Politicians are having a field day and they have every right to feel pleased with themselves.

From broken promises to announcements, they think you won’t see through…

The Devolutionists are at it again! “Renewed partnerships” ? More Privatisation!!

All this means is the noose gets tighter and tighter with every stroke of the pen. Our FM firmly believes our salvation lies South of the Border in the hands of others, I believe it lies within the hands of the Scottish People.

No more ‘sticky plaster’ politics!

Where is the challenge that what lies beneath our soil and seas belongs to Scotland?

Where is the challenge that the most ancient and still Legal agreements made between our two countries have been ripped up by Westminster?

Now and then we hear the words but never see the action! Independence is now on the back burner until ‘honest John’ is convinced we really want it.….which to me is an extension of until Westminster wants it….and that will be never!

It is time to face reality, not just sit back and moan. We must say what we mean and mean what we say!

We must deliver for all those gone before and for those yet to come.

Not to do so would be a criminal act against Scotland.

Join those acting on behalf of us all…..

Here is a man who put much thought into his words….

The words we use say as much about us as they do about the topic being spoken about, and there are groups of words that lie very well together, yet only one needs to be spoken.

Integrity is such a word because its bedfellows are….honesty, ethics, morals, principles etc….. it’s a bit like an unspoken code!

There are also words that are used to hide truths or embellish the outcomes. We see a lot of these in commerce boldly displayed on their labels. I used to use a very expensive shampoo until my granddaughter pointed out that the ingredients were no different to her cheaper one!How did they manage to get my attention?….the words, the promises on the label!

We fall for it every time, especially with 2for1 deals and if I may say so Freeports!!

There is nothing ‘Free’ about Freeports!

I wonder how many are reading this because they saw the headline and thought…..’what on earth is she on about today’😂

Newspaper editors know it’s the headline that will sell the paper, therefore we who want to draw people into our conversation must be just as savvy!

We are by nature, curious people and it’s that curiosity that draws us towards something.

The word Referendum no longer attracts attention, it’s a busted flush!

The new words are, Liberation & Sovereignty, but how do we sell them?

I never offer all the answers to my questions, firstly because I don’t have them😂 and secondly I see my blogs in terms of a conversation and therefore invite you the reader to ponder upon the questions and use your own answers…..share them if you like.

If I can stimulate some thought among a few then my purpose is fulfilled.

This is the year for bold headlines, the kind that turn heads!

What grabs you will grab others!!

Join the team, boldly going forward….

https://salvo.scot/

Well, I will never know because I will never be either!

A survey result published today says that the majority of people think the very rich have too much say in Politics!

When has it ever been any different?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/01/24/miliband-approves-solar-farm-built-major-labour-donor/

Money talks and donations are even louder! It would appear this is Labour’s new motto.

In my book, it’s called corruption!

Could this kind of practice happen in an independent Scotland?….well, yes it could and probably will unless we go for a new kind of Politics. This is one reason why myself and many others are against ‘Parliamentary Sovereignty’. This is what we have just now, and it is this system that allows so much corruption.

We need root and branch transformation, akin to what some countries like Switzerland have.

It’s called Direct Democracy, it is called People Power, call it what you will but for god’s sake change it.

Please do not sit back next May and say…..but what can I do?

You, yes you can be the catalyst for change….the start of something new! By using your second vote wisely, you can put real Independentists into Holyrood.

Add that prospect to the workings of Salvo & Liberation at the Hague and there is every possibility of a cataclysmic event happening in world Politics!

Who needs Mr Trump?😂😂😂

Scotland has everything other countries would die for, yet many are hungry and cold….we need to change that and we can!

We need to harness the power of the YES groups and tell our own government to get a grip.

We don’t need to wait for Manifestos, because we’re done with empty promises and the hidden ones!!…. they could start right now by showing Westminster their intent.

Never underestimate the power of people when they have had enough and we have had enough!

Join us today…..

https://salvo.scot/

We all love a good story and there is no better or more compelling a story than that of Scotland.

Perhaps because our Political neighbours across the border have gone to such great lengths to keep it hidden. Everything we have been taught since the day we entered school has been taught from an English perspective. The vague Scottish history we were taught only included the major battles and who won or lost, nothing about the dark politics behind them.

Only now are we beginning to understand who we are and why we are where we are at this juncture of our history. And only now are we beginning to see that the same dark politics of 400 yrs ago are still at play today.

Scotland’s history is still being written…..but who will write it?

Who should write our history, some historian in the future with an agenda or people with lived experiences?

We all can write some of Scotland’s future history be it through blogs or private diaries….anything that records our lived events. By putting words onto paper or online we are recording history, a history no one can dispute because it’s your lived experience.

Salvo is writing a story, Scotland’s story, the one we were never told or meant to hear. A story built on facts, indisputable facts, a story that must be told and can be linked to the present.

Governments never change and that is their Achilles heal. They think what has worked for 400 years or more will continue to work today, but have they met their match?

Have they gone too far?

Are Scots awakening from their sleep and backed with a pile of documents will they lift the lid off centuries of lies?…..Yes the will!

Why is it so important to tell Scotland’s story? Well firstly it connects us to our real identity and secondly how we were robbed of it…..leading on to regaining it.

….. and Scotland regaining its identity will only be the beginning!

Help Salvo tell Scotland’s story!

https://salvo.scot/

It’s time to stop the blame game and look to ourselves for the solution.

Why are we so afraid to take the leap?……is it because we are afraid that we also will make mistakes?

The problem with our present crop of Politicians is that when they make mistakes their preferred way out is the blame game! There is no such thing as individual accountability let alone collective accountability.

They see admissions as a weakness, not as an opportunity for positive change. Thinking time is critical for success in the long term.

In this new world of ours, instant is what makes the world go round!

…..but ‘instant’ has no foundations and comes with a short shelf life. A very good example is how they fix potholes these days, no prep just chuck some tar mix in the hole and flatten it….job done! Next morning the pothole is back…..well I’m done with the sticky plaster approach to problems, aren’t you?

We need to look beyond the sticky plasters to a long-term approach, which will bring about our Liberation. This will happen when we see ourselves as the new road builders.

The plans have been drawn with just a few ‘i’s’ and ‘t’s to be crossed, therefore plans to go forward need to be put in place before lift-off.

Disappointments put on the shelf, including my own!

If nothing else, we are family so lets get under the family tree!

Many think that the alternative still lies with the SNP but with the intended changes to its own constitution what we see is more of the same. A party not to be led by its members but one that seeks to wield its power from the top down and a figurehead almost impossible to remove. Translate that kind of dictatorship to how they would run the country…..another iron fist approach!

Do we really need more poison running through the veins of government than we already have?

We in Scotland have choices but that doesn’t necessarily mean the choice would be easier during its immediate execution. There are no quick fixes, no silver bullets. What it would bring if we have to courage to leap, is a country that believes in its people, cares for its people and is run by the people. It is called Direct Democracy and it will clear out the poison that is within our present system.

All system changes have short-term turbulence and anyone telling you anything different is deluding themselves and you!

We must not let Fear rob us of this opportunity.

It must be fight not flight!

Nothing and no one is perfect so let’s not pretend we are. Mistakes will be made, but tell me something, what kind of person do you want to take this country forward? The person who when they make a mistake, hold their hands up and apologises, or someone whose ego demands they blame others, hide and lie to cover up their errors…..and where will the lying end?

Which one has integrity?

The Scottish alternative to Westminster could be so different.

2026 is the year we can make it so.

Joan McDowall

When companies with the aid of Politicians start to build a web of deceit, things can quickly get out of control.

https://northeastbylines.co.uk/news/environment/teesworks-the-largest-brownfield-site-in-europe-part-3/

…..and what a web they weave.

Systems upon systems that once broken down can…..well…..amount to almost nothing. Deceit and obstruction at every turn. No wonder they call them Shell companies!!

….and it now appears a company can list its business address as a hotel room!!!!

https://metro.co.uk/2021/03/08/hancocks-department-did-90m-ppe-deal-with-firm-listed-at-hotel-room-14210310/

….Hancock fell for it!…and you wonder why the UK is skint.

Scotland’s wealth is pouring southwards to fill Westminster’s black hole dug by them and it’s getting deeper.

Labours’ way out of this disaster is not to tax the wealthy who have no doubt been part of the decision-making, but to rob the disabled and the elderly… easy pickings…..always squeeze the people….nothing ever changes until we are prepared to change it.

Rachel from accounts is so far out of her depth and drowning, not because the money has dried up but because her boss’s priorities are not those in line with the country needs. His ego demands he looks good on the international stage…the reality is very different. I have little time for Musk or Farage but occasionally their words resonate with an air of truth.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/elon-musk-has-a-point-about-free-speech-in-britain/

Any government’s priority surely must be to put its people first, pre-election manifestos are full of promises as they lure us into their nets. A future Scotland needs to ensure that laws are made to protect its people and a penalty for broken promises….no more excuses of ‘we didn’t know’……when everyone knew!!!

Integrity is important, rules are important but rules for the sake of rules can cancel out integrity and free-thinking….. let’s get it right.

Joan McDowall.

As Kier Starmer fiddles with Democracy down South by cancelling Local Elections to build mini-kingdoms. I thought maybe it was worthwhile reminding ourselves of the biggest failure in Scotland’s Local Authority history, that being the Unitary Authority (UA) of Strathclyde.

Many will have forgotten about it but Labour have form when it comes to running these UAs. Strathclyde was once the biggest UA in Europe…..which dramatically failed in its objectives. Some say it was good….. it’s all a matter of perspective…..political perspective as well as lived experience.

So knowing this why is Starmer so hell-bent on changing the system South of the Border when the Tories ditched the idea? Some say its because he’s about to get thrashed by Reform at next years Council Elections.

That might well be one reason but the other may be more sinister. These UAs have more powers and less hands-on from the Government which makes them ripe for more Privatisation, given most are already covered by Freeports, SEZs and City Deals you begin to get the picture……Democracy is no more…. Magna Carter no more, it’s called gerrymandering, moving the chess pieces around the board. Where a Political Party moves the boundaries in favour of their own Party and why not when you have put the kings in place through Privatisation. Labour are in love with Private conglomerates and keep company with some very questionable people….

The Deputy PM cosying up to the head of BlackRock. [BlackRock the largest shadow Bank in the world]

So, what went wrong in Strathclyde, this one-party State?

Well, there were some upsides, some things in some areas did improve but outer areas felt marginalized because the city folks didn’t appear to understand their specific problems or needs. I suppose the area was just too big with too many variations which the poor councillors in Glasgow just couldn’t get to grips with and the country folk up in Argyll began to feel aggrieved. So it all fell apart at the seams and things reverted back to a more manageable size.

The problem with government is they never ask the people what they want and we see a repetition of that today.

Do you remember being asked about Freeports and SEZs at the last Scottish Election…….I don’t!

If there is one thing we must learn before next year’s Election it is to Ask the Right QUESTIONS!

….. and remind our would-be Politicians that they will be held to account.

How long before Westminster interferes with our Local Authorities……have they already begun through Freeports etc?

Worth thinking about.

Joan McDowall.

If ever there was a ‘cold case’ to re-open it is that of Scotland……..or is it a ‘death by a thousand cuts’, where the pain is still being inflicted?

Our crime?…… we are too wealthy!

Of course, most in Westminster won’t admit that but over the years there have been a few honest men.

The secret is out yet there are plenty who don’t want to know, they want the ‘cold case’ to be kept closed.

…… And there’s a name for that…..premeditated ignorance!

For many their comfort zone, really is comfortable, but for how long? With the introduction of Freeports and SEZs, no one is secure not even those out in the sticks!

I wonder how many down in the Borders ever thought they would have a Battery storage facility on their doorstep, and another in Lanarkshire…

https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/construction-of-europes-biggest-battery-farm-on-former-scottish-coal-mine-to-begin-09-01-2025/

…… ‘but they are safe’!…..are they?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14295791/fire-moss-landing-California-evacuations.html

Within the glossy brochures promising jobs etc, do they point out the risks…..no! Were locals even asked for their opinion?

Seems odd to me that Scotland is the chosen venue for most of these things. Has our FM read the small print and who will be liable should anything go wrong?

Sometimes the past has a habit of creeping up on us and I would hate to think the younger generation of today will one day look back and say, ‘If only they had listened’!

As they say in Lidl…… ‘when it’s gone it’s gone’! ….. and that applies to our land.

One day these land sites and mines will give up their secrets and it won’t be pretty for the generation having to deal with it.

Doing nothing is not an option!

People power does work when enough people put their minds to it.

Joan McDowall

Rules are necessary, if for no other reason than they keep us safe. The problem these days is, they keep changing according to which political Party is in power.

One of the lame excuses for leaving the EU was that there were just too many silly rules but the problem since leaving is they are dispensing with too many important ones to allow Privatisation, food safety laws being one of them.

Of course, rules are always open to interpretation. One of the reasons why we have so many religious denominations is because clergy down through the ages have interpreted Biblical rules differently…..in my opinion and experience according to their agenda and need for power! Today the Kirk, as we know it in Scotland, bends the rules to the political whims of the day.

In America it’s the other way around, religion dictates political policy!

…..and in this particular case, this particular religion owns not only the world’s MSM but through Privatisation huge swathes of the planet one way or another!

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/15/la-california-fires-water-drought

…..and you wonder why I go on about Privatisation!

Listen to the warnings of the Salvo Freeport team and @EuropeanPowell

Forbes calls it ‘misinformation’ yet can’t or won’t rebutt any of it!…. I wonder why?

Good rules prevent chaos, bad rules cause chaos!

Perhaps Scotland got it right in the old days with The Convention of the Estates!

Old is sometimes better!

Joan McDowall