NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE The Celtic League has welcomed comments from the Chief Minister about links to the new Scottish bloc of MPs at Westminster. The League has urged the CM to strengthen links with the Holyrood government originally forged when Alex Salmond was First Minister of Scotland (see text): ?The Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK Chief Minister Office Government Buildings Douglas Isle of Man 13th May 2015 Dear Chief Minister, I note your comments following the United Kingdom General Election that the Manx government has developed strong connections with the Scottish Nationalist Party government while the party was under the leadership of Alex Salmond and this ?at least gives us the potential to have more friends in Westminster?. I think those sentiments are very true and given that the SNP will comprise the largest unaligned bloc in the UK parliament and given the dynamic driving political, social and economic policy in Scotland the SNP government should be natural allies of the Isle of Man. Accepting what you say about the strong links forged with the former SNP leader Mr Salmond, we would urge you to establish a similar strong bi-lateral relationship with his successor Nicola Sturgeon. You will be aware that in February this year the Irish government moved to strengthen relationships with Scotland and Foreign Affairs Minister, Charles Flanagan TD, in the course of a visit to Scotland met both the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and other of her cabinet colleagues and spoke of ?a new chapter? in Irish Scottish relations. I trust the Manx government will emulate this and adopt a proactive stance to improving ties between Mann and Scotland. Yours sincerely, J B Moffatt (Mr) Director of Information Celtic League? Related links here: Foreign Ministers Visit Strengthens Irish Scottish Links Flanagan: New Chapter in Scottish Irish Relation (TransCeltic) J B Moffatt (Mr) Director of Information Celtic League 13/05/15 (Please note that replies to correspondence received by the League and posted on CL News are usually scanned hard copies. Obviously every effort is made to ensure the scanning process is accurate but sometimes errors do occur.) ISSUED BY THE CELTIC LEAGUE INFORMATION SERVICE. The Celtic League has branches in the six Celtic Countries. It works to promote cooperation between these countries and campaigns on a broad range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It highlights human rights abuse, monitors all military activity and focuses on socio-economic issues Download our News App for Android here. Internet site at: (voir le site) (voir le site) Share this!