If the trauma of the electoral swing against Gordon Brown were felt only within Labour, it might be no great cause of sorrow to those outside the party. But thanks to Labour's constitutional vandalism, the party's decline has repercussions for the Union.
For Brown, the threat is far worse than going down as another unpopular PM with a brief tenure. Instead, he risks being remembered as a figure who was cavalier in unleashing forces which weakened the United Kingdom, and that his mishandled premiership was an agent of the country's eventual destruction. Labour is going down. The fear is that it takes the Union with it.
The other from Bruce Anderson, putting the boot into the non-entities of the Scottish Conservatives:
Even if the Scottish Tory party were led by Adam Smith, Henry Dundas and Walter Scott, it would have difficulty in overcoming its countrymen's snivelling resentment. But the current leadership is some way below world-historical class. In the 80s and 90s, the Scots Tories produced Messrs Forsyth, Lang, Rifkind and Younger, plus my Lords Mackay and Strathclyde – as well as a score of able though less eminent figures. Today, most of their successors are dire, and proportional representation creates another obstacle to a Tory revival. Under PR, those at the top of the party's list are virtually guaranteed a seat, however badly the Tories do short of extinction, not yet a danger. In the Scottish Parliament, the Tory leaders enjoy status and income without having to fight for it.
8 comments:
Ah O'Neil, you were just the other day griping about (nationalist) exiles.
But it is ok for unionist exiles to gripe?
Anyway Bruce Anderson fails to mention the nationalist tendancies of Rifkind. He set up with Michael Ancram a pro-devolution group "The Thistle Group" within the party in the 60's and 70's. And of course he resigned from Thatcher's shadow government after she abandoned devolution as a policy in the late 1970's.
And when he came back he remained as thorn in her side during his tenure as Scottish Secretary. She herself said he liked to portray himself romatically as Scotland's champion.
Of course Ian Martin has never been comfortable with devolution, even back in his Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday days. Main reason why he legged it to London with Fraser Nelson when the Barclay - we are true Brits and ultra unionists but live in Sark and we are not telling you why - Brothers flogged the Scotsman titles and concentrated on the Telegraph titles.
He is of the John Junor school of thought that Scotland did not deserve Thatcher and we were ungrateful.
Just like - "overcoming its countrymen's snivelling resentment" by Mr Anderson. Hardly encouraging the Tory vote in Scotland Mr Anderson?
Strangely the Barclay's predecessor as Telegraph owner Lord Black of Federal Pen made similar remarks about Canadians vis a vis their relationship with the USA when he renounced his Canadian citizenship to take up his peerage. Strangely he has refound his Canadian patriotism (making heartfelt broadcasts to Canadian television about his plight)now his no longer free in his beloved land of the free!
Ah O'Neil, you were just the other day griping about (nationalist) exiles.
But it is ok for unionist exiles to gripe?
But they're not exiles if they're Unionists, unlike the Celtic nationalists they're still residing in what they regard as their nation!!
Rifkind's previous views are interesting, I wonder what he thinks about how devolution has played out over the last ten years?
But you were griping about Annie Lennox and she lives in London?
Better qualification than the aforementioned Barclay Brothers or indeed Scots Tory bankroller Lord Laidlaw who wants to save the union from Monaco (he says he lives there because of his health). What makes him different to lets say Connery except for their political outlook?
Rifkind has kept his mouth shut apart from trying to even out the problems such as suggesting that England-only legislation should be dealt with by an English Grand Committee - his East Lothian answer.
He accepted once out of office that once devolution was introduced it was here to stay and trying to (please note) trying to scrap it would be counterproductive. He voted against devolution in the referendum but did not actively campaign against it - a bit like his attitude towards supporting Thatcher then.
I think he has kept his mouth shut generally as he feels his frontbench career is not over yet. He will return. Dave will make him Deputy Prime Minister or leader of the Lords or something important. Or so he believes. He towed the party line on devolution after Thatcher got in and tows the line after devolution was introduced. Indeed he is apparently on record calling on his party to be enthusiastic about devolution or else.
To be fair, Rifkind has done his best under trying circumstances being loyal to party and his Scottish patriotism tarring him as an ardant anti-Thatcherite (party heresy!) and being a Thatcher stooge, poll tax etc.
He gave a heartfelt speech on it when he was campaigning to be selected for Kennsington and Chelsea. Something along the lines of "Scotland is my country, I have lived there many years, cannot cut my ties with it etc" Hence why he lives much of the time outside Edinburgh in Inveresk - in East Lothian.
London is only where he works.
How dare this strange wannabe Englishman Anderson get stuck into the likes of Annabelle Goldie. She aye puts a smile on my face, and her policies are attractive. However keep it up, insulting people is a great way to not make them fellow turncoats.
Rifkind is hypocritical scum. He resigned from the front bench when the Tories were last in power because he was so insistent that Scotland got Home Rule.
And now, as an English Constituency MP, does he support his constituents in regaining equality with the other members of the Union?
Does he Hell. He opposes Devolution for England just as strongly as he supported it for Scotland. And Aberdonian's comments about his limiting the time he spends in London to just being "where he worked" sums up his colonial attitude to England in full.
But you were griping about Annie Lennox and she lives in London?
You're still missing my point, the journalistic Holy Trinity of Anderson, Martin and (I guess)Cochrane would consider themselves British first and foremost hence London or anywhere else in the Uk wouldn't be exile. Connery and (again I guess) Lennox would not consider themselves British and hence anywhere outside Scotland be it London or the bahamas would be exile. But at least Annie is still helping out her hoem country by continuing to pay taxes!!
Something along the lines of "Scotland is my country, I have lived there many years, cannot cut my ties with it etc" Hence why he lives much of the time outside Edinburgh in Inveresk - in East Lothian.
London is only where he works.
Bearing that in mind, it would be interesting to see how he's regarded as purely as a constituency MP.
Wildgoose
Rifkind did not resign the last time the Tories were in power. He resigned when the Tories were in opposition in the seventies.
From 1986 to 1997 when the Tories were kicked out, he was in the UK Cabinet. He was first Scottish Secretary (when George Younger got shifted to defence after Heseltine resigned over Westland) and then was shifted to Transport when Major took power. Major then moved him to defence when Tom King retired before serving from 1995-1997 as Foriegn Secretary after Hurd retired.
He lost his seat in 1997 and returned to the Commons in 2005. He was on Michael Howard's post-election front bench for work and pensions but resigned from it when Cameron took over when he did not get the foriegn brief.
Rifkind since then has been meditating on how to improve devolution vis a vis England.
Very few Tories support an English Parliament. Once an English Parliament was set up, a lot jobs in Westminster would go as many of the "UK" departments would cede power to the English authorities.
For example the Ministry of Justice would lose control of the courts, much of its civil law jurisdiction and control of the prison service for England and Wales.
The Home Office would be left responsiblity for only reserved criminal matters with the bulk of its criminal law and policing responsibilities passing to the English authorities.
Also of course with such powers being lost, the media would concentrate more on what the English government was doing - and broadcasting it into other homes in the UK whilst keeping the English people willfully ignorant of different policies in the other parts of the UK. Come to think of that, that is happening already!
It might be added that his predecessor bar one (Portillo- Scottish mother I may add!), Alan Clark I might add split his time between Kent and his home in Sutherland. Family estate bought from the Clark family fortune made in the Paisley weaving industry.
Seems to be something very Caledonian about his constituency.
O'Neill
So will you denounce your fellow true Brits Sirs Brothers Barclay and Lord Irvine of Monte Carlo as hypocrites? Sark has very favourable tax rates.
And before you start rambling about their businesses generating taxes for the UK, so does Connery's business interests here as well!
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