Haud Yer Wheesht, Eck
Alex Salmond's continues to bang the drum for a second referendum on Scottish independence, for all the world as if he's still the First Minister of Scotland, rather than the former first minister and a backbench MP at Westminster.
Kenny Farquharson picked up on this point in a recent column for The Times and his timing couldn't have been better because here Alex's latest demand cum prediction is that a second vote will be held in 2018, according to The Herald.
Wee Eck really is getting out of hand - time for him to 'haud his wheesht', as they say, either that or give up his regular appearance on LBC radio show.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15032106.Alex_Salmond_predicts_second_vote_on_Scottish_independence_in_autumn_2018/
Alex Salmond predicts second vote on Scottish independence in autumn 2018
Alex Salmond predicts second vote on Scottish independence in autumn 2018
A second vote on Scottish independence could take place in the autumn of 2018, former first minister Alex Salmond has said.
The ex-SNP leader made the suggestion after his successor Nicola Sturgeon warned the Prime Minister's plan to take the UK out of the European single market ''undoubtedly'' makes another vote on the future of the UK more likely.
Mr Salmond said such a vote could take place in the autumn of next year - four years on from the September 2014 referendum in which Scots voted by 55% to 45% to stay part of the United Kingdom.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trigger-happy-salmond-risks-schism-in-snp-x8cfnggdv?shareToken=020dd41ebed17506b8d25dc1018f13a4
Trigger-happy Salmond risks schism in SNP
By Kenny Farquharson - The Times
Former first minister must be disarmed by Sturgeon in tactical fight over second referendum
Nicola Sturgeon needs to tell Alex Salmond who the boss is about Scotland’s future after BrexitPA:PRESS ASSOCIATION
Button it. Belt up. Bite your tongue. Wheesht. However she wants to say it she needs to say it now. Nicola Sturgeon needs to tell Alex Salmond to shut up and toe the line about Scotland’s future after Brexit.
The first minister has a problem and it comes in the formidable form of the SNP MP for Gordon. His statements on the biggest issue of the moment are increasingly at variance with the SNP government’s line.
In fact, it seems to me that Alex Salmond is using his position not to amplify his leader’s views, but to challenge them. What he seems to be doing is lobbying in public to bounce SNP strategy in his preferred direction of travel.
Alex Salmond is a backbench Westminster MP these days, but you'd be forgiven for thinking that Scotland's former first minister is the official voice and face of the SNP.
Because he's been banging on about Indyref2 forever, even during the great EU referendum when he spent most of his time talking up the case for independence instead of promoting in a no-holds barred way the case for Scotland and the UK remaining in Europe.
As someone who voted Yes in the 2014 referendum I'm afraid to say that Wee Eck's broken record routine is having quite the opposite of its intended effect.
When is the real First Minister going to rein him in?
The SNP strike me as a kind of political version of the Stepford Wives, at times, with their strict discipline and rigid adherence to the party line.
So much so that the nationalists make New Labour seem like unruly anarchists by comparison.
But there are signs of life and real political debate inside the SNP with news that Humza Yousaf, an up and coming MSP from Glasgow, has poured cold water on the calls for a second referendum on Scottish independence.
Alex Salmond, the former SNP leader, bangs on about the case for Indyref2 at every conceivable opportunity and, as I said the other day, he is beginning to sound like a broken record.
I imagine this is getting on other people's nerves as well as mine, not least because it is a distraction from the real issues at stake in the EU referendum.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14533770.Snap_independence_poll_after_Brexit_vote_undesirable__Humza_Yousaf/
Snap independence poll after Brexit vote undesirable, Humza Yousaf
By MICHAEL SETTLE - The Herald
A snap Scottish independence poll after a Brexit vote would be undesirable, a senior SNP figure has insisted.
Humza Yousaf, the Scottish Government’s transport minister, has made clear that, personally, he would not like a second referendum on Scotland’s future in such circumstances, noting how it would “make the argument for independence very difficult”.
The SNP MSP, said to be close to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, is the first senior Nationalist figure to come out so strongly against a quick post-Brexit independence referendum.
His view is in stark contrast with some of his colleagues, who believe the Scottish Government should move “while the iron is hot”.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/eu-referendum-alex-salmond-says-brexit-would-spark-indyref2-1-4145055
EU referendum: Alex Salmond says Brexit would spark Indyref2
Alex Salmond and Iain Duncan Smith on LBC. Picture: Contributed
By MARK MCLAUGHLIN - The Scotsman
There will be another Scottish independence referendum if there is a majority vote at Holyrood, according to Alex Salmond.
The former first minister said his successor, Nicola Sturgeon, has “a democratic mandate” to propose another referendum if there is a “material change in circumstances”, such as Scotland being taken out of the European Union.
But eurosceptic Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith insisted Scots do not want “another never-ending referendum in Scotland every time something changes”, during a head-to-head debate with Mr Salmond on LBC Radio.
Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie did the nation a big favour yesterday by calling on Alex Salmond to put his monstrous ego to one side and stop campaigning in the great EU referendum.
For weeks now Mr Salmond has been calling for a more positive campaign while criticising the Remain side's tactics, but in every public statement I've heard Wee Eck quickly moves on to his favourite theme which is that a No vote on Europe will result, within two years, in a second referendum on Scottish independence.
Now I voted Yes in the 2014 referendum, but I have to say that Alex Salmond is really off message here and is beginning to sound like a broken record.
So I take my hat off to Willie Rennie for having the courage to call a spade and spade - and tell Mr Salmond to give it a rest.
Button it. Belt up. Bite your tongue. Wheesht. However she wants to say it she needs to say it now. Nicola Sturgeon needs to tell Alex Salmond to shut up and toe the line about Scotland’s future after Brexit.
The first minister has a problem and it comes in the formidable form of the SNP MP for Gordon. His statements on the biggest issue of the moment are increasingly at variance with the SNP government’s line.
In fact, it seems to me that Alex Salmond is using his position not to amplify his leader’s views, but to challenge them. What he seems to be doing is lobbying in public to bounce SNP strategy in his preferred direction of travel.
Broken Record (18/12/16)
Alex Salmond is a backbench Westminster MP these days, but you'd be forgiven for thinking that Scotland's former first minister is the official voice and face of the SNP.
Because he's been banging on about Indyref2 forever, even during the great EU referendum when he spent most of his time talking up the case for independence instead of promoting in a no-holds barred way the case for Scotland and the UK remaining in Europe.
As someone who voted Yes in the 2014 referendum I'm afraid to say that Wee Eck's broken record routine is having quite the opposite of its intended effect.
When is the real First Minister going to rein him in?
Broken Record (07/06/16)
The SNP strike me as a kind of political version of the Stepford Wives, at times, with their strict discipline and rigid adherence to the party line.
So much so that the nationalists make New Labour seem like unruly anarchists by comparison.
But there are signs of life and real political debate inside the SNP with news that Humza Yousaf, an up and coming MSP from Glasgow, has poured cold water on the calls for a second referendum on Scottish independence.
Alex Salmond, the former SNP leader, bangs on about the case for Indyref2 at every conceivable opportunity and, as I said the other day, he is beginning to sound like a broken record.
I imagine this is getting on other people's nerves as well as mine, not least because it is a distraction from the real issues at stake in the EU referendum.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14533770.Snap_independence_poll_after_Brexit_vote_undesirable__Humza_Yousaf/
Snap independence poll after Brexit vote undesirable, Humza Yousaf
By MICHAEL SETTLE - The Herald
A snap Scottish independence poll after a Brexit vote would be undesirable, a senior SNP figure has insisted.
Humza Yousaf, the Scottish Government’s transport minister, has made clear that, personally, he would not like a second referendum on Scotland’s future in such circumstances, noting how it would “make the argument for independence very difficult”.
The SNP MSP, said to be close to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, is the first senior Nationalist figure to come out so strongly against a quick post-Brexit independence referendum.
His view is in stark contrast with some of his colleagues, who believe the Scottish Government should move “while the iron is hot”.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/eu-referendum-alex-salmond-says-brexit-would-spark-indyref2-1-4145055
EU referendum: Alex Salmond says Brexit would spark Indyref2
Alex Salmond and Iain Duncan Smith on LBC. Picture: Contributed
By MARK MCLAUGHLIN - The Scotsman
There will be another Scottish independence referendum if there is a majority vote at Holyrood, according to Alex Salmond.
The former first minister said his successor, Nicola Sturgeon, has “a democratic mandate” to propose another referendum if there is a “material change in circumstances”, such as Scotland being taken out of the European Union.
But eurosceptic Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith insisted Scots do not want “another never-ending referendum in Scotland every time something changes”, during a head-to-head debate with Mr Salmond on LBC Radio.
Broken Record (26/05/16)
Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie did the nation a big favour yesterday by calling on Alex Salmond to put his monstrous ego to one side and stop campaigning in the great EU referendum.
For weeks now Mr Salmond has been calling for a more positive campaign while criticising the Remain side's tactics, but in every public statement I've heard Wee Eck quickly moves on to his favourite theme which is that a No vote on Europe will result, within two years, in a second referendum on Scottish independence.
Now I voted Yes in the 2014 referendum, but I have to say that Alex Salmond is really off message here and is beginning to sound like a broken record.
So I take my hat off to Willie Rennie for having the courage to call a spade and spade - and tell Mr Salmond to give it a rest.
Rennie calls on Salmond to withdraw from EU campaigning
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie MSP today said that former First Minister Alex Salmond is behaving like a not-so-secret agent for the leave campaign and called on him to opt out of EU campaigning before he does any more damage to the remain cause.
Mr Rennie was speaking after Mr Salmond again used media appearances to argue for a second independence referendum and criticised the official remain campaign instead of making the positive case for Scotland and the UK remaining at the heart of Europe.
Commenting, Mr Rennie said:
“Alex Salmond is behaving like a not-so-secret agent for the leave campaign. He spends more time rubbishing the official remain campaign and promoting Scottish independence than making the positive case to remain in Europe.
"This week in Parliament, MSPs from all parties made the clear, passionate, positive case for Scotland remaining part of the EU. But Alex Salmond seems more interested in using the Europe poll to advance the cause of Scottish independence than actively working to keep us in the EU.
“Too many senior figures in the SNP are approaching this 2016 referendum with a 2014 mind-set. Alex Salmond is a serial offender.
"His threats about another independence vote may encourage his supporters to back Brexit. His attacks on the remain campaign are undermining it and risking Brexit. On both counts he is risking our place in the European Union, not supporting it. Alex Salmond should opt out of the campaign before he does any more damage."
