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

What exactly is meant when governments say they are funding projects etc with money from the government or using ‘government finances?

The perception being, it’s their money!…….but is it?

The Government raises around £1 trillion in revenue each year. Most comes from the three biggest taxes: income tax, NICs and VAT.

So, in truth it is our money but they are not accountable to us as to how they spend it apart from agreeing to a few promises made in their Manifestos, which to date nearly all have been reneged on.

People are getting angry, you can feel the rebellion in the air and it won’t take much more before someone or some group lights the blue touch paper.

Far from improving our fiscal position, Rachel, from accounts is deepening the crisis and a crisis for them spells disaster for us!

They believe that the magic wand of Private investment is the answer when the reality is it is a short-term get-out-of-jail card that will lead down a road we will live to regret for the rest of our lives.

Private means profit, not to us but to shareholders, private also means that when the project is finished or goes arry they can walk away and leave us the taxpayers to clean up the mess…….or as Thames Water has done, demand we put billions in to fix their mess whilst they receive the big bonuses.

Where are the tipping scales set at, what number must die from cold or hunger before we say, thus far and no further?

The more money they divert to Private companies the greater the risk of loss of life as our infrastructure crumbles and our Health system collapses.

At the moment in Scotland, we fare a little better than our counterparts down South….but it’s coming and sooner than you think.

Our future is in our hands, use them wisely.

Joan McDowall.

They say half a truth is still a lie or as the church puts it, ‘the sin of omission’!

…..and one has to wonder why a certain government would be a party to such deeds.

https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2024/04/28/ardrossan-to-arran-ferry-manchester-billionaire-tax-exiles-company-is-to-blame-for-reduced-services-and-safety-risks/

The reason of course is the Scottish Government whilst hailing the new ship Glen Sannox doesn’t want you to know about the story surrounding Ardrossan Harbour. This story reveals the truth about Privatisation.

Will Ardrossan become Scotlands Teeside?

Up and down the country the chickens are coming home to roost but don’t expect to hear about it on the MSM, thankfully there are still a few local journalists willing to speak up.

The truth is out there and needs to be told.

https://youtu.be/z36eRTt7zJo?si=jyN9UDnEVkNxPK6M

Thankfully in Scotland, we have our own group of Truthsayers and starting up again next month they will be travelling up and down the country sharing the real truths with you.

The truths the Scottish Government don’t want you to hear, the ones hidden in the small print that you are not allowed to read.

So watch out on SM for more information regarding times and venues.

I suppose the big question on my mind regarding Freeports and SEZs is what exactly do we as a country get out of it all? Nearly every promise made is reduced within months especially when it comes to jobs and houses. It also appears most of these jobs go to foreign workers. This all sounds like a very poor return on our capital when instead it could improve our vital local services.

So no, I wont keep mummm!

Joan McDowall.

There has been a discussion of late about the public ownership of the BBC. The public pay for the BBC but it is in fact the mouthpiece of the Government and censorship is the name of the game.

When it comes to the news they dictate what we see and don’t see, live journalism is dead.

Every tv station and every newspaper is owned by foreign companies, I would go so far as to say Britain if that’s what you want to call it, is already in the hands of foreign conglomerates.

Censorship in most cases is a threat to society and is to be rightfully challenged when misused.

But how do we fair in Scotland….well not much better actually?

Ask for anything under FOI and more than likely it will come back heavily redacted…secrecy abounds as does stupidity!

A warning to groups and Parties in Scotland, censorship will lose good people when those with influence use non-existent lists of words or phrases to censor freedom of speech!

Free speech is the cornerstone of Direct Democracy anything else is not acceptable. We are all responsible for our actions and the consequences thereof but we cannot dictate what others do and say, that is not democratic!

“In order to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive.”
― Jordan B. Peterson

Take that freedom away and we add another link in the chain around our necks.

We cannot condemn our government for censorship if we practice it ourselves albeit in a lesser way.

So let us be careful when judging others because we will lose good people along the way.

Joan McDowall.

For those of us who seek Liberation [Independence] the challenges ahead are not for the faint-hearted.

Every means of communication will be required, every rebuttal made and every fence broken down!

Can we do this……yes we can!

The upside of all this is not only in reaching the goal but also the making of new friends, good friends along the way.

There are a lot of folk sitting on the fence just now, not sure about anything because the ground beneath is shifting on many fronts. If there is one thing I have learned in my many years of life and trauma, sitting and doing nothing is never the answer.

We know in our heads where the answer to Scotland’s woes lies, what we need now is for that message to drop down to our hearts and reignite the love we have for our Country.

Love is a powerful motivator! I am sure we have all experienced how powerful it can be, we will do anything for the people we ❤️.

If you love Scotland, let that love motivate you into action because our politicians are, under the guise of Freeports and SEZs slowly dismantling our country piece by piece and once it’s gone it’s gone!

Now is the time to get off the fence, now is the time to join your fellow Scots in the fight for Liberation, taking everything we have learned through Salvo and putting it into action via.…..

Can the love for our country be greater than our disagreements? Can we work with others to accomplish the dream……if we can’t I question how great our love for Scotland is.

Why on earth would any Politician try to hide their work record…..unless of course one hardly ever turns up to work?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14274135/A-SKIVERS-CHARTER-Nicola-Sturgeon-centre-fresh-secrecy-row-Holyrood-agrees-block-release-MSPs-attendance-records.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton

So much is hidden from us these days but this really takes the biscuit. How can any voter in 2026 make informed decisions about who they will vote for when vital information is being hidden behind the false flag of ‘it might endanger their safety’???

There are only a few legitimate reasons for not turning up at your desk……illness be it physical or mental, maternity leave, family emergency, working elsewhere or skiving!…… and if it is the latter they should be sacked!

Local Authorities have policies regarding ‘absence’ why doesn’t the Scottish Goverment have similar ones….or do they see themselves as above the rest of us? They forget who pays their wages!

I am sick to death of the secrecy that surrounds governments and it is time for change.

Thousands of us understand the need for change and transparency that is why we have joined Salvo and Liberation. We believe Direct Democracy will bring about that openness and honesty we need in Politics.

Choosing Politics as a career is one thing, expecting to be on the ‘gravy train’ for life is quite another and to change the rules to allow that to happen is a violation of trust.

We must all live by the code we expect from others.

Help make Scotland great again as an independent Nation ruling itself through Direct Democracy.

Join today…….

As Donald Trump contemplates his revenge on Starmer for his blatant interference in the American elections, let us not forget that it will be us the public who will bear the brunt of it.

Any sanctions Trump imposes will affect Scotland disproportionately because we export more than England does.

There are those saying the Labour ship is sinking, whilst we may cheer at that possibility the question then arises of what next…..return to the other Conservatives or even Farage?

Do you fancy any of those options or do you have the courage to go for something completely different?

The change from being Dependent to being Independent….and it will take courage because it won’t be given and therefore must be taken!

This kind of success will be our best revenge, we don’t need lessons in revenge from another country.

Success has a cost, and the cost to us is to lay down our swords and come together as a united team.

There is a platform where this can happen, not owned by Politicians but by ordinary people…..Sovereign people.

If you’re not up for it, fine, then please stand aside and stop complicating matters for the rest of us. Too many cooks really do spoil the broth!

When we March down the streets of our cities we don’t ask those around us which Party they belong to, so why is it so important now? It is only important to those who deliberately want to throw a spanner in the works….dont let them win and divide us.

One clear plan, that’s all it will take with all of the people behind it.

We owe it to Scotland to allow Salvo’s plan to prove its credibility.

Individualism will kill the dream stone-dead…..dont be that stone!

Why does everybody need to have a label these days?

The PM has labelled everyone who genuinely disagrees with him as ‘Far Right’ when truth be told it is his own Party who have become ‘Far Right’. By his own admission Labour are now the new Conservatives.

Those of us in Scotland who desire Independence are now ‘Extremists’…..since when did it become ‘extreme’ to want to rule one’s own Country?……or does this only apply to Scots?

When it comes to Politics loyalties come and go, it is not that many years ago that Bashar Al-Assad was welcomed to this country by the late Queen herself, now the pendulum has swung the other way and he is now a tyrant.

What changed in the intervening time?

Certainly not his behaviour, no, it was Westminster’s priorities. Netanyahu in…..Assad out!…..but the real bottom line is not ethics but money!

…..or who we need the most!

One would think then that Westminster MPs would go to extraordinary lengths to keep Scotland sweet, so whats different?

The difference is POWER! and who holds it.

Westminster holds the Power over Scotland and our voting system makes sure it stays that way. They don’t need to be ‘nice’, they know they have the power to take all they want, and the belief is that everything belongs to them.

The truth is of little value to them, so they label us as extremists.

Lies rule these days and only we can change that or we become complicit in the lie. That makes me feel very uncomfortable…..how about you?

This is why doing nothing is not an option.

Every day we complain about our Politicians lying to us yet we do nothing……so are we any better?

Surely we are better than that?

I don’t want to be labelled as being complicit in a lie, I’m sure you don’t either. So let’s show Westminster what we are made of….. let’s be extreme/radical.

…..and we must do so differely. We need to think outside the box.

Joining Salvo and Liberation.scot is one way of showing your intent differently.

A path that has always been there but only Salvo has dared take it.