Thread by @Sakura509

"YOU can practically smell the panic from die-hard opponents of Scottish independence as they realise that Theresa May's "precious Union" is about to crumble to dust, ..."

"...thanks largely to the arrogance and contempt of those self-same Anglo-British nationalists who claim to love Scotland and this so-called Union."

"There are a number of telling signs of this panic, such as the recent revival of reheated scare stories from 2014, and the almost constant gaslighting from Conservatives who assert that they are "augmenting devolution"."

No 'oven-ready' offerings to serve to save 'The Union'?

"Even though we can all see that the Westminster Tories are by-passing and undermining the powers of the Scottish Parliament, and replacing Holyrood funding with Westminster pork barrel projects which shamelessly and transparently have the aim of boosting Conservative support."

"Now right-wing journalist Stephen Daisley has gone one further and demanded that Westminster introduce legislation to prohibit Holyrood from ever holding a referendum, a consultative ballot or a citizens' assembly on the constitution ..."

"...without the express prior consent of the Westminster Government."

Jus' wait a cotton pickin' minute!

This may be the most blatant example of hypocrisy ever witnessed from the unionist cronies of #LiarJohnson and cabal in UK Government - barring #partygate but admittedly, THAT is a very low bar!

It is said that, 'What is sauce for the goose, is also sauce for the gander' - meaning, that consent involves a dialogue between two parties - oops! there's just no hidin' from those PARTIES!

"He (Daisley) also urges both the Labour and Conservative parties to pledge that they will never permit another independence referendum, even if the electorate of Scotland votes to have one."

Let Scots decide!

#ScottishIndependence 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 is Scotland's FUTURE!

"What Daisley is proposing is shocking in its authoritarian contempt for democracy in Scotland. It also represents a unilateral ripping up of the Scottish Claim of Right, which was agreed to by all the anti-independence parties."

"This guarantees the absolute right of the people of Scotland to choose the form of government best suited to their needs."

An Irn clad, made from girders, bona-fide guarantee, forged in Scotland!

Now, there's a sight to behold!

"...what this crazed and desperate proposal tells us is that opponents of Scottish independence are terrified of another independence referendum because they know that they themselves have destroyed the strongest arguments that they deployed in 2014..."

"... and that they know they have no persuasive positive case to make. You don't try to prevent a referendum from ever happening when you are confident of winning it."

But, what about Brexit, they all cry?!?

thenational.scot/politics/19926…

"Some economists have compared current economic conditions to the 1970s, when fuel shortages, rising prices and slower growth contributed to an extended malaise. Johnson has dismissed those concerns."

"I don't think that the problem will present itself in that way," he told BBC Radio.

Famous last words!!

"Neil Shearing, group chief economist at Capital Economics, argues the better comparison is to the period after World War II."

"In that case, huge numbers of workers flooded the jobs market but didn't have the right skills, resulting in labor shortages."

"The price of energy skyrocketed, and supply shortages fueled inflation."

"All of this echoes the situation facing the UK and other advanced economies today — and appears ominous for those who worry we are now facing a return to much higher rates of inflation," said Shearing.

edition.cnn.com/2021/10/05/bus…

And, what of Brexit...?

"If the prime minister is found to have lied to parliament and to the people, what defence is there to the allegation that the Brexit cause – mired in similar controversy over lies and dissembling – was conducted with the same disregard for the truth?"

"We all have a clear memory of the Brexit campaign and what was said. That we were being run by Brussels. That European restrictions were holding back our economy and lowering our living standards."

So, WHO does UK blame now?!?

"Having ousted May, they claimed that a barebones trade deal – without most of the benefits of the customs union and the single market – was “oven ready” and would “get Brexit done”. In a straight contest with the unelectable Jeremy Corbyn, Johnson secured his mandate."

"Except their deal didn’t “get Brexit done”. Within months it had seriously frustrated trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and the government threatened to tear up the very deal it had itself negotiated to safeguard the position of Northern Ireland."

"Lord Frost resigned from the cabinet as Brexit minister last December after less than a year, complaining of the Covid strategy but also bemoaning that, regarding Brexit, the correct agenda was not being pursued."

We all know #LiarJohnson's choice - self, always!

"That is why February 2022 feels so significant. The cry has been growing louder. The rightwing has been circling. Letters have been landing on the chairman of the 1922 committee’s desk. Something must be done."

"Reshuffle the pack, create a new government department and put yet another Brexiter in charge to pluck all those low-hanging plums that proved beyond the reach of predecessors."

It's one thing to "have all the cards" but, NOT when they're all JOKERS!

"So did something happen in February 2022? Maybe it’s just a feeling, a cloud no bigger than a man’s fist, the first breath of wind before the storm when the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph employ two of their most renowned columnists to attack Andrew Adonis and myself, ..."

"...merely for making the point that their hero may have feet of clay and take the Brexit house down with him. Perhaps they have smelled the wind, just as I have."

It's certainly NOT business as usual NOR Climate Change as we understand it!

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

"So the onset of the cost-of-living crisis, which looks likely to last many months and quite possibly years, is a direct challenge to how many of us live."

"Already squeezed by a dozen years of falling or stagnant wages, Britain now faces its worst inflation and fuel prices for decades, rising taxes and interest rates, more expensive loans for students and extra import duties thanks to Brexit."

"To an extent that has yet to be fully appreciated, many people will become significantly poorer: on its own, the recent increase in the household energy price cap of £693, which is expected to be followed by others, represents more than 2% of the average full-time salary."

"And unlike the last time we faced such a significant threat to our standard of living, in the 1970s and early 1980s, most Britons will not be protected from inflation to some extent by the negotiating leverage on pay of strong trade unions."

"Instead, we are about to learn what it’s like to live in an inflationary economy dominated by corporate interests, such as fossil fuel companies, which can profit from the crisis without being required by government to pay windfall taxes that might soften it for customers."

"Some of the consequences of this new economic reality are already with us. Instead of choice, bargains, instant gratification and easy access to European goods – all the modern British shopper’s customary privileges – "

"– we are encountering empty shelves, suddenly marked-up prices and shipping delays."

"The change is all the more difficult to adjust to because it comes after what for many consumers was a golden age."

"Between the mid-1950s and mid-2000s, despite periodic recessions and government cuts, the average disposable income grew consistently faster than inflation, according to the Resolution Foundation."

"Even shrewd business commentators expected this highly convenient arrangement for western consumers to last a long time. In 2006, the veteran retail analyst Richard Hyman told me: “Our forecasts do not anticipate any major increase in retail price inflation ever again.”"

"Instead, the golden age gradually ended. Wages stopped rising in Britain, and then the Conservatives disempowered poorer consumers further through their austerity policies."

"What sort of society might the cost-of-living crisis produce? One where millions don’t eat or heat their homes as often as they should, according to reports published last week by the Food Foundation and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research."

"But probably not for the rich. A week ago, after walking along Oxford Street in London with its abandoned department stores and thinned-out shopping crowds, I went to Harrods in Knightsbridge."

"Its narrow marble corridors were as clogged as ever with expensively groomed customers. As shopping for pleasure becomes less affordable, it may revert to what it was in past centuries: the elite competing for luxuries."

"Under capitalism, for there to be social and political stability, common expectations about living standards need to be satisfied."

"It’s no coincidence that British consumerism’s best years were also years of relative political calm – or that populism began to take off here, in the late 2000s, when the rise in wages started to stall."

"Once people feel life is getting too expensive, they often believe everything is getting worse. If enough people feel like that, governments don’t last long."

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

@threadreaderapp unroll, please