Great Britain 2009: The State of the Union

Patriotism has become almost an ugly word in our fragmented and insanely "politically correct" homeland in recent times. It is as though "British-ness" and any open display of such has gone out of fashion.

Why should that be so? Why should we suppress our pride in our nation? This land has served us and our forefathers well - this is something we should never forget, nor allow others to forget.

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It is a widely held belief in countries such as ours that governments will come and governments will go and although each will attack the pertinent issues of the day in it's own manner and style, there will always remain the option of a future administration of a different ilk reversing legislation and coming at the problem from a different perspective. I would have to agree that this is largely the case and on issues such as health, education, foreign policy and taxation - to name but a few - will remain so. But what happens when a decision is made regarding the very constitutional fabric of the country, one which transforms the political landscape of the nation so drastically from how it has remained for three centuries with such overwhelming success, that a reversal of the tactic is nigh on impossible?

When Mr Blair so naively instigated a referendum regarding the establishment of a Scottish Parliament for the first time since 1707 and an assembly in Wales, he set in motion a series of events which even the less politically astute among us cannot surely fail to see will have dire consequences for the whole of the United Kingdom. He has created - at astronomical expense! - yet another layer of government and bureaucracy which not only was not required, it has the potential to come in to direct confrontation with the powers that be at Westminster. We have already seen such confrontation with Labour administrations in both camps; what is going to happen now that a Scottish Nationalist - albeit minority - government is sitting in Edinburgh? Mr Salmond and his separatists are sure to cause as much friction as possible with London in an attempt to secure a divorce from what has been such a long and successful marriage.

In England, we also have the crazy situation whereby Scottish - and to a lesser extent Welsh - MP's are sitting in on debates and voting on legislation which will not affect the people of Scotland or Wales! Where was the foresight, the political astuteness and the simple common sense behind this decision, Mr Blair? - I am sure so many of us would dearly love to know.

The ethics and politics of it aside, the cost factor of creating an independent Scotland is all but incalculable. Who would pay for it?

The indisputable answer is that, ultimately, it would be the people of Scotland, through hugely increased taxes.

It is the claim of many within the Scottish National Party and their supporters that oil revenue would be a big factor in the success of an independent Scotland. The fact that the fossil fuels they refer to will last for a maximum of another fifty years does not seem to register upon them. What then? They do not approve of nuclear power, but suggest wind farms may be the answer!! I am not trying to suggest that the nuclear option is absolutely ideal. It is, however, the only feasible one open to us in the foreseeable future. Wind farms covering every acre of available land may just provide enough electricity to light up the hideous monstrosity that is the Scottish Parliament building and its associated bureaucratic subdivisions but it would certainly not provide for a nation.

Tourism is another big earner for Scotland. The beautiful city of Edinburgh, the awesome scenery of Argyll, our Western Isles and our Highlands, is renowned the world over. People flock here from Canada, the USA, Australia, Japan, Germany and a hundred other countries to experience our culture and see our land. That would still be a big earner for an independent Scotland...wouldn't it?

As any American in particular who has ever visited the UK will know, the price of things like our petrol (gasoline) is already beyond your belief. What would happen when the hugely increased taxation affected everything? Would you still come to Scotland and pay perhaps $200 a night for extremely basic bed and breakfast, $20 for a cup of coffee and God alone knows how much for a gallon of petrol? No - of course you wouldn't. And we must not forget: the beautiful landscapes will all be covered with wind turbines, anyway! There are far more attractive windmills in Holland - and far lower taxes!!

Far be it from me, however, to put up all those obstacles without offering a potential "solution." I therefore propose the administration should look to candles as a possible salvation! The SNP could make candle production a compulsory subject in all schools. Those millions of people whose businesses and livelihoods are decimated by higher taxation and the loss of tourism among a hundred other things could all take up the profession. New factories would spring up across the "nation," (wind farms permitting) and a growth industry would be established. Perhaps even some of the lost tourists would return to tour our world famous "candle factories." We would be the biggest producer on the surface of the planet - we would have to be!

I will go even further and "suggest" a new National Anthem for the independent Scotland. Don't you see a little bit of a resemblance to Mr Salmond here...?

In The Year of Our Lord 1603, Queen Elizabeth of England passed away, and though many may argue over and dispute both circumstance and/or reason, the simple and irrefutable fact of the matter remains that she in so doing passed both her crown and Her Kingdom to her cousin, James VI of Scotland. In becoming James I of England, James assumed control of what would ultimately become, in 1707, a United Kingdom we can still just about recognise in a similar incarnation today: one flag, one monarch, one country. In the intervening decades and centuries, the curiously shaped little cluster of islands off the west coast of Europe flourished. Attack came after relentless attack, but always, the stout British yeomanry stood firm and resolute against - in some cases - astronomical odds, to repel our adversaries and preserve the liberty and independence our people had come to know and accept as their own.

In the year 1940, perhaps our most challenging moment arrived: in the wake of France's surrender to Hitler, the British Expeditionary Force faced not only expulsion from mainland Europe, but annihilation in the face of the ever encroaching forces of Nazi Germany. Dunkirk, that previously unheard of, derelict stretch of sand in Northern France, was soon to assume legendary status as the people back home became aware of the plight of our troops. Shall we pray for their immortal souls; shall we write off the BEF and hope against hope we have enough young men left at home to carry on the good fight; shall we face the "inevitable" and surrender to the apparent might and invincibility of the Nazi War Machine?... NO!!! A miracle, the likes or proportions of which had not been witnessed since biblical times, was soon to come about, in that those who would...who could...who cared enough to make any difference whatsoever, put their personal and family concerns behind them for a time and took to the ocean wave that had served our country so well, in so many ways, for so long, in order to bring countless thousands of our island's sons safely home.

A great man among us stated during these tortuous, isolated times described above, that, "Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous states have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France; we shall fight on the seas and oceans; we shall fight with growing confidence and strength in the air; we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight on the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and liberation of the old."

The year 2008 has seen economies the world over spiral downwards, out of control, and billions of currency units wiped off share prices. This has led to banks failing, companies of all shapes and sizes going in to liquidation and increases in fuel prices and food prices, to name but two. So where will it all end?

That is a more than frightening thought...

The ultimate proof - should it still have been required - of the hypocrisy of the Scottish National Party was provided on 9th November 2007 when its leader "celebrated" Glasgow being awarded the right to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Why should that be so, you may be asking? Surely, Glasgow is in Scotland, so Scotland's "first minister" should be ecstatic the city received such an honour?

Whether or not the position Mr Salmond currently holds should even exist will be discussed in full elsewhere on this page so let us focus for the moment on this one, extremely contentious issue. It is the stated aim of the Scottish National Party to secure the fragmentation of this United Kingdom and establish Scotland as an independent nation at the very earliest window of opportunity. They want that independent Scotland to hold no formal links or associations with the other components of what is presently the UK, other than as fellow members of that floundering, beaurocratic goliath that is the European Union. So why does Mr Salmond celebrate so the awarded hosting of a games in which he allegedly hopes Scotland will play no part? Surely, given his stated political stance, he should have been advocating and actively encouraging the withdrawal of Glasgow's bid altogether? Or perhaps the SNP now want "independence at all costs...but only after 2014?"

There may be some of you reading this who are beginning to suspect that I am something of a Unionist - you would of course be correct. I am Scottish, but I am also British, and extremely proud to be so. I am therefore delighted about this honour having been bestowed upon Glasgow - I believe that I have a right to be...

So what, we must consequently if somewhat reluctantly ask ourselves, would Sir Winston Spencer Churchill make of the present state of "The Island Race" he so fondly portrayed in his historical chronicles of that same title? What would he make of the present custodians of the land for which he and his generation selflessly gave so much - and indeed, in so many instances - gave everything in the making of the ultimate sacrifice? What would he make of the political in-fighting, the fragmentation of our nation beyond recognition and our prospects for the future?

I for one firmly believe that the vast majority of people in all parts of this country are in favour of the "staus quo" and the continuation of the Union. There are two inherent dangers, however, of which those of us on this side of the debate must be very acutely aware.

The first of those is that the "separatist" stance is newsworthy, while ours is not. Why should the media give attention to inactivity, when those who would break us apart are putting their utmost effort in to doing so? This leads to a majority of English people, for example, thinking that the Scots to a man, woman and child are desperate for an independent state at all costs, when nothing could be further from the truth! There is a significant proportion of Scots who are just as in favour of and loyal to the Union as anyone south of the Watford Gap!

The second consideration we must have perhaps poses an even greater threat to our unity - that is apathy. So many of us can shrug our shoulders and say, "I'm not interested in politics. Why should I vote? They're all the same, those politicians!" The reality, more so now than ever, is that they are not all the same and every vote will count in these times of turmoil and confusion.

I hope you will think of that the next time any election comes around, for if we are not careful - very careful - all that we as a nation have known, treasured and accepted almost as our God given right for centuries will soon be lost in the swirling mists of history and rueful - if romantic - reminiscence...

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In 1979, Margaret Hilda Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of Her Britannic Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The mess she had to clear up from her Labour predecessors was almost unprecedented - the country was in a worse state almost than ever before. Diligently, however, she set about the task she had been elected to complete and put the "Great" back in to Britain faster than anyone could ever have anticipated.

Unfortunately, age has now taken its inevitable toll on "The Iron Lady" and Lady Thatcher is no longer able to save this great country once again. The modern Conservative Party - which she once led so proudly - is but a pale shadow of what it once was; it is merely the Labour Party of a slightly paler shade of red.

The future of Great Britain therefore looks extremely grim, until somehow, from somewhere, a new saviour can be found.

I have no doubt that there will be a great many people outwith these shores, in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and countless other countries besides, who - assuming you have even got this far! - are wondering what effect our present inner turmoil could possibly have upon you personally or your country as a whole. Perhaps there are some who are even gleefully rubbing their hands together while reflecting upon our ignominious descent from the days of Empire? Consider for me, if you will, just a couple of points to be going on with for now...

For the past sixty years, the North Atlantic Treaty Organistation (NATO) has probably contributed more to the maintenance of world peace than any other organisation or combination of factors on the surface of this planet. What effect would the total dissolution of the British armed forces have upon this alliance? The ports and airbases presently utilised in Scotland would be lost - simply as one example - as the separatists here have made it quite clear that they would wish to play no further part in this collective defence of our nations. Irrelevant? Is it...? Are you sure...?

Consider also the United Nations Security Council, of which Great Britain is one of the permanent members. Who would replace her? An independent England? Are you sure? I certainly am not.

These are but two effects that our disintegration would have upon world events. There would surely be many more!