Today, a little bit of history was made in the capital of Cymru.
Worth a thousand words and all that, it’s a keeper of an image.
The idea, say, during the 1987 British general election, that the leader of the SNP would stand beside Uachtarán Shinn Féin as she accompanied her colleague, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, would have been unthinkable for most reasonable people.
Full disclosure: 40 years ago, your humble correspondent wasn’t a reasonable person.
John Swinney’s historic move was flagged earlier this year, and I covered it here at the time.
This memorandum of understanding has produced the usual reaction from self-styled “Ulster Scots” in the Six Counties.
Diaspora communities are usually fully in favour of their ancestral homeland achieving self-government.
Of course, as Neil Ascherson famously observed in his brilliant book “Black Sea” (1995), they belonged to the category of “outpost people”.
“In Northern Ireland, the Protestant ‘Loyalist’ community proclaims itself to be the bastion of true Britishness with an unreconstructed Union Jack fervour which now seems antiquated, even faintly foreign, in London or Manchester.”
[P100]
Ouch!
This meeting in Cardiff happened in the same news cycle as the German Jock President gave his opinion on the prospect of 32 Counties during his visit to our little island.
Inevitably, himself will have his own reasons for slapping Burnham around on this.
The important point is that he CAN.
What WOULD get interesting is if he decides to start arming Argentina to boost Javier Milei’s popularity over the Malvinas.
Now that there is oil in the equation, anyone ruling this out is, to quote another commander in chief, ‘misunderestimating’.
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Hi Phil,
Just how legal was the Act of Union of 1707?
As far as I can research there was no referendum to take us into this union of ‘unequals’ so why should we need one to take us out of it?
A ‘parcel of rogues’ took it upon themselves to sell our independence.
Just 110 votes to 69 in the Scottish Parliament. 110 rogues and Scotland’s independence was gone.
Four toothless leaders with no strategy other than putting out the begging bowl to Westminster for a border poll/indy ref. The only option is to express their right to self-determination by way of peoples referendums without Westminster interference.
Aha ! the voice imo, of a true yoon with no ability to imagine any further than their own extremely limited vision of reality……A journey of 10,000 miles behind with the first step.
Hi Phil
The Falklands/Malvinas was always about the oil not about protecting an island full of Bennys,as called by British soldiers,after a character from the soap Crossroads
I hope Scotland gets independence
My concerns are where does the money come from to pay for a health service,education,welfare and infrastructure etc
Unlike Malvinas/Falklands there is very little oil remaining
The other concern is shall we have an influx of Ulster bigots coming to Fair Caledonia to join the likes of Mad Dog Adair et al ?
If they were to come to an Independent Scotland would they be classed as illegal immigrants
Oh the sweet irony if so
A united Ireland is always going to come first 🇮🇪
They exist only in a country of their own imagination .
I don’t think referring to Scottish people as “Jock” is a great look especially from someone who takes offence at Irish people being called (plastic) Paddy
President Donald John Trump is very proud of his Scottish heritage.
His mother was from the Isle of Lewis.
Moreover, the kilted regiments in the British Army proudly refer to themselves as “Jocks”.
There there…
England deserves her independence