by Brian Nugent

Independence for Scotland, yes or no, is what the Unionists are saying the question should be, but does anyone know what Independence means if you are trapped in the EU?

If you don't like the Scottish government you get the chance every now and again to vote them out. If you don't like the UK government you get the chance every now and again to vote them out. If you don't like the EU, you are stuffed.

The last thing the EU can claim to be is democratic. In the past when voters decided not to accept the latest EU wheeze the bureaucrats made the voters vote again until they got the answer right but now voters simply do not get an opportunity to vote at all.

Denmark voted against the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, were made to vote for in 1993. Ireland voted against the Treaty of Nice in 2001, were made to vote for in 2002.

Referendums were to be held across Europe on the European Constitution. The European Constitution was voted for in 2005 in referendums in Spain, France, Netherlands, Luxemburg but Brussels decided that democracy was taking too long and anyway why give the people's of Europe the opportunity to vote to derail the project. Referendums in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Poland and the UK were cancelled.

The European Constitution should have been dropped, however, it came back with a different name, the Lisbon Treaty. The scandal is that there was to be no opportunity for voters in Europe to vote on the Lisbon Treaty.

Only Ireland, because their constitution insists that a referendum is held whenever powers are given away, held a referendum and voted against in 2008, were made to vote for in October 2009.

Any question in a referendum on Independence for Scotland should include the opportunity for voters in Scotland to have their say on membership of the EU.

Why would democrats object to such a question?

The SNP slogan Independence in Europe never meant anything, a sound bite slogan dressed up as a policy.

A wee recession certainly sharpens the political antennae. No one, but no one, particularly the SNP, wants to touch the EU with a barge pole. When did you last hear an SNP spokesperson trumpet the benefits of the Euro?

But they still have this hankering to be involved in the EU. They do not want to be told what to do by London, fair enough, but want to be told what to do by Brussels, strange.

We have a democratic party wanting to hold a referendum on Independence for Scotland from the UK democratically elected parliament but at the same time being willing to go to bed with the EU unelected bureaucracy.

The logical conclusion for Scotland is withdrawal from the UK and the EU, sounds good to me, or full scale integration into the EU, closing down the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament and waiting for instructions from our (unelected) EU lords and masters.

Yours sincerely

Brian Nugent

Secretary
Free Scotland Party
01595 859475 (H)
01595 771482 (W)