Tag Archives: Home Rule

Great Seal of Irish Free State

Jim Murphy says Independence within our grasp

If Amazon were to call me and say that they have placed my order in a box, would that mean that my order had been delivered? Of course not, the order would only be considered delivered once I had it in my hands. So why is it that the various Unionist parties keep saying that “The Vow” has been delivered?

Even our saviour, Jim Murphy MP, was at it in the Daily Ranger. He wrote, “Home rule for Scotland is now a prize within our grasp. With the delivery of the Vow on more powers for Scotland, we can now leave behind the old divisions of the past and work together for Scotland.”

I’m guessing that the old divisions of the past are between those that vote Labour and those that don’t. But I was intrigued by the Home Rule part, what exactly does Home Rule mean? The Oxford Dictionary defines it as: “The government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens, in particular as advocated for Ireland 1870–1914.” The dictionary goes on to say this about Home Rule:

“The campaign for Irish home rule was one of the dominant forces in British politics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in that Irish nationalists frequently held the balance of power in the House of Commons. A Home Rule Act was finally passed in 1914 but was suspended until after the First World War; after the Easter Rising of 1916 and Sinn Fein’s successes in the general election of 1918, southern Ireland became the Irish Free State in 1921.”

Notice that it states that Irish Nationalists frequently held the balance of power. Is that not a possibility for Scottish Nationalists after GE2015? It goes on to say that the Irish Free State was created in 1921. I’m not sure if I believe that history repeats itself, but it would certainly be nice if it did.

Great Seal of Irish Free State

Great Seal of Irish Free State