A couple of days ago in Whitemoor Road I met a dog with a Scottish accent. The dog's human assured me that this was so but I couldn't detect it as the dog sounded just like any other Derbyshire dog. It was of course the dog's human who had the accent but we both laughed and enjoyed the foolishness of his remark.
As I turned into Gregory's Way I was still chuckling to myself, Billy Connolly could not have done better. Ah yes, The Big Yin. I treasure the comment he made when asked what his views were on Scottish independence, he said that as a former welder in the Glasgow shipyards he had more in common with a shipyard worker in England than with a Highlander wearing a kilt. It did not matter that he has become rich, lives in the US and now, sadly, suffering the onset of Parkinson's disease, he had not forgotten his roots and that the real struggle is class based and not about nationality. Of all that was said in the referendum debate his contribution was the most profound.
I was thinking of this when reading the Prime Minister's comments about the supposed dangers of the Labour Party and SNP members of parliament adding up to a majority. The sheer stupidity of suggesting that such an outcome would endanger the very fabric of the UK was the sort of addled thinking that we have come to expect from Cameron. He so easily forgets the crucial role played by the Labour Party in winning the argument in last year's Scottish independence referendum. As Cameron cowered in London, afraid to show his face north of the border, it was left to Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and Ed Miliband to ensure that 55% of those that voted favoured remaining within the union. They did struggle at times but there was no doubting the passion in their voices as they stated the case for the union. How dare Cameron imply that just a few months later Labour would endanger the UK. Cameron's idea that the SNP block of MP's could force the abandonment of Trident (no matter what you think of nuclear weapons) would depend upon all the Tories voting alongside the SNP ------ absolute nonsense. It's a similar story with his claim that the SNP would write the Labour budget ---------- constitutionally this cannot happen so both Cameron and John Major are mischief making, spinning falsehoods in a desperate effort to remain in power.
As usual the advantaged are trying to move the spotlight away from the real issues of inequality and unfairness. The so called Scottish question does not really exist but is being played up by unscrupulous individuals who should be ashamed of themselves ------- Cameron, Osborne and Alex Salmond to name but three. I am still trying to get my mind around the fact that Norman Tebbit has spoken out about the Tory tactics of Cameron, condemning the anti Scottish rhetoric that is designed to make cheap political points against Labour. Agreement with Tebbit is something I never expected to experience.
Perhaps the last words should be those of Billy Connolly, "I think it's time for people to get together, not split apart. The more people stay together, the happier they'll be." How true. He would have enjoyed meeting the dog on Whitemoor Road.
Tomorrow - Tory car park hypocrisy.
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