tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post7207858883148918863..comments2024-03-28T07:16:39.621+00:00Comments on Lallands Peat Worrier: BBC Question Time & Britain unquiet graveLallands Peat Worrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18276270498204697708noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-24692691775434797052010-11-04T13:33:33.377+00:002010-11-04T13:33:33.377+00:00CC,
Alas, I'm obviously feart to leave my des...CC,<br /><br />Alas, I'm obviously feart to leave my deskside, lest I miss the Scottish Government's call asking me if I'd be willing to take up Angiolini's mantle after May...Lallands Peat Worrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238432265194046726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-16288796934769623422010-10-30T19:46:44.013+01:002010-10-30T19:46:44.013+01:00Lallands
Yes, one difficulty is the role of the L...Lallands<br /><br />Yes, one difficulty is the role of the Lord Advocate, as I hinted at in my point 2 above. Of course, the post is about to be vacant as as we all know the appointment of Lord Advocate is a political one....put it this way, if I was Lord Advocate Kenny M would find me quite prepared to play ball! <br /><br />Ultimately, I'd recommend that this theoretical power is used a bargaining chip to secure neutrality, rather than actually used as matter of fact.<br /><br />Anyway, nice work on the blog.<br /><br />CCCassiusClaymorenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-2390380747734933642010-10-30T18:25:03.101+01:002010-10-30T18:25:03.101+01:00CassiusClaymore,
All lurkers are welcome and thos...CassiusClaymore,<br /><br />All lurkers are welcome and those who occasionally step out into the light particularly so! I don't think it likely that anyone in the Scottish Government act on your suggestion - but I've long mused about how the Scottish Parliament might be able to throw legislative spanners in particular works of United Kingdom authorities. The thought came to mind in particular when I thought about dawn raids in asylum cases, executed with unjustifiable brutality - and how Holyrood might try, by a cunning mechanisms, to prevent the practice. Ultimately it knocked about inside my skull to little effect.<br /><br />I'd need to look into the detail, but the fundamental difficulty which immediately occurs to me is the Lord Advocate's independence. While prosecution practice is highly discretionary - a blanket rule on non-prosecution certainly isn't. Secondly, it would be highly improper for MacAskill to try to direct the Lord Advocate to impose such a policy. <i>Awa' an' bile yer heid,</i> she might well say, with good justification. She'd find vocal supporters. As a result, the only obvious mechanism for effecting such a change would be legislative - and that would be inhibited by the Scotland Act 1998. Finally, I'm not sure how prosecutions for non-payment are brought and the involvement of procurators fiscal in that process. <br /><br />You raise an important point, however. How to respond to the BBC's partialities and distortions? Tactically speaking, no easy one to answer.Lallands Peat Worrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238432265194046726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-71372954273226559662010-10-30T18:08:40.410+01:002010-10-30T18:08:40.410+01:00Cornubian,
Understandable, given our particular a...Cornubian,<br /><br />Understandable, given our particular attitude to the constitution, that Scottish nationalists are often disposed to see things in a rather binary fashion. But as you say - and as I understand his comments, Alex Massie was emphasising - this metropolitan imperiousness and sectional sense of entitlement to speak for the whole can be reframed in a number of ways.<br /><br />We should underestimate the ways in which a Scots Othering at least affords us some liberties as the Other and resources to prompt deference to some sense of separateness. By contrast, parts of "England" are sunk into the category of the Self and utterly silenced, or find themselves spoken for by an unrecognisable set of characters. <br /><br />The issue raises perhaps the most interesting challenge for thoughtful Scottish nationalists which is best framed as a question. If your nationalism is rooted in a particular politics, why not seek to foster that politics for as many people as possible, rather than simply a smaller group? Some nationalists are socialists. Why not try to bring about socialism on a British scale? Why the category difference?<br /><br />I've recently met a number of folk in the Labour Party down in England who've suggested, basically, that Scottish nationalism's most unerring consequence will be to "abandon" the English working classes to their fate of permanent and perpetual right wing government. <br /><br />I believe there are cogent answers to these challenges - but they are worth thinking through, I think, rather than impatiently batting aside.Lallands Peat Worrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238432265194046726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-50586305870940168682010-10-30T12:03:10.082+01:002010-10-30T12:03:10.082+01:00Lallands
I'm a longtime lurker. Here is a pos...Lallands<br /><br />I'm a longtime lurker. Here is a post I submitted to Go Lassie Go. As a mere corporate lawyer who can't be arsed actually researching the point at hand, I thought I'd submit this for your critique...the point at hand being my theory that Kenny Macaskill has the power to effectively decriminalise non-payment of the TV licence fee.<br /><br />"First, non-payment of the TV Licence is a criminal offence, much like non-payment of any other tax. <br /><br />Second, enforcement of the criminal law in Scotland is devolved and so on paper it would be within the power of the Crown Office to simply not prosecute offenders. This would not be unprecedented - they have discretion. As an example, Wendy Alexander committed a criminal offence when she accepted a donation from overseas, yet she was not prosecuted.<br /><br />So, on paper, KM could effectively decriminalise non-payment of the TV Licence.<br /><br />Of course, there are complications and issues of principle to consider:-<br /><br />1. The BBC might retaliate by becoming even more partial or closing down aspects of their Scottish operation. Of course, that would be contrary to their charter obligations.<br /><br />2. KM might have difficulty persuading the Lord Advocate to sanction this sort of highly political prosecution policy. Of course, he could dress it up as a cost-saving measure - we must spend a fair amount of cash prosecuting non-payers, which could be more usefully spent prosecuting actual criminals.<br /><br />3. Westminster remains sovereign, so they could re-reserve criminal justice. Which is probably politically impossible.<br /><br />4. TV Licensing/the BBC could try to run an argument that, since payments are received in England, the crime of non-payment is committed in England. The English CPS could then initiate prosecutions of Scots miscreants. Again, politically difficult and depends on the Scottish police to make arrests, which is controllable by KM.<br /><br />Of course, this sort of thing is political dynamite and you could imagine the chorus of indignation from the Unionist media. However, the BBC has a long record of anti-Scottish bias which reached its nadir over the election debates. Surely as some point the SNP should be standing up and saying to the BBC "Enough is enough. If you don't treat us fairly, say goodbye to your Scottish revenues". Lots of non-SNP voters feel the same way, of course, so this would be politically popular.<br /><br />That would get their attention and, with a Scottish election coming up, this would be a good time for Salmond to pick the phone up to Mark Thompson and issue that ultimatum."<br /><br />CCCassiusClaymorenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-64089350715209985982010-10-30T10:16:25.637+01:002010-10-30T10:16:25.637+01:00Great post! The same attitude can be seen coming f...Great post! The same attitude can be seen coming from the English BBC in regards of Cornwall. Over the past few decades there has been a strong resurgence in Cornish identity and sense of particularism. In the 70,s the Royal Kilbrandon report even suggested that Cornwall be referred to as a Duchy in light of its constitutional position. <br /><br />Of course the first to ignore this advice and try to down play the Cornish renaissance have been the BBC. They take every opportunity to describe Cornwall as an English county and often provide support for the creation of, variously, Devonwall, West Country or a South West region(ring any bells? North Britain).<br /><br />This aggressive English nationalism at the expense of the Cornish national minority must stop.cornubianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13985409305363332274noreply@blogger.com