As I have expressed before I believe that the SNP Government in Holyrood should reject the Scotland Act and refuse to accept the recommendations in it, my opinion has not changed in any way.
I just can’t see any deal that will make Scotland stay neutral on revenue and I really hope John Swinney doesn’t accept something out of political expediency just so the SNP don’t get accused of scuppering the Scotland Act, this is bigger than the SNP this time, this is the countries immediate future and too important to be played games with.
Take Income Tax for example. For any Government in Holyrood to raise tax they must raise that tax across all bands. I have seen nothing that says any additional taxes raised over and above the block grant rules are not then deducted from the block grant. There is also the issue that wealthy people can move their tax address to avoid payment and those of us who are ordinary tax payers can’t, therefor any tax increase will more than likely impact more on the poorest. The failure to devolve Corporation Tax and VAT for example lays bare the trap that Westminster are putting forward and if we fall for it again then we deserve everything we get.
EVEL (English Votes for English Laws) has created a two tier Westminster and can have an impact on the Scottish budget through Barnett again but with Scottish MPs having no role in the major part of the debate. I am not against English MPs voting on English matters, that would be a good thing, but it would be a good thing in an English Parliament within a proper Federal System within the UK.
There are also powers that are demeaing in the extreme as far as I am concerned. The Scottish Government can appoint someone to the board of BBC ALBA, well hold me back. The Scottish Government can legislate over air weapons, help ma boab. The Scottish Government can have power over speed limits and road signs, can you just feel the economy growing.
Nothing less than full fiscal autonomy, as implied by the Vow, is acceptable. I don’t go with the slow creeping approach the SNP have taken around constitutional change and the actions of Labour have demonstrated that they really don’t want change at all. I suspect that many within Labour would be happy to scrap Holyrood and bring in a law that British is the only nationality on these islands.
The Liberal Democrats have been a disappointment from day one on this issue. The party of Federalism was shown to be the party of Unionism and unionist to the core, a party that continues to disappoint on constitutional issues and this confused position will always stop it from becoming more electable in the eyes of voters, if you don’t stand up for your own principles what do you stand up for.
The Scotland Act is a huge mistake and one that we may all pay a heavy price for. I have made no secret that my view of the current Government of the UK is not a positive one at all. I really think that the Conservatives are the scum of the earth and are embarking on an attack on our very way of life for most honest ordinary people, the fact that many people can’t or won’t see it is an embarrassment.
This is a country stinking in a system of privilege. To make it in politics you have to come from the right family, attend the right school or kiss the right arses. The hereditary system is shameful in the modern world and is designed to keep the rest of us in our place. You can only go as far as they (the system) allow you and if you dare try to rock the boat that system will trample all over you with the help of the state and it’s compliant media.
The Scotland Act, like TTIP, is a trap to ensure that the few at the top table and large corporations remain at the very top while removing your protections one tiny small step at a time until there is nothing left, but hey, you can worship wee George Windsor because he was born better than you and will be your King one day wether you like it or not, you ain’t getting no vote on the issue.
We really have to wake up to what is going on in our name and reject any measures that make us worse off than we are now, we need to fight back and we start with the rejection of the Scotland Act.
grumpyscottishman.wordpress.com 
Currently tax must be raised equally over the bands. In the new act there will be the option to put tax up or down differently in the UK bands.
No new bands; no different tax free allowance. And of course no rebates.
And as I’ve said a thousand times, only one big money tax to play with.
They have hog tied the government.
I’d like to see services properly funded, but I’m damned if I should pay more tax to subsidies Google or Amazon or any other of Cameron’s mates who get off with tax. And I do not see why my taxes should keep Trident, Cameron’s penis extension. Nor as we have discussed before, do I think that my taxes should keep the Windsor scroungers in more palaces than I’ve got pairs of jeans.
I’d be in favour of telling the UK to stick their Scotland Act, but I’m sure all the other parties in Holyrood will agree with every word of it, no matter how bad it is for Scotland.
Labour abstained tonight in the Commons. The Tory will have voted against. I’ve no idea what Carmichael did, if anything. Maybe he’s too busy trying to screw punitive damages out of the Orkney Four.
A VERY bad idea just before the elections.. But then, when did that lying bugger ever have a good idea?
Tris
That’s exactly why it should be rejected, the whole thing is not just a mess but a trap, a stupid one but one all the same. The SNP can’t afford to get this one wrong in any shape or longer term theymight pay a heavy price. I think people would be fine with it being rejected.
Like you I am all for well funded services and I have no issue with bringing in a land tax system that doesn’t allow individuals with second homes or councils to avoid tax, but of course that won’t happen as England must keep the upper hand on tax etc. I also agree that I am also not willing to pay a penny more until companies pay their share and the loopholes are closed for wealthy individuals.
Carmichael votes against the SNP ammendment and for the wording of the proposal as it stood, the man is a tory and a scumbag. The sooner the voters get a chance to dump this clown the better.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
Seems to me that we need to be doing more to help ourselves.
What could we be doing? Well deGoogling for a start. I changed fro Chrome to Firefox and am trying out the other search engines to see which one(s) I like.
I am also trying to buy most of my food from the local shops. It may seem to be more expensive, but I can buy much smaller quantities and that I eat all of it. I don’t fill my bin with food which has gone bad before I could get through it, so the Council saves on Landfill costs.
I take a list when I go to the Supermarket and only buy what is on it.
bsj
I agree, I have dumped google from all devices and have done the same with the kids stuff as well, I;ll be damned if they are going a single penny from advertisers because I use their search engine. I tried Bing which was ok but annoying in so many ways so I am using Yahoo to see how that goes.
I try to shop around also as much as I can but not always easy for certain things. I have stuck to my not buying paers now since the referendum other than really the National but I have stopped buying that also as it has drifted toward a mibbee paper rather than a YES paper and I’ll also be damned if I am giving the Herald group a penny either. Blogs and news sites for me only know.
We have always recycled really well over the years and have food, glass, paper etc etc and are pretty religious about it to be fair.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
Have been following this thread with interest as i think that the entire Scotland Bill as is, is set as bait for the SG. It would play entirely into WM and MSM for the SNP to be seen to rejecting this at about the same time as Holyrood Elections.
I guess that south of Coldstream, no-one realises that we are more and more seeing through they not so opaque games any more.
As an aside, many people have mentioned dumping google for other browsers/ search engines etc.
https://www.yandex.com/ is a browser that is a browser based on Chrome, but is not google owned.
As for search engines duckduckgo.com is a very good engine, that has the side benefit of not tracking you or your searches, therefore cannot make money from your clicking 🙂
Hope this helps some of you.
Take care,
Tony
Tony
One of the sad things is the enthusiasm from the other parties for this, it’s like they are more interested in scoring political points even if it makes Scotland and Scottish people worse off. It really is a trap and I hope it is rejected and I agree most people in Scotland will understand and see it for what it is. They really do think that people are ripped up the back.
Going to try duckduckgo, thanks for that as I will be damned if Google get a single penny from me using their services via advertising.
Thanks for reading the blog and taking the time to comment. I really do learn and my politics evolve when someone takes the time to express their opinion.
Bruce
Totally agree. The SNP Government must reject this trap, the Unionist parties/media will demonise them for it but what’s new?
Very interesting point about deGoogling, I am going to give it a try.
lanark
It really is isn’t it. How many people actually buy a paper or care what the media actually think anymore. BBC Scotland is our very own Fox News, which I watch sometimes to remind myself I’m both sane and still have a sense of humour, it really is very funny.
I’m doing ok with the deGoogling, try the duckduckgo as suggested by Tony, it looks good.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
I’m late to the thread, but here’s my thoughts after Nicola’s letter to Cameron today.
I think SNP have now got the Tories in the trap they thought they had us in. Reading comments from the more anti-Scotland elements among BTL commenters, they will be pretty furious if UK gov agrees that the “no detriment” clause means what Nicola states her understanding – backed by Smith himself according to the quote from Hansard – is. ie. Scotland shares benefit if England’s population grows faster than ours.
I can see this from the point of view of a resentful tax payer in England – they will see only the reality that their increased tax take leads to an increase in Scottish block grant. The fact that this would have happened under Barnet will not influence their thinking, as many/most English tax payers resent Barnet anyway, particularly since SNP started making better choices for us in Scotland. Barnet has been under threat for some time now, and the rUK folks want it scrapped, especially now MSM have stirred up so much anti-Scottish feeling in England during indyref and 2015GE. I think UK gov were planning that Scotland Bill would allow them to gradually claw back any Barnet gains from the Scottish budget.
[As an aside, folk in England don’t seem to mind nearly as much that NI get a better deal from Barnet than either us or the Welsh].
However, Nicola is holding out for the spirit and the letter of “no detriment” and making it plain that UK gov will be the cause if Scotland Bill fails. She has called their bluff on no detriment and now they will face having to admit that they offered the Vow in bad faith if they fail to agree. However if they they do give Scot Gov what we want, they will incur the ire of rUK voters. Either way the Union suffers – and as a pleasant side-effect the Tories become less popular.
I think it was a master stroke to add in the reference to the EU referendum and the electorate needing to know whether they can trust any promises made by Cameron’s crew during a referendum campaign.
Sue
I haven’t seen the letter but heard that the FM had written to Cameron. I hope that this is the case as I really believe the Act is a joke and one that we will regret if we accept it. I don’t want to get one over the rest of the UK, I just want a fair deal in the spirit of the so called Vow but it does seem like the treasury is looking after London’s interests over everything else, so much for partnership and union.
I also don’t trust Labour or the Liberals on this one, even thought I am a member of the Lib Dems their record on the constitution is a bit of a joke as they just don’t follow through on their so called belief in federalism. People like Willie Rennie are unionists through and through at any cost to Scotland, the sooner he is gone the better.
I’m not sure the UK leaving the EU would trigger another referendum as right now YES is still behind and need to do a lot of work on the areas they could not convince the people about. Esp around currency and head of state etc.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce