XPost: soc.culture.scottish, soc.culture.welsh, soc.culture.cornish   
   XPost: soc.culture.breton, soc.culture.irish   
   From: allan@noemail.co.uk   
      
   "StormWind"  wrote in message   
   news:5N9%h.34313$M.24564@news-server.bigpond.net.au...   
   > Alan Smaill wrote:   
   >> StormWind  writes:   
   >>   
   >>> allan connochie wrote:   
   >>>> "StormWind"  wrote in message   
   >>>> news:z1R_h.33919$M.15979@news-server.bigpond.net.au...   
   >>>>> The stunning success of the SNP in Alba (Scotland) - now the   
   >>>>> biggest party in the Scottish Parliament with a mandate to hold a   
   >>>>> referendum for a free Alba.   
   >>>> This is the kind of language that grates. Scotland is already free   
   >>>> and has already the right to decide on her future. There is no   
   >>>> oppressor and what you mean is that the SNP have a mandate to hold a   
   >>>> referendum for an 'independent' Scotland. Though of course as yet,   
   >>>> unfortunately, they don't in reality have such a mandate as they   
   >>>> fall well short of controlling the Parliament. We can take it that   
   >>>> both Margo MacDonald and the two Green MSPs would support a   
   >>>> referendum but that would only take it up to 50 members -   
   >>>> against 79 members from three unionist parties who are all opposed   
   >>>> to even holding any referendum. Hence to have any chance of getting   
   >>>> any referendum organised they would have to persuade the Lib Dems to   
   >>>> support the idea.   
   >>>> Allan   
   >>> When you look at where many Lib Dem constituencies are located such   
   >>> opposition would be folly for the Lib Dems. They'd get wiped out next   
   >>> election !!!   
   >>   
   >> why?   
   >>   
   >> everyone knew they are against a referendum, it was their most publicised   
   >> policy before the election, and they did fine.   
   >>   
   > No they didn't do fine - the only party that did 'fine' was the SNP. The   
   > Lib Dems lost the same around 10% of seats as Labour and the   
   > Consservatives. Thus there is a mandate for the independence referendum to   
   > be put to the people. What are you afraid of - the peoples' vote ?   
      
   Alan is only pointing out the obvious though. The Lib Dems did pronounce on   
   many occassions that they were opposed to a referendum and it doesn't seem   
   to have affected their overall vote which actually increased by 0.9%. You   
   seem to look at things too simplistically. The Lib Dems lost out in my   
   constituency but it wasn't really the referendum question that did for them.   
   They lost out to the Tories who are even more avid unionists than the Lib   
   Dems are. Many people here look on Labour suspiciously as the Central Belt   
   Party and many were uncomfortable with the Lib Dem relationship with Labour.   
   The Tories saw it as winnable and targeted it incessantly. There are always   
   other factors to take into account.   
      
   The election wasn't a poll on independence and one party which kept   
   stressing that was the SNP. Basically out of the new make up of the   
   Parliament we have 79 members who stood for the 3 main unionist parties all   
   of whom stressed they wanted no referendum - against 47 SNP members plus   
   another 3 who would probably back the SNP over the referendum question at   
   least. Personally I favour a referendum and suspect many people who didn't   
   vote SNP would also have no problems with a referendum. However at the   
   moment it is clear that politically as yet there is no clear mandate for a   
   said referendum. To have that the SNP would need to form a coalition which   
   would accept having one. Pointing that out is only pointing out the facts.   
      
   Allan   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)