After the swarm
On 15 October 2012, I signed the Edinburgh Agreement with David Cameron to secure the independence referendum of September 2014.
On the same day Peter Kellner of the polling company YouGov wrote one of his condescending commentaries from London dissing any hope for the Yes campaign.
Kellner’s view was almost universal, and not just among the London pack of journos and politicians. Most, if not all, of the Scottish media agreed with him.
However, by September 2014 things looked very different.
The No camp’s lead, which had been 33 points, was down to 6 points. Prime Minister Cameron had taken to phoning a variety of heads of state – Obama, Putin, Merkel, Hollande, Abbott – begging for support. As we know from his own autobiography he worried greatly about going down in history as the biggest Prime Ministerial loser of imperial territory since Lord North.
Three things closed the gap.
Firstly, the grassroots Yes campaign, which had taken time to fire, finally sprung into life in August, particularly in the afterglow of the Commonwealth Games. They were gloriously multifarious and their campaign Bible was the Wee Blue Book.
And if anything, it helped the status of that publication that some in the Yes hierarchy were deeply suspicious of it and its author.
Secondly the BBC referendum debate of 26th August in Kelvingrove between Alistair Darling and myself was highly influential. A hugely-watched television event, it trended globally on social media. The ICM poll awarded it 71-29 for Yes, with every category – Yes, No, Undecided, young, old, women and men – supporting that verdict.
(My revisionist SNP detractors like to focus on the STV clash of three weeks earlier. But that was much less of an occasion with much lower viewership. In any case, ICM judged it only 56-44 for No at a time when Yes support was under 40%. That debate didn’t even slow down the Yes momentum, but the Kelvingrove one moved it through the gears. The Daily Telegraph were reduced to accusing the BBC of a conspiracy – they were right, of course, but got the direction of the conspiracy wrong.)
Third was the summer Yes campaign decision to focus on the NHS as a key issue, in particular that it would not be safe if left to the tender mercies of Labour/Tory funding. It was the only “negative” lead in an overwhelmingly positive Yes campaign but it carried the ring of truth, as indeed the last decade has demonstrated.
Even the celebrated and successful Yes poster “Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands” – a fundamentally positive, hopeful message – carried with it the undertone that safety and security lay in a Scottish solution.
So why didn’t we win? Well, we were coming from a very long way back. We were locked in a battle where the mainstream media (far more powerful than now) were in phalanx for the Union, save the lone, tiny voice of the Sunday Herald. The Sun did not defect to Yes in the final days. Our response to “The Vow”, the regrouping of the British establishment in the last week, was not our best effort of the referendum.
Could we have won with a flawless campaign? Perhaps. However, no campaign is perfect and, at the end of the day, I think 18/9/2014 was just a “bridge too far”.
But the Scottish people awarded us a posthumous victory. Within days of the poll it was obvious that the winning side were losing and the losing side were winning. In November 2014 I left office with independence in the lead, the SNP’s Westminster rating at 55% and positive personal ratings of near +50. I thought it virtually nailed-on that Scotland would be independent – or as near as makes no odds – within the decade.
If I had had access to a crystal ball and foreseen Brexit and Johnson, then I would have considered it an absolute certainty. Mind you if I had access to that fortune telling then I would have delayed our referendum to the autumn of 2016!
The point is obvious. We know what we did right. But if you want to understand why we are not independent then we must try to understand the last 10 years, the years that the locusts have eaten.
And it would be remiss of me not to mention that that’s something we’ll be discussing in Glasgow in a few days’ time, because the next 10 years – the restoration of the abundant harvests of the independence movement – can’t start without it.
I hope to see you there.
Tickets for The Scottish Independence Referendum: 10 Years On, at the Glasgow Science Centre on Saturday 14 September, can be bought here.
It was a great time to be Scottish. 2007 through 2014 it felt like Scotland was moving forward led by an impressive SNP government that kept delivering on its promises.
That momentum has been squandered since you stood down and I can only hope that you get another chance to lead us to independence!
You are not done yet!
Great post, boss.
It’s a shame YES did not use more negative campaigning; there was a lot of ammo there, just left on the floor.
– and by now we could have just said “see, I told you so … ”
What is coming down the pipe the next few years is monstrous.
And, no question, the ever increasing mood of self confidence abroad in Scotland between 2007 – 2014 was greatly owing to the competent administrations run by Mr Salmond.
Perhaps the single, greatest error during these 7 years was, I’d suggest, the merger of the Regional Police services into the political machine which is Police Scotland. This, together with misnaming a devolved administration as a “Government”, were pretty much the only big decisions I’d suggest Mr Salmond got really wrong. (Nominating Ms Sturgeon to be crowned unopposed was way beyond a ‘big’ error, it was gigantic).
And yes, I’d still regard him as the shrewdest and most adept politician of his generation in the UK.
The one mistake was the franchise.
A majority of Scots born voted Yes, but only 1 in 4 of the near half a million English born voted Yes.
That was the difference.
One of the biggest mistakes was “a positive campaign always beats a negative one.” A lot more folk are motivated by the desire to avoid the stick rather than chomp the carrot. Better Together weren’t slow to use that and we were on the defensive the whole time, in the position of having to provide answers from the back foot.
The gloves should’ve come off from the start. We were never going to win our independence sitting round campfires shoogling tambourines and singing kumbaya.
The voting franchise shouldn’t have been conceded either nor should the absence of exit polls.
We lost because we allowed English people to vote and we’ll lose the next one the same way. Edinburgh is basically little England now. I’d say at least 70% of people who get in my taxi are English. As longshaks stated in Braveheart, “if we can’t get them out We’ll breed them out”
I wasn’t wanting to get into the micro negatives, but issue of the franchise/exit polls is bang on.
– also, at the time, when a judge had already indicated the potential of abuse for postal votes, the at the time, world record number of postal votes and the – “bizarre” – decision to mix them back in with the normal ones, the only purpose of which is to prevent a separate count of the postals. Are you hiding something?
The ban on photography – I wanted to photo my ballot on the historic day – also stinks. Such measures could have allowed a secondary audit. They don’t like that.
The lack of independent international elections observers – as is the norm for any banana republic, also comes to mind. Also the lower turnouts in the YES majority areas. It goes on, and on.
Such things are obvious in retrospect; Alex did incredibly well overall given the circumstances. It was a close run thing.
The has ALWAYS been one thing that has bugging me in relation to the NO victory.
When there was a massive intake of people re-regeristering themselves onto the voters roll and thus ensuring they were able to vote, I don’t think they were registering to vote NO.
Why would they? That has always confused me.
– and who can ever forget Ruth Davisons “smirk” and incredible prescience, just as the count started … (made me think of the photo of LBJ winking on the plane carrying JFKs still warm corpse)
And there’s more, for we now have “demographics” against us.
We should expect “dirty tricks” from the folks who invented half of them. It’s “pefidious albion” not “straight-edge honest albion”. We are talking about 5 trillion worth of hard, real assets, walking out the door on a “show of hands” – are you kidding? What do you think will happen?
A great campaign, but several mistakes. Not having an answer to the currency. Not taking people’s concerns about pensions seriously enough. Not thinking we could win (Nigel Don was only interested in his vote, not the Yes vote). And not challenging the result – breach of purdah with The Vow, ballot boxes moved by single people, and I swear my ballot paper didn’t have a code on the back – yet the national returning officer didn’t pause for a second to consider anomalies. Next time we must get in international overseers!!
As is coming to light, HM civil service will always be a toxic impediment to any genuine pro-indy govt in HR. That’s why any elections must be a defacto vote on the dissolution of the union.
This thread is already populated by posts pointing to the use of the Local Government franchise, and the bold claim that a majority of autochthonous Scots voted Yes.
That assertion is apparently based on Prof. Ailsa Henderson’s work, and this doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Something is up with her numbers.
Professor Henderson of the University of Edinburgh posits three main contentions regarding the 2014 Independence referendum:
* 52.7% in indigenous Scots voted Yes.
* 72.1% of residents born elsewhere in the UK voted No.
* 57.1% of residents born outside the UK voted No.
Crunching the numbers:
Results of the referendum.
Registered voters 4,283,392
Turnout 84.59%
Votes No 2,001,926
Votes Yes 1,617,989
Margin of defeat 383,937
Firstly we have to work out the population figures for 2014. To do this we have the 2011 census and the 2016 mid-census estimate.
We’re interested in four groupings here; total population, indigenous Scots population, population from rUK and population born outside UK.
2011 census gives:
Total population 5.246m
Indigenous Scots 4.4m
Residents rUK 0.513m
Resident born outside UK 0.369m
(there’s 36k discrepancy here but this is not material to the final result)
2016 mid-census estimate gives:
Net immigration from rUK ave. between 2011 & 2014, 7k pa.
Net immigration from outside UK ave. between 2011 & 2014, 4.5k pa.
Therefore population rUK in 2014 = (3 x 0.007) + 0.513 = 0.534m
Therefore population born outside UK in 2014 = (3 x 0.0045) + 0.369 = 0.382m
To calculate total population in 2014, the mid-census estimate gives population for 2015 as 5.37m.
Therefore rate of population increase per annum = (5.37 – 5.246) / 4 = 0.031m
So, total population 2014 = (3 x 0.031) + 5.246 = 5.339m
For interest, this gives the population of indigenous Scots at 4.423m ie basically unchanged from 2011.
Now we need the rate of voter registration in 2014 = 4.283 / 5.339 = 80%
Now we can calculate the net votes against independence from our two demographics.
Prof Henderson states:
Net No votes (as a percentage) among rUK residents at 44.2%
Net No votes (as a percentage) among residents born outside the UK at 14.2%
Therefore we can calculate actual votes against independence.
Residents from rUK = 0.8 x 534,000 x 0.846 x 0.442 = 159,744 votes.
Residents from outside UK = 0.8 x 382,000 x 0.846 x 0.142 = 36,712 votes.
Therefore total, net votes against independence from non-indigenous Scots = 196,456 votes.
So, 196.5k net votes No with a Yes margin of defeat of 384k. Clearly something isn’t correct with Prof. Henderson’s hypothesis.
We could play about with differing rates of voter registration and voter turnout among the three, demographic groups, but this gets us nowhere near the headline claim that “the majority of indigenous Scots voted Yes”
We would have lost the referendum in 2014 if the franchise had been limited to autochthonous Scots, but the margin of defeat would have been substantially less and crucially a precedent would have been set in terms of electoral franchise for future referenda.
The movement in general Scottish polls following first the betrayal on the promise to deliver “The Vow” and secondly the Brexit vote would make it highly likely that the majority of indigenous Scots favour independence.
I hope Alex will take the time to answer the points being made here.
English visitor here, just prior to Ref. Chanced to meet English contact now living in Moray. I had worked beside her previously, we talked freely. She was convinced she would lose her pension after Inde.
Who told those lies?
Alex Salmond asks why Yes did not win the referendum. As some-one who did a lot of canvassing (for Better Together), I can tell him that he lost for two clear reasons.
The first was that the economic case had not been made. The prospectus was not good enough, and people knew that, especially people on average incomes. That is why a lot of SNP voters, and actually members, voted No. The case had not been made.
The second reason was that a lot of people did not like or trust Alex Salmond, and that mean’t that they did not trust the proposition being made. That situation has only got worse. He lost his seat to the Tories the last time he stood for election (how unpopular do you have to be for that to happen?) and his new party struggled to get 1% in the elections since then.
If the pro- Indy side want to do better next time, then they need a better economic case (difficult as the economy is a strength of the Union) and they need to get rid of Alex Salmond.
Herein lies the majority opinion in the real world. The Indy ship has sailed, which everyone knows, and I suspect Salmond will be long deid before it comes back again.
Who told those lies? Gordon Broon and Archie Macpherson.
is it going to be recorded? YouTube?
I say thankyou to both Stu and Alex along with the many thousands of people that got us so very near indy. Many thanks to you all near and far
Sog @ 2.32pm
Answer: The Better Together arm of the British state and a UK civil service openly and actively working to protect the “Sovereign State” and status quo.
Plus a compliant media, ALL in the knowledge it’s campaign was aimed almost solely at scaring the living daylights out of the undecideds.
For an almost unparalleled example of how tone deaf the SNP has become since, Murray Foote, Daily Records rent-a hack and author of the infamous Vow is now the SNPs CEO.
You really couldn’t make this up..
Here’s hoping that the issue of franchise is addressed and given the attention it deserves – shying away from it does no-one any favours.
Alex’ reference to locust got me thinking about Locust Abortion Technician by the Butthole Surfers, the final song on which had a recording of a woman phoning in to a radio show and claiming to have been the victim of a SA. I recall seeing it written that she was a serial fantasist who contacted media outlets with a range of claims, whether or not this is true I do not know. It also got me thinking about the song The Half Eaten Sausage Would Like To See You In His Office by the band The Locust.
Word of the day is máo which in Chinese stands for hair.
@Alex, I hope that you achieve justice for what was done to you and by extension our country.
Giving people who aren’t Scottish, and who weren’t born here, the right to vote on independence, was the biggest error by the ‘master tactician’ Alex Salmond.
Why would you allow foreigners to have a say on whether the country they are living in, should be free from the occupation and pillaging of the country the majority have moved from? The same country that allows them to sell a shitty ex council flat in a crime ridden estate in London for half a million pounds, and come up here and buy a huge property, pricing out the locals?
With 100,000 English moving North every year, because their ruling class ‘betters’ have ruined their own country, the future of independence looks bleak, unless we change the voting rights.
By all means let them stay, but this is our Country – not theirs. We should be deciding our future – not them.
Great to read the thoughts of the Boss.
I always blame our failure in 2014 on Bitter Together’s lies, and the BBC and the rest of the media prostituting themselves for our imperial masters.
Oh, and I don’t think the 2014 YES campaign manager had her heart set on winning independence.
Just to state the bleedin obvious – if it came to light 2014 was rigged, then the result is illegitimate, the UK is illegitimate and everything it has done since then is illegal.
At minimum, a new referendum should take place immediately, setup and run by the UN and using a more typical franchise, indigenous only.
If YES wins this time, then the English will have to repay every penny of what they took from Scotland in those 10 years, plus interest.
If England refuses to leave then we are now “occupied by a foreign power” and should call for the full raft of sanctions and diplomatic pressures to be applied.
But soon there will be so many English up here you won’t have to rig anything. They can win “fair and square” as long as the carpetbaggers are allowed free reign and a full vote for turning up 5 minutes ago, against the votes of people born here, lived here, built this land, as did their parents and grandparents.
Unfortunately won’t be at Alex’s roadshow but the one question I would have asked is:
“Did you have any knowledge or inkling that David Cameron in the event of winning would immediately (at the same time as the referendum result) announce a new referendum on leaving the EU?
Not least as the EU “belonging” issue was one of the core pillars of scariness Better Together force fed us, and will obviously have swayed a great many people not least foreign EU citizens resident here and given the vote.
Victor Clements @ 2.39pm
Are you sure as “one who was very active in canvassing for Better Together” that the 2 key elements “of not making the economic case” and “not liking Alex Salmond” were not perhaps your leading questions put to those whose doors you chapped and didn’t just close it again in your face?
It’s called leading language to turn a discussion and its tone where you want it, which actually pretty well sums up Better Togethers whole act.
Strange isn’t it, good ol’ UK has had way over 300 years to sort its economy and except for ripping/ living off the Empire like a leech has not been at all successful (think GDP and National Debt).
Secondly, please name the last Prime Minister that the majority of people here like(d)?
Some arguments go both directions.
Have a nice day..
the “economic case for independence” can be done in one word :
NORWAY
The No campaign promised us a tanking economy and rising prices if we voted Yes and ‘smoother, better, faster change’ if we voted No. Obvious bullshit, but enough people wanted to be told that, and far too many people still want to be told that. The status quo isn’t ‘no change’, it just means we have less control over the change.
Yet what surprises me ten years on is just how buoyant the latent Yes vote remains after nearly ten years of incompetent, authoritarian, nominally pro-indy government – the exact opposite of what we had in 2007-14.
Ran a mainly positive campaign? That just played into the hands of the unionists.
Scotland had positive and quantifiable reasons for leaving the UK and becoming independent. To have focused only on the latter was foolish beyond belief. You can’t separate the two. Would Scotland have wanted to become independent if the UK had been run reasonably well and fairly? No, so the starting point for independence was dissatisfaction with the UK. By the time of the referendum, Scotland had a strong case for independence and also for leaving the UK. Both should have been highlighted.
The fact that the UK had and would continue to be run badly and unfairly has been evident for decades. The Union had no positive or quantifiable case for Scotland remaining in the Union (because there genuinely wasn’t one), and so they only concentrated on saying how bad independence would be, endlessly spouting lies about Scotland’s future, particularly it’s economic future. GERS was allowed to remain a festering sore and one that continues even now. Exposing the lies wouldn’t have been negative, it’s have been truthful and realistic.
So playing positive when the UK was openly malicious was just dumb. Did the SNP think that Westminster didn’t fully realise the consequences of independence for them. They took off their gloves as soon as they realised where the polls were heading.
https://fortune.com/2014/09/17/scotland-uk-independence/
The UK showed how they fight in 1975 when the McCrone Report was buried for 30 years. In 1979 when the devolution referendum had a rule change (Labour amendment)that was completely undemocratic and which turned a yes result into a no. In 1992 when GERS was introduced for political gain masked as economic truths. What happened with the unionists in the run-up to 2014 should have been expected. The Unionists were allowed, despite their much weaker (non-existent) case for the Union, to put Scotlands case for independence on the back foot. It looked weak and that transferred into enough uncertainly to lose the referendum.
I don’t consider 51% of those born in Scotland voting for independence to be anything to crow about. It reflected a very low vote of confidence. Hardly surprising given the ‘postive’ way in which it was fought. That the UK got away from having to quantifiably defend the UK’s grim economic record over decades, is for me the hardest part to accept in losing the referendum. Look at where the UK is now and where it’s heading. The only difference is the speed at which it has happened. The direction was always in no doubt.
Victor Clements
says:
11 September, 2024 at 2:39 pm
“Alex Salmond asks why Yes did not win the referendum. As some-one who did a lot of canvassing (for Better Together)”
Aye right! The screed following that lie is absolute boilerplate Yoon shite!
And the imprecation against Alex Salmond – the greatest Scots patriot since Wallace- proves the point.
Some thought provoking comments from Alex. The lack of progress towards independence in the last 10 years is surely one of the biggest scandals in Scottish politics ever. Like unhelpful and counter-productive wizards the Sturgeon led SNP was handed a golden chalice full of promise and golden nuggets guaranteed to enhance the case for Scottish independence and they managed to make those nuggets disappear, to evaporate before our eyes leaving instead a pungent and putrid pong of failure defined by the science denying and infantile gender identity obsession and the grotesque failure to build a fucking ferry on time. Years of competent and progressive government were undone by the childish and children led coalition with a Green Party full of self-righteous and pompous non-entities convinced they were actually important. The struggle, however, goes on. Come along to Glasgow’s George Square on Saturday from 12 noon and hear speakers like Alex and Angus MacNeil rally us around the cause once more under the motto that a new and better independent Scotland is definitely possible and urgent and reminding us that the Dream Will Never Die.
Hope Over Fear 10th Anniversary Rally, Saturday 14th September, from 12 noon in Glasgow’s George Square. Speakers and Live music from Scottish independence supporting artists and musicians.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GXIbj-AWoAAmBRk?format=jpg&name=large
OTS Poll just up:
‘At the ’10 Years On’ gig on Saturday, would you like to hear Alex Salmond address directly the issue of the franchise?’
Yes 100%
No 0%
Not bothered 0%
Open until Saturday lunchtime.
https://x.com/offtopicscot/status/1833909361703633034
Good to hear from you, Alex.
But why the hell did Alba refuse to adopt abstentionism before the July election?! It would have been a definite vote winner for your party, it would have forced the SNP to at least consider following suit and it would have given a big boost to the independence movement.
PS I agree with Chris Avery 1.33pm
As a regular critic of Alex Salmond. I would still like to thank him for his effort in trying to win independence,what HE has done is awakened and encouraged people to the REALITY that it can be achieved
BUT we will only achieve it when we TAKE THE GLOVES OFF,as evidenced as early as yesterday by the despicable bbc and the racist 10 minute ex FM who are and will continue to denigrate and demean Alex Salmond irrespective of his proven innocence
IMO the list of guests for his show indicates that he has not learned anything, he is still enamoured and captured by a host of cowards and self servers,many of whom sat on their padded fat arses and cowered whilst the deviant poisoned dwarf destroyed every credible route to independence
Alex Neil was a guest on Barrhead boy on Sunday and his ideas were refreshing and very practical but where was Alex when Scots needed FIGHT
Joanna Cherry fought bojo’s and WM prorogation and WON benefitting english voters, where was Joanna’s FIGHT for Scots SOVEREIGNTY in the COR through the ECJ OR THE ICJ
Phillipa Whitford a renowned and capable medical practitioner where was Phillipa when the the deviant poisoned dwarf was FORCING legislation through HR that would seriously threaten the safety and security of our little girls and womenfolk
I could go on but suffice to say NOT ONE OF THEM HAD THE COURAGE TO FIGHT FOR SCOTLAND, their pay packets and expenses meant more to them
SCOTLAND and SCOTS will only win independence when Alex Salmond recognises that most politicians are cowards and liars and the ONLY ones willing to FIGHT tooth and nail for independence is these people, SALVO , Liberation.scot ,SSRG and until he embraces and welcomes Sara Salyers and the people he is only a politician
The biggest failing of the campaign was the complete lack of a professional marketing team to direct our media presence, one SNP politician against 3 unionists, reducing effective Indy coverage by that ratio, also weel kent faces like Ruth Wishart, Val McDairmid and a few others were offered their 5 min of fame and were resoundingly ambushed with questions they were unequipped to answer, making them and the wider movement look at best I’ll prepared, at worst dim witted. Not that I think we will have another referendum, but it would be criminal for the yes movement to play the unionist medias game for a second time. But I have to ask, where is the SNP strategy to have broadcasting devolved, where is the small group of rehearsed trained politicians covering all media, armed with either a credible answer to any question, or the skill to turn the question around.
The worst thing to happen in 2014, & after it, was not to get everything in legal writing.
The Smith commission was an absolute joke & to add insult to injury we discover it was only ‘recommendations’ all too easy to be ignored at a later date & it was.
I was gutted when Alex stepped down. I think he should’ve waited until the Devo max crew actually produced the goods they’d threw at him to win the no vote. & at the very bare minimum I’d have had it in legal writing that Scotland, a sovereign equal partner in this family of nations’ could have as many referendums as they see fit in their own country & in the interests of their own population.
The gentleman’s agreement with Dewar & later the ‘recommendation’ by Smith was a cop out & an obvious deception. We aren’t dealing with honest brokers. They didn’t earn the tag Perfidious Albion for nothing.
Alex needs to ditch the SNP. They’re so toxic now that the average person just won’t vote for them because they too have taken a leaf out of their handlers playbook & are only masters in slight of hand & treachery as we seen by them giving the Greens the go ahead for GRR despite them being rejected at the ballot box.
Alex, get behind decolonisation & our right to self determination. A domestic setting for an Indy ref will always fail through hook or by crook.
Confused @ 4:32 pm
“the “economic case for independence” can be done in one word :
NORWAY”
Yes, Scots would be at least £150bn a year better off as an independent state in control of our own resources. And we would still have some way to go to catch Norway’s GDP-per-capita:
https://yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com/2024/03/19/the-real-economic-price-of-the-uk-union-for-scots/
I am one of those who, unashamedly and without any remorse, firmly believes Yes won in 2014.
I am of the opinion that all what we have seen ever since has been nothing more than gaslighting by the British state, propaganda, abuse of power and manipulation of political procedures and narrative, thought control and enforced denial of democracy. All to cover the fact that yes won in 2014.
You cannot talk about democracy when the option the majority wants is purposely being left out of the options on offer to choose from. That is denying democracy.
The way Sturgeon, Yousaf and now Swinney have pissed all over our democratic mandates for a referendum, or the way Sturgeon pissed on our democratic mandate to remain in the EU are beautiful examples of how democracy has being systematically denied to Scotland. The way those individuals deconstructed and destroyed the SNP to completely disengage the membership from the leadership is another beautiful example.
I am afraid I cannot believe No won in September 2014 when, less than two months after, elements of the British establishment themselves were already giving solid predictions for the mother of all SNP landslides and a pro-indy vote majority in 2015. If that was not enough, we also had crown tools like Brown and Cameron panicking and telling us that the referendum was a one-off and therefore there could never be another one no matter how many anti-union MPs we sent to Westminster.
If they were so sure that No had won and so “decisively” as we were told, then they would not be so scared about having another referendum. But when we had Sturgeon a few weeks after telling us that a vote for the SNP was not a vote for independence or even a referendum, I smelled a rat.
I also smelled a rat when England MPs rushed to vote down FFA for Scotland and Sturgeon didn’t even bat an eyelid, despite Brown and the MSM constantly parroting the concept of “Devo Max” in the last weeks of the campaign. At that point I started to wonder if Sturgeon and Brown were on the same side.
I do not believe in coincidences or miracles. For this reason, I do not believe it was a coincidence that, at the most dangerous time for the union, the political fraud put in charge of the SNP from November 2014 onwards could not run fast enough to declare, AFTER the SNP landslide had been predicted on the assumption the SNP was the vehicle for Scotland’s independence, that a vote for the SNP was not a vote for independence.
What she did was effectively neutering the SNP in preparation for the brexit vote. In other words, she was facilitating the dragging of Scotland out of the EU against its will. She was doing the dirty work for the British state and validating the crown tools who were parroting on a loop that we could not have another referendum.
A SNP majority in May 2015 should have marked the end of the union. That is what it was expected to do. A majority of anti-union MPs Scotland MPs voting to end the union is all what is legally required to terminate it, in the same way it was all what it was required to start it.
That instead of marking the end of the union that majority marked the end of the SNP itself and the beginning of a period where the yes movement have been continuously and deliberately stalled and attacked by Sturgeon and co forcing the gender woowoo and trans nonsense down its throat, a period when Yes supporters have been subjected to vicious malicious persecutions and when elements of the SNP colluded with arms of the British state to deploy a disgusting conspiracy against Mr Salmond, says an awful lot about where the real allegiance of STurgeon’s, Swinney’s, Yousaf’s and the SNP higher echelons actually lies.
It was not coincidence that an acceleration of the theft of Scotland’s resources has also happened during this time. All while Sturgeon, Yousaf and Swinney happily looked the other way and indulged the gender woowoo, furries and cocks in frocks.
But these 9 years also told us an awful lot about the real allegiance of all the SNP MPs, particularly the WEstminster leaders. They had between them 9 years to lead our anti-union MP majority to end the union. Instead, they chose to lead our MPs to sit more comfortably in the green seats and, with their presence in Westminster, to continue legitimising this toxic union and its abuse over Scotland.
The outrageously undemocratic way in which Yousaf and Swinney were parachuted to the position of FM is another example of this gaslighting, obfuscation and denial of democracy for Scotland. It is another sign that the SNP has been since November 2014 under British state control. Voting for the SNP is voting for the British state and for the preservation of the union. Nothing proves this better than the way YOusaf abused his position of power to hand over, without Scotland’s consent, the stone of destiny to the English monarch. Now we are seeing Swinney abusing his position of power to divert taxpayers’ funds to pay for some stupid statue to commemorate the death of an English monarch. At a time when Robison has applied a chainsaw to the budget for public services and when they are claiming they cannot deliver on their promises of paying for school children meals, frankly, spending our money in a useless statue comes across as obscene.
I am also of the opinion the 2014 referendum should have used the franchise that every other country uses for referendums: a closed one. Inviting everybody and their dog to cast a vote was asking for trouble. Had the franchise been closed, as it should have been, and I am convinced Yes would have won. I am therefore of the opinion the franchise was another part of a carefully designed strategy by the British state to subtly deny Scotland its self-determination under the con of “being inclusive”.
I am of the opinion that, until that franchise is tightened, until the issue of the postal votes is tightened and until political parties with HQ in England and structures of power controlled by foreign entities such as the crown office or the civil service are denied the opportunity to interfere in Scotland’s internal business, we will continue to have a repeat of the result we had in 2014.
Much as I admire and respect Mr Salmond, my trust in political parties and the political system in general, is, since 19 September 2014, completely gone.
More recently, I have come to the realisation that the crown itself was never neutral in the first place and, in the same way it was responsible for forcing and coercing Scotland into this union in 1706, it is my own personal opinion that it is currently using its position of power and influence to ensure the union continues.
For this reason, until MPs and MSPs stand on an abstentionist mandate of not swearing allegiance to the crown and of not taking the seats, until they stand on a manifesto of refusing to abide by the Scotland Act and seek instead to reconvene the old Scottish parliament to its full power, I will not believe they are truly pursuing Scotland’s independence.
Because I am of the opinion that democracy and self-determination will continue to be denied to Scotland through its own political parties and politicians, until the time sufficient MPs and MSPs candidates stand on an abstentionist mandate, I see absolutely not point whatsoever in engaging on the self-defeating charade that is casting a vote to legitimise this union and the systematic abuse and ransacking Scotland is subjected to while part of it.
Yir big mistake Alex – in the 2014 constitutional indyref – was that you enfranchised everyone and their dogs, and that backfired on us – in votes.
As for Alba – you need to make it abundantly clear that Alba MPs won’t take up their seats – that they will not in anyway bow to Westminster – which must be in yir manifesto – no real indy party takes part in a foreign country’s (England) GE and sends MPs to England to settle in.
I’m all for indy – but £25 quid for a post mortem on how we lost – what we should’ve won is a bit painful to take.
I moved up here in 2010, as I wanted to be a part of that independent Scotland that I’d been hearing about. The Scottish government seemed to be making lives up here far better than back in Englandshire.
Being able to vote in the referendum was a surprise, and of course I voted YES.
When the results were in, I sat in shock for hours. I couldn’t believe it.
The SNP won’t deliver independence, and many wouldn’t vote for the them again. Too many scandals and too many obvious grifters, who value the status quo for their salaries, than doing what is best for Scotland.
Re: the Franchise
The treaty of the Union brought together 2 sovereign nations, with Scotland subsumed into Britain (a construct to allow the current situation which has no basis in law). What was never stated but implied was that all MPs had an equal right to vote on matters pertaining to Britain (and by inference Scotland), whereas in fact they have no jurisdiction whatsoever.
The treaty has a 1:1 relationship, so 500+ English and other MPs represent 1 sovereign and 50+ represent Scotland, but at the end of the day matters must be decided betwen these 2 parties.
Another assumption is that being British allows Britons to assume the same the rights as the indigenous populations of their choice of residence. By dissolving the Union, Britons become English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish. Any Emigrants would be foreigners in their choice of residence and would only be eligible to vote after a specific period of residency (or some other equitable criteria) as defined in the franchise
Noticing a lot of attempts to racialize the Independence issue BTL from posters of dubious authenticity.
Worth saying out loud that this is an absolute Trojan horse of a wedge issue that, like the gender/trans stuff, if gaining any kind of traction would be effectively used to discredit and destroy the legitimacy of the work towards Scottish Independence.
It’s Trump level horseshit. Remember that there are rooms full of shiny people figuring out how to effectively destroy this movement and outcome.
Stay Frosty.
An economic case you’ll be searching high and low to see any NuSNP (or other pro-indy politician for that matter) proffer…
The Kingdom of Scotland has a much better resources to population figure than the Kingdom of England.
(Old stats so may not be 100% accurate but it gives the gist.)
KINGDOM OF SCOTLAND WITH ONLY 9% OF THE UK POPULATION HAS:
32% of the land area.
61% of the sea area.
90% of the fresh water.
65% of the natural gas production
96.5% of the crude oil production.
47% of the open cast coal production
81% of the untapped coal reserves
62% of the timber production
46% of the total forest area
92% of the hydro electric production
40% of the wind wave and solar energy production
60% of the fish landings
30% of the beef herd
20% of the sheep herd
9% of the dairy herd
10% of the pig herd
15% if the cereal holdings
20% of the potato holdings
90% of the whisky industry
70% of gin production
KINGDOM OF ENGLAND WITH 91% OF THE UK POPULATION ONLY HAS:
68% of the land area.
39% of the sea area.
10% of the fresh water.
35% of the natural gas production
3.5% of the crude oil production.
53% of the open cast coal production
19% of the untapped coal reserves
38% of the timber production
54% of the total forest area
8% of the hydro electric production
60% of the wind wave and solar energy production
40% of the fish landings
70% of the beef herd
80% of the sheep herd
91% of the dairy herd
90% of the pig herd
85% if the cereal holdings
80% of the potato holdings
10% of the whisky industry
30% of gin production
The revenue streams generated by the current UK government policies means the two Kingdoms’ combined resources help to serve the UK population of 67 million.
So if Scotland returned to self-governance we could even emulate current UK policies and therefore with The Kingdom of Scotland’s much improved resources to population figures it would mean the larger proportional revenue stream generated by those Scottish resources would only have to serve 5.4 million.
Please feel free to suggest the economic case an independent Kingdom of England would utilse.
Note that my proffered example makes no suggestion of altering the ownership status of these assets and resources, instead the change of Scotland returning to self-governance would mean that the revenue streams generated by licensing and taxation of these assets and resources in Scottish jurisdictional areas would be diverted to a Scottish Treasury, to be used and distributed across Scottish society made up of 5.4 million folk, rather than them flowing into the UK Treasury which serves 67 million folk.
Obviously with independence we could hone policy to improve on the current UK fiscal setup.
And for the unionists. Are you happy that under London Rule our UK energy resources are badly managed and being exploited by foreign interests with little to no benefit for ourselves.
@ Gordon
Link to a post by Xarcen with further explanation on the farce that is UK democracy and its lack of democratic legitimacy.
https://wingsoverscotland.com/at-a-loss/comment-page-1/#comment-2875708
Alex gave it his best shot , that we lost is ultimately down to those Scots who – unbelievably – voted against their own Independence .
And look at the truly awful state we’ve arrived at as a consequence of that failure of nerve . Imagine how much better off , how much less shit we would have endured and been dragged into nationally & internationally if we’d won. Fckn heartbreaking .
@ Twathater …
” SCOTLAND and SCOTS will only win independence when Alex Salmond recognises that most politicians are cowards and liars and the ONLY ones willing to FIGHT tooth and nail for independence is these people, SALVO , Liberation.scot ,SSRG and until he embraces and welcomes Sara Salyers and the people he is only a politician ” . Seconded , T-Man
If Alex/ALBA don’t broaden & deepen their position/approach and break-out of their Political Party constraints , by eg adopting those suggestions above , I fear they’re going to find it very difficult to gain sufficient traction to escape the stasis they appear stuck in currently .
They also seem to be making the same mistakes as the mob they were formed to be an alternative to – and every other P.P : eg , a top-down hierarchical ” management ” structure with most power/control being exercised by a small group at the top .
Think we’ve seen this movie before ; it was shit then too .
For Political Parties to have any meaningful to offer now they would have to radically rethink what they are , what they REALLY stand for , what they’re trying to achieve , and for whom : above all , they must be aware of and vocal in their opposition to the malignant * entities * that are shaping our World in ways that will not be beneficial to the majority of us ; neither are they intended to be beneficial .
Blue White Dynamite @v 3.37 pm Thats a great post you’ve written – it will really persuade us English-born Scottish residents to vote yes in the next Referendum.
Enjoy your MI5 money – you deserve every penny!
Garrion
Not everyone, in every country, can just rock up to vote in a nations independence referendum.
Even the UK government sets restrictions, including yer average general election. A free for all is NOT allowed & nor should it be. It’s not their constitution. It’s not their nations statehood. It’s not their decision.
A residency restriction is perfectly acceptable.
Anyone following geopolitical news will be aware of the global shit show at the moment with coups, civil unrest & election interference & mainly caused by *bussed in* meddlers working on behalf of foreign interference.
Scotland is no different. England immediately loses its place on the world stage, in all of its wee international clubs, at the UN, in NATO, at the G7 & countless other international organisations, not to mention it’s cash cow & only source of income, so any independence referendum we have will be open to abuse from the get go. It cannot be conducted in a domestic setting & it’d be sheer stupidity to have an open vote for ppl to just rock up who may not even plan on staying here long term.
& Get rid of postal votes unless they can be verified by a visit.
Mrs Grimble
A bit over dramatic there.
England doesn’t allow just anyone to vote even in general elections never mind referendums.
EU citizens can’t vote in general elections, didn’t get a vote on Brexit & they’re going to restrict council elections too.
Yet they allow ex pats a vote fae abroad.
No one ever seems to scream blue murder about that. Funny eh?!
Residency must be taken into account. It’s Scotland’s referendum. Not anyone else’s.
Would you have liked EU citizens, here temporarily, to vote against Brexit?
Robert Hughes, I agree. Alex really needs to show that he is above gutter politics, status greed and authoritarianism. He made several mistakes with IR14, firstly trusting Cameron, 2nd, trusting Sturgeon (how he never saw through her, goodness only knows, her narcissism was always clear in her behaviour and in her employment record), 3rdly opening the franchise to all and sundry, so many 100s of 1000s of incomers who have no loyalty whatsoever to Scotland, the Scots, the Scots culture. Not insisting on an exit poll? That was sheer madness, how on earth did he even contemplate that? And no international observers either? He trusted perfidious Albion? OMG!
The more I have thought about all these factors, all these mistakes, all that inability to read people, the less impressed I have become with him, when once he did seem to be like the Messiah come to save us from the colonisers.
And now with Alba he has allowed authoritarianism to emerge again, he trusts people like the airy-fairy smirky over-clarted faced TAZ, an ex-tory and probably ex-every other party who would give her the time of day. He has brushed off those who probably have the best route forward now towards Indy, and takes no part in that route which at least provides us with hope and keeps the dream alive, and which takes the path which removes WM/MI5&6 power to sabotage our efforts. It is beginning to look like AS does indeed crave self-glory more than indy. And at one time I would have trusted him to the hilt to bring us indy. Now he is just yet another politician, brilliant though he was in his day.It leaves a sour taste of cynicism in the mouth.
Re observers
It was R.
It wasn’t a great idea given the Wests decades old propaganda, paranoia & rampant R phobia towards them to observe Scottish independence count.
Exactly what was predicted would happen, happened. The moment they raised any complaints & dubious discrepancies it’s was immediately brushed off as “ah, those Rs, what do they know about elections? Tsk!’
@Geri, broadly agree, but…surely there are some means of determining and requiring a period of residency (frinstance) that would head off some or most of the inevitable and egregious fuckery at the pass?
My absolute fear is that this particular Independence question is vulnerable to both the blood and soil fruitloops, which sadly we have a fair amount of still in Scotland, and the deliberate and malevolent reduction and debasement of the whole issue as nationalism/ racism by the English Statist powers that be who, as you so rightly point out, will stoop to anything to prevent Scottish Independence as they know exactly what England will immediately become the minute ‘we’ exit the so called union.
Best of luck AS etc.
Anent Fiona N…Yes. Alex had negotiated the power to set the franchise…and did so for 16 yo…and should have restricted the franchise to Scots born domiciled citizens.. as other EU countries Di on constitutional issues. Yes…the franchise given to any foreign citizen domiciled in Scotland and on the voters roll for two parly terms. As it was I understand that compliant with that scenario Scots voted YES in majority. We can never know because tge ballots were destroyed…why? In GEs they are kept for a period…who instructed they be destroyed in unseemly haste? Still…we can use it to rebut we lost the referendum…a powerful weapon to motivate Scots…we won the referendum on independence.
Garrion @ 7:03 pm
“Noticing a lot of attempts to racialize the Independence issue”
Well, colonialism is defined as ‘hateful racism’ (Cesaire). And an independence movement depends on the solidarity of the oppressed ethnic group, i.e. the Scots in this instance. Self-determination independence is decolonization, according to the UN.
@Alf. It sure was, then global neoliberalism took it to a planetary level, pretty much. I would posit that colonialism (and things have changed unimaginably since Fanon’s time, arguably) isn’t ‘hateful racism’ any more. It, IMO, uses hateful racism to achieve and maintain it’s ends.
Sorry for multi posts. I should have added that one of the most powerful aspects to how Salmond’s SNP defined Scottish Independence was that (I’m oversimplifying) if you lived in Scotland and have the country’s (and all who sail in her)best interests then you’re as Scottish as you need to be, and deserve a voice.
Garrion @ 9:58 pm
” (I’m oversimplifying) if you lived in Scotland and have the country’s (and all who sail in her)best interests then you’re as Scottish as you need to be, and deserve a voice.”
Indeed you are oversimplifying – voter intention surveys and post referendum survey told us that up between 70-80% of voters from south of the border resident in Scotland voted against Scottish independence. Which suggests the anti-independence vote is largely decided by ethnic group, as is the pro-independence vote.
Blair Jenkins in the 2014 Indy campaign came across as a prime example of lack lustre and totally devoid of charisma.
Nearer to the vote itself SNP HQ and Branch Officials were already muttering they did not to win on anything in the low 50’s %.
Despite this the YES Movement was SOLID !
The Collaborators must be Named and Shamed !
“Mind you if I had access to that fortune telling then I would have delayed our referendum to the autumn of 2016!”
Thank you Mr Salmond.
No need for fortune telling. If only you were still SNP leader and First Minister when the Brexit referendum result was announced, Scotland would have been celebrating its 6th or 7th Independence Day this year.
Some good folk in this thread – Alex obvs, Tommy S, VivO, IanB, Alf Baird, others, we now just need the ambassador, Grousebeater and Irvine Welsh and it’s an alltimer.
For younglings who don’t know it – Tommy S – inflicted the first defeat on Thatcherism when it was at its peak, and did it from outside (parliamentary) politics; Labour chucked him out for -actually trying to do- the sort of things the Labour Party was setup to do. For this the establishment never forgave him and went after him, smears and all.
Next week I expect Labour to bring back the workhouse and the debtors prison. The jobcentres already have “work makes you free” on their front doors; has a ring to it, can’t place it though.
Anyone heard about these “liquid cremations” they now do? Turn your body into compost (presumably after they have looted the organs), sounds a bit like an old 70s scifi movie to me. Not good.
Still, at least the profligate pensioners aren’t heading down the bookies with their winter fuel payments.
A free lottery for the old? Prizes include a winter fuel payment or a trip to dignitas.
Tommy Sheridan
11 September, 2024 at 5:25 pm
“The struggle, however, goes on. Come along to Glasgow’s George Square on Saturday from 12 noon and hear speakers like Alex and Angus MacNeil rally us around the cause once more”
Thank you too Mr Sheridan for your efforts during the referendem campaign.
The only way to rally folks once more is to take the gloves off against those in the SNP who turned out to be the biggest tractors in Scottish history.
Knock them off completely, in debate I mean.
@ Garrion I take exception to people vilifying the term blood and soil nationalists,the blood of my ancestors is riven through the soil of Scotland why would anyone be ashamed of that
Natives all over the world are PROUD of their heritage and culture why should we be any different, do you tell Aborigines, Maoris,1st Nation Canadians, 1st Nation Americans,Alaskans or any other native peoples that they should be ashamed of their attachment to their country, unfortunately too many people of Scots heritage appear to suffer from the CRINGE and are embarrassed to admit that they are PROUD of their heritage
You don’t find many english people ashamed of their heritage
Geri @ 9.14 yesterday: “It was R. ”
It was my recollection too, and that that country’s observers also warned of the insecurity of the postal vote in 2014. I think Mr P. was one of the few international leaders to say the referendum was a matter for the Scots, unlike Barack “Yes we can” Obama who then told us that as far as Scotland was concerned, it was a case of “Naw ye cannae.”
I don’t think many of us realised the forces stacked against us at the time. The nuclear albatross around our neck makes things even more difficult for us to get out from under. The UK is desperate to retain both its membership of the Big Boys’ Nuclear Club and all our lovely, lovely resources (see Dan above).
@ Tinto, Geri, Tommy, twathater and others. There’s a lot of sense and value in your comments. It is the party political system that has prevented such views being heard and implemented.
UK government could have improved the press after the enquiry – why didn’t they? We know why – the press owners decide which party will get their turn at the trough.
Twathater…
Re your last. It’s a manifestation of the Scottish Cringe.
Go to the USA, Canada, Norway etc. you’ll be amazed at the national flags you routinely see outside folk’s homes.
Here… it’s frowned upon to be overtly patriotic unless it’s the right sort of patriotism. In other words British/Loyalist/Royalist.
Value of negative campaigning.
Scotland’s poor health and drug problems are directly attributable to Thatcher’s policies. (See Scott-Samuel et al, Allik et al and the November release of Walsh and McCartney “Social Murder” among many others).
Socioeconomic position determines good or bad health and Scotland does not control economic or welfare policies.
The block grant is not based on need. Research by Stirling Uni 2013 says that if it was based on need Scotland would get an extra £44 per person for the NHS. That’s about £255 million each year over 56 years for one public service.
Barnett has stated his block grant idea is unfair. In 2009 a House of Lords committee said the block grant was unfair and should be based on need. It should take account of regional levels of unemployment, levels of income, population age, health and levels of disability.
Labour could have changed the grant to be based on need in 2009 and again when the Smith Commission was at work.
Corruption is deeply embedded in the UK political system. One effect is seen in the jailing of “rogue traders” for LIBOR rigging. It was not just traders doing the bidding who were involved in rigging the LIBOR rate. These people were doing what they were told. Senior bankers were involved but not prosecuted.
More than that the Bank of England, its supervisory body, Brown and Darling were also directly involved in the criminal activity of rigging bank interest rates after the financial crash.
Innovative campaigning. Look at the work done by Mike Hudson and others in developing a UK wide Land Tax which Scotland could use. Google NIESR Land Tax.
Look at what Hudson says about nationalising banks.
The problem with a changed franchise is that all UK citizens are allowed to vote wherever they are in the UK. However, it will have to be argued that independence is a unique constitutional situation and, therefore, just as the UK did in 2016, the vote requires to be more nuanced and tailored. I do not think we could bar every English/Welsh/NI-born voter, but a time bar could be introduced – i.e. if you are a student who does not know whether you will be staying in Scotland after graduation or if you have arrived within the past five years, you will not be allowed to vote.
Foreign nationals who have no citizenship and have not been in Scotland for five years, could also be barred from voting. Those who, with or without citizenship, but who have made Scotland their home for over five years, and who express an intention to stay, should, I think, be allowed to vote.
The postal vote needs to be tightened up considerably, and it also requires to be kept separate, and counted separately, under strict supervision, before being added to the overall count. People who apply for a postal vote or who delegate a vote should have to provide photographic evidence of who they are, with postal vote and address correlating. The postal votes should never leave the country to be counted. International scrutiny must be sought and instigated.
Personally, I believe that another referendum will never be granted and, even if it were to be so, interference is a given. A Scottish election must be the way forward, with voters being made totally aware that voting for an independence party – any independence party – is a vote for independence, and a united front informal alliance would be advisable. A ratifying referendum only after the election, assuming we win, with a declaration of independence before it.
No one could question the legitimacy and legality of such actions. With SALVO/Liberation constitutional back-up, it would take outright conflict, instigated by the British State, and witnessed by the entire world, to reverse such a democratic decision. Finally, no country that has around 50% of its people demanding independence can be kept a prisoner for long if it is determined to go; it only takes the will.
Vivian: I’m not really quibbling with your figures based on the census of 2011 and that of 2016. The figures for those rUK migrants seems to me to be very low. In the areas of Scotland in the North and North-east alone, in Highland, Moray and Aberdeenshire, those figures would be a low estimate, even for 2016, and, now, would be very much higher. I have no problem with English people in Scotland so long as they do not deliberately skew the independence question out of loyalty to England, but I do believe that many were scared of being told to leave Scotland if YES won. I think that is still a fear and it must be allayed.
I have met some English-born who voted YES in 2014, but many more who voted NO. I don’t think Professor Henderson was too far off the mark as to voting intentions. I, too, think that, although a small majority of Scots-born voters are YES in their hearts, some of them had cold feet and voted NO on the day and handed NO the victory. If there is another vote open independence, whether referendum or election, the huge working-class and non-working-class vote will have to be harnessed, as it was in 2014.
As for dislike of Alec Salmond, I really believe, having spoken to a number of people who held this view of him, that it was always his ability and intellect that frightened them. They were either Unionists or English-born anti independists who knew, instinctively, that he was the one person in Scotland who could actually bring in independence. They never feared any other leader because they did not believe that he or she could do that. Now, most of them do not fear even the SNP will bring in independence. We know it won’t unless it changes radically from Nicola Sturgeon’s format and policies.
Lots of good comments on this thread, but I think we only scratched the surface.
The mistakes … yes, there were; they are easy to see with time and distance. Maybe the uber “meta-mistake” was on just assuming we were dealing with an opponent who would play the game fairly. No, there is too much at stake.
I won’t criticise Salmond for not playing a perfect game; from where he started to where he took it, is an incredible achievement.
The thing is, had we won, I am in no doubt whatsoever that the UK would NOT have abided by the terms of the deal – they would have shafted us; they would have stonewalled us, said it was “advisory” and then launched a propaganda barrage of sophistry from all the media citing “constitutional experts”; best case you get a talking shop that 10 years down the line hands us devomax/”federalism” – a new empty agreeement, the terms of which they will simply break before the ink is dry.
Nor are they beyond the older, darker tricks – Salmond has a heart attack while out hillwalking, or gets depressed and takes a lot of pills. Man of his age, it could happen.
People need to know what they are dealing with – they are not “labradors” they are “XL Bullies”; people don’t really read imperial history written from the other side of the col0nised.
The only way to get the UK to play fair would have been if the americans were on our side, but why? And why when there has been no attempt to cultivate them?
There won’t be another referendum like 2014. It was too close, was almost a disaster for the UK. It is still something they fear though – last week the Scotsman had this excremental article about new rules for a new referendum – talk about moving the goalposts – they only want a super majority of 66%, and you have to win 2 in a row, and not soon, and with a gap between them; which would let anglo colonisation make the result a foregone conclusion.
“ Peter Kellner of the polling company YouGov wrote one of his condescending commentaries from London” And, with due lack of irony, Salmond posts this article by a blogger who lives in Bath – that’s in England too.
Just this statement says so much about Salmond – his Trump-like intolerance of the opinion of others who disagree with him which is widely known; his bullying condescension towards his colleagues who supported him in the SNP; and his sheer bigotry against the English. Salmond is a liability who has crippled the Independence initiative with his overblown ego.
So as a unionist I say you should keep him, in fact make him the leader of the cause, and independence won’t happen while he is in that role.