Oakvillian

But why does Scotland need an extra one? What does it do that the existing UK EHRC does not already do? Apart, of course, from spend Scottish taxpayers' money. Sweden's agencies are set up the way the UK ones were before they merged (separate Commissions for equality issues concerning race, gender, disability). The Scottish one exactly duplicates a remit that already existed prior to its establishment. It is a waste of resources that could be better spent on promoting Scotland's place within the UK, rather than the rather Kevin-the-Teenager bleating about how unfair everything is.

But no, the defeated separatists want their dead horse to flog...

Shard

Scotland has different legal system to England, so it makes sense that they would have their own human rights agency. There was a marked difference of opinion on the Lockerbie bombers, for instance. There are arguments to be made for Scotland to remain in the UK, but it is not on par with a English county or region. It is and always has been a separate nation.

Oakvillian

But they didn't think to set one up until 2008. The legal system was perfectly able to express its opinions on Lockerbie and other issues without a separate human rights commission. The EHRC and its predecessor organizations have always represented the human rights interests of Scottish people, having had an office in Glasgow for years. The SHRC really does seem to be a quango for the sake of it.

Not that I have a particular gripe with it, but Neilcumming brought it up explicitly as an example of what the Scot Nats can "protect from the Tories." I maintain that this is complete nonsense, that as an arms-length agency the EHRC has exactly the same relationship with Government and Parliament that he's puffing for the SHRC, and that calling this out as an example of what is good about the SNP is misguided at best, and deliberate obfuscation at worst.

neilcumming

The point Im trying to make is not about the SNP or the SHRC but about the tories scapping the Human Rights laws and controlling it themselves .If the state or parliament makes the rules and you as a citizen gets screwed over where is your recourse.At least with the EHRC you had that but they want to take that away from UK citizens most probably to appease people intending to vote for UKIP,which is ludicrous.

Oakvillian

Who, please, is suggesting that the Equality and Human Rights Commission is to be scrapped? Sure, it is having its budget cut. But since there were some serious breaches of financial accountability under the previous adminstration, and the organization had three successive sets of accounts rejected by the national audit office, that can hardly have been a surprise to anyone. It will still have a budget of 26 million, will still have a sizeable staff, and will still have a remit to hold the government and other institutions to account over equality issues. If I still lived in the UK, I wouldn't support the proposed cuts, but it was clear a serious reform of the EHRC management was needed. The frontline staff and branch offices seem to do a pretty good job, though, despite the dysfunction of HQ.

Perhaps, just perhaps, if Scotland looked to supporting existing UK institutions rather than setting up rivals, the axe wouldn't need to fall so deep or so hard?

neilcumming

I should have said scapping the Human Rights Act which will mean leaving the European Court of Human Rights.
BBC News - European human rights rulings 'to be curbed' by Tories

Shard

Well the ECHR got this one right.

Naked Rambler loses at European court over right to public nudity | Law | The Guardian

Perhaps this silly man will give it a rest now.

neilcumming

This guy has a serious problem,cant believe how much time he has done .I thought there were nudist or nature camps for this ´´pass time´´.Nobody wants to see his goolies especially children.Well done the court.

Oakvillian

Agreed. Full marks for perseverance, though - I like the part (fnarr, fnarr) where he does extra time for contempt because he turned up to his court hearing naked, and refused to put clothes on in court.

Paul_Shepherd

I find it quite contradictory and hypocrytical that certain Scots who wanted out of the United Kingdom....want to be part of Europe??!! How does that one work?

At least with the United Kingdom we were all British with bascially the same culture, language and laws to a point, what has the average Brit got in common with most European countries? Different culture, different language and different laws for a start.

If the pro independence Scots are complaining about not enough representation from Westminster, theyre sure as hell not going to get any from Brussels!

I must be missing something, I really dont understand the logic there......wanting to leave one union where they hold a lot of common values, but feel not enough represnation, to join another where they will have nothing in common and zero represenation!! Thankfully this is not a view held by the majority of Scots.

jimf

Nicola Sturgeon in call over EU referendum - The Scotsman

Someone in the comments section had already written what I was intending to..........

"She told the Good Morning Scotland programme: "What I'm putting forward today is a proposal that would ensure that the voices of all regions of Scotland are not drowned out in any future independence referendum, that Orkney, Shetland and Dumfries and Galloway's voices weren't drowned out in that referendum."

Ms Sturgeon said: "Scotland is not just a country, it's made up of 38 local authority areas. I propose that during any future independence referendum that each of local authority areas has equal status, that their voices matter.

"I think it is right that something that would have such significant consequences for jobs, for the economy, for our standing in the world, should require the consent not just of Scotland as a whole but for each of the 38 local authority areas in Scotland."

She said this would mean that voices in Orkney, Shetland and Dumfries and Galloway are not "drowned out" by anti-UK sentiments in Glasgow and Dundee."

neilcumming

Paul it seems as though the UK is moving towards leaving the EU and for many scots independence was a way of staying in the EU.
Nicola Sturgeon in call over EU referendum - The Scotsman
The NO voters were conned into thinking that staying with the UK meant there was no uncertainty about rejoining the EU as we were already paid up members.Now it looks like its going to backfire on them .

Pulaski

I can't make my mind up if you're a troll, an imbecile, or a resident of cloud cuckoo land. (Those choices are not mutually exclusive. )

The whole thrust of the Scottish independence lobby was overtly about a lack of self governance in Scotland, so to now try to argue that people were voting for independence so they could stay in the EU makes little sense (though admittedly neither did much else said by the pro independence lobby), especially, as has been well discussed previously, leaving the UK would have put Scotland outside the EU with very little chance of being readmitted.

Shard

Scotland has had an affinity with France for centuries and is generally pro-EU. In the referendum the uncertainty over continuing EU membership (were Scotland to gain independence) was seen as a risk by some of fence sitters. Scotland shares some of the social ideals of Europe and would one of the club of smaller countries within the EU, rather than an overshadowed nation with the UK. There is some rationale to Scotland preferring EU over UK (i.e. it is not "cloud cuckoo land") but it is also a subject which needs much more debate. I don't think Neil is a troll or otherwise. It's pig-headed attitudes like that which make many Scots want to be shot of the English.

jimf

In the previous referendum to stay in the EC the yes vote in Scotland was significantly lower than in England. The SNP campaigned to leave the EC at that time, together with the Ulster Unionists and National Front. Labour sat on the fence. Moderate conservatives supported staying in the EC just as they support staying in the EU now.