Saturday 3 March 2012

Red (White and Blue) Ed

 In his Speech to Labour's Scottish Conference Ed Miliband attacked Alex Salmond's desire to "split up" Britain, and insisted: "We are one United Kingdom."

The Labour leader attacked Scotland's First Minister over rising unemployment - which he said was the biggest challenge of all - but also on his links with media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. .

He said: 
"We must reject attempts to divide our country by ideology or geography. We are not left-wing Scotland and right-wing England, we are one United Kingdom."He insisted that families, businesses and pensioners who were struggling in difficult economic times shared the same concerns, regardless of where they lived.
On Murdoch, he would have a point .Except for the fact that until Murdoch switched (and it appears he was reluctant to do so) to supporting Cameron's Conservative. Labour were hand in glove with News International and bent over backwards to please them. Salmond should not be so close towards Murdoch but Ed Miliband would be bending over backwards if he thought Murdoch and News Intentional would switch back to supporting them once the  Leveson has ended and people lose interest.

But Miliband's Unionist stance puts and end to the Clear red water that Rhodri Morgan proposed for Welsh Labour as opposed to Blair's New Labour.

 It seems that Miliband thinks that even Scottish Labour who have much more autonomythan "Welsh Labour" which is not much, cannot pursue clear red water from Cameron's ConLibs because he believes  "We are not left-wing Scotland and right-wing England",


He seems to think just because the majority in England elected Tory MPs . We in wales and Scotland  should accept it to preserve the union even though the majority in the two Nations voted for Left of Center Parties (Labour,Plaid and SNP.

He may be right in that " businesses and pensioners who were struggling in difficult economic times shared the same concerns, regardless of where they lived". But devolution has already meant that Wales and Scotland have the right to approach things differently and this means that we are not seeing for example the move to privitisation of the NHS which is clearly behind the agenda of the reforms in England.

There has been some comments from the Liberal Left in England claiming that Scottish Independence will leave the English almost permanently under Tory rule. And this they state  is a reason to oppose it.

But we spent 15 years from 1987-1982 under a Tory government taht bot h Wales and Scotland rejected. Why should we suffer (and boy did we suffer) because of right wing England.?

But if in 1997 we in Wales and Scotland had rejected devolution we would now be facing the right wing "reform" that are being forced on the English. We have chosen to take a different approach and though I know that both the Labour goverment  in Wales and the SNP should do more to improve the concerns of the poorest in our counties . The thought that as Millband seems to be suggesting we should not seek our own way and accept rule from a right wing Westminster Government  in order to preserve the UK chills me.

Miliband is also being disingenuous in his claim "We are one United Kingdom".

I believe its still Labour Party policy for an "United Ireland" which may be why Miliband  prefers to ay United Kingdom  the Union.  Becuase it is Labour Part policy to break up the Union though I suspect most members do not know it. Perhaps  when  the debate begin on the Scottish Referendum Labour politicians such as Miliband who say they wish to prefer the United Kingdom should be asked "If this includes the six counties? and then if you can " divide our country by ideology or geography" in Ireland.Why not Wales or Scotland?



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