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JoeMiddleton

Listed below are comments made by JoeMiddleton between Wednesday, 19th November 2008 and Monday, 5th October 2009.

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The Goldie conundrum 10:44pm on 05 Oct 2009 Independence is normality and while the Conservatives wave the Union Jack they will remain irrelevant to Scotland. Like the Lib Dems I suspect there are a few within their number who think of theirselves as more Scottish than British, but they don't have the guts to come out and say it! Still it leaves people with a clear choice between Scotland's party and the rest and in that contest there can only be one winner!
Lib Dems pina colada blues 5:26pm on 22 Sep 2009 Good point Brian. Opposing a referendum makes the Liberal Democrats appear entirely undemocratic and why on earth have they became such committed unionists anyway? They were once a party of home rule so why not take it to its logical destination and support normal powers for Scotland? Maybe it's because they are ruled from London. Clegg's comments about savage tax cuts might be popular in England but they will go down like a lead baloon up here!
Turning up the heat 3:23pm on 29 Jun 2009 Scotland is a country as is America as is Canada. Canada and America declared independence from Britain and I imagine most Texans would like us to do the same particulary the ones who wear the kilt and sing Flower of Scotland!

It was a very poor programme. He didn't mention any of the financial benefits Norway gets from their oil fund nor did he mention their seat in the UN, all he said was they aren't in the EU!
Devolution poll 1:25pm on 29 Jun 2009 If there was no difference between what people in Scotland believed on defence and foreign affairs and the UK Government then this would make sense but on Trident there is a huge difference of opinion.

Clearly Britain wants to rattle it's sabres and pretend to be a world power. It also wants to act as a proxy to the USA and get involved in wars like Iraq.

I very much doubt this is the position of the Scottish people.
UKIP 'strong gains' 00:40am on 08 Jun 2009 The UK is already independent so any vote for UKIP is an absurd waste of time! Any vote to leave the EU would happen through Westminster. UKIP are merely Tories under another name.
Well, Charlie Falconer has said it 00:36am on 08 Jun 2009 Brown is deeply unpopular but I think it is because he is a Scot trying desperately to be British that is his major problem. It just sounds a bit lame and pathetic.

In terms of policy he is no worse than Blair (but sadly no better either) he is also possibly less vapid and irritating and might even be more honest (when he's not wittering about imaginary British values) than his predecessor.

The main problem with Labour will remain whoever is their leader, it is quite simply that they have lost their ethos as a political party. They don't represent working class people any more and they don't even pretend to.

Labour sold their soul to the centre right before achieving political office, they have wasted their years in charge and soon they will be replaced by the Conservatives, so what was the point of their years in power? I can't see any apart from delivering devolution 20 years after Scots were swindled out of their vote in favour of it.

Scotland and Wales can hopefully escape soon from the corrupt British state but England has no alternative because Cameron's Tories are just as bad as Labour, if not worse. The other English parties are even worse than them!

England needs to re-examine its political priorities pronto because when people are resorting to voting for xenophobes in UKIP and the BNP there is something far, far wrong. Also I find it incredible that huge amounts of people can vote for UKIP when the UK is already independent, quite pathetic. Even Wales have elected a loon from UKIP, a sad day for them as well.
Relieved and nervous 4:31pm on 06 Jun 2009 There is also the small point that Labour have been humiliated in the council elections with their worst results ever in England which one would imagine might be more important than the rats deserting the sinking ship.

Darling as chancellor, a man who needs professional advice to understand his own complicated legislation in respect of HIS OWN Tax return is by no means a safe pair of hands.

Mandelson has no legitimate mandate sitting in the House of Lords and Brown is a fool if he is relying on his advice.

The writong is on the wall and nothing will save Labour now, but quite frankly who cares when they have wasted their years in power? No PR no meaningful House of Lords reforms, no real change in the constitution it's like the Tories have never been aware. Brown and Blair should be ashamed because their party is a neutured shell and it's all their own fault.
Favouring reform 9:09pm on 27 May 2009 Like a modern Wolfie 'Citizen' Smith David Cameron thinks all he needs to do is raise his fist and shout 'Power to the People!' and we will all believe he wants to reform the UK parliament.

Just how thick does he think we are?!

I'm sorry, but the Conservatives have been on the wrong side of any political reform for their entire history as a political party. The clue is in the name!

Labour and Conservatives have nothing to choose between them. Both have MP's who have been guilty of fiddling their expenses and both share the same right wing agenda. Both support the pointless Trident II and both believe that being the puppet of America makes Britain great.

In my opinion four basic points are required to begin genuine reform of Westminster:

1) Embracing genuine electoral reform. The first past the post system inevitably leads to untouchable, unreachable, unpopular Government.

2) Abolish or elect the House of Lords

3) force MP's to drop all outside interests as soon as they enter parliament

4) Remove the oath that stops honest republicans from entering the British parliament.

We in Scotland can do better and we would do with independence.

If we can't reform Westminster we can easily enough remove it's influence altogether.
Pick and mix not on the Bill 3:17pm on 05 Dec 2008 "Privately, the SNP would rather like it if LIT were thwarted"

That's your opinion but the fact is LIT would be a lot fairer than the current council tax and the SNP remain entirely committed to introducing it.

If they U-turn on this then you can claim (as you are) that the party is dishonest, but before then you have no cause to doubt them.
Darling v Mathewson and Burt 10:16am on 19 Nov 2008 The bank recapitalisation package will be paid for by taxes from throughout the UK and should not be restricted to London based or orientated companies. If there is any chance to keep HBOS as an independent bank then the Government should be supporting it, instead they are desperate to push through a bad deal for shareholders as they think it will weaken the case for Scottish independence if Scotland has no national bank.

At the same time thousands of jobs are at risk in Edinburgh. Alistair Darling's desperation to push through this deal - which will have the effect of killing the banking sector in Scotland is the ultimate proof that the British union does not benefit our country.

If he succeeds Labour will be dead in the water for a generation. The Tories paid the price for thumbing their nose at Scotland's interests and for Scottish MP's to try and undermine our most important bank beggars belief.

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