UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Despite the platitudes and back slapping from the pro Union Westminster based politicians in the wake of the Scottish independence referendum, in their heart of hearts they must be aware of a number of important developments that no amount of spin can conceal. Firstly, they got away with it by the skin of their teeth and despite the wall of ‘No’ focused negativity and sentimental hogwash in the media (state owned and non state owned) some 45% of Scottish voters actually dared to chose to vote for independence.

Secondly it is a great deal easier to move from 45% to 51% than it is to go from a lower figure. Thirdly having got away with it this time, it will be much harder to get away with it next time around. Lastly, when Westminster fails to rapidly deliver the weighty but hastily promises made to the Scots in the last few weeks of the campaign (in an effort to firm up the no vote) then that democratic 55% figure of those who voted no may well begin to crumble away rather rapidly.

The Union that existed before the 18^th September is no more, it is history; all of us are now living in a very different state from the one we were living in before the vote. The dynamic has changed, and not just for Scotland but for the rest of the inhabitants of these isles, especially here in Wales. For too long, we have tolerated a second rate devolutionary settlement, one that has made if difficult to deliver real change and significant economic and infrastructure improvements for our people.

The combination of an increasingly inert Labour in Wales governmental party, who don’t want the tools to do the job, but merely to occupy the seat of power to prevent anyone else doing anything with it, was barely acceptable during the age of devolution. The problem is that we are no longer living in the age of devolution; devolution as was is old hat, as we are living in the age of transition, an age of self-government.

I am not unionist, I never have been, I probably read enough history and seen enough to understand that the much vaunted Union is not delivering for increasing numbers of people across these isles.  It meant (and means) different things to different people in different places, for one thing Wales, is not a region of England, we are one of number of nations and peoples within these islands.

Wales (and the our people) need parity with the Scots (and Scotland) otherwise we will continue to be treated as a second rate nation and lack the tools to do the economic jobs that need doing. The old cosy status quo is gone; the UK has changed for good. It’s time for Wales to stop continually having to play catch up.

The Wales Bill needs to be radically written, to take account of the many promises that have been made to Scotland. It is important that Wales is not side-lined from the hopefully soon to start process of transferring power Scotland will be offered new powers and that a fast-tracked timetable for introducing the necessary legislation has been unveiled. 

Any new Scotland Bill will pass through the Westminster Parliament pretty much side by side with the current Wales Bill. It would be entirely unacceptable for MPs to vote through substantial powers for Scotland while voting through an inadequate second-rate bill for Wales.  The sluggish, piecemeal, incremental changes that have trickled down to Wales, as and when Westminster felt something was necessary have produced an unsatisfactory outcome for our nation and our people.

FOR THE UK SEE ENGLAND

For UK see England?

Representatives from five cities in the North of England have called for a £ 15 billon pound 15-year plan to be adopted to improve transport. The plan is outlined in the One North report which calls for a  125 mph trans-Pennine rail link, a faster link to Newcastle and better access to Manchester Airport are needed. It has been developed by an alliance of five cities - Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield and has been previously backed by George Osborne has who pledged support to this Crossrail of the North. The proposals are yet incidentally another all-England infrastructure project to add to the questionably beneficial massive HS2 rail project, the much delayed London Crossrail project and the proposed Crossrail extension to Hertfordshire. No don’t get me wrong much of this infrastructure is necessary and very much long overdue. However, I cannot help but wonder if Westminster is contemplating on some subliminal level the end of the Union and is concentrating resources in England, or perhaps this merely be a case of for the UK see England.

THE BIG LIE

On Monday, citizen Cameron will be in Scotland, on some exceptionally dodgy ground, repeating the big lie about oil. He will basically say that the Oil and Gas industries in the North Sea (and elsewhere) will be stronger if Scotland stays within the UK. The Brits lied in the 1970's about the potential economic impact of oil on Scotland (think Norway) - they have been lying ever since whilst draining the revenue to fund their post imperial delusions and to pay for tax cuts. Just exactly how long DC can keeping repeating this lie and whether or not he will convince the Scots that it is a truth remains to be seen.

NOTHING TO FEAR SAVE FEAR ITSELF

I was in the gym on Monday evening, lost in a world of my own on the rowing machine, when I happened to glance up and caught sight of Alastair Darling being interviewed on the Channel 4 news. At first sight he looked particularly rough; it actually crossed my mind that perhaps he was actually quite ill or unwell. After a moment’s reflection and taking the interview in the political context of the day, what struck me most was that this perhaps was quite possibly the face of defeat. Somewhere unconsciously the cumulative effect of being the whipping boy of a largely conservative driven and funded (at least from a Welsh perspective) campaign to stop Scotland securing its independence was beginning to take its toll on Citizen Darling. After months spent trying to scare the Scots into voting 'No' and offering next to nothing by way of a positive message perhaps the campaign is beginning to take its toll on Alistair Darling. From a Unionist perspective, Scottish independence would unravel a state that was largely created by a combination of bribery and financial and political opportunism on the part of corrupt 18th century Scottish politicians (who wanted in for pretty much personal financial reasons) as much as political, economic and religious reasons to join the Union. Any call to save the union should be framed with 21st century concepts in mind, not 17th century political, economic and religious arguments, pretty much all of which no longer matter. Europe is at peace (pretty much), the divine right of Kings is history and the markets and economic possibilities of Empire are history. Any serious debate or discussion about the political union should be framed for the 21st century not wrapped up in 18th century concepts, rose tinted sanctimonious sentimental rubbish and simply trying to scare the Scots into staying in the Union. 

DEALING WITH A DEPENDENCY CULTURE

Well before the last National Assembly elections I came to the conclusion that the Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff was merely going through the motions when it comes to the government of our country. Rather than changing Wales for the better or even trying to plan for a prosperous and sustainable future it’s a case of sitting back and waiting for Labour in Westminster (London) to fix all our problems with periodic public spats with a convenient Con Dem government in London over issues that even a Westminster Labour Government would never devolve in a month of Sundays e.g. the Severn Bridge Tolls, etc.  

This if nothing else this shows the intellectual dependency on Westminster and London that runs through the heart of Labour in Wales at every level in every part of our country where Labour is in office.  At a very basic level, certainly locally in Newport (and no doubt elsewhere across our country) it appears to be literally about being there rather than doing anything in particular, that and enjoying as many of the trimmings as possible.

This is the real dependency culture that lies at the heart of the current Labour in Wales’s government in Cardiff; it revolves around the fantasy of waiting for Westminster to come to our rescue. When the next Labour in Westminster government will make it all better, banishing the nasty Tories and their cuts, etc, etc. This a fantasy, when the last Labour Government was in office well before the financial crash when the coffers were full and there was (in theory) no lack of political will; little was done to balance out the economic imbalance that lies at the heart of modern Union.  

Take energy, things are different in Scotland, as I have said before Wales is not Scotland; and what works in Scotland won’t necessarily work here. When it comes to energy generation, energy planning and growing jobs then Wales just like Scotland should be in a position to benefit from its rich natural resources. There are certainly more than enough Scottish examples to show that a whole range of entirely practical steps have been taken to generate sustainable alternative energy and jobs.

One particularly good example of the practical and the possible is the new hydro power scheme in Ross-shire which has just been given planning approval, ironically on the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the hydro power industry in Scotland. The £3 0 million pound scheme near Ardross will supply power to 4,000 homes and SSE will begin construction on the 7.5 megawatt (MW) Glasa scheme later on this year.

First Minister, Alex Salmond said: "Hydro-electric and its role in producing energy is one of the greatest industrial success stories of post-war Scotland. Hydro drove not only industrial development but also immense social achievement - something which still rings true today as the Scottish government continues to grow delivery of clean energy through renewables schemes for the 21st Century and also by retaining support for new conventional hydro schemes."

This year Scotland is celebrating the 70^th anniversary of the legislation which began the Highland hydro development boom. A 1943 parliamentary act kick-started the ‘Power from the Glens’ campaign; it brought large-scale hydro power to Scotland's lochs and rivers. After the Hydro Electric Development (Scotland) Act was passed in 1943, work started on the construction of dozens of dams and power stations.

At its peak, the workforce numbered about 12,000 men. After the Second World War, men from all over Scotland came to work on the schemes, attracted by high wages. The Glasa development will be the biggest since the Queen opened the Glendoe pump storage tunnel near Loch Ness some four years ago. Hydro electric power is an important source of energy in Scotland, where there is now some 1.5 gigawatts of capacity, or enough to supply energy to more than 900,000 homes.

A recent report has suggested that the renewable energy industry could create more than 10,000 jobs on Scotland's islands by 2030, according to a government-commissioned study. Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles would benefit from wind, wave and tidal schemes, the Scottish Islands Renewable Project final report stated. The research commissioned by the UK and Scottish governments, also highlighted the necessity of ensuring that those areas were power could be generated were connected to those areas where there was a demand for the power.

The generation of renewable energy could bring "significant benefits" to local economies through direct and indirect jobs. The report estimated that by 2020, 392 full-time jobs could be created on the Western Isles, 463 in Shetland, 416 in Orkney and 3,000 across the rest of the UK. The report suggested that by 2030 the job numbers on the islands could increase to more than 3,500 on the Western Isles, almost 2,900 in Shetland, and more than 4,500 on Orkney.

Other potential benefits of developing the renewable energy industry on Scotland's islands were also highlighted, including that the project could reduce fuel poverty and halting a declining population. Over the last 100 years the isles' population had fallen by 43% to 26,100 in 2011. The isles, researchers noted had a lower gross weekly pay compared with the rest of the UK.

Our country is rich in natural resources, some of which could be used to generate sustainable green energy and energy schemes that will deliver real benefits to our communities. While we do have some serious hydro electric projects in Wales, and not just large scale ones just like they do in Scotland, the real difference is one of scale, history and the political will.

In Wales we are in a difficult situation as while we have some of the powers necessary to create and develop sustainable green energy, what we appear to lack, at least within the current Labour in Wales government is the political will to actually do anything. We need to avoid the grim combination of Con Dem Westminster Government’s indifference (if not hostility) towards green energy and the Labour in Wales Government’s readily apparent lethargy towards smaller scale community beneficial green energy schemes. 

A DATE FOR DAVE’S DIARY

So there we are then the 18th September 2014 with be the date on which the Scottish referendum will be held. I for on hope that Scotland votes for independence, believing that the Union as such is unsustainable and has passed its sell-by date. At the end of the day this is a matter for the Scottish people not the rest of us. As for the referendum I for one wonder whether David Cameron and the Westminster elite (I use the term loosely) will accept the result if the Scottish people vote for independence.

Let’s hope we don’t have any moving of goalposts on the part of the Westminster parliament. When it comes to referenda over sovereignty DC may do well to remember that you cannot pick and choose. Just as he has publically called on Argentina to respect the wishes of the people of the Falkland Islands to remain British, the Prime Minister should clearly and publically state that he will respect the democratically expressed wishes of the Scottish people.

In relation to the referendum campaign, some of David Cameron's interest may revolve about not ending up going down in history as the Conservative Prime Minister who lost Scotland. I have little doubt that much of his rhetoric (like most of the Unionists) in the Scottish referendum campaign will be designed to bully, frighten and patronize the Scottish people into voting No. As an outside observer of Scottish politics it would be easy to dismiss Cameron and the Westminster Tories (and their former New Labour and Lib Dem Unionist little helpers) as an irrelevance, especially after the near complete hammering they suffered in the Scottish parliamentary elections in 2011.

David Cameron

Cameron’s first problem is that he actually believes that the Union he is waffling on about actually functions effectively. The reality is that the Union could be described as barely functioning; the British state is ceasing to serve or deliver for large numbers of people, in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. As far as I can seen Scotland politics is now fundamentally different as are Scotland priorities and perhaps the Scottish people’s perception of their place in Europe and a wider world.

The harsh reality is that behind Cameron's sentimental pitch lies a desperate need for Scotland's oil - the Conservatives wasted millions (if not billions) in the 1980's funding tax cuts for the rich and subsidizing the disposal (systematic looting may not be too harsh a word) of state assets to their friends in the City. The pre Thatcher Labour Government failed to establish a wealth fund in which to store future anticipated tax revenues from the North Sea (as was the case in Norway and may possibly Scotland).

The Conservatives under Thatcher and Major just blew the money looking after their own vested interests, New Labour under Blair and Brown did nothing to change the situation and opportunities were wasted. Given a logical non emotive rational debate, freely reported in the media (and here I include the BBC which no doubt will struggle ineffectively to hide its bias) then we could be in for an interesting debate.

Cameron's second problem is that the inhabitants of these islands no longer live in the 17th and 18th centuries. The once perceived political necessities of curbing the divine right of kings, protecting Imperial trade, controlling Ireland and Scotland for historic strategic reasons and conceding the City (and its interests) a free hand in world trade are all ancient history. The Empire is long gone and any real perception (outside of the pages of the Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Express and the Sun and some parts of the Conservative Party and UKIP) that the UK actually remains a real power and influence in the world died quietly at Suez in 1956.

Cameron's problem is that while he may be a nice chap there is a real danger that in the eyes of many Scots he manages to combine arrogance, ignorance and a lack of understanding of how the Union has actually worked and a basic understanding of how states actually work. Over time, peoples have combined, been conquered, formed, reformed, participated in and benefited from the existence of states, many of whom have been multi ethnic in nature. During the same period peoples have left failing states, established new states and re-established old states. It's actually part of the Human condition that's what we do.

The Union (as is) is no longer works, it is not delivering basic economic opportunities to people as individuals or as communities across significant parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Simply appealing to emotive sentiment and a rose tinted vision of what is effectively a long dead vision of the past just won't do and just won't work.

None of us can live off nostalgia; it won't butter any bread let alone buy any. We are in for an interesting few months as the debate on Scotland's future develops. Personally I think that the Scottish Government should call in international observers for the referendum to ensure that poll is a free and fair vote and any Unionist skullduggery or interference in the democratic process can be avoided. And David Cameron should clearly and publically state that he will respect the democratically expressed wishes of the Scottish people.

HS2, 5%, WALES AND THE UNION

The much publicised Westminster government's plans to extend the HS2 rail development to Manchester (Stage 2) has stirred up a whole range of reactions in England from approval to objections and much in between. This investment focuses on creating a high speed rail spine in England from London to Birmingham and then onto Manchester and Leeds.

The Scottish Government has rightly called for a "concrete timetable" to extend the HS2 high-speed rail network to Edinburgh and Glasgow, calling on the UK Department for Transport to clearly spell out when high-speed rail project would reach Scotland. Fair play to Scotland Now that’s fair enough but what about Wales, will we see any benefits (fringe or otherwise)? Over to the Welsh Government then... ?

Labour in Wales’s less than eloquent silence aside, the bottom line is quite simple if unionists want the union to work for all of its inhabitants then what’s Wales’s share of the investment in the transport infrastructure programme. The Westminster Government has to ensure that any investment in transport infrastructure must benefit the whole of the UK, not just England. If the unionists believe in fair funding for the constituent parts of the UK then Wales is owed a Barnett consequential of approximately £1.9 billion from the projected HS2 spend.

If David Cameron is serious about making the union work then it’s time that this Westminster Government to urgently review the flawed and unfair funding arrangements. The lack of investment (and lack vision) that exists when it comes to developing and improving Welsh transport links that goes way beyond the current (and historical) poor financial settlement. The electrification of the great western line from Swansea to Cardiff (and beyond) is significant but is long overdue.

The electrification of the Glasgow-London line was completed in 1974, if nothing else this highlights how far behind (if not out of sight and out of mind) we are in terms of any improvements to transport links. It is also worth noting that Liverpool has long had an electrified rail link to London and has scarcely benefited economically from it. The commitment to electrify the Valley lines is a major step forward, but, as yet Wales, Albania and Moldova have no electrified railways at all.

If we are serious about delivering reliable, effective and sustainable all weather communications to our communities then it’s time to consider reopening old railway lines to passenger and rail freight. Reopening the old railway lines between Llangefni on Anglesey, Caernarfon to Bangor, Aberdare and Hirwaun (in the Cynon valley) and Usk (via Little Mill) to the main line and between Builth Road to Builth would make a real difference.

Having a minor let alone a major infrastructure investment policy that functions outside of England would demonstrate that this Westminster Government is actually serious about making the union work for all its inhabitants. Investing in our public transport system would reduce carbon emissions and cut road congestion. Reopening and refurbishing our old railways and upgrading our existing lines for passenger and fright traffic could provide serious economic stimulation to the local economies and provide a real opportunity for our people.

SCOTLAND BACKING DEVO MAX

THE UNION...DISCUSS...

News that Scotland with full control of it's territorial waters would be the world's sixth richest country with it's geographical share of North Sea oil may make more than a few people both inside and outside of Scotland and sit up and take note. The SNP's John Swinney, in his keynote address to his party's conference, makes the point that UK government has been reaping the benefits of the resource for too long and that the Scotland has been subsidising the rest of the UK.

Scotland contributes more to the UK in tax revenue than Scotland gets back in the UK public spending. Mr Swinney told the SNP conference that: "The figures show that with a geographical share of our offshore resources, Scotland would be the sixth-wealthiest country in the world - 10 places ahead of the UK at 16th." The SNP rightly believe that independence would give the Scottish Parliament the "normal powers enjoyed by nations across the world to deliver jobs and growth".

Makes you think doesn't it? It might make even some of the almost perpetually winging Unionists sit up and take note as well. Wales is not Scotland and Scotland is not Wales there are similarities and there are differences and not everything that would work in Scotland would work in Wales and vice verse. Differences and similarities aside there does need to be a non hysterical rational debate about the state of the union and Wales's place within it, especially if the Scottish people decide to re-establish an independent Scotland.

I have noticed over the years that there is a tendency for Unionists to A) get hysterical if anyone questions the union and B) a tendency to talk about the about the Union as if it has been set in stone for ever, it's not, it has never been. The union has been a movable feast since it's inception in 1801 with the abolition of Ireland's parliament, the Scottish parliament was abolished in 1701. Ireland's national struggle or Irish Home rule agitation (depending on your point of view) acted almost as smoke screen to cover the development of administrative devolution developed in Scotland and Wales from the 1880's onwards.

The Scottish Office was created in 1885 along with the post of Secretary for Scotland (there had previously been a post of Secretary of State for Scotland from 1707 until 1745). From 1892 onwards the Secretary for Scotland sat in cabinet, but was not officially a full member of the cabinet of the United Kingdom. The Secretary for Scotland post was upgraded to full Secretary of State rank as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1926.

We have come along way since the Wales and Berwick Act (1746) was passed stating that that in all future laws, 'England' would by default include Wales and Berwick-upon-Tweed (This act was finally repealed in 1967). Even during what might be called by some the high-tide of the Union there were practical gestures towards Wales.

In 1881 the Welsh Sunday Closing Act was passed, the first specific legislation exclusively concerned with Wales. A Central Welsh Board was established in 1896 for inspection of grammar schools this was established under the Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889, a separate Welsh Department of the Board of Education was created in 1907. An Agricultural Council for Wales was established in 1912, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries ran its own Welsh Office from 1919.

A post of Minister of Welsh Affairs was first established in 1951, held initially by the UK Home Secretary. Other low level changes followed, including the establishment of a Digest of Welsh Statistics in 1954, and Cardiff's designation as Wales’s capital city in 1955 (oddly enough these later changes took place under the auspices of a Conservative Government. The Labour government in Westminster established the Welsh Office (in 1964) with a Secretary of State for Wales, and added to its powers including health (1968), agriculture (1969) and education (1970).

The Union, thus rather than being set in stone has been constantly tinkered with for most of its life. A major change came when most of Ireland gained it's independence in 1921/1922. The six counties (in the north east) remained in the Union gaining the Stormont parliament (from 1922) which lasted until the early 1970's when it was overwhelmed by the troubles and Westminster took over. Yet even the most die hard Unionist Conservative governments repeatedly attempted to establish devolved civil government in Ireland's trouble north east if only to curb the conflict.

The problem is unlike a significant portion of the Unionists we are no longer in the latter part of the nineteenth century, we have gone well beyond tinkering with the Union to try to make it work. Now as Scotland makes measurable progress towards independence, the remaining UK nations need to seriously consider their own constitutional futures within or without what may end up as constitutional remnant.

What's been almost entirely conspicuous by its absence is any form of serious debate on the future constitutional relationship of the countries of these islands, especially if Scotland regains it's independence. Political and economic unions are not set in stone and neither are multi-national states, they come and go, existing as long as the will, the political ideal, the military force or the creation myth remains powerful.

The economic and political factors that lead to the creation of the original union no longer apply were are living in an entirely different world. The perceived end of the union does not mean that the social union ends up being resolved - why would it? My relatives and friends scattered across England will still remains my relatives and my friends. Nor that businesses relationships would change, economic relationships may change, they will adapt and new fairer ones will be forged.

Lets have an end to the unionist hysteria and have some rational discussion. Here is Wales, with a very few exceptions, that's all we have had from the three main Unionist parties. If one thing is probably certain in these uncertain times it's that here in Wales we can certainly no longer rely on a self-interested, self-serving, unambitious, reactionary Labour movement to make any case for our nation, let alone stand up for Wales.