(UKPA)
–
8 hours ago 

Less than two-thirds of SNP voters want independence, according to a poll.

The survey suggests that 28% of party supporters would instead opt for increased devolution while remaining in the United Kingdom.

More than half of Labour voters and just under a third of Conservatives would also back more power short of independence.

The results show an appetite for Devo Plus, according to think-tank Reform Scotland. The system would give Holyrood powers for income and corporation tax, among other levies, as well as assigning a geographic share of Scotland‘s oil revenue.

The choice is not likely to feature on the ballot paper in the referendum in late 2014 unless the Scottish and UK governments agree to a multi-option vote.

Reform Scotland chairman Ben Thomson said: “This polling reveals starkly the emerging consensus amongst all sides of the political divide. Last week’s poll showed that Devo Plus was by some margin the most popular way forward for Scotland, and this breakdown shows that its popularity transcends political boundaries.

“I am confident that this new information will be considered carefully by both Yes Scotland and Better Together. At present, neither of those campaigns is promoting the way forward which is most favoured by the people of Scotland. Devo Plus is a solution around which all of Scotland‘s political parties can coalesce.”

Former Liberal Democrat MSP Jeremy Purvis, leader of the Devo Plus group, added: “The fact that only just over 60% of SNP voters support independence and also the vast majority of Labour party voters want the non-independence parties to work together for Devo Plus is highly significant.

“It shows that most ordinary people across Scotland are less interested in the contortions over the issue of the ballot paper but are wanting parties to work together on how to deliver a stronger Scottish Parliament within the UK.

“The Devo Plus proposal is a carefully considered and fully worked-up plan on how to deliver this. It’s fairly clear now it’s the most popular way forward also.”

Copyright © 2012 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

3 July 2012
Last updated at 23:11 GMT

The Queen has been celebrating 60 years on the throne

The Queen will carry out a number of engagements in the west of Scotland as part of her week-long jubilee celebrations north of the border.

She is due to attend a service of thanksgiving at Glasgow Cathedral to mark her 60 years on the throne.

Senior clergy from the Church of Scotland and Scotland‘s Roman Catholic Church will take part.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will later meet members of the public in Glasgow’s George Square.

While in the city the royal couple will also meet the organising committee of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

The Queen and Duke will then move on to engagements in Clydebank and Greenock.

On Thursday, the monarch will accompany other members of the royal family to the Thistle Service at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh at which Prince William will be installed as a Knight of the Thistle.

A pipe band parade will be hosted on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh to mark the royal visit.

On Friday, the Queen and Duke will visit Perth, which was awarded city status to mark the jubilee.

• Join BBC One Scotland at 10:30 for coverage of the Scottish Diamond Jubilee Thanksgiving Service from Glasgow Cathedral.

By CLAIRE SMITH

Published on Wednesday 4 July 2012 00:00

BROADCASTER Lorraine Kelly was overcome with emotion while being given an OBE at a ceremony at the Palace of Holyroodhouse yesterday, as the Queen continued celebrations to mark her Diamond Jubilee year.

• Lorraine Kelly awarded an OBE for services to charity

• Scotland’s most-capped rugby player Chris Paterson received an MBE for services to rugby

Rugby veteran Chris Paterson, who recently announced his retirement, was also awarded the honour along with about 70 luminaries from the worlds of medicine, the arts and the voluntary sector in Scotland.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh hosted the traditional summer garden party in the grounds of the palace, welcoming guests including First Minister Alex Salmond.

Speaking after her investiture, Kelly said: “I cried all the way through, I don’t know what the Queen must have thought. I was just a bit overcome by it all.”

Kelly, who was given the award for her services to charity and to the armed forces, added: “There are an awful lot of people who work away at charities, who help the armed forces, and do an awful lot more than I do.

“I think I am getting it on their behalf as well for myself.”

Paterson described the event as a “fantastic moment”.

He said: “You feel a wee bit guilty, you don’t know if you deserve it or not.

“You set goals as a rugby player, and you reach goals, whether it be club level or international, and you think that’s it. You never set out looking to achieve anything like this.”

Although the sky was grey for much of the day, the rain stayed off during the garden party.

First minister Mr Salmond said: “There was a lot of pessimism about the weather but in the event it stayed dry. It is very difficult to believe there are 8,000 people here.”

As the band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland played a medley of songs, including Dancing Queen by Abba, the monarch, wearing a blue coat trimmed with white and a matching hat, met and spoke to guests before going to the royal tent for tea.

Flanked by members of the Royal Company of Archers and High Constables of Holyrood, she was introduced to guests including Robert Walker Hunter, the Lord Lieutenant of Shetland.

The Queen also spoke to Colin Wylie and Jennifer Russell, whose Kirkcudbright swimming pool recently received £60,000 from the People’s Lottery Fund to install solar panels.

Mr Wylie said it was a great honour to meet the Queen: “I never thought I would be so excited about something like this.”

The Queen also took time to chat to Royal Marine Lance Corporal John James Chalmers, known as JJ, who suffered terrible injuries in an explosion in Afghanistan last year.

He said: “She was asking me how my recovery was going. She recognised me. I met her before when I did a reading at Crathie church in Balmoral.

“I had injuries to my arms, legs, a broken neck, a shattered eye socket and I lost two fingers. It is a year on, but I am still being told what to do by doctors.

“It feels very nice to be standing here almost in one piece a year on. I feel human again.”

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#7. No you don’t. I am not an admirer of anyone who lives of the state unless through necessity.

Whether you are a royalist or not you have to admire Q E 11 she has done some sterling work throughout her life without a hint of scandel and no complaints.

Aye Rosie ye look like yer maw.

The Queen wid gae a tear tae a gless een.

#1:Vile comments on a woman who gets an award for charity.It’s you that’s the nonentity pal.

Why do the whiny group of grumpies enjoy posting their petty little nothings? If I don’t like something I ignore it. (Mind you, I’m not ignoring some of these pouting posters am I?) Could it be that they didn’t get an invitation, or they didn’t get the OBE they felt they so richly deserved?

It was good to see Charlie Miller get his Award, He used to cut my hair years ago.

1. Weasel words, from a member of the weasel word party. QUESTION: how many have signed Salmond’s YES TO SEPARATION petition? Take your time,

What a creep this non entity Kelly is ,

Your view

Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.

By CLAIRE SMITH

Published on Wednesday 4 July 2012 00:00

BROADCASTER Lorraine Kelly was overcome with emotion while being given an OBE at a ceremony at the Palace of Holyroodhouse yesterday, as the Queen continued celebrations to mark her Diamond Jubilee year.

• Lorraine Kelly awarded an OBE for services to charity

• Scotland’s most-capped rugby player Chris Paterson received an MBE for services to rugby

Rugby veteran Chris Paterson, who recently announced his retirement, was also awarded the honour along with about 70 luminaries from the worlds of medicine, the arts and the voluntary sector in Scotland.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh hosted the traditional summer garden party in the grounds of the palace, welcoming guests including First Minister Alex Salmond.

Speaking after her investiture, Kelly said: “I cried all the way through, I don’t know what the Queen must have thought. I was just a bit overcome by it all.”

Kelly, who was given the award for her services to charity and to the armed forces, added: “There are an awful lot of people who work away at charities, who help the armed forces, and do an awful lot more than I do.

“I think I am getting it on their behalf as well for myself.”

Paterson described the event as a “fantastic moment”.

He said: “You feel a wee bit guilty, you don’t know if you deserve it or not.

“You set goals as a rugby player, and you reach goals, whether it be club level or international, and you think that’s it. You never set out looking to achieve anything like this.”

Although the sky was grey for much of the day, the rain stayed off during the garden party.

First minister Mr Salmond said: “There was a lot of pessimism about the weather but in the event it stayed dry. It is very difficult to believe there are 8,000 people here.”

As the band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland played a medley of songs, including Dancing Queen by Abba, the monarch, wearing a blue coat trimmed with white and a matching hat, met and spoke to guests before going to the royal tent for tea.

Flanked by members of the Royal Company of Archers and High Constables of Holyrood, she was introduced to guests including Robert Walker Hunter, the Lord Lieutenant of Shetland.

The Queen also spoke to Colin Wylie and Jennifer Russell, whose Kirkcudbright swimming pool recently received £60,000 from the People’s Lottery Fund to install solar panels.

Mr Wylie said it was a great honour to meet the Queen: “I never thought I would be so excited about something like this.”

The Queen also took time to chat to Royal Marine Lance Corporal John James Chalmers, known as JJ, who suffered terrible injuries in an explosion in Afghanistan last year.

He said: “She was asking me how my recovery was going. She recognised me. I met her before when I did a reading at Crathie church in Balmoral.

“I had injuries to my arms, legs, a broken neck, a shattered eye socket and I lost two fingers. It is a year on, but I am still being told what to do by doctors.

“It feels very nice to be standing here almost in one piece a year on. I feel human again.”

• Email to a friend
• Print this page

Comments

There are 4 comments to this article

Why do the whiny group of grumpies enjoy posting their petty little nothings? If I don’t like something I ignore it. (Mind you, I’m not ignoring some of these pouting posters am I?) Could it be that they didn’t get an invitation, or they didn’t get the OBE they felt they so richly deserved?

It was good to see Charlie Miller get his Award, He used to cut my hair years ago.

1. Weasel words, from a member of the weasel word party. QUESTION: how many have signed Salmond’s YES TO SEPARATION petition? Take your time,

What a creep this non entity Kelly is ,

Your view

Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.

Keep away from football supporters and square sausage, and never, ever refer to a Scottish person as English. That’s the blunt advice for Japanese visitors to Scotland in a new guidebook that looks beyond the predictable round of golf and a stroll along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.

Not all the advice in the Insider’s Guide to Scotland is prohibitive, however. It recommends Mackie’s honeycomb ice-cream and ginger marmalade, as well as Irn Bru. Lorne sausage, though – which is sliced and flat, and also known as square sausage – is best avoided.

The Japanese-language book, published by the Edinburgh-based Luath Press, notes the attraction of pub crawls, even urging visitors to get “merrily drunk” on whisky. There is advice, too, on pub etiquette: buy rounds, and if in a group, ensure there is enough in the kitty.

But it is cautious on interactions with the locals, which can be fraught with misunderstanding: referring to a kilt as a skirt is surpassed in its potential to cause offence only by calling the locals English, it says.

Travellers expecting Japanese standards of service will be disappointed: “Please do not expect to have the same quick, polite and accurate service here to compare with Japanese service at shops, restaurants and hotels. Be patient anywhere in Scotland – it is not Japan.”

The list of dos and don’ts represents a cultural minefield for inexperienced travellers, particularly those ignorant of the finer points of Scottish football. It implores readers not to approach “men in green or blue football tops” and to steer clear of council estates. Don’t be surprised, it adds, when the first sign of rain does not produce a flurry of umbrella-opening.

Akiko Elliott, one of the authors, said the book was designed to be honest but affectionate. “I believe more Japanese will find the nature and culture of Scotland interesting and fascinating,” she told the BBC. “Until now the emphasis of Scottish tourism was on visiting historical sites or playing golf, but younger people are showing a keen interest in other aspects of Scottish life.”

A Visit Scotland spokesman said: “The comments within the book should be taken with a pinch of salt and are probably indicative of the Scots sense of humour, but clearly there’s a wealth of information in the book that showcases Scotland at its very best.”

Cara Ellison, a Scot who lived in Japan for three years, said the guidebook was a “brilliant idea”. She said: “When I lived in Japan it became clear that Japanese people have a fascination with Scottish culture, in particular whisky and golf, and this book seems to present the opportunity for them to enjoy those, as well as widening their chances to experience more.

“And the umbrella advice really rings true. Scottish people care very little about a bit of rain, for obvious reasons, but when I was in Japan, people were appalled that I didn’t use an umbrella.”