Scotland is a colony when the courts in another country can strike down laws made in our very own democratically elected parliament. The English (UK) Supreme Court has struck down the following legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament as being outside it’s competence under the 1998 Scotland Act. MSPs unanimously backed the bills – which enshrine treaties on children’s rights and local government in Scots law , so much for the so called Act of Union protecting Scotland’s distinct Scottish Law and I don’t care if anyone says but it was UK law blah f blah.
The first bill was the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Scottish government said would set a legal requirement for public authorities to comply with international standards on children’s rights.
The second was the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which was put forward by former independent MSP Andy Wightman.
So where is the anger this afternoon from the Scottish Government, where is the disgust, where is the call for a referendum on Scottish independence, where are the actions of our MP’s showing their distain for their colonial status, well Deputy First Minister of Scotland John Swinney said the Scottish government “fully respects the court’s judgement”, but was “bitterly disappointed”. well f hold me back I tell ya, Boris Johnson and his English Parliament will be shaking in their boots tonight, the Scots are coming, well no the Scots are cowering.
Angus B MacNeil tweeted yesterday if these Bills were struck down then there is no reason for the English Supreme Court to not strike down a Referendum Bill passed by the Scottish Parliament, and why he remains a member of the SNP is beyond me as well, but either way the English Court, under the guise of UK Supreme Court, has put Scotland’s Parliament right back in it’s place, back in it’s box. The nuances of the legislation doesn’t matter, the simple fact remains that the Scottish Parliament might as well be a council or township when the state arms of the English Government can overrule it any time it wants, that is a COLONY and I do not care what anyone says, of course the unionists, who spend their whole lives on their knees have their say as well.
Scottish Conservatives Constitution spokesman Donald Cameron said: “There was never any dispute over the substance of the policy, only the legality of parts of the bill. But the SNP sought to politicise it from the very beginning.”
Labour MSP Sarah Boyack said: “This court case has been a needless distraction from what really matters. This damning verdict makes it clear that the SNP have been playing cynical political games at the expense of children’s human rights.”
And Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie said it was “depressingly predictable” that the government had waited for a “constitutional clash” before making changes to the legislation.
The above description of unionists fits perfectly for Donald Cameron, Sarah Boyack, and Willie Rennie, and sadly John Swinney and the SNP in this case.
If the best the SNP can come up with is the Scottish Government “fully respects the court’s judgement”, but was “bitterly disappointed” then Sturgeon and the SNP need to stand aside so we can have people in our parliament who actually want independence, who will actually fight for independence, who will stand up for Scotland, who will defend Scotland, who will put a line in the sand and tell the world it will not be crossed. Where are our defenders today, where are our heroes, they will be the bloggers, they will be the Alba members, they will the ones who the SNP join with the unionists to decry, the ones the SNP tried to destroy, the only ones actually fighting for Scottish Independence.
I am f sick of the UK, of this colonial so called union, and I am f sick of the SNP and the cowardice of Sturgeon and her cult.
grumpyscottishman.wordpress.com 
With you 100% – particularly your last comment. We should be going straight to the UN to discuss de-colonisation and independence – but I don’t believe the SNP has that desire. Wish I had the ways and means to f**k right off out of here.
Wee Chid
Starting to feel that way myself and it appears I have upset a few yoons with this blog, the threats are already coming thick and fast, just makes my point for me.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
Aye, they’ve been rampant on twitter too. bloody idiots.
The timidity and inaction from the SNP tells you all you need to know about why we’re still tied to this fetid union. As Wee Chid says, it’s enough to make you pack up and leave the country. Folk are getting angrier while Sturgeon twiddles her thumbs and plays around with her bloody pronouns. When are the cult going to wake up to the fact that they would be as well voting for unionists, as the SNP have no intention of doing anything to further the cause.
Westviews
Swinney’s comment just made my blood boil and I thought the same, they might as well be unionists.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
The current SNP will not deliver independence. They have been captured by a bunch of no marks on the gravy train. It always was a coalition between gradualists/devolutionists and fundamentalists and now the former are in full control aided and abetted by the the carpetbaggers. It’s now seen the party to join for those who want to enter parliament rather than the party to join for those who seek to end the union.
Nothing will happen until we can either wrestle control back OR desert the SNP for a better vehicle. I see no sign that people are yet wiling to do the latter. The activists are moving to other parties but the common or garden voter is clueless as to what is going on, they are bring taken for a ride just as the Vote Labour for home rule and abolition of the House of Lords were. Funny how many Labour MPs voted for on a platform of abolishing HoL are now members of it. Well I say funny…
Panda
I think the tide will turn if the SNP don’t deliver the referendum by the end of 23, maybe not all will be unhappy but I would expect to see some movement from a few or many to be honest. I was disappointed and a bit angry at Swinney’s comment today. I appreciated that by allowing it go to court part of it was political gamesmanship, I understood that but to then not take advantage of the Supreme Court overruling the elected Parliament of Scotland is just plain stupidity and makes the SNP no better than the unionists in my opinion.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
Your last sentence 100% agree Bruce .I’m effing sick of them . Boris the Buffoon must be laughing his fat greasy socks off at the Scots. No backbone whatsoever , grrr . I never listen to any of them anymore for the same reason as your blog suggests . Actually l get my news and updates from your blog , so l need to thank you for keeping me informed .
Pauline
I don’t listen to Nicola Sturgeon now as I just feel let down and betrayed, and Swinney’s comment today was just jaw dropping. When this was a chance to highlight Scotland’s status, that the Supreme Court see fit to over rule the elected Scottish Parliament and how Scottish Law was supposed to protected under the Act of Union they basically just say yes sir three bags full sir, you just can’t make it up anymore. I won’t pretend to understand the law and I may well be missing something in this story, I also get that a part of it was political gamesmanship as the yoons were complaining about but it still doesn’t take away that we are basically a colony and might as well just vote for the yoons as the SNP are no longer the party of Government just another opposition party for those of us who actually want independence.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
I was prepared to be charitable and suggest that each act like this shows clearly that we are, indeed, a colony, but no move ever follows a kick in the teeth to actually challenge the kick in the teeth or the colonial status. So, what do we make of it? The Scottish government has neither the competence nor the spine required to do what needs to be done. By-pass all British institutions and take the Treaty to the UN for a ruling and then resile it, based on the breaching every day of its terms, with suitable compensation for all the illegality practised on us by England as the UK. The Supreme Court itself is not competent to rule on Scots Law. It is acting ultra vires according to the TREATY. It is the Treaty that we need to get a ruling on, because it is an international document. The beliefs that so many Unionists have about the Union is beyond rational or even educated. They know nothing yet pontificate on every aspect of Scottish life. They even have the gall to lecture those of us who want independence on what we can and can’t (mainly can’t) do as if their English-based parties, the Tories, and the to Tory Lites, had any legitimacy to comment on anything.
Lorncal
I am no expert in any law but today was both a missed opportunity to highlight our status and a kick in the teeth when you read the response from Swinney which was jaw dropping to say the least. I know that legally and technically Scotland is not a colony but it really is in all but name when you allow the voters in another country elect your government and a court in another country interpret your law and over rule the democratically elected Government in Scotland irrespective of the devolution settlement. The Treaty has been broken hundreds of times and what are we doing, we accept it and take it on the chin. Surely enough is enough now but the SNP under Sturgeon are an embarrassment, I appreciate they are gradualists but they are not even that any more, they have become the establishment and it is a joke and a betrayal to all of us.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
The political epitaph of John Swinney and the SNP:
“We boast, then we cower. We beg for a piece of what’s already ours.”
Thats why we want independence from English westminster. I don’t read swinston or whatever his name is. He is stealing our money. I will put his jaw some where it’s not supposed to be if ever I set eyes on him and ask for my money back. Sturgeon, stay clear of me. These people are as bad as hitlers mob. They deserve to be whacked out. Thats the language we need to employ. No nicey nice. They don’t deserve it.
Rab
I was more angry at Swinney’s comment than the court decision as most people expected that, I just didn’t see what Swinney said coming down the line, my jaw dropped and I think that might be one of the most depressing things I have ever heard from an SNP politician I really do.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
Yellow is a very appropriate colour for the SNP.
Scotland is not a colony. It is the administration that sits in Holyrood which requires consent for any legislation outwith its remit. The problem lies with the Scottish government who abdicate responsibility for the governance of Scotland and the Scots who refuse to hold them to account.
What this verdict shows and the Scottish government response to it says it all. Firstly, the administration would require consent from the SCOTTISH government not the English government. Scots are sovereign and Scotland is a sovereign nation state in an international Agreement with England and an equal partner to the treaty. As a sovereign entity (and recognised as such by the English establishment) it then behove the Scottish government to grant permission to their administration. Why didn’t they? Secondly, the English government in acting on behalf of Scotland due to the Scottish government’s abdication would have been right to pursue this path given they did not grant permission and none was forthcoming from the Scottish government. The English court could only draw the conclusion that no permission had been granted by either government acting on Scotland’s behalf. This is not an act of colonialism but it is a breach of treaty even if inadvertently applied. The Scottish government response was that they accepted the English supreme courts decision. That is a betrayal to the Scots whose sovereignty they violated in abdicating responsibility. But the Scots themselves are the only ones who can demand their sovereignty be upheld and applied. They refuse to do so. They insist on treating Scotland as a colony and viewing Scotland through a colonised mind. If they spent as much effort holding their own government and representatives to account and demanding direct action be taken to assert Scots authority they may see the illusion of colonialism for what it is and actually make progress in restoring their own country, nation and state’s true status and in doing so demand their full statehood be reasserted.
As I have stated repeatedly over the years the Scots must hold their own to account. Today’s unsurprising verdict is proof of that. If the Scots will not rise up when their sovereignty, their nation, country and state is under threat then thy never will. If this had been a decision made in Scottish courts and against the English you can bet there would be riots in the streets immediately following the verdict. Where is Scotland’s outrage? Already there are folk saying that they MUST hold a referendum next year or possibly the year after as a result! FFS get off your bloody knees, Scotland. The Vienna Convention tells you how to suspend and terminate a treaty with immediate effect. It is why the English attorney general stated that a state cannot be held in a treaty against its will. It is what other states recognise for the dissolution and termination of treaties as it is respected international law and has been ratified by England under “UK”. There is absolutely no reason why Scotland should not be holding an emergency counsel and making a proclamation right now. They do so in order to go to war.
(other than viewing Scotland as a colony, it is a good article.)
Gayle
Of course you are spot on. I appreciate that Scotland, technically, is not a colony but the actions of the Scottish Government, and the people, means we might as well be. I also understand that the Supreme Court based their decision on the 1998 Scotland Act and I never expected a different result but this was a chance to highlight our place in the union and the weakness of our position in it. That was what made the comment by Swinney all the more depressing and jaw dropping, I am no expert and you certainly have a better grasp on this than myself but today was a missed opportunity and a depressing indictment of the current SNP. The longer we meekly accept our current state of affairs then independence will remain a distant dream that will never be achieved if we don’t start to act differently and get angry at our status in the union. As you say, we need to get off our knees.
Thanks for sharing such a brilliant response for everyone to see and be informed.
Bruce
Indeed, but that is the problem – when it may as well be because the Scots refuse to hold their own to account, not as a consequence of another country’s government imposing itself on Scotland but because their own government and representatives abdicate responsibility for the governance of Scotland. The very job they were elected to do! Add to that, as you point out, it was an opportunity to highlight Scotland’s place in the treaty, an opportunity they failed spectacularly to capitalise on, and their subsequent response and you have to question, just who is it they serve? as it sure as hell isn’t the Scots who elected and imbued them with their sovereign authority. It is beyond frustrating watching Scotland be treated as inferior not by England’s establishment but by Scotland’s own and knowing that if the Scots actually stood up and demanded their authority be upheld and exercised and refusing to take any of the Scottish government’s and other representatives excuses for lack of action then Scotland could suspend and terminate the treaty with immediate effect.
Gayle:
Blah blah blah. Get on the streets. Thats where freedom is. I’m fed up hearing Scotland isn’t a colony. WHAT U GOING TO TO????
Rab
I think Gayle makes some good points in the information provided, it comes down to how we all feel I guess and I am more along the lines that we are a colony in all but name.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
As someone who has literally camped outside Holyrood for Scotland’s statehood I suggest you ask yourself that question. Freedom isn’t just taking to the streets. It is in everything you do. In every action you take. In every thought you have and manifest. It is in holding those who represent to account – fully. It is in taking responsibility not playing victim. So, I ask you what are you going to do? Play victim, make excuses or hold your own to account and demand they act in their true capacity as a sovereign nation state in an international Agreement and equal partner to the treaty?
Legally and historically Scotland may not be classified as a colony but practically it is a colony. It is what happens in practice that counts and no matter who is responsible for that position that is the reality. Westminster has complete control over Scotland. That is the reality whether anyone likes it or not. Most of Scotlands political leaders have betrayed Scotland. An exception being Salmond and when Westminster turned its dogs on Salmond what do some independence supporters do – they go along with the smears.
Cubby
I agree, when you allow the voters from another country despise the government you get and allow that government in another country make all your big decisions for you you are a colony.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
You can put this down to another new SNP failure. When it come to the British courts, will the New SNP learn, the answer to that is no, because they actually believe they are part of the system and that Scotland has a right to be treated fairly, while in the last 315yrs that’s never happened.
The English are our rulers, because our elected Politicians have decided to allow the status quo to go unquestioned, and therefore, one nation has 90% over the other nation having 10%. When Sturgeon stated that the Gold Standard was the only way Scotland could become Independent, she has opened a can of worms that she won’t regret it it’s the people in Scotland who will.
Every day the New SNP and its leader is sealing our demise by their lack of interest and no action in relation to the constitutional question. The lassie is well and truly out of her league, but will she listen to sense, no because she is a complete control freak and one arrogant woman. Remember Independence isn’t about one person, this is exactly what Sturgeon has done, made it about her and her alone.
I truly see the written on the wall for the New SNP, and it won’t be only Sturgeon we turn on to blame, there is a lot of other who are just sheep to the English gold. The idea that Scotland is an equal, is a fake notion.
Until we have a leader who is prepared to say enough is enough, that will be when we all can look forward to becoming an Independent country and the only person I know of who has these credentials is Mr Salmond himself. He is a man that could have helped the New SNP leader, and I’m pretty sure he’d be willing to put Scotland first before what’s happened in the past but I’m not to sure about Nicola Sturgeon.
I’m sad this bill has failed but I’m pleased the UK has won because I no longer believe Scotland future is to be trusted in the New SNP hands.
100%YES
A lot of fair points made. The biggest disappointment for myself was Swinney’s response, that was just jaw dropping. I get that there was a bit of gamesmanship with the whole thing but the simple fact is the Supreme Court over ruled the Scottish Government and that should just not happen to the elected Government of Scotland end of as Scottish Law was supposed to be protected under the Treaty of Union. I get that the Supreme Court has ruled against the UK Government but the UK Government can just go and change the law to make sure that can’t happen in future, Scotland can’t do that and that implies our colonial status in all but name for myself but Gayle makes some good points in her opinion on the blog also and well worth a read.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
With regard to John Swinney’s response about respecting the court decision; it’s a pity the SNP don’t seem to respect the decision of the court and jury in the Alex Salmond case!
That’s an excellent point, peeliewallie. I hadn’t thought of that. However I agree with all GSM has said. It’s time we got off our knees and ditched the Swinney-type cowards along with their so-called “leader”.
Every day that passes with Sturgeon and her sheep government is a day lost for independence. Every day I ask myself when will the cult see through this evil twisted woman. I don’t listen to her bile any more and I flip over pictures of her, but I tell you this she is a worried woman it shows in her face, daily she is becoming more and more decrepit,” purely a feminine observation”. She is a worried woman. I hope I live to see her downfall. Your ending as usual Bruce is so as it is. Saor Alba,
The SNP Government could have easily spiked the guns of the English Supreme Court by having a referendum on the Bill once it had gained a majority in Holyrood. By putting it to the sovereign Scottish people and getting a majority mandate from the people prior to any English Supreme Court intervention it would be nigh on impossible for the English Supreme Court to countermand a Bill. Scots would like a referendum. Give us ones that will help us move our way forward to Independence. Holyrood does not have the authority but the Scottish people do.
Reblogged this on Ramblings of a now 60+ Female.