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SPEECH BY STEWART CONNELL

"THE UNION AND THE REFERENDUM"

PUBLIC MEETING INVERCLYDE AUTUMN 2014 (CANCELLED)

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The first purpose of election is to determine where power lies.

For many years, in most of the constituencies across the

United Kingdom electors have not had to dwell upon the

the unity and integrity of the Nation or their place in it.

The matter of authorising our MP's to go and sit in the House

of Commons or authorising them to abstain and go and sit

somewhere else has not been at the forefront of electors

thoughts as they cast their votes, although in the Province of

Northern Ireland our fellow countrymen have had to have that

matter at the forefront of their consideration when they cast

their vote.

On the mainland electors have been able to, generally

speaking, focus on the other matter's of our national life:

Economy, Education and Health among the rest.

In other times this is not a bad thing. It has been a mark of the

breadth and depth of our historical national cohesion, integrity

and security - our identity - that the matter of our national

unity has not been at the forefront of our politics.

However for too long it has been taken for granted that our

unity is secure and that power lies in safely and securely in our

British Constitution, it lies in our Parliament, and it lies in our

representative traditions and institutions therefore the

integrity of our British Nation need not bother

us too much especially in the privacy of the ballot booth

Since the introduction of legislative devolution, the unity of the

Nation has been in great danger.

This day has been coming since the 1st of May 1997.

British General Election's decide the Union as they have done

for centuries.

In the British General Election of 6th of May 2010 the

electorate's in 59 out of 59 constituencies in Scotland instructed

their MP to go and sit in the British House of Commons to be

part of the whole.

To be part of the British Nation. No abstentionist candidates

where elected.

In the 2010 General Election none of the Conservative and

Labour or Liberal manifesto's contained any commitment

to a separation referendum.

The Union itself was not a principle matter in the 2010 General

election campaign. Even though the continuing slow motion

car crash of legislative devolution - which has created a four

tier electorate across the United Kingdom and in the House of

Commons, continues to disintegrate the Nation and demands

equitable resolution. On this point I would simply say that a

common Parliament demands common representation.

The anti-devolutionists of the 1970s and 1980's have been

proved right. William Ross, the former Labour

Scottish Secretary and Enoch Powell among others

warned us. Many, too many did not listen or did want to listen

to the dangers that would come with legislative devolution

rather than administrative devolution which poses no threat to

the Union.

Now, in only 15 years after it's introduction, legislative

devolution has brought us to the edge of complete National

dis-integration.

It is the Conservative and Labour parties that have brought us

here.

It is the Conservative and Labour parties that through the

Better Together trojan horse continue to do damage to the

Union and have entered a bidding war in promising to do yet

even more damage to the Union should there be a No result in

the referendum.

In May 2011 the SNP won a majority of seats in the

devolved Scottish Parliament election.

On that day like all other days since it's entry into law

the Scotland Act 1998 was still in force and it's Schedule 5

continued to declare to allcomers that the Union and United

Kingdom Parliament were reserved matters and that they were

only mandateable by a British electorate at a general election

or a by-election. They are not devolved to a devolved

electorate.

The SNP won a devolved mandate on devolved matters such as

Education, Police and Fire Brigade but no mandate was

possible

on any of the Reserved matters including the Union, the UK

Parliament, Defence and Social Security among them

regardless of wether they were printed in the SNP manifesto or

not.

The Union was simply not at issue in the Scottish Election. It

could not be. The rule of law prevented it.

If the devolved Scottish election result as the Conservative and

Labour parties claim crossed a

rubicon and provided a mandate for quote the "Greatest

decision in over 300 years" then surely that rubicon would

have been declared at the highest level in government and with

the loudest volume and clarity with immediate effect?

On the 6th May 2011 the day after the Scottish election did Mr

Cameron recall Parliament or make a National Emergency

broadcast? No.

Did Mr Cameron perhaps make an historical declaration the

next day on May 7th 2011? No.

Perhaps he was busy that week, maybe the next week ? No

nothing the referendum did not exist.

Maybe June before the Summer Recess ? No nothing.

Perhaps August before the start of the new political year ? No.

In October then with an ideal forum to speak? Mr Cameron

would surely bring the matter to the attention of the Nation at

Conservative Conference. No Nothing.

Only after seven months after this alleged historical rubicon

had been crossed was the referendum finally initiated.

On 8th January 2012 Mr Cameron launched the referendum -

the quote "greatest decision in 300 years" on a Sunday

morning TV show .

It is clear that from May 2011 through the Autumn and

Winter 2011 an assessment and a decision was made by the

Conservative Party that a referendum in Scotland (a Breaking

Up Britain referendum) would assist the Conservative Party in

securing a softer landing on the other side of the next general

election - regardless of it's impact on the unity or

Parliamentary constitution of our country.

The ejection of Scotland would remove at a stroke 59 seats that

the Conservative Party has no interest in or even less chance of

winning.

If the result is a no vote, Cameron will claim he defended the

Union. Such a claim would be false.

Since the 8th of January 2012 the Union has been divided,

weakened and distracted by the fact of the existence of the

referendum.

The purpose of the referendum - an "alien device" to use the

words of Clement Attlee is to provide an artificial authority to

the 59 MP's from constituencies in Scotland to withdraw from

the House of Commons while still being mandated by their

constituency electorate to be in the House of Commons.

A No result and the continuation of legislative devolution will

ensure that the second referendum is not too far

away.

On the 15th of January 2013 the Scotland Act 1998

(Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2013 entered the House of

Commons.

This is the legislation that legally set up the referendum and

it's logistics.

For the quote "greatest decision in 300 years" - there has

been:

No Green Paper,

No White Paper,

No Constitutional Bill,

No constitutional debate on the Floor of the House of

Commons - the usual method for legislation of the highest

constitutional importance,

There is no Act of Parliament

but still the referendum Order was passed and passed

unanimously in a few hours. No vote took place.

Previous legislation of the highest constitutional importance

has taken months, years sometimes even decades of debate and

votes in Parliament this Order was done in less than a day.

The next day the House of Lords did exactly the same thing.

Our British Parliamentary constitutional authority is

being challenged.

There can only be one authority in the Nation at one time.

The referendum cannot contain authority (secondary or

alternative or superior to constituency electoral authority)

Authority can only be in one place at one time it cannot be in

the referendum and in the 59 MP's from Scotland at the same

time.

In January 2014 Mr Carmichael finally conceded that the

Modification Order "does not contain any provisions relating

to Scottish constituencies in the UK Parliament."

In other words the referendum is a survey.

It contains no provisions to reverse the 2010 constituency

mandates of the 59 MP's in Scotland who remain tied to their

mandate regardless of the result of the referendum.

The withdrawal of the 59 MP's from Scotland from the House

of Commons - can only occur through constituency election of

a candidate on an abstentionist manifesto.

Any MP in Scotland wishing to negotiate withdrawal or

withdraw from the House of Commons must abide by the rule

of law. They must seek a new abstentionist mandate in the

general election or if they do not want to wait that long must

resign and trigger a by-election were they can stand as an

abstentionist candidate and seek a majority in the constituency

not to sit in the British House of Commons.

If MP's attempt to negotiate withdrawal or withdraw their

constituency from the House

of Commons without a new mandate then quite

simply they will be in breach of their existing mandate the one

that made them an MP and they will be acting

outside the rule of law.

In the United Kingdom, we are governed by the rule of law not

the rule of MP's.

The referendum is an attempt to break up the United Kingdom

without asking the British People in a general election. That is

why it is happening now. After a general election and before a

general election. The Conservative, Labour, Liberal and SNP

all agree that the question should not be asked in the one place

where it should be asked and is always asked even though we

may not think about it - a general election.

Tonight, our enemies are ranged across a broad front.

Our enemies know that to break the British you must

break their Parliament.

Our Nation is in Peril.

Over the past fifty years, the Conservative and Labour Parties

have brought us here - To the Hour of our Test.

On the Union and on other matters: Immigration, Europe,

Social breakdown, National infrastructure, Economy and the

rest the Nation is in ruins.

National resistance and leadership will not come from either of

these parties.

Unionists will not stand by and watch centuries of National

effort and Sacrifice

Lost.

Our Unity, Identity, Authority, Freedom, and Territory

Lost.

Neither will we allow our constitutional bulwarks be removed:

Our Established Religion,

Parliamentary Government,

Limited Constitutional Monarchy,

Freedom of Speech,

The Rule of Law,

Trial by Jury,

The Freedom of Religion,

The Freedom of Association,

The Freedom of the Press,

The Toleration of Dissent,

We will not let our Nation descend into the darkness again.

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