Your Right to Decide – BBC Scotland defends Burnham’s retrenched position fully against a referendum

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From the Scottish Government today: FM writes to PM on Scotland’s right to decide has had limited coverage. STV did a fair job in https://news.stv.tv/politics/john-swinney-writes-to-prime-minister-andy-burnham-in-bid-to-legally-launch-independence-vote reproducing Swinney’s letter in full with only a wee tail-ender from the Scottish Cons, more concerned to attack Butnham than Swinney.

The letter:

Dear Andy

I am writing with regards to your comments at Prime Ministers Question’s in response to my colleague Chris Law MP’s question.

Earlier today, you said; “on that question of a border poll, it is to be considered by the Northern Ireland Secretary when there is a clear consensus in the country – when public opinion has changed to the point where the call has to be considered. I would say that it is exactly the same situation in Scotland.”

The Good Friday Agreement, as implemented in UK domestic law by the Northern Ireland Act 1998, makes clear that if it appears likely that a majority of people in Northern Ireland would vote for Irish unification, a referendum should be held.

Your acceptance of the fact that majority support for independence in Scotland also means that a referendum should take place is welcome.

I am encouraged that you have reconsidered your previous comments that the democratic right of the people of Scotland to choose their own future is “off limits.”

This is a long-overdue acceptance of the reality that the people of Scotland will decide their own future, not the UK Government, and a clear endorsement of the fact that the UK must be a voluntary union.

In May, the SNP won a historic and unprecedented fifth term in office, and the people of Scotland elected more pro-independence MSPs than at any point in the Parliament’s history.

Given that, the previous refusal of the UK Government to consider Scotland’s right to decide its own future was clearly unsustainable.

You have rightly identified that there must be a discussion about where power lies across these islands.

By concluding a clear, understandable mechanism, both sides of the constitutional debate can move forward constructively in the full knowledge of an agreed process by which the Scottish people can exercise their democratic right at a time of their choosing.

Now that you have agreed the principle that Scotland should have a referendum when it is likely that people would vote for independence, it is important for us to meet to discuss how we turn that principle into an agreed legal mechanism, as exists in Northern Ireland.

I have asked my office to take forward the necessary arrangements.

John Swinney MSP https://www.gov.scot/news/fm-writes-to-pm-on-scotlands-right-to-decide/

Even better, the Edinburgh Reporter gives a link to the full 22-page Your Right to Decide paper: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=5cad0f41207b9272458706591267ea26e879342c4a7aeafc9eb6b62212571f4aJmltdHM9MTc4OTA4NDgwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=040f0c0f-8f6f-69bb-36d4-18948ed46872&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVlZGluYnVyZ2hyZXBvcnRlci5jby51ay93cC1jb250ZW50L3VwbG9hZHMvMjAyNS8wOS9Zb3VyLVJpZ2h0LXRvLURlY2lkZS1maW5hbC1lbWJhcmdvZWQtdW50aWwtNC1TZXB0ZW1iZXItMjAyNS5wZGY

In sharp contrast, BBC Scotland above presents the case from the retrenched perspective of the UK PM in PM says second Scottish independence referendum remains ‘off limits’ after a Unionist panic at his earlier comments: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8z5ndpz4go

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6 thoughts on “Your Right to Decide – BBC Scotland defends Burnham’s retrenched position fully against a referendum”

  1. the Scotland is Shite arm of the BBC will always push the Westminster narrative while we have an SNP led government- they will never be impartial as you have pointed out on so many occasions – it is a sad reflection of our society that we cannot get impartiality from our MSM

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  4. Apologies for long post .

    Talking of Burnham , have you seen what has happened with him, Burnham, NOT “doing politics differently” from his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer.

    As we had breaking news yesterday that:

    “Crypto billionaire Ben Delo has donated £36m to Reform UK – the biggest ever donation to a UK political party”.

    Peter Geoghegan, Journalist and author of the book ‘Democracy for Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics’ , posted this yesterday in response to that news:

    “This is completely on Andy Burnham. Last week Labour could have stopped this. Now we have a single person giving more money than the entire general election spending limit for a political party”.

    Geoghegan is right , as last week some media reported that “Andy Burnham-led Labour government recently chose not to implement a universal domestic cap on political donations during debates on the Representation of the People Bill. Had the government accepted cross-party amendments tabled on September 2, 2026, it could have prevented a record-breaking £36 million mega-donation to Reform UK by a British crypto billionaire that occurred just days later”.

    Peter Geoghegan also posted that:

    “The Ben Delo who has just given Reform £36m is the same Ben Delo who US prosecutors said was the leader of a ‘criminal enterprise’ But hey ho, it’s fine for him- and any other crypto bro – to buy British democracy lock stock and barrel”.

    On 1 September Byline Times had an article whose headline stated:

    “Andy Burnham Faces Backlash Over Apparent Retreat From Donations Cap Pledge”.

    “apparent retreat” is that not just another (softer) way for them to say U-Turn ?

    The article stated that “public figures and civil society groups have urged Andy Burnham not to abandon a campaign pledge to stamp out big money “corrupting our politics.”

    Yet again “not to abandon” as in just another (softer) way to say U-turn ?

    Then the article states “Andy Burnham, then running for the Makerfield parliamentary by-election, told Bowler (Shaun Bowler the founder of WakeUpGB):

    “Yes, I do think there should be a cap on political donations. This would guard against the perception of any one party being unduly influenced or swayed by one person or organisation.”

    “I am in complete agreement that there needs to be wholesale culture change in Westminster.”

    “I would start with a higher cap but would definitely want to see that reduced over time… I do support the principle of caps,” he added.

    But then the article stated that:

    “However, he (Burnham) has since appeared to distance himself from backing an immediate cap on political donations. The Government is introducing a £100,000 annual cap for donations from overseas voters, but has so far rejected extending that to voters living in the UK”.

    “Shaun Bowler, founder of WakeUpGB, said:

    “Andy Burnham was clear with us. He said yes to a cap. He gave us a figure, around £500,000. He said Westminster needed wholesale culture change. He said all of that while he still needed support to win a seat“

    “He’s Prime Minister now, and the Bill in front of Parliament doesn’t contain the reform he told us he backed. There is an obvious appearance of hypocrisy when a politician says the system needs to change, then gets the power to change it and doesn’t. If he’s changed his mind, he should say so. If he hasn’t, we want to know what he intends to do about it.”

    Of course the timing of the news that Reform UK have (again) received yet another donation from yet another British cryptocurrency billionaire amidst a police investigation into their finances, well that surely does not bode well for them (as is it not just adding further fuel onto what is already a well lit fire).

    Delo had said he was “donating £1m a month between now and the latest date Labour could call a general election in 2029 – but that he would give all the money up front in case the government tried to limit mega-donations in future”.

    As there are currently no restrictions on the amount of money UK-based donors can give to political parties – it was reported that “Sheffield-born Delo, who has already donated £4m to Reform, has previously said he will move back to the UK from Hong Kong to continue his backing for the party”.

    I guess that then means that for Burnham it is now ‘his move‘ .

    As he either takes action ASAP and so then commits to his former pledge, or he, just like Starmer, can then potentially both be to blame for democracy being bought and paid for by the uber rich , who it seems, as the uber rich, (supposedly) ‘supports’ (as in finances) a dodgy pretend party over their Labour party (and over the Tories too).

    Of course they, the Labour party, are also not averse to accepting financial donations either , however Labour (so far) cannot match that which Reform UK seem to be amassing in the ludicrously (and questionably) high valued individual donations that they have received from certain Crypto Billionaires.

    Of course we all remember Starmer also breaking his pledges after he was elected as the new leader of Labour.

    Now it seems to be a case of Burnham not actually doing politics any differently from Keir Starmer, but he is seemingly “doing politics” in the exact same way as him.

    I guess that means that the supposed “Burnham bounce” is then also heading for the same way as Starmer’s much heralded “landslide victory” in the 2024 UK GE, in what will surely be, for Andy Burnham, an eventual crash and burn(ham).

    It all certainly puts into perspective the fact that the HOC ‘Scottish’ Affairs committee are now apparently going to conduct an inquiry into the SNP’s funds, while seemingly ignoring all of the financial political donations made to all of the other parties at WM, where these financial donations by those political donors are all now a part of their respective party’s “funds“.

    Donations all donated by many of those whom one could say had various vested business interests in ensuring that the party that they had financially supported (donated to) would then make things far easier for them, via their investments and businesses when that party became (or were) the (next or current) UK government.

    UK State aka a corrupt cesspit.

    Liz S

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    1. Just reported :

      “Reform UK has received a second £36m donation in as many days, as cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne says he has matched a record-breaking donation announced late on Friday”.

      “The £72m from these two donations is more than the total received by all UK political parties last year”

      Take a f****** bow Andy Burnham as you have now enabled the uber rich to try to buy and so then try to thwart democracy in this defunct and absolute S***hole of a UK State.

      Now this is a subject upon which we, who live in Scotland , should be seen as having “legitimate concerns” about , more so when the Scottish Affairs committee in the HOC are now to hold an inquiry onto the, checks bloody notes, SNP funds !

      I do hope that the public everywhere within this British State finally wakes up to ensure that both of these bloody billionaires lose the money that they now invested into this horrendous pretend party – in that people stop voting for them.

      This is a case of the real “elites ” trying to take over in order to have control of the establishment, thus they become the bloody establishment controlling everything, especially having control over us in Scotland.

      If you are not enraged then someone should check your pulse.

      Today the BBC have done a (bio) article on Ben Delo, the crypto billionaire who donated £36 million to Reform UK, that asks in their headline?

      “Who is Reform donor and crypto billionaire Ben Delo”?

      The BBC article tells us that:

      “Delo has been “motivated by the pursuit of truth” throughout his life and career, and by a “commitment to rationalism, intellectual honesty and frank, open debate”.

      What the actual F*** ?

      If you read the rest of this article on him by the BBC you would not be wrong in thinking that they seem to be admirers of his, in them noting his academic achievements, his varied career and also what they refer to as his “rationalist principals”.

      There can be no doubt that this article published by them on their website is far less a case of their questioning him, far less their being judgemental upon him and so then lacks any real scrutiny upon what really motivated his huge donation to Reform UK.

      Indeed as an article it seems more a case of them championing him , accepting him as kosher and so then overlooking his possible real reasons for donating such a vast amount to Reform UK.

      A puff piece , yet so very BBC , as those whose so called news service always fails to live up to anybody’s expected standard, as they , the BBC, appear to always promote any link to Reform UK with far less negativity than the S**** that they always printed and broadcast about the SNP.

      The UK State has two tier politics , two tier media and in some instances a two tier policing service, that as politics, media and certain police forces, all seems to work for and on behalf of all of those whose rancid and skewed beliefs clearly wallows in the gutter , while simultaneously we also see that all of these same politicians and same media are always far too ready and willing to be most proactive in demonising both the SNP and all Scottish Independence supporters , or rather us whom they refer to as “Separatists”.

      The real irony being who the Hell , of sane mind, would NOT WANT TO BE SEPARATE FROM THAT BUNCH OF ABSOLUTE SWINES !

      UK State is a rogue State 100%

      Liz S

      Liked by 1 person

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