Labour Scots.


In 1979, James Callaghan’s Labour government held a Scotish referendum to see if we wanted devolution, in the form of a Scotish Assembly. His government was in favour of it. But a revolt led by Scotish Labour backbenchers forced through an amendment on the iniquitous 40 per cent rule, which massively stacked the deck in favour of a No vote.


The threshold requirement meant that a straight majority wasn’t good enough – 40 per cent of the total electorate had to vote Yes.


This meant that dead people on the electoral roll and those who didn’t bother to vote were counted as Nos. Even that rather splendid old buffer, the patrician Sir Alex Douglas-Home, the former Tory stopgap Prime Minister, stomped around the country, geting up on No platforms with his Labour political chums (yes, it happened then, too), and proclaimed: “A non- vote is a No vote.”


Behind that chicanery and foully unjust political sleight of hand was one, George Cunningham, an ex-Dundonian “blow in” who


6 July 2015


ABOVE:


Donald Dewar, Holyrood’s inaugural First Minister until his


death in 2000. RIGHT:


Ex Defence Minister


Robin Cook .


Mr Cook was too cowardly, himself (or perhaps too politically astute because he knew it would not play well in Scotland), to murder the referendum. But he was “art and part” of the killing; he recruited our George to do the foul deed; he helped fashion the bullets and he nudged the sniper’s rifle in the right direction. Oh, yes he did, M’lud.


represented a London seat as a Labour MP before later becoming an Independent MP and even later a convert to the SDP. The word carpetbagger springs to mind. He it was who put forward the 40 per cent amendment.


But its real architect was the late Robin Cook, MP for Livingston. He was, in years to come, the “ethical” Foreign Secretary who, at Heathrow Airport, was


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100