Wendy Alexander's interesting proposal
If we read the Telegraph correctly, the majority of Scots do not want to leave the United Kingdom, but many of them wish to 'stand tall' and vote on the constitutional question of their independence. Consequently, "Wendy Alexander, the Scottish Labour leader, announced her backing for a 'Yes or No' vote on independence."
She did so without consulting PM Brown. As she is aware, he is not a supporter of referendums.
Not surprisingly her action "horrified" Westminster Labour, and was called a freelance operation.
The move put First Minister Salmond on his back foot in Scotland. He has been calling for a referendum for years, but he is afraid he will lose it if the vote is called immediately.
Ms Alexander, who does not want the referendum to succeed, does not want to see it dragged to victory in 2010 by the PM's lack of popularity.
We like freelance operations, but we wonder about the unintended consequences of this one.
And we wonder where the British Constitution may be found in all this. Major Constitutional changes are proposed - in the case of the Lisbon Treaty so major that the British Constitution appears unlikely to survive - and no one in the House of Commons or the House of Lords says a word. Am I missing something? Is the conversation occurring in voices so hushed I can't hear them? Can the men and women of Westminster and the Scottish Government be so clueless they don't know that Britain has a Constitution? That it is the foundation of their liberty, but only so long as they defend it?
I am aware of the Scottish people's passionate feelings about Scotland, but the very same people who want an independent Scotland seem to have no problem being part of a European suprastate that will, sooner or later, squelch Scotland and every other nation foolish enough to join. Go figure.
