From David Patrick
God help us! Another Sunday, and yet another futile intervention from Gordon Brown. (Universal credit payment cut completely unacceptable says Gordon Brown, 5th September).
I don’t doubt the sincerity of his motives, but what Mr Brown doesn’t recognise is that, while all recent Conservative governments in London have done their utmost to roll back the welfare state, Scots have already voted in a government in Holyrood committed to retaining and strengthening that welfare state.
But, frankly, Mr Brown’s political problems are much bigger than this. It is impossible not to see how far the central axes of politics north and south of the border have diverged in the last fifty years. We are now at a stage where an accommodation between the two has become virtually impossible.
If you don’t believe me, consider this list: Brexit, a progressive tax code, possession (or otherwise) of nuclear weapons, a state-owned NHS free at the point of delivery, dealing with the climate emergency properly, a welfare system that respects the dignity of those in need, attitudes to refugees, immigrants and immigration… I could go on, but that list of policy areas is more than enough to make the point.
In a nutshell, the UK state of which we are currently a part will not allow us to control fundamental aspects of government in order to fulfil our national aspirations – and that is why Scotland needs independence.
It really is that simple.
Talking-up Scotland / Scottish media fact checking is like shooting fish in a barrel 
And still the Bodger will be telling us ‘to pool and share’, ‘to keep the broad shoulders of the Union’, ‘that we are better together’, ‘that we will get the nearest thing to federalism’.
The recent book by a South African Academic about the 2014 Referendum, put Bodger’s notorious ‘intervention’ into perspective.
He is a figure of ridicule amongst the Tories and the UK media.
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Pooling and sharing has been the bedrock narrative for Scottish unionism since,forever.
Brexit has completely destroyed the myth that England shares any of those values which leaves those who supported that false narrative with nowhere to go,except possibly,England.
Broon also,I believe,once described Scottish National supporters as being selfish for not wanting to share our resources with England.
I think all can now see what England’s idea of sharing our resources really looks like and it has not been to benefit Scots.
Broon can trickle down into retirement along with his Thatcherite voodoo economics as far as I am concerned.
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The present Prime Minister thought Brown should NOT be PM because he is a Scot. And no Scot should ever be PM.
Brown is promoted by the Anglo-British establishment, and their colonial media, because he is still in favour of Scottish subjugation/domination/control under “English” rule.
Brown will NEVER get his Peerage, no matter how much he debases himself, and will ultimately end his days as a bitter old man who achieved none of his youthful ambitions. Sad.
After you learn to crawl, then you learn to stand on your feet. Brown never did.
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“And no Scot should ever be PM.” Indeed this was Johnson’s explicitly expressed view. And just in case any reader of your btl comment should doubt it (!), I offer two confirmatory sources, neither known for having a pro-Indy or an anti-Tory bias!
From The Scotsman (17 June 2019) under the headline: Boris Johnson: ‘Scots should not become prime minister’
The article informs us that ahead of the 2005 general election, Johnson argued that Gordon Brown should not become PM “not just because he is a gloomadon-popping, interfering, high-taxing complicator of life, but MAINLY BECAUSE HE IS A SCOT, and GOVERNMENT BY A SCOT IS JUST NOT CONCEIVABLE in the current constitutional context.” (my emphasis)
The Scotsman article adds this comment from Johnson: “it explains why Gordon Brown makes so many speeches about ‘Britishness’ and ‘British values’. “He’s not really interested in British values. He’s worried about his personal POLITICAL DISABILITY AS A SCOTTISH MP, and so he should be.”
Covering the same revelation, Business Insider magazine online on 17 June, 2019 also reminded its readers of this:
‘It is not the only time that Johnson has been attacked for anti-Scottish sentiment. Last week Business Insider revealed that when Johnson edited the Spectator, he authorised the publication of a jocular poem describing Scottish people as VERMIN who should face “EXTERMINATION.”
‘The poem, which has since been removed from the magazine’s archive, was written by then staffer James Michie. It described Scots as “tartan dwarves” who were “polluting our stock” and suggested that the country should be turned into a “ghetto” with the inhabitants submitted for “extermination”.’
This link provides one source for both ‘reveals’: https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-ban-scottish-people-from-being-prime-minister-2019-6?op=1&r=US&IR=T
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Like many a BBC Comedy series that was long past its sell-by date , yet was continued year after year , Gordon Brown is the political equivalent –
”Last of the Summer Whine ” !
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We all remember these things from Boris and yet we have Dross crawling up his **** just like his votes for Boros against for Scotland.
I just wish Broon would go away.
As an aside if anyone is interested have a look at this,Scotland leading the way.
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/earthrise/2021/5/5/change-of-power-the-green-energy-transition
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Sorry for going off topic.
The was an ITN News documentary shown on STV last night called ‘Surviving Squalor: Britain’s Housing Shame’. However, it was only the housing situation in England that was reflected in the programme.
An article on the programme had this statistic..
https://www.itv.com/news/2021-09-12/britains-housing-shame-shocking-conditions-and-despair-at-a-lack-of-action
“Around 1.1 million households are on the the social housing waiting list in England. Last year just one was built for every 175 families that are waiting for one.”
This is another way of saying last year only 6,285 social housing homes were built in England
I looked up the Scottish Government’s Housing Statistics Scotland Quarterly Update and came across this section..
https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-scotland-quarterly-update-2/pages/8/
“Chart 16 below illustrates how the figures per 10,000 population have varied across the 2007/08 to 2020/21 period for Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Between 2007/08 and 2019/20, the latest year in which there are figures available across all UK countries, the annual average supply of affordable housing per head of population in Scotland has been 13.8 homes per 10,000 population, higher than England (9.7 homes per 10,000 population), Wales (7.7 homes per 10,000 population), and Northern Ireland (13.0 homes per 10,000 population – average across the years 2010/11 to 2019/20). Scotland has had annual rates above all other UK countries in most years since 2007/08, except for during 2012/13 to 2014/15, in which the rates for Northern Ireland were higher.
The 9,296 affordable homes completed in Scotland in the financial year 2019/20 equates to a rate of 17.0 homes delivered per 10,000 population. This is above the rate of 10.2 in England and the rate of 9.3 in Wales and 14.4 in Northern Ireland.”
I wonder ITN News will do a follow up documentary called ‘Building Decent Homes: Scotland Leads the Way”
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Thanks for the article. Indeed and also even just the case of renewables, and transmission charges and connection charges to the ‘national grid’, controlled by England, and Scotland loses out massively as a result.
Brexit is surely the last nail in the coffin for anyone with an sense at all. The utterly undemocratic process which led to such a terrible situation that Scotland now finds itself in, a hard no deal Brexit, where Scotland has been told to bow down to their English masters and shut the heck up, has got to have woken even many unionists up. The Tory slashing pensions won’t go down well with my well off retired Tory neighbours either, they don’t like losing even a penny.
The problem is, and this is not anti English, (I am English originally) is, we now have a huge influx of English folk buying up properties in Scotland so they can escape the backward and ever more nasty and violent ridden British Nationalism in England. Most would vote to stay in their union though!
If it were up to me, no second home non residents should be allowed to vote in Scotland at all, and no English students who are only resident during term time, and, restrict voting in an indu ref to those who have lived in Scotland F/T for at least three years. I would if I was moving to Scotland from England as I did 33 years ago, see that as being fair.
I didn’t vote in the devolution election/referendum in 1997, because, I thought, it’s up to the Scottish people to decide, who am I to interfere as an English incomer.
I know, I should have voted, but that’s the way I thought back then, I had only lived in Scotland a few years. A bit more savvy re the political arena now.
We must make sure that 16 and 17 year olds do get to vote to though, did i hear murmerings that the EngGov would quite like to ban them?
So, Scotland is up against it, with the media being almost 100% anti SNP and now anti Scottish Greens, and of course, anti independence, but they are up against a growing number of people who now see through the utter lies and myths which were spun in 2014 to secure a no vote.
Mr. G. Brown is a disgrace to Scotland, he should hang his head in shame for his lies in 2014, and the shafting of his own country for his own benefit, utterly despicable.
Onwards and upwards to independence Scotland! Saor Alba.
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Well said, hough I would make the minimum residential qualification at least five years. And evidence of actually living in the house should be needed too, though difficult to prove/disprove.
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