Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement

 
 
Friday, 16th May 2008 Change Date

Premium Article !

Your account has been frozen. For your available options click the below button.

Options

Premium Article !

To read this article in full you must have registered and have a Premium Content Subscription with the The Scotsman site.

Subscribe

Registered Article !

To read this article in full you must be registered with the site.

Sign In
Register

Get Scotland sorted first - then decide whether to stay in Union



Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date: 28 March 2008
By ARCHIE STIRLING
The constitutional debate can wait until after we have tackled priorities such as education, writes ARCHIE STIRLING
THE debate on the future of the UK seems often fraught with difficulty. It should not be. Speaking as a Scot, the first and most important question is simply: what serves Scotland best? The choices are threefold – devolution as we have it, independe...



The full article contains 1068 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

 
1

Richardinho,

28/03/2008 00:20:51
an 'apolitical' political party?
What a strange concept!
2

Mr. Lachie Todd,

Edinburgh 28/03/2008 08:28:34
How on earth can a political movement which takes part in the electoral process be described as "apolitical"? By its very definition there is no such thing as an "apolitical" political party?

Many readers will be amazed how the founder of an obscure, right-wing political party that has absolutely nothing in common with the vast majority of the Scots Electorate, and which got a miniscule number of votes at the last Scottish Parliament Elections, is allowed
a platform to air his rather eccentric views on Scottish State Education?

In answer to his headline question?

The Unionist parties have had 300 years to "Get Scotland sorted....!"
3

Dr. James Wilkie,

Vienna 28/03/2008 08:47:29
Mr. Stirling is right about Scottish Labour and the Conservatives. It is indeed evident that a regrouping on the centre-right of Scottish politics is now a matter of urgency - but not with backward-looking policies that foresee the preservation of the UK in its present form as a fundamental precondition. The whole Scottish political and constitutional structure has to be rethought from first principles in the light of the global situation, and not simply the small world within these islands.

If, in consideration of all the circumstances, some form of union can be considered the most appropriate and useful form of state, then let that be argued from the point of view of its practical utility for Scotland's purposes. Unfortunately, as the fishing and other aspects have demonstrated, continuation of the union has increasingly been shown to have a positively adverse effect on Scotland's interests. In its present form, for Scotland's purposes, it has been overtaken by other institutions at regional and global level, and it is there that Scotland's interests have to be protected. Since the UK has demonstrably proved inadequate for this purpose, the onus is on those who wish its preservation to show that it still retains validity in this respect.

Running through all Mr. Stirling's writing is his inability to jump over the shadow of his background and social environment. What is needed in the present circumstances is the ability to tear up all preconceptions, take a clean sheet of paper, and rethink the entire Scottish political and constitutional setup from first principles within the framework of its global environment.



4

donald,

glasgow 28/03/2008 10:25:44
He's no' been the same since his faither tried to invade Lybia.
5

Neil,

Glasgow 28/03/2008 10:36:02
Getting Scotland's economy growing like Ireland's should be the priority. For that a necessary but not sufficient condition is getting power to cut corporation tax.

Beyond that reform independence is an irrelevance. Ireland was independent for 70 years before she tried the economic reforms which worked so spectacularly & quickly.
6

Enigma,

28/03/2008 17:42:34
5

And a massive bung from the EU. Not likely to be repeated anywhere west of the Oder.
7

New Town Resident,

28/03/2008 18:24:30
6. the EU doen't have any money. it was a massive bung from the British (incl. Scottish) and German taxpayers who pay pretty well all the EU bills. think what we could have got if we had spent our own money here (or not taxed it in the first place). In Scottish terms it's equivalent to 3 new Edinburgh tram systems every year, not that I would advocate that!

5. I think differential rates of corp. tax not allowed by the EU in one state, so indeed this is an argument for independence? However aren't there moves to stop new EU states going outside the norm and free riding like the Republic? I think you really need to know on what terms the SNP would take Scotland into the EU before you can possibly judge the independence question rationally?
8

EWB,

UK 28/03/2008 18:56:34
#7: many of the EU accession states, especially the Baltic States, have minimum rates of corporation tax in order to attract business to them. Ireland's rate is also low.

The question will be whether, under an EU Constitution, there will be moves to "harmonise" (doubtless upwards) rate of corporation tax, which would favour the more statist EU nations like France and reduce competitiveness.
9

Dr. James Wilkie,

Vienna 28/03/2008 21:03:25
#7. The SNP would take Scotland into the EU on the EU's terms and no other. Nothing else is allowed - and that includes the CFP. The only concession that has ever been made to a new member has been a transitional period of adaptation, and Scotland has been in the EU for so long that that would not apply. You accept the EU's terms or you don't get in. Whether an independent Scotland would want to get in is another matter.

10

peteedinburgh,

Edinburgh 21/04/2008 00:30:11
For 10 yrs the Scottish Parliament has been floundering about lost in itself.

Now we get a lot of promises and a lot of talk. We also show we can have a lot of arguments. However a mature government has a track record of delivering promises and of successful diplomacy with its neighbours. We have none of this yet.

It is decades too early to judge Holyrood. The only reasons the subject of independence is discussed is in the context of political egos and narrow xenophobia - exactly the wrong reasons.

 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
RSS Feed of this article's comments
Delivery formats: RSS, Atom, Javascript & Email
 
  

 
 


Sister Newspapers:
Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.