Election / Candidate wants to return the monarchy to Scotland
CONSTITUTIONAL reform in one way or another is on the agenda of many candidates standing at the forthcoming by-election, including Walls man Peter Tait who is campaigning to bring the monarchy back to Scotland.
The former mussel farmer says he is not interested in discussing any local issues but instead wants to use the Scottish Parliament by-election as a platform to test his political message.
Tait was one of two surprise candidates whose names were revealed after nominations closed on Friday afternoon.
He said many domestic conflicts the UK has been experiencing over the centuries stem from the move of King James VI of Scotland to London to become James I of England and Ireland following the Union of the Crowns in 1603.
“I want to bring back the monarchy back to Scotland. At the moment the monarchy is constitutionally in England, and it is bound to be constitutionally Protestant, and I think that is wrong,” he explained his faith based concept.
“The tensions we have in this country between Catholics and Protestants is simply due to the fact that the monarchy is off centre. I believe the monarchy was always meant to be Scottish. It is English by accident and Scottish by design.”
He said that as a Unionist he believes that Edinburgh, and not London, should be where the political power is based.
“My view on Scottish independence is that Scotland won its independence 600 years ago, so I think they are flogging a dead horse there,” he said.
“I am not asking for independence at all; I think Scotland is the senior state in the union.
“The basis of the English state began 1066, the Scottish state began as early as 850 and possibly even earlier, so Scotland is an older state and therefore is the senior state, and that is where the monarchy should be and that is where central government should be, while the other states in the UK are junior states.”
Tait said he appreciates that the by-election on 29 August, triggered by the surprise resignation of MSP Tavish Scott, is not the best of venues to make his case.
“More appropriate would be to stand for the Westminster parliament but that is not an option at the moment although it might be very soon,” he said.
Tait was joined by former Lerwick councillor and SIC deputy political leader Michael Stout, both independent candidates, when the full list of candidates was revealed on Friday.
They join Johan Adamson (Scottish Labour), Brydon Goodlad (Scottish Conservatives), Stuart Martin (UKIP), Debra Nicolson (Scottish Greens), Ian Scott (independent), Ryan Thomson (independent), Tom Wills (SNP) and Beatrice Wishart (Scottish Liberal Democrats).
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