Rule Out a 2nd IndyRef
For our part, we should not talk as if a second referendum is inevitable.
We should plan for one – and A Force For Good is dedicated to doing just that – but our best hope lies in the British Government and Parliament holding strong to its Mandate to speak for all the people of Britain; to keep the United Kingdom together; and to not allow anything which could destroy the United Kingdom.
The Prime Minister only has to say, "No referendum while I am Prime Minister", to settle the matter for the lifetime of this British Parliament, to 2022.
She need only say, "Not on my Watch".
(Since no Parliament can bind its successor, then "for the lifetime of this Parliament" is really as long as it can reasonably state such a thing.)
That will introduce stability into the Scottish economy, reassert the proper British Constitutional relationship among its parts – where such massive constitutional matters should remain the remit of the British Parliament alone – and allow us all to get on with our lives.
At the 2022 General Election, the political parties can then seek a Mandate to keep the UK together and to forbid another separation referendum. They would do this by writing that commitment into their Manifestos.
We advised them to do this prior to the 2017 General Election, and all 3 main parties did so!
Furthermore, the Prime Minister, the Government, and the British Parliament can be assured that they have
1. a clear Mandate to forbid a second separation referendum, and;
2. a clear political and moral right and duty to do so!
WESTMINSTER has a CLEAR MANDATE to FORBID a 2nd INDYREF
While Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP believe they have some kind of "democratic Mandate" to "call for" a second separation referendum, this ignores the fact that she does not have any legal right to hold one in the first place, and it ignores the fact that Westminster has a 3-Fold Mandate to forbid her.
Westminster's Mandate stems from:
1. The democratic Mandate of the 2014 referendum where a majority of Scottish voters demonstrated that we are happy to stay part of the UK; and that we acknowledge Westminster as the supreme Parliament, with the right to make the ultimate decisions.
2. Almost 600 MPs (out of 650) at Westminster stood on Manifestos specifically opposing a second Scottish referendum, meaning that a huge majority of Westminster MPs have a direct Mandate to oppose one! (And it's more than 600 if you include the DUP MPs who didn't stand on such a manifesto commitment but who would be expected to support it anyway.)
3. The presence of SNP MPs in Westminster is, itself, a democratic acknowledgement that the UK Parliament is supreme and allowed to make such decisions. If they don't like that fact then why are they there?
We elaborated upon these points in our article "Westminster's 3-Fold Mandate to Forbid a Second IndyRef".
WESTMINSTER has a CLEAR POLITICAL and MORAL RIGHT and DUTY to FORBID a 2nd INDYREF
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, her Government, and the British Parliament, has an absolute democratic and moral responsibility and duty to stand for the integrity, stability and security of the UK.
Parliament has an absolute democratic and moral right to say No to a second referendum, and Yes to keeping Britain united.
It is politically and morally wrong for them to constantly put the integrity, stability and security of the UK "up for debate".
We've written about the underlying political and moral philosophy to that point in our article
Suffice to say, if we conceive of the United Kingdom as one Unitary Nation-State then it must be protected as such by those at Westminster who are tasked to do so!
We say, Britain is One Nation Indivisible and its future should not be up for a debate every few years!
Let's be Clear! No Second Referendum!
And if, for strategic reasons, the Prime Minister does not want to say it in such clear terms, then at least she – or whoever may be in charge – must not give the impression that it is a possibility in the future, not even a faint one; because such words will be twisted into a 'promise' which will trap her!
The Scottish Nationalist media will deliberately misinterpret such words in order to shift events and expectations to the point where it can effectively force a second referendum upon us.
We've written about the way the Scottish Nationalist media will try to trap Westminster politicians into appearing to "make promises" which they never intended, in our article
And speaking about referendums and the SNP, here are a couple of extra points worth mentioning:
WE MUST CHALLENGE the LEGITIMACY of the REFERENDUM MECHANISM as a GOVERNING METHOD
We should not accept the premise that referendums are a suitable way to govern – and potentially destroy – the United Kingdom in the first place.
To accept this is essentially to accept that the SNP has a right to hold a referendum every 5 years – every time it wins, or forms a coalition at a Holyrood election.
That is no way to govern Scotland and Britain! That is a recipe for constant instability!
We must question the damaging, socially destabilising concept of "government by referendum".
We should not put our faith in "winning" endless, damaging, dangerous referendums.
We have to start pointing out that a referendum is not an appropriate mechanism to break up Britain, and we don't have to accept that it is!
Referendums are merely large Opinion Polls and it is not necessary for them to be followed by the Government of the day. We have written about that little mentioned fact of the British Constitution in our article "The Nature of Political Authority in the United Kingdom".
THE SNP has SET A PRECEDENT of IGNORING the RESULTS of REFERENDUMS
The SNP has demonstrated that it expects to ignore the result of a referendum if they don't like it; until such point as they win, and then we all have to accept it...apparently.
So we have to consider the extent to which the SNP's clear lack of respect and acceptance of the 2014 referendum result (and indeed the 2016 result also) sets a clear precedent for unionists to refuse to accept the result of any Referendum which went against us!
They've set a very strong precedent that referendum results can be ignored.
Therefore, why should they now imagine that other people must accept the result of anything if they win?
By their behaviour they have undermined the very case for a referendum in the first place.
They think they "only need to win once" but us unionists have to keep winning every time? That's not very democratic, is it?
Well, that can't go on!
They have set the precedent; a referendum settles nothing! And we're not going to let them forget that.
THE SNP has SHOWN IT DOESN'T CARE about FELLOW SCOTS who DISAGREE
Post-2014, the SNP has done nothing to try to bring Scotland together. Instead, every day, they obsess about "a second referendum" and "independence". Switch on the TV or radio or open a newspaper! Every day, we see or hear or read some SNP or ScotNat person yapping on about independence/2nd IndyRef.
Every. Single. Day.
Their separatist obsession enjoys Full Spectrum Dominance in the Scottish media.
We, the 55% are just talked-over en masse.
It's like we don't exist.
If they see us at all...it is as despicable traitors, and at best, misguided fools.
It's like we are not actually fellow Scots with a concern for the nation; just a pool of guinea-pigs for their experimentation among whom a mere 5% need to be found who will totter over the bridge to their side.
And then when they've got that 5% extra they can just tell the rest of us to go stuff ourselves, and we'll be expected just to traipse along after them.
No thought or care is given to the instability and division which their selfish and obsessive political attitudes are creating in Scotland.
No thought or care is given to the idea that if they ever got their way, an "independent" country voted for by 50% plus 1 of the people who bothered to vote on the day is starting off severely compromised, bitterly divided, very angry, and highly unstable.
FURTHER READING on REFERENDUMS by AFFG
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