Peter A Bell
@peterabell.bsky.social
Thinker. Listener. Talker. Reader. Writer. No attitude immutable. No conclusion final. No opinion humble.
The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty and the principle of popular sovereignty are totally incompatible and irreconcilable. They cannot coexist in a written constitution. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
Welcome to Greater England!
Prior to the 2016 EU referendum, I devoted a great many words to warning that among the consequences of withdrawing from the European Union would be the possibility that the British state would use th...
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Naysayers make a big deal of Kosovo not being fully recognised after its unilateral declaration of independence. But is there a clamour in Kosovo to return to being a province of Serbia? #ScottishUDI #EndTheUnion
If you are a supporter of Scotland’s cause and prone to bouts of depression, then you would be well-advised to steer well clear of Robin McAlpine’s column in the Sunday National. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
No way out
If you are a supporter of Scotland’s cause and prone to bouts of depression, then you would be well-advised to steer well clear of Robin McAlpine’s column in the Sunday National. Because if his readin...
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If Craig Murray’s contribution shows how far the independence movement has come since 2014, the response from the Scottish Government shows how pathetically little the ‘old guard’ of the independence movement has travelled in that period. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
How far we've come
The most significant thing about what Craig Murray says is the fact that he is saying it.
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Six or seven years on and UDI is now firmly established as part of the discourse around Scotland’s cause. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
How far we've come
The most significant thing about what Craig Murray says is the fact that he is saying it.
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The idea of wiping the slate clean and starting from scratch is, I suppose, something that everybody entertains from time to time. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
The blank page
The title of this article does not, as some might suppose, refer to the condition that afflicts every writer from time to time.
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The trouble is that when waiting becomes the strategy, it soon becomes the only thing you are capable of. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
The great unravelling!
Xander Elliards states, correctly, that “Swinney clearly doesn’t have a secret plan.” (John Swinney’s ‘secret plan’ is bust.
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If a strategy for restoring Scotland's independence mentions Westminster, it is not a strategy for restoring independence. www.thenational.scot/news/2641742... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
John Swinney's 'secret indyref2 plan' is bust. But is this SNP MP on to something?
THE elephant in the room is John Swinney’s much-reported “secret plan” to get a second independence vote. What is it? Will he deploy it?
thenational.scot
Approaching two decades of SNP government and almost twelve years on from the sham independence referendum of 2014, the party has clearly learned nothing. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
The great unravelling!
Xander Elliards states, correctly, that “Swinney clearly doesn’t have a secret plan.” (John Swinney’s ‘secret plan’ is bust.
open.substack.com
Swinney just doesn’t get this popular sovereignty thing at all. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
Gloves off?
A regular below-the-line commenter on this site lately brought to my attention a short article penned by John Swinney and published on the SNP website under the title There is a better future for Scot...
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If you think this is a long read, trust me when I tell you it was a longer write. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
Things that matter
Seeking inspiration for today’s article, I came across a letter from Iain Bruce of Respect Scottish Sovereignty (RSS) which was published in The National on 21 July (We need your help to make the case...
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Perhaps Andy Burnham was unable to find anyone else willing to take a job which requires that you walk around with a sign hanging round your neck saying 'POINTLESS'. Or maybe it was the fact that Douglas Alexander had his own sign. www.thenational.scot/news/2640692... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
Andy Burnham was 'keen to make me Scottish Secretary', Douglas Alexander claims
DOUGLAS Alexander has claimed that Andy Burnham was “keen” to reappoint him as Scottish Secretary despite concerns that he had severely damaged…
thenational.scot
I would reframe the Scottish Parliament from a Scottish nationalist perspective. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
It's our parliament
The arguments for #ScottishUDI
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I'd venture a small wager that Sarwar's statement was written by someone on Andy Burnham's team. www.thenational.scot/news/2640213... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
Anas Sarwar breaks silence on 'shameful' appointment as government role confirmed
ANAS Sarwar has spoken out after his appointment to the House of Lords and as a trade minister was confirmed by Downing Street.
thenational.scot
How credible is it that Swinney can still imagine a Section 30 order will be forthcoming? open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
The awfiest clatter!
Isn’t it great to see our First Minister and the new British Prime Minister engaged in productive dialogue?
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Although the picture isn’t perfectly clear, it is probably fair to say that there is more support for the Scottish Parliament having more powers than there is for independence. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
Success breeds success
The arguments for #ScottishUDI
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At present, independence isn’t real. It’s just something some people talk about. There is nothing tangible about it. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
Making it real
My letter published in the Sunday National caused a bit of a stir.
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Independence is the ultimate aim. The proximate issue is securing the means and opportunity to fully and freely exercise our inalienable right of self-determination. peterabell.substack.com/p/face-the-f... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
Face the facts – UDI is the only viable route to Scottish independence
My letter published in today's Sunday National.
peterabell.substack.com
My letter in today's Sunday National. www.thenational.scot/politics/262... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
It’s time to face facts – UDI is the only viable route to independence
MY thanks to The National for graciously offering me right of reply to Stan Grodynski, who mentioned me in his letter of July 13 (John Swinney will…
thenational.scot
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It is to the SNP that we have given mandate after mandate. The ‘roadblock’ is the SNP’s refusal to honour those mandates. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
Not a rocket
I confess I’m struggling to discern what point Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp is trying to make in his latest column for The National. Much of it is standard independence industry boilerplate about the ‘vision...
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I'm curious to know how ventriloquist Gordon Brown is operating his new dummy. www.thenational.scot/politics/262... #ScottishUDI #EndTheUnion
An English parliament is what Andy Burnham should be looking at
In all the column inches devoted to the renewed debate about devolution in England, isn’t it remarkable that there has been almost no discussion…
thenational.scot
"The SNP’s entire reason for existence now is failing to win independence. Failure is what protects their wages and their power." wingsoverscotland.com/step-one/
Step One
Today’s Sunday Mail leads for the second weekend in a row on questions about the finances of Yes Scotland. But there’s a paragraph in the online version of the story that doesn’t …
wingsoverscotland.com
The majority for independence must be great enough to leave Unionists no grounds for refusing to accept the outcome. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #ScottishUDI #EndTheUnion
Not so simple
Someone should probably let The National know that Angus MacNeil ceased to be an MP more than two years ago.
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Everything the past has taught me has made my nationalism more and more muscular. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
Muscular nationalism?
Glancing at the front page of today’s Sunday National, one might be forgiven for imagining that independence was as high on the SNP Scottish Government’s agenda now as it appeared to be a couple of mo...
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Devolution cannot become independence. It is not some kind of ‘independence lite’ which can metamorphose into independence by way of an incremental process. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #ScottishUDI #EndTheUnion
The choke chain tightens
Tory peer Alister Jack asks UK Government to cut Holyrood’s powers
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John Swinney is an adequate manager. He is not fit for the task of leading the fight to restore Scotland’s independence. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
The slowest dawn
Surprisingly—or perhaps not—much of the best political commentary in The National is to be found not in the material provided by the professional journalists and columnists but on the paper’s Communit...
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Toni Giugliano is speaking to us in the outmoded language of the independence industry. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe... #EndTheUnion #ScottishUDI
Claustrophobic conversation
“Scottish independence is in a deadlock.
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Our descent into the horrors which congregate under the rubrik of fascism seems inexorable. open.substack.com/pub/peterabe...
Helpless and hopeless
There are times when the tide of human affairs runs so powerfully and relentlessly that we are left feeling helpless and hopeless as events sweep us along on a course not of our choosing or wash over ...
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