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          A thistle flowerr

          Is it time tae think again about Flower of Scotland?

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          Glasgow Loves EU campaigners brave wind and rain to keep a light on for Scotland

          blue background, A younf woman holding a large black sign that says VOTE ! in white letters

          Scottish elections: young people more likely to vote if they started at 16 – new study

          Healthcare word seen in a scrabble

          “Leave no one behind” – the Health Foundation’s report into health inequalities in Scotland 2023.

          Sign saying NHS Greater Galsgow & Clyde in front of a hospital building

          Concern over patients waiting in corridors for free beds at Glasgow Superhospital

          A row of tall houses on the left, with parked cars in front on the side of the street

          Saving Scotland’s tenements

          Ben Nevis. Forground has green shrubbery, then background a mountain with two tops. Blue sky with a few streaky clouds

          Exploring the Highest Mountain in the British Isles: A Guide to Ben Nevis

          Image via Steller Systems, a potential candidate.

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          Scottish elections: young people more likely to vote if they started at 16 – new study

          A scene of people demonstrating, holding Scotland flags. One man wears a tartan cap and holds a blue flag with both the Scottish cross and the EU stars on it.

          Is Alister Jack sane?

          Image Malcom Laverty

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          Saving Scotland’s tenements

          A large red researcgh vessel in the sea with ice sheets all around it on the water.

          Rosyth shipyard attracts UK Government contract to maintain fleet of scientific research vessels

          large posts saying 'Glasgow Airport Business Park' on the left and right of a road leading away from the main road in the front. . On that road leading away building with walls almost entirely existing of windows.

          Why doing business in Scotland may be better for your corporate wellbeing

          A mountain of spools forming a tree on the left, a sandy area to the right and a row of houses at the back. mountains in the distance on the right

          The Ullapool Giving Tree

          Electric off-roader heralds return of vehicle mass-production in Scotland after 40 years

          Photo Mtaylor848, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

          Christmas cheer for Tesco if grim reading for the political classes

          Ferguson Marine will weather the storm

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            The Ethiopia Medical Project (EMP)

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            “Leave no one behind” – the Health Foundation’s report into health inequalities in Scotland 2023.

            Sign saying NHS Greater Galsgow & Clyde in front of a hospital building

            Concern over patients waiting in corridors for free beds at Glasgow Superhospital

            A hospital corridor with trolleys on the sides.

            Glasgow hospitals halt non-urgent operations due to pressure

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            GMB union reject Scottish Government pay offer to NHS staff

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              Here’s to an Independent Scotland

              If Scotland can gain independence and rejoin the EU, reversing the folly of Brexit, I’ll drink to that.

              John KingbyJohn King
              06-07-2022 18:28
              in Opinion, Scottish Independence
              March for Scottish Independence - George Square, Glasgow

              March for Scottish Independence - George Square, Glasgow, image by Ian Cunliffe and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

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              A fearsome battle is brewing over the future of Britain. On one side the UK Government, the majority of the press, and the entire British establishment, tacitly backed by the royals. On the other side, Nicola Sturgeon and her fellow Scotttish warriors. Their cause is just, their passion strong, and I wish them well.  If they can gain their independence and rejoin the EU, reversing the folly of Brexit, I’ll drink to that. A large scotch will suit me fine.

              The time is now

              “Now is not the time for another vote.” That weary phrase has long been Westminster’s stock refrain, denying Scotland its right to self determination. But the Scots intend to go ahead anyway, once the election victory is secured and the pandemic is out of the way.

              They are right to do so. Though the European Union is well disposed towards Scotland, rejoining is unlikely to get any easier with time. Not only will the EU itself gradually change and diverge from us, but also Brexit Britain will change; including Scotland, if it stays in the union.

              Looked at in Darwinian terms, Brexit represents a major environmental change, which will affect the evolution of the UK’s structures and businesses. Many will go to the wall, unable to adapt, but others will survive, a few will even thrive. It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good, and the survivors will expand and grow stronger. These newly dominant forces will then form the new establishment and press to preserve the status quo, opposing the radical break that independence involves.

              A woman walking in a field with a jerrycan of water on her back, spraying water on the vegetation
              Health

              The Ethiopia Medical Project (EMP)

              byCharlie McCarthy
              8 February 2023

              Aggravating this are the Westminster Government’s rearguard actions. A group of 20 civil servants have been secretly ordered to strip references to the European Union from tens of thousands of laws to stop a future Labour Government reversing Brexit, in an action known to insiders as “Operation Bleach.” But if you thought the official opposition would put up any resistance, think again. Unbelievably, Labour’s Keir Starmer has thrown in the towel and rarely mentions Brexit at all in the House of Commons.

              Would Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, have let Trump off the hook with a nod and a wink? Would he dismiss cases of historic child abuse and tell the victims to move on? Possibly not, yet when it comes to a gerrymandered vote riddled with lies which had devastating consequences for all of us, he looks the other way.

              By contrast, listen to the impassioned speeches being made in the Scottish parliament. A joy and an inspiration for all of us who voted Remain! Scots are within sight of reversing the damage inflicted in 2016, elevating their country to the EU’s top table, and restoring the powerful alliance of 28 nations. They must seize the day.

              Do we really need another divisive referendum?

              Whatever happens, half the country will be unhappy. But Scottish independence is likely to be less traumatic than Brexit, because they will be gaining something – EU membership – instead of being deprived of something. Moreover it was something valued, that they had before and had purposely stayed in the union for; so in a sense it would be restoring the status quo.

              Secondly, as Andrew Wilson pointed out in the Spectator, the SNP prospectus is worked out in advance; an orderly transition that is clear on currency, public finances and how it would approach an agreement with the rest of the UK. In other words, the antithesis of Brexit. And the Spectator is not normally noted for any bias towards Scottish independence.

              A passport to success for the Scots, a wake up call for ourselves

              With EU membership, the value of a Scottish passport will rocket, compared to the much hyped blue passports now being issued, the value of which has fallen off a cliff. The status of Scottish citizenship will also rise in the eyes of the world. (Following the loss of freedom of movement, the value of UK citizenship fell by 27.1 per cent, according to the Kälin-Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index).

              As a guide to what is likely to happen, the Irish passport office has been overwhelmed with applications since Brexit. Following a vote for independence, millions of English will be scrutinising their family history hoping to find evidence of Scottish ancestry. 

              In my own case, as I am half Welsh, I will have to wait for Welsh independence to get my EU passport. Meantime, I raise my glass to the Scots.

              To those who accuse me of wanting to break up Britain I say yes, I do. Brexit Britain is no good, it needs to go. Scotland’s liberation will not only be something for the Scots to celebrate, it could well be the jolt to shake England from its hidebound complacency and trigger reforms long overdue. When that day comes, we will perhaps have earned our own place back in Europe.

              Scotching Brexit

              Mad dogs and Englishmen
              Go out in the midday sun
              Singing Rule Britannia
              And getting Brexit done
              They meet a canny Scotsman
              Who pipes a different tune
              Get ready for the Indyref
              Which will be coming soon
              I’ve filled my Jerry can with malt,
              I’ve peeled my Brussels sprouts
              I’m European to a fault
              I have nae any doubts
              So let’s escape the Brexit mess
              The answer’s simple, just vote yes!
              Or if you’re English, wish us well
              As we renounce Westminster’s hell
              And dinna worry, dinna sigh
              You’ll come tae join us, by and by.

              With apologies to Noel Coward


              We need your help! The press in our country is dominated by billionaire-owned media, many offshore and avoiding paying tax. We are a citizen journalism publication but still have significant costs. If you believe in what we do, please consider subscribing to the Bylines Gazette 🙏

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              John King

              John King

              John King is a retired doctor, Remain campaigner and occasional singer in pubs. Born in Birmingham and raised in Worcestershire and Leicestershire, he now lives in Stratford-upon-Avon.

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