Just a couple of days ago I watched with interest the progress of the campaign for justice on behalf of the Liverpool Football fans who lost their lives or were injured at Hillsborough. The campaign was based on a search for the truth about what happened and an enquiry was granted in to the actions of the police and their behaviour which has been questioned since the tragedy happened. Rather than rehearse the arguments again I will just say that the families of the supporters have been vindicated and the enquiry condemned the police actions and we will hear more about this in future. This result has been greeted with acclaim by ordinary people everywhere as a victory for truth and justice.
What then are we to make of the snp Scottish Government's decision to reject a similar enquiry in to the behaviour of the police during the coal dispute of 19 83 to 19 84? 200 miners lost their jobs and 500 found themselves with criminal records for defending their communities from Tory attack and the accusations of the mining communities have never gone away. The success of the Hillsborough enquiry gave the miners and their families hope of a similar enquiry being granted here by the Snp Government but, the snp chose to dash those hopes with a rejection. For a party which persistently and bogusly claims to care about the Scottish people this is a huge snp betrayal, there is no other way to describe it, they have stabbed the Scottish mining communities in the back and in doing so betrayed Scotland as well.
During the dispute people were denied the right to travel, police operated without identification, spurious charges were made, police ran riot with horses and batons, huge lorries were allowed to go charging through towns and villages carrying scab coal at excessive and dangerous speed with impunity and, it was all planned and coordinated by a right wing Tory Government at 10 Downing Street. This was the British state crushing workers rights so why are the snp refusing to expose them? Why are the snp not willing to act against the UK state when they have a case against them? One would think that this is a godsend for their anti English/British agenda so why? Something smells rotten here.
The National Union of Mineworkers was the backbone of the labour movement and as such they were and still are unfortunately as loathed by the snp as they were and still are by the Tories. Along with the Labour Party, other Unions and various Socialist societies they are what organised labour is all about and the snp have always harboured a deep hatred for the miners and the other trade unions. The snp see the wider labour Movement as traitors to Scotland because they have never bought in to the snp's small constricted nationalist agenda. The idea of Trade Unionism is International, it recognises no barriers and that is anathema to nationalists. The trade unionist reaches out to all workers no matter what colour, race or creed he or she is they do not care what nationality someone is only that they are a brother or sister. That is why the snp hate trade unionism and it's also why they have betrayed the Scottish miners and the rest of Scotland too on this very important issue. Consider the fact that the minister responsible for granting the request for an enquiry Kenny MacAskill did not even bother to attend the debate. They (the snp) could hardly make their contempt for the Trade Union Movement clearer. This is the true face of nationalism and separation and it is deeply ugly, these are the kind of people who want to run Scotland and make it a place where hatred of non Scots. especially English people is fostered, a backward pinched face place separation from the rest of the world.. If thousands of people from the Scottish coalfield communities can't get support from the Scottish snp government just what kind of people are the snp?
Labour MSP John Finnie's motion for an independent enquiry in to the behaviour of the UK national Police Force including the Scottish Police Force during the coal dispute was voted down by the snp in Holyrood aided by the Tories, how did your snp MSP vote? Don't you want to find out? Write to them and ask.