The UK Government have confirmed there will be no extension to the Brexit transition timescale. This is an absolute disaster for the entire UK. The economy is already reeling from the effects of the Covid19 pandemic. Unemployment is at an all time high. Many businesses will not recover or even reopen as and when UK lifts all lockdown restrictions. Many jobs will be lost for ever. Those businesses that do manage to restart trading will find themselves in a very fragile economy. It will not take much to fatally wound these remaining enterprises.
The travel and tourist industries are massive in the UK, especially in Scotland. These will suffer more than most other industries. In 2016, 207,000 people were employed in Scotland’s Sustainable Tourism Sector. The mishandling of the virus in England may not be common knowledge in UK due to our corrupt, complicit media. However, throughout the world it is well known the extent of the Herd Immunity shenanigans by the Tory Terrorists. No right minded foreign tourist is likely to pick UK as their top destination this summer or winter. England has not contained the 1st phase of the pandemic, yet it is already reopening the economy and sporting events. Our English neighbours are not going to experience a second wave in the next few weeks, they will be facing a surge in the original virus due to the incompetence of the London government.Yet again they are putting the economy ahead of their citizens well being and safety.
An already devastated economy will in a few short months be facing another avoidable economic shock as the UK exits the EU. Till now we have only seen the first results from the stupidity of leaving the EU. From January 1st onwards the full idiocy and lies of the right-wing Little Englander zealots will become apparent.
Post the 2008 crash the UK economy took a 2% hit to its GDP. We now know the consequences of that and have all felt the force of the Tory and Liberal Parties austerity cure ever since. Sanctions, reduced public spending, causing pay cuts in real terms and across all sectors. Redundancies, job losses hurt piled upon hurt. The UK Government’s own forecasts suggest that a No Deal Brexit will hit the UK GDP by a minimum of 6% and possibly as high as 9%, 3 to 4 times a greater, impact than the 2008 crash.
One can only imagine the destruction that will ensue when this is added to the pandemic hit on the economy. According to the OECD the virus effect has hit Britain’s economy by around 11.5% in 2020. This outstrips falls in countries such as Germany, France, Spain and Italy, our biggest competitors.
If there was to be a second peak in the pandemic, the UK economy could contract by as much as 14%. Then add another almost 10% from Brexit. I think it is almost impossible to express just how horrific this could become for ordinary UK citizens. Food banks will have more customers than supermarkets. More people will be unemployed than employed. House repossessions will rocket, homelessness will become a norm. Day to day services like bin collection, street cleaning and repairing, social work could become things just not affordable to local councils. Teachers, Policemen, Firefighters, Nurses, Doctors, Porters, all ancillary hospital staff facing huge redundancies. The lay offs in the private sector would be equally brutal.
These things will, of course, not affect the Tory politicians that have caused these tragedies by their stupidity and gross incompetence.They will increase their wealth from disaster capitalism. The banks will withdraw funding to small business causing bankruptcies. Then the spivs will be able to start buying up viable businesses that for lack of working capital have had to cease trading. This will result in mortgage defaults and repossessions giving the parasites another feeding frenzy in the property market. Profiteering on the misery of the many is the Tory credo. Fishermen and farmers will not be exempt as the huge conglomerates eat up the smaller crofters and farmers. The wealthy will gorge, and as always those least able to fight back will pay the bill for the screw ups of the politicians and speculators that have caused the crisis.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52991913
What about Scotland?
I want to acknowledge the fantastic job, The First Minister and the SNP Scottish Government have done in handling the Coronavirus pandemic.However, I think it is now time to express concerns and worries I have regarding the handling of the Independence cause by the same people.The closer the UK get to the precipice of Brexit disaster, the more alarming it is becoming.
It doesn’t have to be like this for Scotland. Our SNP Government have 4 mandates to hold an independence referendum. The UK Government are never going to agree to a Section 30, no matter how many mandates the Scottish Voters give the SNP. In May next year the Independence parties could get 70% of the vote and 70% of the seats and London would still find a way to refuse any kind of plebiscite. I do not care what Nicola Sturgeon, Pete Wishart or any other gradualist, devolutionist says, there is no number of votes or mandates that will move the right wing Anglo British imperialists towards recognising Scotland’s democratic wishes. The House Jocks will fight and scream the entire way for their English bosses. None of these people, parties or ideologies recognise democracy or the Claim of Right. Continuing to believe that they will eventually relent is bordering on self-harm insanity.
This is not a time for niceties or legal wrangling. The Anglo-Brits hold our legal system in much the same disdain as they do our Football or Rugby leagues. It is time for action. At the earliest moment, why not today? Issue an ultimatum to London. A section 30 or next May’s Holyrood Election is a defacto Independence Referendum. They will, of course, refuse. Then just move towards the goal of a Referendum Election with or without their approval. Remove our MPs from Westminster as a matter of urgency. This will be a sign of our determination to end the unequal Union. The reality is our representatives, actually achieve nothing by being in the English Parliament. The needs of constituents often used as an excuse to remain there can just as easily be attended to from Edinburgh. The Movement is ready, it has been since 2015. Perhaps you think you do not have sufficient revenues to fight such a campaign? That will be no problem, take appropriate action and you can open up the SNP bank vault for a deluge of donations. Have talks with all the Independence Parties and agree on a strategy for Holyrood. Appoint the right lieutenants and begin the campaign.
Shelve all other unimportant matters they can wait till after Independence. This gives England notice, Scotland will not be dictated to any longer by our lawless neighbour. We also need to involve the EU and tell the rest of the world that Scotland will no longer be a colony of the English nutter class. There has never been a better time. The English Imperialists are focussed on their Brexit nirvana. Mother England is in chaos due to the incompetence of the Tory Government. Several chickens are coming home to roost at once. The Union has never been weaker.
The Nationalists as well as the Unionists in Northern Ireland are getting restless. There is every likelihood by September The Republic of Ireland could have a Sinn Féin Taoiseach who will be demanding, as her right, a Border Poll. By November the famous US trade deal will be in tatters when the Tories fellow mental right-wing nutter is booted out of The White House by the good folk of America. With chaos and confusion reigning throughout the British Isles, this is Scotland’s moment to strike.There has never been a better time to make our decisive move. The Little Englanders will be fighting on multiple fronts. Scotland, Ireland, The EU, and with the WTO. All the time the idiocy of Brexit and the incompetence in the handling of the Covid pandemic will be increasing the pressure upon the UKGov in England. They neither have the brains or ability to possibly react to all those things at one time. When faced with single issues like Brexit or Coronavirus they have stumbled and collapsed quickly and easily. This is by far, the weakest UK Gov ever!
This is not a time for playing by Marquis of Queensbury rules. This is a time to fight like the Scottish patriots of 1314 at Bannockburn. They knew defeat would end the nation forever. We need to grab this moment in time and make it our own. We cannot hesitate, equivocate or lose focus for a second.
One word from the First Minister and the entire YES Movement will mobilise as one. The door to Independence is ajar, it is time to kick that door off of its hinges. Independence nothing less!
Saor Alba gu brath!
There will not be an election in 2021.
Brexit removes the last risks of action against them from the EU, this leaves them free to suspend Holyrood or close it down completely…..
NOWe
It’s now or perhaps in the next 300 years.
Absolutely!!!
This is the best I’ve read from you yet, I got the fire in my belly from it, thank you.
Let us hope it puts some fire into the bellies of the SNP inner circle!
Fantastic piece and couldnt agree more
Keith Brown, MSP, Deputy Leader of the SNP is meant to be taking Indy forward. Where is he? There is absolutely nothing stopping him planning and strategizing during this period. It seems essential, yet there appears no desire to include SNP members or wider yes movement in preparing for a fast and hard campaign.
I love the crowdfunding idea, let’s get it on… I see the Welsh and Scots govs have boycotted Gove’s Brexit meeting. They need to no go further, and build on this. Is NS the person to take us forward, time will tell, but the clock is ticking fast. Make it happen Nicola, now, not tomorrow, not when the sh1t has splattered us all. It has to be now. Work with the Welsh and go direct to EU, tell them England wants to leave so we should all let them. Let’s all boycott Brexit entirely. Bring the MPs home, get moving on Indy on all fronts. They will not know what has hit them and their arrogance and incompetence will be our best weapons. Shelve all the other legislation for another day, and get the gradualists out of our way. This is getting to last chance saloon, for us, and for you.
Bang on. The crucial aspect of this is working with the other Independence groups and parties.
We can’t wait till the Scottish elections because they will close our parliament. But we do have the imminent Scottish court case instigated by Martin Keatings on the rights of Scotland to hold a referendum without a section 30 Order. I am optimistic it will be favourable for us.
Good article. Chaos often provides the best opportunity for fundamental change. Anyone who has watched Cummings and his lieutenants behave over the past few years has to realise that these guys not only do NOT play by the rules but they expect us to comply to them. That’s how they win. That’s how they keep winning. I love Nicola but my worry is she is not prepared to get down and dirty and WILL continue to play by the rules. In which case we will lose. They will never give us a Section30 order and they will use the BBC and the MSM to bludgeon us to death. We need our own Machiavellian character; we need to be prepared to declare UDI….
UK is at the flood.No more hold ,hold .
Time to be bold before it’s too late.
“If not now, when Nicola.”
the answer came from the gradualists – “not now, only when we can win it” – translated that means never.
Too many “soft” Independence supporters at the top of the SNP – translated that means they are not independence supporters at all. Supporters of their own bank balances.
If the present leadership are not up to the job then it is up to SNP Members to replace them with people that adhere to the main tenets of the Party.
It strikes me Roddy that the Covid 19 pandemic has come at a perfect time for the Tory Brexiteers because no matter the economic damage Brexit will do they can blame it on Covid 19, that’s why there not agreeing to an extension, they’re gonna use the pandemic as a patsy, They know it doesn’t matter when Brexit happens it will be damaging so best to do it now while they can lay all the blame on the pandemic, they don’t care about job losses, home evictions etc, it’s all about them.
I might be wrong but if I was Boris Johnstone that’s how I’d play it
Sadly Graeme, I think your synopsis is pretty accurate
Covid19 is a serious virus it kills or it leaves people with damaged lungs heart liver kidneys .
This is not the right time to call for independence
Once things settle down , that might be soon we will have to wait and see how the return to work and school etc pans out
Once things kind of get back to normal s thee times for NS , SNP, Scottish government to act.
I’m an old guy , I want Scottish independence soon so I can see the benefits it gives scotland
I think NS is doing t the correct way
Terence I always welcome your input. However, your comment NS is doing it the right way confuses me. Like you I am getting on a bit and want to live long enough to see my nation independent. I have watched and listened to every nuance and I have come to this conclusion. As of today there is no plan to speak of and if there is, it is the first time since the party was formed in the 1930s that the members and Movement have no idea how independence is to be achieved.There us no Plan A, B, C or D.unless I have missed something.
I think you might well be right that there is no plan B for Scottish independence but I also believe that even if there is no plan B the SNP must have talked about what they intend to do in the months ahead.
Many people are now saying that if there is no plan B there will be no Scottish independence referendum.
I do not agree with that
I think there will definitely be a Scottish independence referendum it’s just a matter of when
I hope for one to be announced soon after the covid19 crisis ends.
Perhaps within 3 months of things getting back to normal or as normal as possible in other words once restrictions on movement is ended.
Straight after covid19 we will have brexit to contend with , more restrictions on movement and possible job losses .
In my opinion brexit next year will increase calls for Scottish independence
Even if as some say SNP are not keen to instigate an announced campaign just now they will be compelled to do so next year.
Personally I think SNP are keen to instigate a campaign for Scottish independence in fact I would say their choice to issue daily reports on Twitter about what the Scottish government is doing to mitigate covid19 together with the Covid19 helplines and the extra money for carers and extra money for those confined to their home who have no access to Internet so they they can be provided with a tablet/iPad and internet service with staff giving them tutorials on use thereby connecting them to the outside world and precious information about how to protect themselves from infection , is itself part of the campaign for Scottish independence it has been the most effective short term campaign method ever of persuading people previously unsure of voting for Scottish Independence to now vote for Scottish independence.
Did SNP mean to do this ? For NS to be so good at reporting covid19 so clearly and concisely on a daily basis?
I think they did
Did they plan it to be a Scottish independence campaign ?
A plan B
Maybe not
I think they knew that BJ and Westminster would be a total waste of space all hot air exactly the opposite of what has been needed during the covid19 crisis , we all knew that didn’t we ?
The natural decision of SNP would of course be ….if BJ and Westminster are going to be a disaster then this is an opportunity for us to shine and to make ground …isn’t that what they’ve done…not rocket science is it yet many SNP supporters claim that SNP have done nothing ? are they saying that BJ and Westminster being a disaster and NS and Scottish government being superb is just accidental coincidence ?
For some people it will never be the right time there will always be a better time in the future.
Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that the SNP bosses do not have a plan and have never had a plan since 2014. The party of Scottish independence does not seem to want independence. The members of the SNP want it more than ever but the people in charge of the SNP not so much.
If they truly want independence they would put it in each election manifesto from now on that a majority vote is a mandate for independence.
Since the campaign of 2014 more people have moved to support Scottish independence albeit very gradually the split in Scotland is very even those who were of a mind to vote one way or the other decided to do so a long time ago , there were few undecideds .
It was always going to be huge issues that were going to shift people in either direction yes to no or no to yes.
there have been two huge issues in quick succession brexit and covid19 both with the capability of shifting people from their intransigent positions.
Westminster made brexit they were not prepared for covid19
The two will move more people to support Scottish independence than they will the other way
Yes I trust SNP and NS I firmly believe they know they will definitely go out of business if they don’t pursue Scottish independence ….as the song goes…“any fool knows that “…
Don’t they ?
Surely people do not really think SNP do not intend to try and get Scottish independence
The SNP have no interest in independence. They are now “the party of independence” in name only – and only then because they know it brings them false/borrowed loyalty.
Sturgeon is a good FM, and the party does a decent job of running things – much better than we could expect from any other party – but they have no m ore real interest in freeing us from English/UK rule than the Tories do. Obviously, they want more powers, where the Tories want us to have less; but the actual effort, and risk, of a referendum is not something they want at all.
We ideally need a non-party solution for independence; something that doesn’t rely on us pointlessly waiting for the whims of the SNP, trusting the lip-service of the Greens, or buying in to the idiotic cult of personality that Sheridan wants. We need a free and open national forum on forming a codified constitution with sovereignty and freedom at its heart.
Hi Badger Strang , don’t you think we should give the SNP the term of their government to do what they were elected to do , get us another Scottish independence referendum.
They have until May 2021 , 11 months , it’s not long to wait.
yes.. waiting for more uodate from Martin.. 🤞🤞
I don’t believe the SNP have no interest in independence although there are almost certainly factions inside the party that are ambivalent or “soft on independence”, The problem is the SNP have become victims of their own success, their voter base is massive, way ahead of any opposition in Scotland, but sadly not all of them support independence, many vote for them because they’re the only credible, competent party in the country, Labour’s been found out, the Tories are toxic & the LibDems irrelevant.
As leader of the party Nicola has to know support for the SNP doesn’t necessarily equate to support for independence and it’s quite possible she doesn’t believe we have the numbers to go for it yet so she’s walking a tightrope trying to appease her core supporters (those who support independence) and the devolutionists (who just want competent government inside the UK) she knows she can rely in the former because we have no one else to vote for so she can ignore us and concentrate on keeping the latter onside at least for now.
So it’s a fine line between maintaining electoral success and winning the ultimate prize, general support for independence is growing but it’s still only around the 50/50 mark it’s a slow burn and time is running out.
To be fair as frustrated as I am with Nicola myself right now, I personally wouldn’t like to be in her shoes and not because they’d likely hurt my feet.
Excellent article,surely another approach to independence can be found in everyone signing up to The Scottish Digital Covenant,something for people to do while in lockdown and the sooner people sign up the sooner we will be independent. No need to endlessly wait for a referendum.