Through The Eyes Of The English Establishment - The Treaty of Union

 The Scots complain A LOT. How dare the English establishment mock our representatives they cry. Only they don't say English. Oh no, that would be to admit the truth that they try so hard to hide from themselves. What they say instead is Westminster and UK. It is the UK Government. The UK Supreme Court, UK law, "unwritten" constitution of UK, reserved to Westminster and yet they will call it an English parliament with a majority of English MPs. They even refer to parliamentary sovereignty and rules of parliament. Neither of which are applicable to the state parliament as they were from the English parliament prior to its abolition.

So how do the English establishment see it? Let's look through their eyes. Ever since the Scottish civil wars of the 17th and 18th centuries the Scottish government has sought help from their treaty partner in curbing the unruly Scots and bringing them to heel. So much so that English garrisons were set up all over Scotland and all things Scottish were banned. The Scottish government, the landed and titled went along with this extreme measure as their wealth and power was undermined and at risk. The highland clearances took place and those that remained were displaced and left to survive in areas that they had little experience of and as a result many died or were vastly weakened. The Scots were no longer unruly. They were ruled. Their own representatives capitulating to the extreme measures that were used to do so. The minds of the Scots could not process that their own had been guilty of the betrayal to Scotland given the vast scale of that betrayal. 

Then came in a new measure. The English establishment set up and enacted a party political system that benefited them. They could decide who would rule England and Wales and they could slowly introduce their name change - from English to UK. They knew the Scottish government were no exception to bribes, trinkets and baubles. How shiny those baubles were when placed in their hands and all they need do is step back and let the English establishment, as UK, rule. After all, they had done so for the past century.

Scotland, they could claim, "was extinguished and subsumed into a Greater England, albeit under the new name of UK". 

And so it has been since the 18th century. The Scottish government stepped back, they partook in the English political party system knowing that in doing so they would be vastly outnumbered given the number of MPs sent from Scotland was a direct result of Scotland having been governed primarily by the kirks and various charters and not by government. The two country's systems being vastly different. Where in England, parliament was sovereign. In Scotland it was the people and that was reflected in where authority lay, and the numbers of MPs used to represent their own peoples.

Since the set up of the political party system, Scotland has had English political party after English political party represent them. The governments of Scotland were English. The policies and legislation enacted to benefit England the country these governments represented first and foremost. If Scotland suffered as a result that was an acceptable loss. England must take precedence. Well not all of England, obviously. Only the wealthiest areas. For there their hold of wealth and power would be at greatest risk. Keep them sweet and they can do almost anything unchallenged. 

But the Scots were starting to get restless again. Seeing their people in poverty, their industries and communities trashed they began to challenge this set up and collected over 2 million signatures revoking the treaty with England. But then they gifted the English establishment by giving it to them. Of course the English governments in England and Scotland ignored these signatures and continued as before but were wary of how far they could push things. A new political party had been formed to take back control of Scotland. They could use their media both through print and airwaves to send their message. Scotland was to be bombarded with how great Great Britain was. The parliament was to be referred to as the "Mother of all parliaments" and democracy English style was to be seen as the norm. This worked for the vast majority who didn't question the narrative. It was what they had grown up with. The English government representing England took centre stage while the English government representing Scotland would take the seats in the back of the chamber visually representing Scotland's place within the treaty. The treaty the English establishment recognised in name only. So long as they could hold this line they could keep the unquestioning Scots in their place. It was to be a union when it suited them to view it as such. When they needed the Scots who are community minded to uphold it, and Greater England when it came to ruling the islands. The Scots though were getting bolder. They were now requesting a referendum for devolution. Great. They could curtail the Scots who sought to dissolve the treaty by ceding a referendum on it but the English establishment would play both sides of the argument. The English governments in both countries would place conditions upon it. Labour would use the 40% rule (an inverse of the 60% rule the SNP use today) in which even the dead would be counted. It was a win - win for the English establishment. Even if the Scots were to get a majority they could use the dead to undermine the result and remain indefinitely in charge of both countries. They controlled all that the Scots saw and heard much like the opening to the Outer Limits. 

"There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: There is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to... The Outer Limits."

This worked wonders as the Scots argued among themselves while their own representatives played both sides. In 1979 the devolution referendum was won but the 40% rule denied the Scots their devolved parliament. Just 20 years later the referendum would be repeated. The English establishment were witnessing the Scots emerge, slowly but surely. They still controlled all that they saw and heard but their grip was slackening. And the Scottish National Party they had publicly dismissed and mocked were growing in strength. They would have to cede this time if the Scots once again chose devolution. How then could they swing it so that they could still be in charge of  all the islands? They would once again require trinkets and baubles. In 1997 the Scots chose devolution. The English government representing Scotland and the English government representing England drew up and signed off on the Scotland Act 1998. They gifted themselves even more Scottish territorial waters and sealed the papers so that the Scottish administration and the Scots seeking permission from them would not have access. This was initially meant to be for 15 years but the veil was slipping and they had to make it an indefinite seal. The English establishment had tried everything to dumb down and beat the sovereignty out of the Scots but the Scots remained steadfast. Another approach was needed and needed fast. They would have to step up their efforts. In 2007 the SNP split the admin almost in half with the SNP taking just one more seat than England's Labour party. Scotland was to be administered by a Scottish and English political party. The Scots representatives though had been raised to believe that England under the new name of UK was sole authority. They had after all governed Scotland since the 18th century with Scotland's representatives capitulating every step of the way. When elected to the parliament of GB they dutifully fell in line taking their seats at the back of the chamber and upholding English parliamentary norms. Even referring to the English government as UK, parliamentary sovereignty and seeking permission from the English government and even its various departments. Worse though in this betrayal was their acceptance of the English political party system and votes when a toddler could point out that even 100% vote against, or for depending on circumstances, a motion would be absolutely pointless. An act they perform dutifully as useful idiots on a regular basis. Ah but we voted against x, they claim. But why are they voting for English legislation? As representatives of Scotland they are supposed to draw up their own legislation and enact it not rely on the treaty partner doing it for them. This of course, the English establishment know all to well as they repeatedly state this in parliament in a myriad of ways. Even to the point of stating clearly that all Scots need to do is elect a Scottish government who will make a proclamation. (Elect a majority of pro-indy MPs to parliament.) The useful idiots though mimicked the English government and changed their administrative name to Scottish government. They didn't change the legislation in any major way. They kept it as is with requiring consent from the Scottish government that sits in the parliament of Great Britain but refer to that as reserved competences. The English establishment noting that the Scottish government which was elected into the parliament at Westminster still acted as their predecessors did found it easy to manipulate the Scots as their own stepped back and treated the English establishment under the guise of UK as their superiors. The print and airwaves proving to be a most useful tool even on those who thought they were helping to free Scotland from the English establishment's clutches. 

Then the leader of the SNP sought another English controlled referendum. They even had them sign a code of conduct while having no intention of holding them to it and knowing that it was in breach of international law by permitting the government and establishment of another country to be the official opposition to the campaign for Scotland's full statehood. An opposition that the Scots actually funded. Once again. Not only through their governments but in the airwaves and print they purchased. 

As a member of the English establishment what they saw were a host of Scottish representatives accepting the English establishment as their superiors. That they would enact any and all legislation drawn up on their behalf, that they would despite voting for or against something capitulate anyway, that they would permit the English establishment to use them in illegal wars, to house weapons of genocide, to hold nuclear waste and permit the dumping of toxic material into their waters and environment, use English governmental departments and permit them to dictate their budget and spending. They witnessed the Scottish government and other Scottish representatives refer to their administration as the government of Scotland while actively treating it as an administration and treating the English government as the sole government of GB under the name of UK. They permitted the removal of their own nationality and even made excuses for it. They permitted their own country to be removed from international listings and instead UK to be the only option available on various platforms giving a false sense of identification worldwide, they remained silent when the English government wrote parliamentary sovereignty into Clause 38, they remained silent when the English government enacted the IM Act granting themselves a veto over Scotland and they remained silent when legislation was enacted to remove GB identifiers and replace them with UK. And what of the English governmental offices in Scotland? Silence again. But the English establishment went further. They refer to themselves in Scotland as UKGovernmentScotland. And the response to that is? Silence. From their perspective Scotland was extinguished and subsumed into a Greater England albeit under the new name of UK. Every single action the Scots have made whether to advance their statehood or to remain part of the treaty has proven to them that this is the state of affairs  today. It is why they openly stated that the treaty of union is no longer in effect if it ever was. The Scots sat glued to the television while the airwaves were being controlled along with the horizontal, the print, that they swallow and allow to shape what they see and hear. 

Sadly even the newest Scottish political party has ceded to the English establishment. They too refer to them as UK. They take their seats at the back of the chamber and uphold English parliamentary norms. They treat Scotland in the exact same manner as their predecessors while crying foul. 

If Scotland is to be seen as the sovereign nation state and equal partner to the treaty that it is it needs the Scots to step away from the television set and stop reading the newspapers which promote the English establishment as the sole authority of the treaty and undermines Scotland. They need to stop feeding the lie and step up not back. The predecessors were given trinkets and baubles of various guises. Will the current lot be shown to be just as corrupted and to have betrayed Scotland and the Scots? Unless they start acting in Scotland's true capacity and recognising Scotland's true status then history will not be kind to them either. They will be every bit the betrayers to Scotland as those they despised.