DEVOLVING POWER..

The BBC has been a loud voice in hailing the imagined “triumph” of Labour’s wretched devolution plans which have resulted in a much weakened UK. This morning, on Today, during an item on the Calman Commission’s report which suggests that Scotland should now be provided with tax raising powers. former communist and now Labour Minister Jim Murphy got to claim that “everyone” agreed that devolution was a success. No. That is his opinion, fair enough, but there are plenty of people who view the manner and model of devolution espoused by Labour to be a miserable failure. Why does the BBC not provide a platform for those seeking to argue that point of view? I suppose anyone who seeks to promote the intrinsic stability of the United Kingdom is always going to be Persona non Grata with the BBC – our State broadcaster.

SHILLING FOR DEVOLUTION

It strikes me that the BBC has been a powerful advocate for devolution. I have come across this phenomena personally here in Northern Ireland – getting perplexed looks from BBC interviewers when I insist on the importance of shrinking all forms of big government and retaining full sovereignty at Westminster. But have you read this BBC report in which David Cameron is presented offering a mea culpa for the Conservatives daring to oppose Scottish devolution?

I think the BBC is being disingenuous with what Cameron actually said – he merely points out that Conservative opposition to the principle of devolving power was “wrong.” The broader issue is how such devolution works in practise and, of course, who pays for Salmond and his pals playing at being a government? There are other issues left untouched such as why Scottish politicians get to vote on issues affecting England whilst the converse does not hold? Devolution as it is currently constituted has de-stabilised the essential integrity of the Union yet the BBC presents it as if it were the most wonderful thing imaginable. How about the BBC running an item on the costs to the English taxpayer of the celtic finge having their devolution experiment or is it the case that he who pays the Piper must not call the tune? Just wondering….