• Home
  • E-Paper
  • Archive
  • Contact us
  • Daily Pakistan
Thursday, January 28, 2021
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
Daily The Patriot
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • National
  • City
  • World
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • E-Paper
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • National
  • City
  • World
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • E-Paper
No Result
View All Result
Daily The Patriot
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Cameron’s gamble comes back to haunt him

by Daily Patriot
September 23, 2014
in Opinion
0
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

 

 

Peter Oborne

More than two years have elapsed since British Prime Minister David Cameron gave the green light to the Scottish referendum. At the time, it did not seem that big a deal, either to the prime minister or to anyone else. It was generally assumed that only a minority of Scots would vote to end the Union. There is some evidence that Alex Salmond of the Scottish National Party (SNP) thought so. He wanted to put a third option — greater powers falling short of independence — before the voters.

However, Cameron thought that he could put Salmond on the spot with a simple ‘Yes’/’No’ referendum. This has proved a giant miscalculation. Last weekend, panic-stricken Westminster politicians offered the SNP leader his “devo-max” anyway. Yet, it still looks possible that Scottish voters will support full independence. Such an outcome will create Britain’s greatest constitutional crisis in more than 300 years, dwarfing the famous clash between the House of Lords and the Asquith government 100 years ago, or the Great Reform Act of 1832.

Let us consider the immediate consequences. There will be agitation to extend the term of the current parliament to March 24, 2016, the date at which Scotland will become fully independent. This manoeuvre has been floated in order to solve the problem of Scottish MPs returning to parliament after next year’s general election, only to find that their seats at Westminster will cease to exist the following year. But the general election is unlikely to be delayed — British democracy does not allow governments to extend beyond their natural terms, except during wartime.

Another possibility is more plausible: An early general election. Cameron is adamant that he will stay on as Prime Minister even if the worst happens next Thursday — an erroneous opinion, which has been endorsed by Ed Miliband. Cameron may well be wise to say what he does, because he does not want to place his personal fate at the heart of the Scottish plebiscite.

However, 30 years ago, Lord Carrington resigned as foreign secretary after the Falkland Islands were captured by Argentina. Lord Carrington quit his office, even though he was not the slightest bit responsible; and the islands were recaptured a few weeks later. If everything goes wrong this week, Cameron will have mislaid Scotland, not a group of largely uninhabited islands in the South Atlantic.

I am certain the prime minister, an honourable man, will resign at once. If he does not do so, very little time will elapse before he will face a motion of no confidence on the floor of the House. The Conservative Party may then be plunged into a leadership contest. To avoid this kind of chaos, some Tory MPs are now talking of a caretaker — almost certainly William Hague — taking over as Tory leader (and prime minister) for the last few months before next year’s election. Ed Miliband may also find survival difficult, because the Labour Party must surely bear the bulk of the blame for the loss of Scotland, where the party has traditionally been so strong. And amid all the chaos and recrimination, politicians will be obliged to make a series of administrative decisions of exceptional complexity and sensitivity.

National partitions — think of Ireland in 1922, India in 1947, Southern Sudan more recently or the birth-pangs of a Kurdish state now — are always bitter affairs. This is because two sides are arguing over the spoils. Who owns what? To whom do the armed forces give allegiance? Who inherits the debt? Who keeps the currency? There is already evidence of sectarian hatred, both north and south (where there are signs of a malevolent new English identity) of the border. All of these issues will have to be dealt with by a set of politicians reeling with shock at the collapse of many of the landmarks that have given meaning to their lives. The BBC will have to find another set of initials. Former premier John Major noted recently, during a particularly depressing appearance on the Today programme, that Britain’s seat on the UN Security Council will go and hinted that Wales could be next to secede. Courtesy The Telegraph

Combined in the right way
hollister uk Joico K Pack Reconstructor Shampoo best High End shampoo for dry

let us know
woolrich outletColor Contact Lenses Fun and Functional
Daily Patriot

Daily Patriot

Next Post

Flood carnage coupled with mismanagement, violation of treaty

Latest News

Babies from famed dinosaur group were ‘born ready’ to hunt
Technology

Babies from famed dinosaur group were ‘born ready’ to hunt

by News Desk
January 28, 2021
0

WASHINGTON: Scientists for the first time have found embryonic remains from the group of ferocious meat-eating dinosaurs that includes T....

Read more
Australia takes on Google advertising dominance in latest Big Tech fight

Australia takes on Google advertising dominance in latest Big Tech fight

January 28, 2021
Saudi Arabia allows issuance of quarterly residency permits

Saudi Arabia allows issuance of quarterly residency permits

January 28, 2021
Britain cracks down on travel to stop virus spread

Britain cracks down on travel to stop virus spread

January 28, 2021
Oxford scientists expect some vaccine data on UK mutant virus by next week

Oxford scientists expect some vaccine data on UK mutant virus by next week

January 28, 2021
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • National
  • City
  • World
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • E-Paper

© 2020 DAILY PATRIOT - Powered By SmartX DigitalSMARTX DIGITAL.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • National
  • City
  • World
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • E-Paper

© 2020 DAILY PATRIOT - Powered By SmartX DigitalSMARTX DIGITAL.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Go to mobile version