What's Here and Why

By Ian Stewart

The 'why' of these pages is easy to explain. Politicians of all hues have, when it suits their purposes, a habit of asking us to, 'move on' or 'put that all behind us'. We also tend to forget, even if we have been informed in the first instance, about many of the more unsavoury incidents where politics are concerned. In many instances, whether by accident or design, much of the detail remains unpublished in the mainstream media and can only be obtained from technical or specialist sources. So, having 'researched' or, more often, stumbled onto, some of the facts behind the events which hit the headlines and, just as often, quickly disappeared as they were overtaken by the next 'breaking news', I decided that I would record some of those I'd found.

It is probably unprecedented in any Western democracy for one political party have held power for over eight decades. This, however, is the situation which has existed in Glasgow, and several other Councils in the West of Scotland, where the Labour Party have effectively controlled local government for this length of time.

It's even doubtful whether any of the ex-Soviet countries could rival this record and, as any student of history knows, such a prolonged period of single party rule normally creates an atmosphere in which nepotism and corruption flourish. Hence the Councillors, MSPs and MPs who are members of 'Scottish' Labour regarding Scotland as their personal fiefdom and acting as if they have a divine right to rule the Scottish nation in perpetuity, without let or hindrance.

Because Scotland is a relatively small country, many of the key players know each other personally. This 'networking' is sometimes presented as an advantage, making for ease of communication but it is has a downside as well, encouraging a form of complacent cronyism that is certainly not in the public interest.

As a born and bred Glaswegian having two Great-Grandfathers who were Trade Union activists, in theory, I should be a 'natural' Labour supporter and, in truth, I faithfully voted Labour for 30 years until the death of John Smith in 1994. However, I now find it difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile my socialist beliefs with what the party, under the banner of Nu-Labour has become.

As a result, many years ago, I started to cast my vote for the SNP at election time. Albeit that I have always claimed to be a Scot, rather than a 'Brit', I doubt whether anyone would ever have described me as a lifelong nationalist.

But things invariably change, even one's outlook on life, and where previously I thought it would be 'nice' to present a passport which stated Scotland rather than Great Britain at some foreign border crossing, I am now of the firm opinion that, in the best interest of both the Scots AND our English neighbours, dissolution of the existing relationship is necessary.

Having spent over twenty years in a management position which required that I travel the country from Aberdeen to Folkstone to Fishguard (with the occasional foray 'over the water' to Northern Ireland), there is little doubt in my mind that the cultural and funding gap, which always existed, between the South-East of England and 'the rest of us' is growing year on year.

Now having the time to look deeper into the 'whys and wherefores' of events, I started to keep a note of snippets of information and eventually incorporated some of these into these webpages.

2010 Election Comments : Facts and figures of the results and some 'tongue in cheek' comments on the outcome.

Home Rule to Devolution : A timeline of some of the events which led to the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

Scotland, Oil and Politics : Facts and figures on North Sea oil production and electricity generation and how the truth about the former was witheld for thirty years.

Why Independence ? : The argument for. I have yet to read a rational argument against.

Labour in Glasgow : Facts and figures on the 'problems' encountered in early 2010.

The Embra Trams : A timeline of the events of what can now only be described as a fiasco.

Nu-Labour and Sleaze : More facts and figures, the title says it all.

Thatcher and the Tories : How the Conservatives fell from favour in Scotland under Mrs T.

Blair and Iraq : Some of the consequences and caualties.

MPs Expenses : Compiled and written prior to the Telegraph's disclosures.

Neb's Scottish Dreams : Past, present and future from another's viewpoint.