Its Scotlands Oil?
In the Early 70s when Scotland was starting its downward spiral of mass employment becoming mass lay offs and closures , just like that In the North of England , oil was discovered off the east Coast of Scotland.
Norway around the same time also found oil , and industrialized the extraction in the same manner as Scotland did , but created something called a "sovereign wealth fund" to bank , and invest , the income from NSO for their nation's future , at the end of 2016 there was nearly 900 billion dollars in it. In the UK different outcome.
The Uk was a basket case at the time , and Thatcher was just around the corner.For once the Iron Lady cannot take the blame.
This in the mid 70s is when the real rise of the modern SNP was beginning , of independence with a small i. The origin of this post's header was their mantra , "ITS SCOTLANDS OIL".
Yes the Scottish independence movement existed in another form or two before then , some may argue its political birth was right back to the 2nd decade of the last century , of Hardie and the Home rule mandate of the early Labour party (now rewritten as meaning ONLY for INDIA by the party itself to redact history ), or of the Scottish Fenian movement , separate yet following the Irish one during the reign of Victoria also being the catalyst.
Regardless of edited and redacted history , the drive for independence started long before 2014.... Which was not the first time Scotland was asked to decide democratically on its future , but in 78 that was for devolution , something that would eventually catch the next bus 21 years later.
Almost since the very act of union itself , where the crofter , working peasants , and landed Catholics had not vote , yet their maisters , the lords and the Church of Scotland alike did , whom then sold Scotland like slaves for 310 years (to pay off their greedy debts from their failed Darian Scheme) , or in the Case of the COS simply to prevent a Catholic Monarchy ever again in Scotland ... there has been a need for something better , and more than merely changing oor maisters for another.
Those failed investors became a minority in Westminster representing themselves , the price of selling a nation - is hain thur ain maisters , the cost of the wealthy's debt to the banks now being subsidized by those poorer than them.... oh how times have changed in 300 years.
As the people of Scotland began to see something other than accepted servitude to Westminster , of governments it rarely elected , and where those it did elect in the form of the UK Labour party , them then forgetting the UK is also north of Watford , the dissent grew - even from those that Blindly and Generationally voted for the Workers party in Scotland. This led to where the Labour Party had to accept offering devolution to Scotland - in order to form a govt at Westminster.
In 1979 this devolution referendum was enacted , with what is now known as the double lock (there is talk of the triple one in Indy II), in other words democracy yet not democracy , by the Labour Government fulfilling their promise - or did they?
That race was rigged to a 40 percent minimum in order for the result to be accepted , worth noting here that if it was applied to any elections then barely any govts would have been formed at all in Westminster. (WIKI)"The result was that 51.6% supported the proposal, (devolution) but with a turnout of 64% (overall), this represented only 32.9% of the registered electorate". Beware those that offer gifts indeed.
As this was happening - there was a file buried from 1974 that would have changed Scotland's destiny , as well as its wealth forever , kept TOP Secret from its people , while you can expect such things of a TORY govt of 1974 , you would not have expected the same from Labour ..... but they buried it none the less , and then some. That file was the McCrone Report.
In 1999 Scotland got the result of 1978 , but a knobbled devolved parliament , without true power , where any and all fiscal power remained reserved at Westminster. Where instead of first past the post democracy in Westminster it created if not adopted the opposite - proportional representation , yet never did the same during its term in Government for Westminster for all of the UK.
Hoylrood of then , even today , simply offered more colonial governors , but those of its ain when opposition as political sandbags , as well as more noses in the trough. Its simply to be the blamehound for Westminster policies , thus playing the long game..as is seen by what is left of Scottish Labour joining forces with its auld enemy the Tories in Holyrood daily , for failures resulting from tied hands due to both of them - today and in the creation of Holyrood itself.
Blair and Broons NuLabour created this Chocolate Fireguard of Scottish pseudo democracy called Holyrood and its limited powers , enabled by the same Labour party that prevented it first time around with the double lock majority (Callaghan), then prevented the McCrone Report from being public domain. The very day Scottish Labour championed opening the Scottish Parliament , it reclassified the Scottish maritime border - once again stealing Scotlands oil via Gordon Brown , and as we know from 2014 this was not his only betrayal of Scotland.
So every time you hear a Scottish Labour politician blaming Holyrood , or the SNP , in how its governing Scotland , then remind them .... its them that created the shackles and stole its oil the second time.
This in not to say that we shouldn't criticise the SNP , far from it , without it then it ends up where Scottish Labour are today.
If independence is our journey , then its not delivered on a train line , where both the driver and passengers have no choices other than the stations given , its by taxi , or of our own momentum , and up to your own front door....even if that door is knobbled in the mean time.
Today we are still kept as cosigners of oor maister debts , enabling the wealthy to be subsidised , offered as democracy in action.Done so by bribery for those that take the English Gold just like those old lords , and for the rest of the voters unable to take the coin of the realm then its hidden warfare through bullshit , diversion and division in order to maintain it - via the propaganda machine of the state , or by wealthy billionaires promising to drain the swamp.
Sources -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_devolution_referendum,_1979
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCrone_report
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2017/01/scotlands-stolen-seas-technical-explanation/