Amusing as it is to watch the LibDems try to portray themselves as the heroes in this situation (Smith Commission: Tories tried to dilute proposals), the fact remains that it matters not at all whether their Tory masters actually delivered on proposals which were themselves an incoherent and inadequate follow-up to a vacuous promise made in a moment of pant-wetting panic by British politicians in abject fear of losing their wee bit power and privilege.
Let me make this absolutely clear. Even if the notorious "vow" had been sincere (stop laughing); and even if the Smith Commission had been a genuine attempt to honour that "vow"; and even if "Cameron's Clauses" represented an earnest effort to implement the Smith Commission's recommendations, IT STILL WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SATISFACTORY.
No settlement will ever be satisfactory which is a product of a process which is primarily concerned with the withholding of powers which should rightly reside with the Scottish Parliament.
Arguments about whether Smith delivered on the "vow" and whether the UK Government has delivered on Smith are a pointless distraction. None of it represented a serious attempt to address the underlying constitutional issue. None of it had anything to do with addressing the priorities and aspirations of Scotland's people. It was entirely about preserving the old order and the old ways. It was about fending off change. It was about buying time in the desperate hope that the demand for reform might evaporate.
There is only one answer to the constitutional question. Independence! Nothing less!
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