCE: 'A Century of the Scottish People 1830-1950' by T.C. Smout, pp. 265-266.

1903 - 1947:

'Prior to the outbreak of war in 1914, the Liberal Party had been the principal, but not exclusive, champion of Scottish Home Rule...but was mainly a consequence of the pressures brought to bear on the leadership by party activists and organisations such as the Young Scots Society...However, by the end of the war in 1918, the resultant social, economic and political changes induced by the exigencies of the wartime situation, effectively sealed the fate of the Liberal Party's hegemony in Scotland...It was against this background of political turmoil and change, that the decision was taken to reform the prewar Scottish Home Rule Association in September, 1918.'

SOURCE: 'Independent and Free: Scottish Politics and the Origins of the Scottish National Party 1918-1945' by Richard J. Finlay, p. 1, ISBN 0-85976-399-4.

SHRA to National Party of Scotland

NOTE: From here on, in order to avoid unnecessary repetition, throughout this part of the post, due to the number of extracts from the same source, I have decided to group them together only specifying the full source with the first extract in each section and thereafter only the page number.

'It was only by May, 1919, that the Association felt confident enough to hold its first public meeting...

It was believed that the SHRA would be non-political in the sense that it would appeal to, and receive support from, a wide spectrum of Scottish society. Muirhead [Roland Eugene Muirhead] argued that the issue of Home Rule was of such importance that it would transcend normal party politics, and act as a unifying force which would bind together people who disparate political beliefs into a common cause.

However, the reality of the situation was quite different, as can be seen from the initial composition of the hierarchy of the SHRA which was predominantly made up of Labour Party interests.'

SOURCE: 'Independent and Free: Scottish Politics and the Origins of the Scottish National Party 1918-1945' by Richard J. Finlay, p. 2,

'Also, after the General Election in 1922, the Labour Party appeared to be able to win power, and with this prospect came the belief that the party which had a long-standing commitment to self-government, would enact the necessary legislation,' - p. 3,

'The popular definition of Home Rule within the SHRA was that it was something akin to Dominion status, but with Scotland still playing a full part in the running of the British Empire. Indeed, many believed that Scottish self-government was part of the process in the evolution of the British Commonwealth of Nations ideal...Developments in the British Empire were a major influence on the ideas which formed the postwar Home Rule movement:' - p. 4,

'From the outset, the SHRA stressed that Home Rule would not mean a lessening of commitment to the British Empire. Also, the extent of self-government was strictly limited to domestic Scottish affairs only.' - p. 5,

'The use of nationalistic rhetoric was a speciality with Labour politicians when addressing large audiences who...responded enthusiastically to the demands for a redress of Scottish grievances. Many Clydesiders blamed their lack of progress in attaining social legislation on the fact that Westminster was slow and cumbersome and bound down by English traditions. According to George Buchanan, what had taken seven months to complete in Parliament could have been done in seven hours in Scotland.' [George Buchanan speaking in Paisley, January, 1927. 'Scottish Home Rule', February, 1927.] - p. 9,

'...the MP for Gorbals, George Buchanan, had obtained through the private member's ballot a chance to put a Home Rule bill on the statute book...As soon as the news reached the Association, several activists took it upon themselves to prepare a draft bill and this was done without the authority or knowledge of the Labour Party. [Scottish Home Rule, April, 1924] It was proposed that once a Scottish Parliament had been set up, there would be a withdrawal of Scottish MPs from Westminster...However, although many members of the Labour Party accepted this long-term vision of Home Rule, they would not at this stage, countenance any Scottish withdrawal from Parliament as this would seriously weaken their position...' - pp. 10-11,

'At this stage in his career, MacDonald [Ramsay MacDonald] had no enthusiasm for the self-government cause as he was too busy with foreign affairs and other domestic problems...he believed that the best remedy for Scottish grievances was the action taken by a Labour Government in Westminster and not a separate Edinburgh Parliament. [Daily Record, 9th January, 1929] The net effect of the failure of Buchanan's Bill was that it led to a lack of confidence in the abilities of the Labour Party by SHRA activists...In response to this setback a Scottish National Convention was set up in November, 1924, by the Association.' - p. 13,

'In October, 1925, suggestions were mooted within the Association that the time was ripe for the formation of a national party. In December, 1925, Muirhead's brother, Robert, put forward the argument for the creation of a nationalist party on the grounds that the British political organisations were not interested in Scottish affairs, and that the only way to overcome this obstacle was to put into Parliament a body of MPs whose first and foremost commitment was to obtaining Home Rule. ['Scottish Home Rule', December 1925, p. 53] Those members of the SHRA whose loyalty lay with the Labour Party dismissed the idea as impractical.' - p. 15,

'In contrast to such lukewarmness, the activists in the SHRA believed that this was the most thoroughly prepared of all Home Rule Bills [the 1927 Bill] yet submitted. ['Scottish Home Rule', November, 1927] ...On 7 May 1927, the Bill was debated for only 45 minutes, after which the Speaker refused to allow a vote in view of the short period of discussion and, consequently, it was dropped. ['Scotsman', 8th May, 1927] ...as far as the Home Rule activists were concerned, it was the last straw, and it stiffened their resolve to find an alternative policy. Within the SHRA, one body came increasingly to the forefront in the call for independent political action. 'The Scottish National Party Group' announced its existence in October, 1927...' - p. 19,

'The activists had come to the conclusion that Home Rule was being sacrificed for party interests and more importantly, many now believed that the Labour Party was hostile to their intentions.' - p. 20,

'In many respects the Scots National League was the most important of all the inter-war nationalist groups, especially with regard to the future development of Scottish nationalist philosophy...Much of the relevance of the SNL's thinking to modern Scottish nationalism is accountable by the fact that many similar problems such as unemployment, de-industrialisation, housing, state welfare, the Scottish Assembly, or lack of it, etc., have continued up until the present [the book Independent and Free was published before a devolved Scottish Parliament was established in 1999]...the League advocated the creation of a new Scottish party which was to be set up solely for the purpose of obtaining Scottish self-government...The fact that many other nationalists had come round to the SNL's way of thinking was borne out in 1928 with the creation of the National Party of Scotland, whose raison d'etre was the League's dictum that political independence for Scotland could only be achieved by a party set ip specifically for that purpose.
The Scots National League was formed sometime during the year of 1920.' - pp. 29-30,

'In the years from 1920 to 1924, the Scots National League began to take steps to build a philosophy which explained and justified the role and necessity of Scottish nationalism.' - p. 35,

'The main reason for the League's initial failure was the inability of the leadership to grasp the political realities of the day. Much of the outlook of the early SNL was shaped by 19th Century and pre-First World War ideas about Scottish nationalism, which was romantic, backward looking and largely apolitical.' - p. 47,

'Gibson [Tom Gibson], who was more inclined to the centre of the political stage, was sceptical of the Labour Party's future pledges on Home Rule, because they had blown a perfect chance and seemed none too perturbed about it...No British political party, he stated, would ever secure Scottish Home Rule as this went against English imperial aspirations...' - p. 48,

'Gibson was confident that the SNL's uncompromising attitude would ultimately be vindicated, and that all those in favour of Scottish self-government would come to realize that the only way to obtain their objective was through the League or some other tailor made Home Rule party.' - p. 49,

'Reform within the context of the Union was not considered as a viable policy option by the League, because they believed that, in many important aspects, the economic interests of the two countries were diametrically opposed to one another.' - p. 61,

'Perhaps the most fundamental difference between the SNL and other nationalist groups was the priority they gave to the question of national sovereignty. Although the League often talked of Home Rule and self-government, what was really meant by these terms was full political separation of Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom.' - p. 65,

'Initially, members of the SHRA thought that the best way to forward their cause would be to sting the Labour Party into action: 'The fact is that the most effective way to get the Labour Party or any other Party to take Home Rule, in earnest, is to show it that votes will be lost if neglected. Even if a Scottish National Party never became strong enough to carry Scottish Home Rule on its own effort, its existence might well prove to be just the stimulus required to make the Labour Party move'.' [Robert F. Muirhead 'Scottish Home Rule', August, 1926 p. 17] - p. 71,

'The National Party of Scotland was not born in a blaze of glory, but rather experienced a slow and painful birth, which was bedevilled by suspicion and procrastination by members from all the interested parties.' - p. 73,

'On the 11th of February, 1928, a meeting of all the main nationalist groups was held under the presidency of John MacCormick with the objective of narrowing down the areas of potential disagreement...It was also agreed that 'the object of the new Party shall be attained by putting forward national candidates at Parliamentary and local government elections, independent of the present political parties, and by the presentation of a nationalist programme for Scottish affairs'.' - pp. 76-77.

NPS to Scottish National Party

'The initial tolerance of the party leadership towards the Fundamentalists can be partially explained by the fact that the National Party virtually held a monopoly over nationalist political aspirations until the creation of the Scottish Party in June, 1932.'

SOURCE: 'Independent and Free: Scottish Politics and the Origins of the Scottish National Party 1918-1945, by Richard J. Finlay, p. 87,

'By June, 1930, the National Party had begun to make electoral inroads by securing 10.1% of the vote at a by-election in Shettleston and subsequently secured a respectable 13% in November at East Renfrewshire. This by election resulted in the party saving their deposit and was seen by many to herald a new era in Scottish politics.' p. 88,

'The failure of the National Party to make any significant electoral breakthrough in the early years of the 1930s, coupled with a decline of interest amongst the political mainstream Home Rulers led to an exacerbation of the inherent divisions within the NPS.' - p. 91,

'Although most moderates were prepared to accept this as a fact of political life, they were shocked into a dramatic reappraisal of their political strategy when in June, 1932, the Scottish Party emerged to challenge the National Party for control of 'moderate' nationalist opinion.' - p. 93,

'MacCormick [John MacCormick] astutely recognised this area as the Scottish Party's principal weakness, because the National Party was the only organisation which was prepared to fight elections on the self-government issue, and until their nationalist opponents resolved to do otherwise, they would be no more than impotent vocal detractors; a condition that was not conducive to gaining mass support.' - p. 99,

'MacCormick went on the offensive and advocated ideas that stressed the similarities in principle among nationalists rather than harping on about their differences in policy: 'The National Party, like all Home Rulers, believes in separating the affairs of Scotland from those of England, and placing them under a Scottish government'.' ['Scots Independent', January, 1933 p. 34] - p. 103,

'Donaldson [Arthur Donaldson] was one of those who believed that the party should hold out for complete independence even although, in the short term, this would not prove electorally popular. He and others argued that the process of independence might take a long time and that the party should take the lead in educating people to the nationalist cause.' - pp. 106-107,

'As far as Fundamentalists were concerned, the Scottish Party was a bulwark of British imperialism which was out to circumvent true national independence. They argued that the devolutionist proposals would leave Scotland with a political status similar to that of Ulster and as such, they believed, was incompatible with thr party's objective to secure 'independent national status within the British group of nations'.' - p. 113,

'The Fundamentalists' campaign failed in its objective, and merely drew attention away from the activities of MacCormick who was conducting illicit negotiations with the Scottish Party. However, it is important to emphasize that many in the National Party did not link the attack on the Fundamentalists with overtures of moderation to other groups.' - p. 115,

'The initial reluctance of members of the right wing nationalist camp to support the NPS was a result of their concern at the separatist and anti-British Empire tendencies expressed by the Fundamentalist wing of the National Party. However, such a loose sense of identity of interests meant that the Scottish Party displayed a whol series of ambivalent attitudes when it came to offering themselves as the alternative, moderate nationalist party.' - p. 129,

'The principal problem with the Scottish Party, they argued, was that it was not completely independent from other political groups in the same way as the NPS was. Also, it was pointed out that the SP had yet to give a united statement as to the status a future Scottish Parliament would have in relation to Westminster and Gibson was suspicious that it would not have the same powers as the one advocated by the National Party.' - p. 141,

'For many in the National Party the result was a vindication of the change in policy towards a more moderate, or as it was preferred to be known, 'common sense' nationalism. On the surface it appeared that by combining forces, the two parties could achieve greater electoral support than either could attain on their own.' - p. 150,

'With this major stumbling block removed, the next stage was for each party to pass the following resolutions at their respective annual conferences:

(1) The establishment of a Parliament in Scotland which shall be the final authority on all Scottish affairs including taxation. (2) Scotland shall share with England the rights and responsibilities they, as mother nations, have jointly created and incurred within the British Empire. (3) In a manner representing the will of her people, Scotland should set up jointly with England, machinery to deal with these responsibilities and in particular with such matters as Defence, Foreign Policy and the creation of a customs union. (4) It is believed that these principles can be realized only by an independent political party which has no connection or alliance with an English controlled party.'
- p. 153,

'Once the resolutions were passed the following subsidiary resolutions were also framed for submission, the first to the Scottish Party and the second to the NPS:

(A) This Conference of the Scottish Party, following upon the acceptance of resolution I, both by this Conference and by the Conference of the National Party of Scotland, resolves to unite with the name of 'the Scottish National Party'.
(B) This Conference of the National Party of Scotland, in as much as Resolution I had been passed by both this Conference and by a Conference of the Scottish Party, hereby resolves to unite with the Scottish Party, and in pursuance of that resolution to amend Clause I of the Constitution to read name: The Scottish National Party.'
- pp. 153-154.

SNP - Towards Electoral Success

'The Scottish National Party effectively moved back to the Scottish Home Rule Association's dictum that the conventional political divide could be overcome by the unifying force of the demand for self-government. However, the difficulties of adopting such a strategy soon came to the forefront when the party tried to come to terms with the political realities which were now facing them.'

SOURCE: 'Independent and Free: The Origins of the Scottish National Party 1918-1945' by Richard J. Finlay, p. 156,

'The reality of the merger was that the NPS did not join with another organisation, but rather, accepted a new body of leadership which fused with the old one to produce a distinctive change in nationalist direction. However, it has to be emphasised that the National Party of Scotland had been moving down this road under its own volition for some time and that the creation of the SNP was merely the finishing touch to a long and tortured process.' - p. 157,

'When the Scottish National Party was officially launched on the 7th of April, 1934, the new Chairman, Sir Alexander MacEwen, immediately set the tone for the new organisation. Despite the problems of the merger, most members were confisent about the prospect of success for the new party and its ambition to obtain self-government.' - p. 162,

'Throughout the first six months of the life of the SNP, branch activity flourished with an increase in the number of special events and speaking tours which culminated in an autumn campaign designed to be the first salvos in a general election contest. Throughout this time, there was a steady increase in the number of new branches formed which, again, is another indicator of a party in expansion...Contrary to what many historians have hitherto believed, the Scottish National Party, with its buoyant membership, high morale and increased organisational network, was better placed than any of its predecessors to make electoral inroads towards the goal of self-government.' - p. 164,

'It is of little surprise therefore, to find that one of the party's first actions was to issue a statement clarifying their attitude towards Fascism and the nationalist dictators:

The Scottish National Party is opposed to Fascism and dictatorship in any shape or form, being fully persuaded that it is repugnant to the ancient Scottish ideal of liberty and repudiates the suggestion, implicit in Fascist policy, that Parliamentary government on democratic lines has proved a failure and maintains that until Scotland has resumed self-government Parliamentary government in Scotland on modern lines has not been tried. [Minutes of the National Council of the SNP, 1st of June, 1934, page 90.]'
- p. 165,

'There was an urgent need for the Scottish National Party to expound their theory of nationalism and differentiate it from the national chauvinism which was now threatening world peace, much to the electorate's alarm.

The starting point for such an elaboration was to emphasise that Scottish nationalism belonged to the same family as those of the small nations of Europe whose ideas were liberal, tolerant and progressive. This was in contrast to the nationalism of the major powers which was strident, aggressive and prone to territorial aggrandisement. As such it was condemned outright:

If the policies of Hitler and Mussolini and Japan are Nationalism: then Nationalism is indeed a world danger of the first magnitude. ['Scots Independent', April, 1934, page 87.]'
- pp. 165-166,

'From the beginning, nationalists argued firmly in favour of government intervention as a means to stimulate economic growth and although there were flaws in the capitalist system, they did not believe that it was fundamentally wrong. What was required, they stated in frequent and various articles, was the need for the Government to fine tune and regulate the economy in order to avoid the usual pitfalls associated with the capitalist system, especially unemployment. In rejecting a class orientated view of economics while, at the same time, not accepting outright the doctrine of laissez-faire, the nationalists, although propounding something similar to the Liberal Party, were able to produce a distinct economic policy which they hoped would contrast favourably with those of the Tory and Labour parties.' - pp. 167-168,

'Unnecessary conflict and confrontation were to be avoided as the whole community was expected to pull its weight in solving the country's problems:

The Scottish National Party makes no appeal to class interests, to sectional or sectarian preludices, or to worn out political creeds. It takes its stand on the urgent necessity for all men and women of goodwill in Scotland to unite in the work of national redemption. ['Scots Independent', July, 1934, p. 135]'
- p. 168,

'Also, the objective of the party was shortened and simplified to 'Self-government for Scotland', with all other subsidiary clauses concerning the Empire and Commonwealth removed. The idea behind this was to remove all frippery and there was a forlorn hope that somehow this would prevent disputes if it was not there.' - p. 188,

'By the beginning of 1937, the divisions between the left and right of the party had largely become meaningless as the SNP became more firmly a left of centre political organisation. Most of the prominent former members of the Scottish Party had either left the party or had ceased to play an important role in its organisation.' - p. 191,

'In January 1939, the creation of a Scottish National Convention was announced, which was the result of two years of negotiations carried out by John MacCormick on behalf of the SNP.' - p. 199,

'In September 1940, John Taylor, the Scottish Secretary of the Labour Party, published an article in which he outlined proposals for Home Rule after the war. [These proposals were reprinted in the 'Scots Independent', September, 1940, p. 3.] MacCormick responded warmly to these favourable utterings anf formally put forward the case that self-government would be best served by the setting up of a united Scottish Front.' - p. 217,

'The principal SNP demand concerning the Convention was that it would also press for a plebiscite on the self-government question once the war was over. Again this was in keeping with MacCormick's philosophy of trying to find the quickest and least painful way of establishing Home Rule, and it also had the benefit of circumventing the direct use of political parties by making the issue the primary concern of a specific popular ballot. It was hoped that the other political organisations would support this proposal and it was made known that the SNP would refrain from contesting elections against official candidates who were prepared to commit themselves to the plebiscite idea.' - p. 218,

'MacCormick's ruse worked and the Labour Party was forced to call a meeting at which they gave the necessary assurances that they were prepared to support the SNP's proposals for a plebiscite and cross-party cooperation on the issue of post-war reconstruction. The nationalists grabbed their opportunity with relish and, after John Taylor had stated quite emphatically that MacEwen's challenge would present them with problems, one of the Labour delegation, Baillie MacKinlay, was humiliatingly dressed down and made to publicly recant on his earlier statement that Home Rule was 'nothing more than a political obstruction at the present time'.' - pp. 219-220,

'MacCormick wanted assurances from Labour that their plans for nationalisation of key economic assets would not mean total centralised control from London. Also, he wanted a more emphatic commitment to the setting up of a separate Scottish Parliament which was democratically accountable, rather than what appeared to be being proposed, the enlargement of the Scottish Grand Committee.' - pp. 222-223,

'Labour interest in the united front began to peter out as Johnston [Tom Johnston] presented an alternative to self-government in the form of his 'strong man in the cabinet'.' - p. 226,

'McIntyre [Robert McIntyre] was a disciplinarian and had decided that the party's tendency towards factionalism had to come to an end. From now on the SNP would project its aims and would under no circumstances modify its approach for the sake of short term expediencies. The emphasis was placed firmly on the necessity of converting the public to the nationalist point of view. ['Scots Independent', January, 1943, p. 6.] - p. 234,

'However, the SNP was now formulating distinct policies on a whole range of issues and - unlike previous times - was going to stick to them. This, in turn, would help to reinforce their political identity.' - p. 238,

'The extent to which the McIntyre line had been taken on board can be illustrated by the fact that preparations were soon under way to formulate an electoral strategy for the forthcoming general election which was expected some time in 1945. By the middle of 1944, the modern Scottish National Party had clearly begun to take shape.' - p. 239,

'Democracy fulfilled a central role in this philosphy and McIntyre was determined that the SNP should be directed by pragmatism rather than ideology: 'Every Scot must have an effective voice in government and must be sufficiently independent, from an economic point of view, to exercise his democratic rights in freedom, without fear of the state, the combine or laird'.' - p. 240,

'The mixture of social responsibility and the rights of the individual was to become the hallmark of future nationalist philosophy and proved to be the ideal weapon to challenge the centralising tendencies of the wartime administration. Furthermore, it was different from what was on offer from the other parties and not only helped to distinguish them in the public's eye, but helped to reinforce their own sense of political identity. Whereas Scottish interests were often over-ruled or not taken into account by British establishments, the SNP was able to use McIntyre's philosophy as the rationale to justify their action in highlighting local grievances.' - p. 241,

'In many ways Robert McIntyre's election on the 12th of April 1945, marks the beginning of the modern Scottish National Party as we know it today. Although there would still be difficulties and disputes in the future, they were never as serious as the ones which dogged the movement up until 1942. Also, the fundamentals of SNP strategy and identity had been firmly established. The objective of independence, in the sense that a self-governing Scotland would not have any limitations placed on its sovereignty, was firmly enshrined.' - p. 242,

In 1947, thirteen years after it was formed, the SNP agreed a constitution -

'...members remained resolved that their direction was the correct one and enshrined it in an official constitution in 1947. [This is reprinted in full in Hanham pp. 213-231.] ' - p. 243.

UK General Election 2010: In Scotland the Politics of Fear Prevail

There are currently 650 Constituency seats in the Westminster Parliament in London. A Member of Parliament (MP) is elected for one of these seats if he/she receives the most votes in the Constituency in which they seek election (First Past The Post or Simple Majority method of voting).

The results for the Scottish National Party (SNP) might possibly be described as a '1997 moment'. In the 1997 General Election the Tories (Conservative Party) were 'wiped out' in Scotland and most of the anticipated rise in the vote for the SNP stalled and went to the Labour Party, but it was the extent to which electoral support in England turned to the Labour Party that resulted in a Labour Government.

A rise in the number of Tory MP's and the corresponding fall in the number of Labour MP's in England has resulted in a 'hung parliament' (no single Party has an outright majority) necessitating the need for an accommodation with the Liberal Democrats (LD) in order to get a majority and form a government. To get a majority and form a government a Party or a combination of Parties must have at least 326 seats.

In Scotland there is an automatic fear of a Tory government (especially because of the depredations of Tory governments in the 1980's and early 1990's) and this fear is often used by the Labour Party to persuade people that they should vote for it - even though doing so would not have any effect on the outcome of an election where Tory gains in England were greater than the number of Westminster seats in Scotland.

'Darling concedes cuts could be tougher than 1980s

Alistair Darling has conceded that if Labour is re-elected public spending cuts will be "tougher and deeper" than those implemented by Margaret Thatcher.'

"There may be things that we don't do, that we cut in the future."

SOURCE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8587877.stm.

UK - GENERAL ELECTION 2010 - RESULTS(1)

PARTY	SEATS	SEATS%	VOTE%
CON	306	47.2	36.0
LAB	258	39.7	29.0
LD	57	8.8	23.0
OTHER	28	4.3	12.0
TOTALS	649	100.0	100.0

NOTE: Election in 1 constituency has been deferred until 27 May due to death of a candidate.

SCOTLAND - GENERAL ELECTION 2010 - RESULTS

PARTY	SEATS	SEATS%	VOTE%
LAB	41	69.5	42.0
CON	1	1.7	16.7
LD	11	18.6	18.9
SNP	6	10.2	19.9
OTHER	0	0.0	2.5
TOTALS	59	100.0	100.0

In terms of seats there is no change on 2005.

UK RESULTS(2) - IF ALL SCOTTISH MP's WERE LABOUR

PARTY	RECALCULATION	SEATS
LAB	258 - 41 + 59 =	276
CON	306 - 1 =	305
LD	57 - 11 =	46
OTHERS	28 - 6 =	22

SEATS SHORT OF MAJORITY

PARTY	NOTIONAL	ACTUAL
LAB	50	68
CON	21	20

Whilst the Conservatives could obtain a majority with the support of the Liberal Democrats, Labour would require the support of the Lib Dems AND other Parties to do so. A Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition would have a greater majority than a Labour/Liberal Democrat/Others one would. A pact would not enable a majority government to be formed but would be an arrangement, in return for certain concessions, whereby junior parties to such an arrangement would abstain from parliamentary votes in which a minority government faced possible defeat.

Currently the election of an overall majority of SNP MP's to Westminster in a UK General Election would constitute a mandate for the negotiation of the withdrawal of Scottish MP's from Westminster and the dissolution of the Treaty of Union of 1707 resulting in Scotland regaining its independence. The current number of MP's elected from Scotland is 59. A mandate for Scottish independence would be gained with the election of 30 SNP MP's.

Scotland in Europe

Scotland's trading links with other European countries were many and varied as the following extracts show -

'From Haddington on 11 October [1297] the two [William Wallace and Andrew Murray] wrote to the mayors and communes of Lubeck and Hamburg. The letter had a double intention. It informed the readers that Scotland, an independent kingdom again, had been won back by battle from the English. It was at the same time in the nature of the reopening of those Scottish trading connections with Germany which had been a feature of the reign of Alexander III.'

Source: 'WILLIAM WALLACE' by Andrew Fisher, pp. 118-119, ISBN 0 85976 557 1.

'There was a good deal of trade with England, largely by sea with east coast ports. The proximity of English markets became so attractive as to nullify the effects both of political hostility and of legislation designed to keep Scottish raw materials at home and encourage native manufactures; Scottish wool was always welcome in England, and English cloth welcome in Scotland. This was plain in the sixteenth century...To France went wool, cloth and salt fish, in return for wines from Gascony and various delicacies and luxury articles. The Low Countries were early established as the chief outlet for Scottish exports. By 1296 the Flemings had a depot in their Red Hall in Berwick, and from the next century a port in the Netherlands - Middelburg, Bruges or Veere - was the Scottish 'staple', through which the principal exports passed and where a 'conservator of Scottish privileges in Flanders', appointed by the Scottish crown, guarded the goods and interests of Scottish merchants. To the Low Countries the Scots sent wool, skins and hides, and later coal, salt, cloth, stockings and herring, in return for spices and clothing. German merchants had their Scottish headquarters in the White Hall at Berwick in the thirteenth century, and when Wallace liberated Scotland in 1297 he wrote to Lubeck and Hamburg telling them that they could resume their trade. That there was already commerce with Norway is indicated by a clause in the treaty of 1266 [Treaty of Perth]; in later times corn (in time of plenty), cloth, skins, coal, salt and fish went to Scandinavia and the Baltic in return for corn (in time of dearth), iron and prodigious quantities of timber. By the end of the Middle Ages wine was coming from Spain as well as France.'

Source: 'Scotland: The Shaping of a Nation' by Gordon Donaldson, pp. 203-204, ISBN 0 7153 6904 0.

Scotland also has other historical connections with mainland Europe which include the military service of Scots either as mercenaries or in an official capacity. In the 16th and 17th centuries Scots fought for Sweden, Poland, Germany, Russia and the Netherlands. There was a Scots Brigade in the Netherlands during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701 - 1714). Scots fought in the armies of Gustav Adolphus of Sweden during the Thirty Years War (1618 -1648). Military service to the kings of France was established in 1295 by the French Alliance which lasted until 1560 and became known to Scots as the 'Auld Alliance'. In the 17th century Peter the Great hired General Patrick Gordon, from Aberdeen, to lead the Russian army. During the Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939) Scots were part of the 15th International Brigade. They fought in defence of the Republican government against the Fascist forces of General Franco. Two notable Scots who became well known for their military service overseas are Samuel Greig and John Paul Jones (Father of the United States navy). Born in 1735 Samuel Greig achieved fame in the navy of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. He bacame famous for his role in the Battle of Chesme Bay in 1770 against the Turkish fleet. In 1782 she appointed him a full Admiral. His last battle was against the Swedish fleet in the Baltic Sea in July 1788. Catherine the Great bestowed on Greig the Russian Order of St. Andrew but later that year he died on board his ship 'The Rostislav' and was given a state funeral by her, his mausoleum is in Tallin, Estonia. In 1998 a contingent of 60 sailors from the Russian navy presented a memorial tablet to the hometown of Admiral Samuel Greig, Inverkeithing in Fife. John Paul Jones (born as John Paul he added the Jones later), born near Kirkudbright in Galloway in 1747, was also invited to join the Russian navy following the reputation he gained during the American Revolution ("I have not yet begun to fight"). He was made a Rear-Admiral in the Russian navy and defeated the Turkish fleet in the Black Sea in 1788.

In 1975 the Scottish National Party (SNP) campaigned for a 'No' vote in a referendum on continued membership of the European Economic Community (EEC). This was based on the premise that Scotland should not be forced to join the EEC as part of a member state that was originally created through the Treaty of Union of 1707 rather than opposition to the EEC on any grounds. At its annual conference in 1983 the SNP adopted a pro-EEC stance, then at the 1988 annual conference the policy of 'Independence in Europe' was adopted.

Scotland became part of the European Economic Community (now the European Union) in 1973 by virtue of the accession of the United Kingdom (to use the abbreviation of the formal name - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) to the Treaty of Rome (1957). The first direct elections to the European Parliament were held in 1979 in which Scotland returned 8 Members of the European Parliament (MEP's), one of whom was Winnie Ewing (SNP). Such was her impact that she earned the nickname "Madame Ecosse", Winnie retired as an MEP in 2003. Until 2004 those elections were conducted in the UK using the First Past The Post (FPTP - Simple Majority) method of voting. In 2004 the number of MEP's returned was reduced to 7 and in June 2009 it will further be reduced to 6 (at present Scotland has 2 SNP MEP's). Following the Treaty of Lisbon the European Parliament will have up to 750 elected members with each member state having a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 96 MEP's. These numbers are apportioned to member states on degressive proportionality, which means that that while the size of the population is taken into account smaller states will elect more MEP's than would be strictly justified by their population alone, however, it is up to the individual member state to determine how seats are allocated but they may not be divided up in a way which would no longer be proportional. Throughout the European Union the Parliaments constituencies are formed on a member state basis, however, there are 6 member states in which this is not the case and their national territory is sub-divided into European constituencies, they are - Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom. In 2009 Denmark, with a population of 5.42 million, Slovakia, with a population of 5.28 million, and Finland, with a population of 5.25 million, will each get 13 MEP's, Ireland, with a population of 4.21 million, will get 12 MEP's, however tiny Luxembourg, with a population of 460,000 will get 6 MEP's. What these figures show is that Scotland, with a population of about 5.1 million and which will only have 6 MEP's in 2009, is effectively penalized for being part of a larger member state.

Decision making in the European Union (EU) is a complex matter as various institutions of the EU are involved, such as the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers) and the European Commission. Although the Parliament has the right to initiate legislation it can only do so by asking the Commission to submit a proposal. Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) is used in the Council of Ministers and is a mechanism which prevents the fewer but much larger member states from being able to impose their wishes on the smaller member states. Currently about 75% of the votes of Council members are required for a proposal to be passed. From 2014 Qualified Majority Voting will be based on the principle of the double majority, that is 55% of member states representing at least 65% of of the EU population, a blocking minority must consist of at least four member states to make it impossible for a small number of the more populous member states to prevent a decision from being adopted. Irrespective of this there is, however, a problem where Scotland's interests are concerned, particularly in the deep-sea fishing industry. Representation in the Council of Ministers is restricted to the official delegations from the member states, which as far as Scotland is currently concerned is the United Kingdom. Tiny land-locked Luxembourg is a member state, has a population less than Edinburgh, has no fishing fleet but has the power to influence decisions that could have a significant impact on the fishing industry in Scotland.

The following is an extract from the preface by Nelly Maes, President of the European Free Alliance (EFA), to the book 'European Free Alliance: Voice of the peoples of Europe - The first 25 years (1981 - 2006)' -

'"The EFA seeks to confine to the history books all injustice with regard to languages and communities minorities and stateless nations."

A European Union that merely recognises the rights of states cannot lead to true democracy and lasting peace. The denial of the rights of peoples and regions, of their language and culture and of their right to self-determination remains a source of frustration and dispute in many European states and abroad.

On the other hand, the narrow-mindedness and self-interest of the member states are preventing Europe from becoming a true champion of human rights, development and peace on a global scale.

Free peoples who can experience their own identity as a nation, a region or language community and who work together to create the democratic institutions that shape the European Union politically: that is the dream of the European Free Alliance.

We want to realise this dream through peaceful and democratic political action rather than resorting to violence. We do not aspire to a centralised European super state, but neither will we be satisfied with a European Union that only exists as a market and that stands divided and impotent when human rights and international law are being violated, or when poverty, war and environmental disasters threaten the lives of millions. Neither will we accept a European Union that looks down on small countries and constitutional regions while allowing the larger member states or the economic and military superpowers to dictate the law.'

There are now thirty political parties (including the SNP since 1989) throughout Europe which are currently members of the European Free Alliance. At a meeting in Edinburgh in January 2008 a joint EFA declaration was made demanding the recognition of internal enlargement. Internal enlargement is the process by which non-state nations within the EU will be granted full membership status once they have achieved independence.