Three little words
Posted on
June 25, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Hang on – didn’t our “Project Fear” pals spend half of last year sobbing and wailing and raging that a certain tri-morpheme prefix was leading and unfair and beastly and a clear attempt at rigging the referendum by the dastardly, unprincipled Nats?
Maybe our memory’s playing tricks on us. We’re pretty old.
Ah but, they are desperate for people to talk to them, to the extent they have to ask leading questions.
It’s curious that in the leaflet itself there is the opportunity to sign up for a postal vote. Is postal voting becoming a default position?
“Rules change as we set the rules” is the UK constitution.
@ Robin Ross Yup, the postal vote form sending offer does seem a bit premature, but Labour are the experts, so it must be possible. I’d imagine it depends which box somebody ticks in question 1 whether they get sent a postal vote form or not though!
It’s from the NO campaign so I guess the answer is… erm…NO…., or should that be YES ?
Delightful that you either voted SNP, Labour, Tory, or Lib Dem, or not at all. No other parties contest elections, huh?
First thought – Hypocrites
Second thought – Real concern over the attempt to punt postal voting well over a year out from the actual vote. I hope the Scottish Government is vigilant and ensures that postal voting is subject to close scrutiny.
I notice that they left out the option of the Scottish Green Party ?
Their duplicity knows no bounds…
I don’t know if they are really that stupid or they are taking the piss, but one thing I do know is that these people make me sick.
They are at best idiots and at worst hypocrites in the extreme.
The mentioning of postal ballots fills me with dread……
I noticed this bit of spin on Prof John “BBC” Curtice’s blog:
“Eight polls have so far been conducted since the Scottish Government accepted in January that the question on the referendum ballot paper should read, ‘Should Scotland be an independent country’, as recommended by the Electoral Commission.”
Am I mistaken or was that not the question the Scottish Government wanted in the first place?
All I can say is, if there is not a narrow qualification for receiving a postal vote, we are as good as stuffed.
“Do you agree that Scotland’s best future remains as part of the United Kingdom?”
Is it just getting late and my brain isn’t functioning very well or is this question garbled/wrongly worded?
“…best future remains as part of…” Is there not a word or 2 missing in this? Or just badly written with jumbled phrasing?
They are obviously getting worried that it will be very difficult to get people motivated to vote no. Not very inspiring is it? To make an effort to go to the polling station and vote against your country? It would be deliciously ironic if half the people they persuaded to apply for a postal vote suddenly changed their minds at the last minute and voted yes. It could happen!
There are citizens – vulnerable in different ways – who will receive this and believe that it IS their postal ballot.
A song of joy for our well-travelled friend, Blair McDougall .
All Around The World Looking For Mr Tory
I don’t know where my paymaster is
But I’ll find him, somewhere, somehow
I’ve got to let him know I’ve got a mortgage payment soon
I’ll never give up looking for Mr Tory
Been around the world and I, I, I
I can’t find Mr Tory
I don’t know when, I don’t know why
Why he’s gone away
And I don’t know where he can be, Mr Tory
But I’m gonna find him
I gorged on Mars Bars and I let myself go
Said lots of scary things, pretended better was No
And I was oh oh so bad (as agreed at Tory Central Office)
And I don’t think he’s comin’ back
He gave the reasons, the reasons Scots should vote No
Said we should smash the Nats, “don’t go high, go low”
And he was oh oh so glad
But I don’t think he’s comin’ back
I did lots of lyin’
Almost all the time
Now I’m here and cryin’, I, I, I
Been around the world and I, I, I
I can’t find Mr Tory
I don’t know when, I don’t know why
Why he’s gone away
And I don’t know where he can be, Mr Tory
But he better pay me
Foond the bastart!
link to thedailybalance.com
“I’m afraid I’m all out of English gold at the moment, Mr McDougall, but I will gladly pay you in Mars Bars next Tuesday.”
Interesting small print at the bottom, which admits that any data people give will be shared with the three unionist parties. Also interesting that they include “Scottish” Labour at all, given Labour have all but ditched them for their splinter campaign.
I wonder if the postal voting form mysteriously gets lost in the post if you put down that you’ll be voting Yes…?
What does the Electoral Commission think about this? Is this a clear abuse of the postal vote system? Who’s going to say enough’s enough?
The small print includes the following:
“By providing your data to us, you are consenting to Better Together, and the members of our coalition making contact with you in the future with regards to the campaign and referendum, by telephone, text or other means, even though you may be registered with Telephone Preference Service.” (bold is mine)
So, nuisance calls are now going to be part of Better Together’s strategy then, is it?!
…Do you agree… FFS – they really must think we’re ‘too stupid’
As I recall, their preferred statement was “Scotland should be an independent country” – I agree/ I disagree
They didn’t really appreciate me interrupting their victory dance to point out that their question was rejected as being leading as well.
Strong [and] Working Together are another 3 words which may be the cause of
Trench Foot in Mouth – The First Casualty of the WW1 Commemorations?
Call me cynical if you like, but I think we had the first admission on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on 10 Jun as to what the first ever UK major commemoration of the start of a war is all about from the head-honcho of the commemorations no less.
I trust someone who received one of these is completing it with all the relevant parts completed to show their undying love of the union and their need of a postal vote to see where it leads.
Indeed everyone should return it, even if it is blank or, better still, contains a short, considered message (of good will) to today’s union toadies. Either way it will cost them the postage and someones time in opening the thing.
Opening sentences reveal their general strategy: the choice is not between ‘Yes’ and ‘No’, it is between ‘No’ and ‘Unsure – please tell me some more lies’.
On postal voting, I’ve already written to a regional MSP to suggest that this comes under closer scrutiny, preferably before the vote takes place. Subrosa did a series of interesting articles on it. Time now to get it on the agenda?
bitter together vision of Scotland of the future
a nice place for uncle Jeremy to take his city friends on a weekend shoot in august and nail a few of those grouse, just keep inside the estate grounds dont want those pesky locals to know just how filthy rich we’ve become at their expense do we? that trillion and a half worth of oil in the north sea that chappie salmond said was left was waaayyyy short of reality and its still pouring forth our offshore funds aint those swiss bank accounts just great? and that was 40 years ago, just a pity the rest of this sodding country looks like a shithouse, full of people who look like they could do with a good feed and the roads are a joke, just as well Jeremy has a helipad,
yes campaigns veiw of Scotlands future
some years ago about 40 I think yes Im sure it was the year before we voted yes by a surprisingly large majority 60% wasnt it?
some genius thought on a visit to build links with China to discuss investment in the carbon capture technology research being done at Kingcardine power station , and by all accounts was on the cusp of success when that clown Cameron remember him? what a pillock he was, took poor old England into a succession of depressions that 40 years later has still not recovered from, phew that could have been us if we hadn’t voted yes,
but when the Chinese stepped in with research funds Kingcardine became the world wide hub for carbon capture ,and made north sea oil income look like small beer, the Chinese have bought an average of one carbon capture power station from us a year for the last 30 years and the rest of the world sees us as the saviors of the planet since Chinese and Asian carbon emissions have plummeted,
even the Americans are beating a path to our door for a share of the action,
Scotland vote yes
@Luigi
“It would be deliciously ironic if half the people they persuaded to apply for a postal vote suddenly changed their minds at the last minute and voted yes. It could happen!”
Regrettably, what is MORE likely to happen, is that someone decides on the day to go to the polling booth to vote YES and finds that “they” have already voted by postal ballot. It has happened in past elections, so “there is form” as the men in blue would say.
I have great concerns about the postal voting regulations and the ease by which these can be manipulated. The SNP/SG have been given control over the referendum – postal voting should be tightened up for the referendum and strict rules applied to minimise fraud to the smallest levels possible. (I do not think it is possible to completely eliminate it).
If the referendum is lost by a small margin and the postal votes are a significant percentage of the votes cast – I will feel that the referendum will have been stolen. That would NOT auger well for “working together” afterwards. These political minnows are playing a dangerous game to hold onto their power.
Well, reading around it looks like we are now seeing campaigns for the 2015 rUKGE beginning in earnest.
Let the ‘Who’s the most Tory’ games begin.
Round 1, who will cut the most. Bonus points for hitting pensioners hard.
link to bbc.co.uk
link to bbc.co.uk
Round 2 will be who will hit the poor/disabled/unemployed the most (delete as appropriate, with these to be carried over into subsequent rounds).
O/T Herald story on Falkirk.
link to heraldscotland.com
Unite is of course just a stage on the path to the Westminster trough for Labour wannabes so it’s lovely to see them getting shafted by the PLP. On the other hand, I wonder if the obviously whipped party memberships from the union were a little signal of the worm turning. There must be a reasonable portion of their membership smart enough to notice that NuLab does nothing for them and is as much of a threat to workers’ rights as the Tories.
Better Together sadly announce the cast of Grange Hill have declined to back their campaign by re-releasing their hit record “Just Say No”.
On the other hand, I wonder if the obviously whipped party memberships from the union were a little signal of the worm turning.
Aye. Thought crossed my mind too. London right-wing Blairites calling the shots in Falkirk.
@Boorach
Yes, I’ve completed the leaflet I received ysterday (that’s two leaflets in from Project Fear, zilch from Yes). I ticked the postal voting box and also said I was a Labour supporter which I reasoned was most likely to have me receive further contact on this issue. So we shall see.
It seems ok for political activists to encourage supporters to use the postal vote, if they really cannot vote otherwise.
However, people to using postal voting as an alternative to attending the polling station should not be encouraged. It’s like saying “you don’t have to even go to the polling station,just fill in this form”. Postal voting should be the last resort, not the first option. If Labour are actively encouraging postal voting, simply out of fear that noone is going to bother to turn up, well, it may be lawful, but it does not seem right.
Going way O/T here.
Noticed a story on the BBC that shows a new trend emerging.
link to bbc.co.uk.
This is about prescriptions in Scotland – anyway, the bit I’m interested is the claim that the most popular drug (designed to help respiratory conditions) is taken by more than 750,000 people costing £45m to the taxpayer. The drug is Fluticasone/salmeterol, used in inhalers.
How can 750k of Scotland’s population be taking this drug ? thats 1 in 6 people. Think about it. Do 4 kids in every class of 24 have inhalers they have to take ? Do I see 1 in 6 people at my work with inhalers, or know about them using it. And remember the report says more than 750k – are 1 in 6 babies born with respiratory conditions and immediately have to go onto an inhaler ?
Of course not. This drug is for asthma sufferers and most likely the elderly or smokers. So if the average class of kids has maybe 1 kid using an inhaler, then surely by logic that means that a huge percentage of the older generation have to use one, maybe even 1 in 2 people.
A better example came a few weeks ago on the medical issue of chronic pain, which BBC SCotland stated that there were more than 700,000 sufferers in Scotland. Again were, looking around the 1 in 6/7 mark of the population.
Again, think of the average classroom. Now it’s been a good few years since I’ve been at school, but in my class, in fact in my whole year, I can’t remember one kid suffering from chronic pain. I attended a large state comprehensive with around 250 pupils in my year. The same at work, I don’t know anyone that suffers from chronic pain and is medically diagnosed as such.
So thinking about it, for this statistic to be true, surely it must mean that every person in Scotland aged over 65 must be diagnosed as suffering chronic pain, or maybe it’s every 2nd person over the age of 50.
I’m sorry, I just don’t buy it. At the very least I think we should be looking at a revision of the diagnosis ‘chronic’.
Oh, here’s a link to the chronic pain story http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-20946437
The secondary question is interesting, ‘Or do you want to find out more etc’. It’s obviously dawned on the UKOKs that in all recent polls/surveys the DKs/want more info group is growing, and they’ll be where the referendum is won or lost. I wonder if the more information that they’ll provide will be the positive case for the Union, or a ‘super toxic with extra irradiation’ version of the Fear Project? No breath holding advised..
Labour encouraging postal voting – why am I not surprised?
Dodgy stuff.
I’ve had a postal vote for a few years because I knew I wouldn’t be here for whatever election it was. Never bothered reverting to ‘normal’.
Now?
Can’t take a chance. Just called the Electoral Registration Office – the helpful young lady said, ‘nae probs wee man, just send us a letter sayin’ whit ye jist telt me, mind ye sign it, an’ send it in, we’ll dae the rest, ken?’
So that’s that sorted. Looking forward to the excitement of going into the station on the big day, and intend to do so dressed as an Irn Bru penguin.
Wak-wak!
For those of you who have received the mail drop will notice that the BT team have presented selected individuals comments and reasons for supporting the Union as “FACT”
Iain,
It’s obviously dawned on the UKOKs that in all recent polls/surveys the DKs/want more info group is growing, and they’ll be where the referendum is won or lost.
It’s even worse (for BT): After two years of relentless negativity, what the DKs/WMIs are really looking for now is an upbeat, positive message. Anyone with a bright, hopefull message will get their attention. People are turned off by negativity. They want to be turned on! Unfortunately, BT haven’t yet learned to do positive (aside from the usual, big Unionjackfests, which are not resonating with the DK/WMI target groups).
White paper launch in September – wait and see the amount of attention it gets. BT would be well advised not to go into overdrive with negativity then, but you just know that is how they will respond!
“FACT”
Fear And Complete Tosh
Dal Riata “By providing your data to us, you are consenting to Better Together, and the members of our coalition making contact with you in the future with regards to the campaign and referendum, by telephone, text or other means, even though you may be registered with Telephone Preference Service.” (bold is mine)
From what I’ve read of the leaflets data protection statement. I would say that itis illegal as the Act requires an opt out option ( in most cases) and hearby agreeing to just provide personal data does not mean they can share it with third parties. Not having recieved this communication from BT myself I would suggest someone contacts the Information Commissioner for clarification. Given BT’s past form in relation to data protection I’m sure the Information Commissioner will pay close attention especially in regard to the Telephone Preference Service.
Adrian B says:
“FACT” Fear And Complete Tosh
Well put.
I have written to the SNP this morning asking them what security precautions will be taken against postal vote fraud in the referendum.
This is their reply.
Postal votes will not be issued by political bodies. Administration of the referendum will, as with general elections, be carried out through local authorities with returning officers in each area. Postal ballots will be issued via the local authority with their usual security practices in place.
Here is another one;
Fear Alliance Conservative Tripe
@John H
Postal ballots will be issued via the local authority with their usual security practices in place.
Oh dear! As I said on another thread here, I worry that the postal voting system is the YES Scotland’s campaigns Achilles heel. I do not think that the existing system is fit for purpose, especially in such a critical referendum.
@Tony Little
Tony, I share your fears. I’m hoping that I was being fed the official line for public consumption. I’m hoping that the SG secretly have a really clever plan up their sleeves. I hope so, for all our sakes.
Given that the unionist’s very existence depends on this vote, I am convinced there is no out of bounds limit to what they will do to win.
Tartanfever
The drug in question is an expensive (but effective) treatment for asthma and COPD. The 750000 people figure is wrong. I suspect what they meant was 750000 prescriptions – bearing in mind a device would last 1 month or so and an individual may go through 12 a year.
@Training Days
Thanks, will be interesting to follow your progress. Being an irresponsible drop-out who lives in a van I’m not priviliged by BT’s information team!
Double standards, it seems from the NO camp, and it will only get worse in the run up to the referendum, and with the MSM, backing their hypocrisy, we will almost certainly be in for a bumpy ride, fasten your seat belts please.
Scotlands best future aye right!!! Put simply Scotland wont have a future if it votes no!!!!
Better Together………Yes but for who??? Certainly not Scotland or the Scottish people.