The referendum on Scottish independence seems to have produced a clear majority against the proposition that Scotland should be an independent country.  It is regrettable that the post-vote analysis, the fall-out and the genuine sense of grief that some feel, is overshadowed by allegations of irregularities: vote rigging.  As I write this there has been no official response to the claims, some apparently supported by video “evidence” posted on the internet, but I doubt that any irregularities would be proved to be part of an organised and widespread attempt to fix the election.  Most likely they are the work of misguided individuals, and I also doubt if they would have altered the result overall.

What is much more worrying is the way in which the referendum was stolen by the established mainstream parties: the Westminster establishment.  It is no surprise to me that the UK Labour Party was, and is, against Scottish Independence:  it has abandoned defence of working people across the country, and has failed to offer a genuinely radical alternative vision, in pursuit of power.  The final result was undoubtedly affected by a last-minute pledge, largely driven by Labour, to deliver additional powers to the Scottish Government – more devolved powers.  As such they have fallen into the trap laid for it by the Tory party, they are now scrambling around trying to meet this commitment which is undeliverable in the context of demands by Tory right-wing and eurosceptic MPs who are demanding English devolution: having English MPs only voting on English matters.  If this happened the loss of a large number of Scottish-elected MPs in the voting lobbies would emasculate any Labour-led (even Labour majority) government.

The best thing that Scots can do now is vote for the SNP at each and every election – local, national and European – and wipe Labour off the Scottish electoral map in the way the Conservatives have been.  Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.