Wednesday 15 May 2013

Brown: "Scotland is "Better Together" even under the Tories"


On Sunday Gordon Brown emerged from his three year sulk to Launch Labour’s campaign for the UK, “United with Labour”, 

Although the former prime minister admitted that the UK still had a “long way to go” in achieving the party’s aims of social justice. He insisted:

"The best way forward is to pool and share our resources across the UK, ".

In her own speech, Scottish Labour Party leader Johann Lamont said that if she had believed social justice would be boosted by independence, she would vote Yes in the referendum.

However, she said she did not believe in “fingers-crossed politics”. She added: “Our political beliefs are predicated on fairness, equality, justice and solidarity”, adding: “I am sorry but I will not kiss goodbye to solidarity because it suits me for now, because I do not like the current prime minister.”

The launch of the campaign is designed to focus specifically on Labour voters as the party seeks to persuade supporters to stick with the UK at the referendum next autumn.

Mr Brown argued that: "Scottish Labour figures from Keir Hardie on had defended the UK system: 
Was Keir Hardie wrong, stupid, naive? Were all these early Trade Union leaders seduced by the English establishment? Were they conned? Were they brain-washed? No, they understood a belief in equality of opportunity and a belief therefore that we had Scottish values that could be best realised inside the UK.”

Forgive me if I am wrong, but I was always under the Impression that Kier Hardie, was a supporter of "Home Rule  Allround"

Whilst they may not have been total  Independence it did  not make Hardie a Unionist. and it doesn't.t now.

Browns argument  “if that if Scottish Labour supporters vote to leave the UK it would mean abandoning “will also suggest staying within the Union would mean it was far more likely that the Conservatives would be voted out at Westminster at the next general election, which would benefit Scotland as a whole”.

So that's it . Finding themselves embarrassed by joining a Platform of "Better together" with the Tories Labour in Scotland put forward an argument that  despite Labour being in power from 1997 -2010  amd they had “long way to go” in achieving the party’s aims of social justice, failure is better than hope.

But the idea of saying that voting  for Independence  would abandon England to the Tories  means that you could equally  say to English voters "Don't vote Tory  as the Scots don't want a Tory government".

And as for  Johann Lamont  argument that:
 I am sorry but I will not kiss goodbye to solidarity because it suits me for now, because I do not like the current prime minister.”
What solidarity . How can it be that we have a case that despite there being only one Tory elected in Scotland since 1997 . Scottish (and Welsh) voters have to hope voters in England will vote for Labour in order to get Social Justice measures that the latter have constantly failed to carry out  when in power and who spend the entire time courting "Middle England" trying to convince natural "Tory" voters that they shared their Values

And what of Wales? It will be true that an Independent Scotland will leave us to almost permanent Tory rule but the Scots would have given us the Key to the problem,. in that we should follow them in voting for Independence.

The argument that Scotland is "Better Together" waiting for a true socialist Labour  government is laughable.

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