The Green Ribbon

Bloody Sunday meeting in London

The Connolly Association brings us news of a Bloody Sunday commemoration meeting in London on Sunday. The collusion theme looks very timely. It will be interesting to hear from Alan Brecknell (who I interviewed last year) in the wake of the recent Ombudsman's report. The fact an election has just been announced might also bring a spark to the SDLP and SF contributions.

TOWARDS JUSTICE

Remembering Bloody Sunday January 30, 1972
Public Meeting:  2.30pm Sunday 4th February 2007
London Irish Centre, 50 - 52 Camden Square, NW1 9XB

Speakers:    JOHN KELLY - Bloody Sunday Relative
            JOHN McDONNELL MP
            ALAN BRECKNELL Pat Finucane Centre
            RAYMOND McCARTNEY  - Sinn Fein
            COLUM EASTWOOD - SDLP

New Scottish election site

Polling Report points us to a very useful site about the May Scottish elections.

Scotland Votes from Weber Shandwick Public Affairs features a swingometer, profiles of battleground seats and a nascent blog which looks like it will be a handy resource in the months to come.

State papers on Scotland: Implications for External Financing

State Papers on Scotland - Index
National Archives T319/2929
Scottish devolution and North Sea oil including economics of Scottish independence
1974 Jan 01 - 1975 Dec 31
_______________________

State papers on Scotland: Introduction and Index

"The glaring weakness in the structure of the draft is the treatment of England. No doubt this simply reflects the lack of Ministerial consideration of this small and outlying region". Treasury official's comment on the White Paper on Devolution. 6 October 1975, in National Archives T319/2930

I mentioned in an earlier post that recent releases from the national archives shed a revealing light on the debate about Scottish devolution and independence in the 1970s. I have now had an opportunity to look at some of the papers from 1975 and 1976 myself.

They leave no doubt that Treasury officials regarded the case for Scottish independence as being much stronger than the Government was prepared to admit publicly. This judgement was largely based on North Sea Oil, so a different conclusion might be reached today.

Nevertheless, the material is relevant to contemporary debates about the UK, if only because it illustrates how far a British Government's perceptions can differ from its own unionist rhetoric.

For this reason, I have decided to post the text of some of the relevant material here. Below is an index with some of the more interesting quotes from each paper.

State Papers on Scotland: Devolution: Economic Advantages to Scotland of the Union

State Papers on Scotland - Index
National Archives T319/2929
Scottish devolution and North Sea oil including economics of Scottish independence
1974 Jan 01 - 1975 Dec 31
_______________________

Fissile material: Ireland and Trident replacement

Within the next few months, Parliament is due to vote on the Government's plan to replace Britain's 'independent' nuclear deterrent.

With Trident submarines based at Faslane, and the Scottish elections only a few months away, this decision was bound to become entwined with the debate about Scotland's future. The most recent manifestation of this was Alex Salmond's threat that an SNP-led executive would tax nuclear weapons in a bid to prevent them being deployed in Scotland.

Trident's implications for Ireland may be less obvious, but they emerge clearly from a British Government file released recently under the thirty year rule.

RUC protected UVF killers

The Northern Ireland Policing Ombudsman today published her long-awaited report into the the death of Raymond McCord Jr.

Nuala O'Loan has concluded that between 1991-2003, the RUC protected a UVF informer who they believed was responsible for 10 to 15 murders. O'Loan does not name this individual but he is known to be Mark Haddock.

The full public version of the report is available here.

O'Loan's conclusion that that the officers running informers "could not have operated as they did without knowledge and support at the highest levels of the RUC/PSNI," is noteworthy given that Sir Ronnie Flanagan, now Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary, was appointed head of Special Branch in 1994, and Chief Constable in 1996.

Raymond McCord senior posed the key question for him today:

"I also challenge Ronnie Flanagan to say whether he knew about this or not. If he didn't, he was a poor Chief Constable and should be sacked as HM Inspector of Constabulary and, if he did, he should be stripped of his knighthood." (Belfast Newsletter)

Can Scotland win tax-raising powers?

Interesting piece on the way forward for Scotland from Deborah Orr:

In many ways, as The Independent's economics commentator Hamish McRae has pointed out, Scotland is in a better position than Ireland was around 15 years ago, if only it could release the mechanisms that could kickstart its economy. What Scotland needs is fiscal autonomy, whether this is granted federally or through dissolution of Great Britain. And not just because of the money either. (Independent)

The significant thing about this proposal is that it has received a degree of support from the Liberal Democrats in the Steel Commission report. There is thus a good chance that there could be a majority in the next Scottish parliament in favour of taking control of taxation. Westminster's reaction to this demand would be interesting, especially with Gordon Brown newly installed as Prime Minister.

Update 22 Jan The Lib Dems ruled out a coalition with the SNP at the weekend, a move that would appear to commit them to a renewed deal with Labour. It remains to be seen how firm their resolution will be if there is a big swing to the SNP in May.

Call for Irish soccer teams to merge

Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern has called for a merger between Ireland's two football associations, the Republic's FAI and the North's IFA.

"An all-island league would generate greater revenue for clubs and help further develop the game. It would in particular also enable the island to punch its full weight internationally, something that real sports people have long yearned for." (Irish Times)

Last time I was in Ireland I was struck by the extent to which the successful all-Ireland Rugby team had overtaken the 26-county soccer team in terms of public interest.  The Republic's current doldrums are also in striking contrast with Northern Ireland's renaissance, a fact which may well invite a cynical response to this proposal. Nevertheless, a single association with a more competitive league and a more competitive team would surely benefit the development of the game in both parts of the island.

Newsnight debate on the Union

Last night's Newsnight Special featured an excellent debate on the future of the union between England and Scotland. You can still catch it on the website here. (Hat tip to the CEP)