We wish to see an end of the British State as much as we wish to see Scottish Independence

We wish to see an end of the British State as much as we wish to see Scottish Independence. 

In many ways the Scottish National Party is a very British party- think of the 'Save our Regiments' campaign, or its active and open support to retain the Queen and its deeply reticent attitude about speaking up about Ireland. For fear of giving offence they have one leg in the British and one leg out.  The much trumped Devo- Max as second favourite option, is in many ways reminiscent of  Gladstone's 'Home Rule All Round' slogan.

 In Scotland, the SNP ( who I voted for in the first ballot, this year) are keen to spin the line that the Queen is a harmless old lady. And we should keep the monarchy and only talk about Ireland. if we mention the 'Celtic Tiger' and since the banking collapse, we are not to discuss our sister country at all - like that mad wife in the Charlotte Bronte novel that is kept up in the attic and never discussed.  

Now all the talk is back to us being Norway like in the Seventies ! A confident wee nation at ease with ourselves, with no real divides between the haves and the have nots.. Yet deeply disciplined in self-censorship. The Say Nothing Party. 

A douce wee polite Jock-Brit nation. More tea and Battenburg cake Lizzy?

Such is the paranoia over the republican issue that the longstanding policy of a referendum on the retention of the royal family has been dropped and a Facebook page called Scottish Nationalist Republicans has been pressurised to drop its page from the social network system.