Is the Assembly the biggest impediment to a Fairer Independent Nation.

Todays Observer may indicate that the YES campaign may well be winning the intellectual Battle in Scotland.

In an exclusive interview,  One of  Scotland's leading historian has delivered a major boost to the campaign for Scottish independence with the announcement that he will be voting yes in the forthcoming referendum.

The eagerly awaited announcement, made in an interview with the Observer, will provide much-needed support to the pro-independence campaign, which has seen support for a yes vote stall in recent weeks. Devine said that at the outset of the campaign he had been a firm no supporter, though he had favoured a "devo-max" arrangement with extra powers devolved to Holyrood. He had been persuaded by what he believes has been a flowering of the Scottish economy in a more confident political and cultural landscape. "This has been quite a long journey for me and I've only come to a yes conclusion over the last fortnight," he said.

And its the  running of the Scottish Parliament that seems to have persuaded him.Post 

"The Scottish parliament has demonstrated competent government and it represents a Scottish people who are wedded to a social democratic agenda and the kind of political values which sustained and were embedded in the welfare state of the late 1940s and 1950s.
"It is the Scots who have succeeded most in preserving the British idea of fairness and compassion in terms of state support and intervention. Ironically, it is England, since the 1980s, which has embarked on a separate journey."

 "It is the Scots who have succeeded most in preserving the British idea of fairness and compassion in terms of state support and intervention. Ironically, it is England, since the 1980s, which has embarked on a separate journey."

He also analysed the progress of the Union since its birth in 1707 and the reasons why it had worked for both countries, but why he believes it is coming to a natural end. "The union of England and Scotland was not a marriage based on love. It was a marriage of convenience. It was pragmatic. From the 1750s down to the 1980s there was stability in the relationship. Now, all the primary foundations of that stability have gone or been massively diluted."

We can only wonder what damage to the cause for welsh independence has been made with Labours running of the Welsh Assembly Inept and Lethargic are two words that come to mind.

And that may be a long term problem for Wales 

After the Scottish vote even a NO vote the Unionist parties especially the Tories and Labour will seek to make sure such a vote never happens here .

This will mean making sure the Assembly never has the powers to make difference that will encourage people in Wales to reject Westminster with the Tories  and Blue Labour both working to dismantle the Welfare state and the NHS  probably by stealth by the latter.

At any rate sadly under the present Assembly we can hardly expect ot current Assembly run by Labour to be sen as an example of the Wales we would like to se as an Independent Nation

 Former Labour First Minister of Wales (2000–2009) Rhodri Morgan, once labelled the United Kingdom’s devolved bodies “laboratories” for the formulation of new ideas to be subsequently shared and learnt from across the Union.

In this in 2002  he called for Clear Red Water  in an address to the Socialist Health association to separate Wales from even the Blair Agenda.

But there has been  not even a trickle of vaguely pink. water since.

It is beginning to look like Labour have an agenda to make sure that no Welsh Movement will be allowed to point to a different future for Wales, beyond  a right of centre Westminster Government whether Tory, |Labour with or without Lib Dem bag carriers.

It is imperative that we find a Welsh Assembly Government with a vision for Wales .

In that Plaid Cymru must be bold and avoid short term polices but offer us some alternative to demolishishment  of the Welfare State and become a "True Party of Wale"s and in that it must replace Labour in the hears and Minds of the people of Wales. W