Andrew Constantine

Tycoon in independence vote call
Scotland's richest man has called for an immediate independence referendum to allow the country to move on.

Sir Tom Hunter accused the country's political parties of "posturing, positioning and pontificating" over constitutional reform.

The Ayrshire billionaire tycoon and philanthropist said it was Scotland's right to determine its own destiny.

His comments came as First Minister Alex Salmond said that Scottish independence would be good for England.

The Scottish Government wants a referendum in 2010, but lacks majority support to get it through Holyrood.

Writing in the Scotland on Sunday newspaper, Sir Tom, who has always said he has not made his mind up on whether or not Scotland should be independent, said it was crucial that any referendum asked a simple "yes" or "no" question on the issue.


We need a majority of Scots to say 'yes' or 'no' to independence, end of story
Sir Tom Hunter

He also called for more informed debate on the independence question, and claimed the public was "confused, disillusioned and frankly fed up" with the positions of the various political parties.

He said: "It is my firm belief that the Scottish people deserve the right to vote unequivocally on one key issue. Other issues follow, but there is only one vote: do you want Scotland to be independent or not? Yes or no?

"We need a majority of Scots to say 'yes' or 'no' to independence, end of story.

"A referendum is compelling because Scots want an answer to our future now so that we can invest in it, whatever we choose, for our collective future over the long term."

Sir Tom's article came after Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives announced they planned to support a commission set up to examine giving more powers for Holyrood, but without full independence.

He went on to attack a suggestion by First Minister Alex Salmond that a referendum might be held under the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system.

Under the system, voters list their preferences in order.

'Difficult to resist'

The tycoon said such a system - which he described as "Simon Cowell's X Factor voting system" - could not be used to determine Scotland's future.

Sir Tom made his fortune from his Sports Division chain and is worth an estimated £1.05bn.

Last year, he pledged to donate at least £1bn to charity and has already committed £100m through his charitable foundation to fight inequality in both Scotland and Africa.

Meanwhile, Mr Salmond told the BBC's Andrew Marr that both Scotland and England would be better off after independence.

He added: "Opinion polls show various things about independence and devolution, and no doubt they show various things about political parties.

"But one thing that has always been the case, in every single opinion poll I've ever seen, is that 80% of the people of Scotland say that this matter, this issue, the constitutional future of this nation, should be decided by the people in a referendum, and it is very difficult to resist that."

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Scotland | Tycoon in independence vote call

Published: 2008/03/30 09:55:49 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

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Andrew Constantine
Free England Party - Independence for England
http://www.freeengland.com

http://freeengland.blogspot.com

Signatory to The English Claim of Right
http://englishclaimofright.com

cassie

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Funny how England, a nation with a population ten times that of Scotland's, has not thrown up a billionaire (or even a millionaire!) with similar patriotic feelings! On this evidence, the rot has well and truly set in at the top, and wealthy English bods have lost their identities in the gradually sinking Brit ship!




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Rebirth

Just look back to the anti-English campaign that even the BBC was a part of and still is a lot of the time. That on top of an anti-English government lead by mainly Scots for over a decade has done a lot of harm to England. Welshman Prescott and his regions of England could also be seen as total betrayal towards England.

The question is, what happens to England?

Englander 1

Its England that should be getting this referendum....who has asked the English?

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"There is a forgotten, nay almost forbidden word, which means more to me than any other.
That word is ENGLAND." - Sir Winston Churchill

cassie

Yes, how bizarre that 84% of Great Britain's voters are kept excluded from expressing opinions on constitutional matters which affect them! Some democracy this! More like that of Zimbabwe's!!!!!!!!!!!!!




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Westcountryman

Would you ask the other 26 nation states of the EU if they think the UK should be allowed to cede from the Union?

And if they said 'no', would it stop the UK ceding?

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Manus haec inimica tyrannis ense petit placidam sub libertate quietam - "This hand of mine, which is hostile to tyrants, seeks by the sword quiet peace under liberty."

cassie

Forgive me for intervening here, but there seems to be a fundamental assumption governing the unfair conduct of British affairs. Quite simply it is this: that any of Britain's nations can be consulted about constitutional changes proposed for them except the 84% living in the nation of England even though England is (and has been) affected by those changes.

For some kind of comparison about this constitutional aspect of British affairs to be drawn with the EU seems quite irrelevant.

England should have been consulted in 1979 and again in 1997. If there is another referendum about the future of Scotland, voters in England should also be consulted and invited to express collective opinions.

One should remember that referenda - unless otherwise specified - are merely a means of gauging collective opinions, and the power to act on them remains with Parliament. Therefore, your question about asking other states is not really appropriate.

May I correct your reference to '26 nation states'? The UK is a state comprising four nations. This is to say that the UK or Great Britain itself is not a 'nation' much as some folk for their own purposes (eg G Brown Esq) would have us believe. It would have been more appropriate to refer to '26 member states'.

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Westcountryman

According to you people, Scotland leaving would be better for England, so does it matter?

Not so, are you saying the UK ceding from the Union wouldn't affect the EU at all? Didn't think so.

True enough.

Ho hum, talk about splitting hairs. You'll note I specifically said 'nation state', not just nation. I'd also argue that the home nations are much more closely integrated than you think - especially England and Wales.

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Manus haec inimica tyrannis ense petit placidam sub libertate quietam - "This hand of mine, which is hostile to tyrants, seeks by the sword quiet peace under liberty."

cassie

You seem to be assuming that a referendum in Scotland will deliver a clear majority in favour of leaving the UK. As far as I am aware, all the objective evidence to date indicates that such an outcome is unlikely.

Even so, why should the 84% of the UK's voters in England be expected to stand idly by while voters in Scotland hum and haw about whether they want to go or to stay? What great principle prevents voters in England from being accorded similar rights to those in Scotland?


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The Bear

It looks to me as if the characteristics of being English surround patriotism, pride, a clear moral standpoint, a clear identity, and a residence to having their nationality destroyed, then maybe just as the invaders in ancient times drove the indigenous people of these Isles into Wales and north into Scotland, not to mention the amount of White Flight taking place, today the majority of the truly indigenous people of these Islands are increasingly now to be found in Scotland, and to a lesser extent Wales.

The indigenous people that remain in England today as a result of invasions presently taking place increasingly equate to those left after the various invasions that took place in antiquity.

Maybe the way that we should be seeing it is that todays Scots are actually in many ways and based on attributes, yesterdays English.

Now there’s a twist.

Welcome to New Labour's New England.

You certainly are.