How strong are family ties? Nicola Sturgeon’s family hail from Sunderland
Nicola Sturgeon’s family has its roots in the North East of England. With this in mind can the region benefit from the SNP and her rise or will it be overtaken by a fresh thrust for independence?
Arthur Street, Ryhope, Sunderland, was home to Sturgeon’s great-grandfather, Englishman and shipwright Joseph Mill.
His daughter, Sturgeon’s Grandmother, Margaret Mill, was born in Sunderland in 1920.
Sturgeon’s Grandfather, Robert Sturgeon, a gardener, was born in Ayrshire in 1920 and relocated to the North of England where he married Sunderland born Margaret Mill in 1943.
Their son Robert Sturgeon, Nicola Sturgeon’s father, was born in Ayrshire in 1948. He married Joan Ferguson b 1952 in Ayrshire on 29 December 1969. Their daughter Nicola was born in Ayrshire on 19 July 1970.
The rise of the SNP left many in the North East and Cumbria questioning the region’s future relationship with Scotland.
“The North East shares a lot in common with Scotland and there’s a common cause to be made with our neighbours,” says Jonathan Blackie, a visiting professor at Northumberland University. “But given the current political situation, it’s difficult to see how we can thrive by working together when there are so many things pulling us apart.” The new political situation that he refers to is the SNP now has 56 MPs at Westminster.
David Cameron has also said he will devolve more powers to the Scottish Parliament as recommended by the Smith Commission, which makes those living on the border nervous.
“Nicola Sturgeon has played a blinder, she’s put Scotland in a position where it can’t get loose,” says Rob Johnston, the chief executive of the Cumbria Chamber of Commerce. “It’s not the number of SNP MPs, it’s the fact that Scotland is now speaking with one voice. “They can attract money and investment north of the border and that presents a real challenge for Cumbria.”
In the Scottish Independence referendum, 67% of people in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk voted to maintain the Union, making it an area that many thought the SNP would find hard to breakthrough in the general election. But it did!!! reflecting yet another English political betrayal.
Calum Kerr, SNP, the constituency MSP said: “I actually think there are many parallels between what I want for the South of Scotland to what people in the North of England want. They want their voices to be heard and they want powers to make a difference to their region. If I can build a distinctive voice for the South of Scotland, people in the North of England should support that, and in fact, work with me because they will also feel the benefits.”
To the south of Calum Kerr’s constituency sits Northumberland, the English county with the highest number of castles, a lasting testament to the fractious historical relationship that the north of England has had with its Scottish neighbours. The differences on the border are no longer territorial, but the rise of the SNP is certainly creating new political and economic tensions. (BBC 2015)
Comment: An article chock full of innocuous innuendo with the implication of its underlying intent only slightly disguised. Will she pursue independence or will her family ties with England dictate her actions?
Ah!! Scottish Utopia!!! promises, promises, promises betrayal, betrayal, betrayal. 1745 Culloden. and the butchery of German Geordie, his son, and the English army.
But you see we Scots were sold out by a few unelected lords who took English bribes and betrayed Scotland
From that time Scotland has been brutally asset-stripped by an avaricious Westminster government. All roads lead to London!!!
All revenue accrued in the UK is passed to the English Exchequer. Westminster’s financial needs are then allocated after which the Secretary of State for Scotland is handed a budget, top sliced from the Scottish Grant. The residue, (decreasing annually as areas of responsibility are removed from Holyrood) passes to the Scottish government.
No one really knows the full extent of revenue gathered by Scotland. eg Whisky manufactured, blended and bottled in Scotland is transported to England for worldwide distribution. The tax collected is credited to England. £3-5billion annually.
But the annual GERS financial report falsely records Scotland to be in receipt of £ billion’s more from Westminster than it contributes.
This is quoted routinely by Unionists in support of their argument that Scotland is too wee and too poor to survive as a nation. The statement is utter nonsense and has been debunked by many independent financial experts.
Then, if minded to do so – throws Scotland a few scraps to keep them quiet.
New untested ideas about tax collection. Probably unworkable. Introduce new measures in Scotland first The jocks are well indoctrinated to Westminster’s authority. eg Poll Tax Experiment Yup!!
Industry!! – Order books a bit light!! – Close Scotland down. Relocate companies to England.
Coal mining industry!!! – Bloody minded Jocks and their Unions. Shut it down. Leave the coal in the ground. Purchase cheap dirty coal from Poland and South America.
Car production, Shut it down and transfer it from Linwood and Bathgate to England.
Steel production – Shut it down move production to England then Sell it to India for a pittance
Retain a massively upgraded Trident nuclear weapons and submarine fleet – Yes!! But voters will not allow nuclear missiles or submarines to be based within 150 miles of population centres in England. Bugger it – locate them in Glasgow. Scots votes count for nothing at Westminster.
The homing of the nuclear submarine fleet and missile systems in Faslane precludes any major shipping industry on Clyde. Shut it down.
Construction of a few battleships, kit constructed in England, then shipped to Glasgow for assembly will keep the natives happy.
Fighting Johnny Foreigner!! – troops required – Not a problem – Get them from Scotland. The Jocks must pay their way in the Union. In the absence of finance, blood will do.
Shut down their factories – get the buggers on the dole or offer job security through service in the forces.
Death and lifetime incapacity for many young Scots incurred through injury on active service in many cavalier military actions entered into by Westminster.
Gordon Brown’s answer to the ever-increasing incidence. The Westminster government cannot afford to meet their needs.
Create “Cash for Heros” a charity for injured servicemen – Appoint half a dozen cronies to manage it. All on six-figure salaries. As public awareness recedes it’ll die a natural death.
Charitable housing for wounded – handicapped soldiers – no way, let the Scottish public find the money.
Upgrade the UK infrastructure. A great idea and much needed, but England is allocated the vast bulk of available finance so that a massive programme of works, eg. HS2/3 and numerous other high-cost projects in London and the South East of England can be completed.
Net tax and other revenues to the UK reveal Scotland’s financial contribution to the foregoing works to be many £billions but there are no direct benefits to Scotland. The Westminster government issues assurance that Scotland will be given finance to allow similar works to be completed but not before 2030. Now that’s a kick in the teeth!!!
Scotland – Natives restless – give them a “wee talking shop parliament” but retain power in England. William Hague clarified Scotland’s place in the Union:
“Scotland is not a state. Westminster simply decided to delegate the games to be held in Glasgow, a city of the UK”
Will Scots find the confidence to ask for another independence referendum after being so heavily defeated in 2014??
They appear to have swallowed the Westminster message. Scots are too timid and stupid to try again. Their continued acceptance of abuse heaped upon them by Westminster justifies the statement.
The Jocks are Luddites!!! Witness the Labour Party in Scotland. Returned to power at Westminster for nearly 60 years. They really did vote for donkeys wearing a labour badge and paid the price of suffering rampant corruption.
Moaning Jocks!!! Promise them jam tomorrow – They’ll believe anything Yup! that’s it, buy the buggers off with a few sweeteners.
30 years of austerity imposed on Scots by an incompetent Westminster government yet 55% choose to remain loyal to the most corrupt Union of sovereign nations ever created. Hell, mend them!!!!
Rabbie Burns got it right when he wrote that “a parcel of rogues” sold Scotland out 300 years ago
The next referendum will provide another chance for Scots to get rid of Westminster politicians and their sycophantic useless Peers of the realm.
The fate of Scotland should be in Scottish hands not the grubby paws of a bunch of rich toffs, lords and even richer barons at Westminster. Feathering their own nests, selling the nation into bondage.
In 2014 the Unionists said they loved Scotland and implored Scots to remain in the Union and the European Community. And we did.
The betrayal of the Unionist vow, to devolve to Scotland full fiscal authority and many other areas of governance was not long coming.
Only 3 months on from the referendum the Unionists thumbed their noses at Scotland and devolved little of any significance. Rubbing salt into the wounds they even attempted to con Scotland out of finance that rightfully belonged in Holyrood.
The Unionists paid the price for their devious tactics at the next General Election when they were nearly wiped out in Scotland.
Scottish politicians who were returned to Westminster in 2015 genuinely tried to function effectively, but in a repeat of the well-rehearsed abuse meted out to Irish politicians by the Unionists at the turn of the twentieth century they failed to land any effective blows, culminating in a short-lived protest when they walked out of the Commons in frustration.
caltonjock 