"Paid for by the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee, PO Box 6157, Leesburg, VA." (which keeps a very close eye on this and several similar or allied websites):
The Scottish National Party, which won a majority in Scotland's parliament last year, has set the fall of 2014 for a referendum on declaring independence from Britain. The response from London, so far, has been fear and loathing. Prime Minister David Cameron declared that Scotland has no legal right to set a referendum on independence without London's approval, which Cameron said, he would give only under conditions that he dictates, that is, the vote has to be sooner rather than later, and it has to be on "in" or "out" of the union, only, with no other options. Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister, responded by saying that Scotland would be making its own decisions, and he accused Cameron of trying to "trample over Scotland with his size 10 boots."
According to the Associated Press, Salmond made clear that London's interference would not be tolerated, promising "a referendum organized in Scotland, built in Scotland for the Scottish people, discussed with civic Scotland and brought to the people in 2014 for a historic decision on the future of this nation." Polls currently show independence only having the support of about 30-35% of the voters which is why Cameron wants the referendum quickly, before the SNP can build up further support for it. The SNP also wants a third option, maximum devolution, under which Scotland would be autonomous in all of its affair except foreign relations and defense.
The Scottish nationalists appear to be headed towards some kind of confrontation with London over Scotland's future in their drive for independence. The AP story names two issues that London will surely dispute with the Scots which are the control of the North Sea oil fields, which Salmond says Scotland is entitled to 90% of, and who is liable for Britain's national debt, which Salmond says Scotland is only responsible for 8% of. The British response is to warn the Scots that there's no way Scotland could survive economically on its own. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne warned Jan. 12 that "the people of Scotland would lose out in terms of the Scottish economy" if they left the U.K.
Another matter that the British are sure to fight over is the fate of the Royal Navy's four Trident ballistic missile submarines which are based in Faslane, Scotland. The Scotsman reported, last week, that SNP policy is to have the base closed and the submarines moved out of Scotland if Scottish voters go for independence. This prompted one leading U.K. defense expert to warn that the SNP policy would "amount to a promise to shut down the U.K.'s nuclear deterrent and enforce its disarmament." This would require that either they compromise with London on keeping Faslane open, or "leave the U.K. without a nuclear shield."
Connections between these two enemies of the allegedly still-existing British Empire are far from unknown...
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"[T]he fall"?
ReplyDeleteYou pretentious idiot.
I hope that that made more sense to you than it did to me.
ReplyDelete