We'd like to wish all our readers a  Very Happy Festive Season!

SO, FAREWELL THEN

I'll find it hard to shed a tear for former Home Secretary David Blunkett, who resigned just as I was putting this week's Flag to rest.  For those of you who haven't been following the unfolding saga, Blunkett landed himself in hot water over allegations that he had improperly 'fast-tracked' a visa application by the nanny of his former lover.

As one of his new colleagues on the back benches (Dianne Abbot) observed earlier this week, "You cannot carry credibility as a 'tough on immigration, tough on the causes of immigration' home secretary if you are seen to be willing to bend your own rules for the convenience of your girlfriend".  Quite so, but that particular misdemeanour wasn't quite enough on its own to encourage someone as full of himself as Blunkett to drink hemlock.

Labour have been able to brazen out most things since taking office and Blunkett looked set to carry on this unsavoury tradition.  However, to do that, you need friends.  Always a spiky and unlovable character, at least in public, Blunkett soiled his nest recently with comments he made to his biographer about his cabinet colleagues being made public.

Amongst the more colourful assessments he offered, Education Secretary Charles Clarke, who now replaces him at the Home Office, had gone "soft" on standards in schools.  Meanwhile, Deputy PM John Prescott was apparently sensitive about being labelled "two Jags", while Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt did not 'think strategically'.

In short, Blunkett managed to alienate his closest colleagues at a time when he needed their support the most.  Nonetheless, it is profoundly depressing that he has been drummed out for the reasons he has, and not for the arrogant and ignorant authoritarianism which has punctuated his tenure in office.

Lest we forget, this was the man who as Education secretary, introduced student fees and excluded the poor from university.  The man who told refugees from Kosovo and Afghanistan to "get back home" at a time when their countries were still in turmoil.  The man who wanted to remove the right to trial by jury.  And the man who wanted to oversee the biggest intrusion of government into people's lives in living memory - the introduction of compulsory ID cards outside of wartime.

No, I won't shed any tears for Blunkett, the most right-wing and illiberal Home Secretary I can ever recall holding office.  I hope his successor quickly learns the lesson that Blunkett himself never learned.  Namely, that while it's easy to rabble rouse and pose as a 'tough' Home Secretary, it's much, much tougher to stand up for those without a voice and against the baying of those who see the world in shades of black and white.

AT THE HEART OF EUROPE

 

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to find myself on a visit to the European Parliament in Brussels, organised for SNP employees by the SNP Euro MP, Alyn Smith.  Being a late addition to the trip and not fancying Ryanair's Prestwick - Charleroi route preferred by the contingent from the Scottish Parliament, I instead took a cheapish but unorthodox route via Amsterdam.

I'm glad I did, even though I arrived a couple of hours late due to Brussels Airport being fogbound.  However, this was as nothing compared with the horrors which had been unfolding at Prestwick.  The Charleroi flight had been cancelled due to the fog, leaving 20 of our researchers and assistants stranded back in Scotland.

However, SNP staff are blessed with a full toolkit of negotiation skills and they used them to the full on this occasion to get on a later Ryanair flight to Paris.  They eventually arrived in Brussels the next morning after just a couple of hours sleep in a Paris youth hostel, with most looking slightly the worse for their ordeal!

Although the European Parliament sits in Strasbourg, occasional plenary sessions are held in Brussels.  We spent our morning on a tour of the Brussels parliament, followed by a series of workshops in the afternoon on how the work of European Parliament could aid the fight for Scottish independence.  And once the formalities of our work were out of the way, we decided to go out and play at night.

The highlight of our evening was the aptly named Delerium Tremens pub - memorable for its cut-out pink elephants hanging from the ceiling and for stocking over 2000 types of beer.  I took great delight in ordering a pint of Caley 80/- and helping with the Scottish balance of payments, although I also had to try some of the local produce as well.  After all, I was under orders from my new colleagues at SNP Headquarters to 'have a beer for them' and I didn't want to be accused of letting anybody down.

Most of Saturday was spent sightseeing and experiencing some of the 'Plaisirs d'hiver' winter festival, such as the light shows in the famous 'Grand Place' and the renowned Christmas market.  Although a lot of it was similar to what happens in Edinburgh over Christmas and New Year, the Brussels events were on a much larger scale.

It's a shame that recent proposals for a Scottish 'Winterval', extending from St. Andrew's day until after New Year were so roundly panned by the so-called 'traditionalists', who take it upon themselves each year to lecture the rest of us about the meaning of Christmas.  To my mind, a winter festival combining the religious with the secular, much as the 'Plaisirs d'hiver' does, would compliment what Scotland's cities already do for Hogmanay and help the festive cheer last a little longer.

In many ways what we saw in Belgium reminded me of Scotland - a small, prosperous, modern country, frequently buffeted through history by her larger neighbours but seeing her future as part of the EU. However, our visit also threw into sharp relief the differences that exist too.

Unlike Belgium, Scotland's flag doesn't fly outside the Parliament or Commission and we don't sit on the all important Council of Ministers.  Instead, we remain an invisible nation, having our interests misrepresented on our behalf by successive UK governments.

If you listened to Robin Cook address the European & External relations committee of the Scottish Parliament earlier in the week, devolution was working for Scotland at an international level.  There was, said Cook, 'no forbidden territory for the Scottish Parliament in Europe', when it came to promoting Scotland's case.

All well and good if you are happier with Scotland being cast in the role of one lobbyist amongst many, rather than as a key decision-maker at state level.  Nonetheless, we may be about to see how hollow this boast actually is in the coming weeks as the EU considers plans to close down more of Scotland's cod fisheries.

If, as Cook claims, there is no forbidden territory for the Scottish Parliament in Europe, will it be Scottish Fisheries minister Ross Finnie who leads the UK delegation to reflect the importance of the industry in Scotland?  Or, more likely, will it be Blairite toady Ben Bradshaw, who knows little and cares even less about the impact of current quotas on either conservation or communities?

One thing's for sure, though.  It doesn't matter whether its fishing, competition policy or anything else under European jurisdiction - the best body to represent Scotland in Europe and the wider world would be a sovereign Scottish government. All Scots have to do to bring this about is to vote for it when they next get the chance.

"There is a clear choice now emerging for people. High risk, high cost ID cards with Labour or real security for our communities with the SNP."