Scotland may prefer not to be dragged into the European Federal State

Twelve members of the Westminster Parliament are elected by Scottish voters as Liberal Democrat MPs.

Here is the Early Day Motion tabled recently by Alistair Carmichael, who has just resigned from his shadow Liberal Democrat front bench position over the amendment seeking a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty which the Liberal Democrat leadership sought to defeat.

- That this House notes with concern clause 27 (Jurisdiction to try offences committed in the UK) in the Counter Terrorism Bill which would allow terrorism offences committed in Scotland to be tried in any court in the United Kingdom; recognises that the constitutional independence of the Scottish legal system was recognised in the Act of the Union in 1707; believes Clause 27 represents an unjustified and unconstitutional attack on the integrity of the independent Scottish legal system; and this House calls on UK ministers to support an amendment to remove clause 27 from the Counter Terrorism Bill.

Mr Carmichael stated:

“The independence of the Scottish legal system has been recognised and protected since Scotland entered the Union in 1707. The Government is now trying to rip that up for no good reason...
“This clause goes much further than the Government claims. Although they justify it by speaking of offences where there is action on both sides of the border, the impact is much wider than that. It is unnecessary, unwanted and unsustainable.”

How many other Scottish-elected Liberal Democrats might be reconsidering their allegiances?

European Union membership for Scotland is considerably less advantageous than it is for Brown's 'Labour' party, who are regarded as having irretrievably blotted their Scottish copybook after half a century of degradation and misrule of Scotland.