A Tangled Web

Strangling Scottish Loyalism



Having wrapped the noose of political correctness ever tighter around the collective neck of the Orange Order in Northern Ireland, there are now plans afoot to do the same in Scotland. The First Minister, Jack McConnell (whose surname suggests he is not descended from Cherokee Indians), is under pressure by elements in Scottish Catholicism to restrict or ban certain parades.



It matters not that the Orange Order has been parading the highways and byways of Western Scotland for generations; nor that the greatest offence caused to most Scots is the insistence of the Irish diaspora of demonstrating their loyalties to a country they do not reside in. Orangeism is as much a part of the culture of the Scottish west coast as anything else. It is the same area which has generational links with Ulster Protestantism going back hundreds of years.



One question remains: will the Labour-led executive in Scotland attempt to penalise the Loyal Orders to the same extent as the offensive 'Parades Commission' has across the North Channel? It is highly likely. The reason lies in the history (and, hence, the political leanings) of the Scottish Labour Party. Since its inception, the Labour movement north of the border has been infiltrated and influenced by Scots of Irish Catholic descent. Whereas Protestant socialists tended to join the Communist Party in the heyday of industrial expansion along the Forth/Clyde Valley, the Irish diaspora set about joining and dominating the political philosophies of Scottish Labour.



A cursory glance at Scottish Labour representation today indicates the extent of that influence: Frank Doran, Rosemary McKenna, John McFall, John Reid, Jack McConnell, Michael Connarty, Martin O'Neill, Thomas McAvoy, Jim Murphy, Jim Sheridan, Des McNulty, Michael McMahon and Tom McCabe are all part of the Celtic mafia for whom displays of Scottish Protestantism are antithetical to their own beliefs.



Let the Loyal Orders beware. For most of the above Labour luminaries, the sight of Orangemen bedecked in Saltire's and Union Flags is far more offensive than Celtic FC fans provocatively waving Irish Tricolours, shouting Tiocfaidh ar La, and chortling The Fields of Athenry at an annoyingly loud volume.