Just to tide you over while we pop out to the shops, readers:
Can you tell we just recently got some good video-capture software?
Sometimes it’s hard to shake the feeling that some sort of bizarre mass body-swap incident, such as those frequently depicted in comedy films like “Big” or “Freaky Friday”, must have happened in UK politics without anyone noticing.
Because on the day that David Cameron called on people elsewhere in the UK to plead with Scots to stay in the Union, English people are saying things like this:
(Warning: adult language.)
We don’t entirely understand why the Times has this story as front page news, because it was covered in some detail in the Sunday Post a fortnight ago:
But we couldn’t help thinking of the last time anyone tried something similar.
This sort of thing really shouldn’t be so startling and unusual that we feel we need to preserve it for posterity, but here’s someone on a BBC current-affairs programme giving a fair and balanced analysis of Scottish politics:
Based on the BBC’s track record this section will be missing when it goes out on the iPlayer, so we thought we better grab it while we could.
This. This actually happened. We’re not making it up. Click it and see.
Go on, read it again. We dare you.
For some time now, we’ve been documenting a couple of intriguing aspects of the No campaign. One is its apparent shortage of grassroots activists, leaving “Better Together” to instead rely on the Scottish and UK media to get its message out. The other is a reluctance to engage in public debate with adults.
Where BT has deigned to participate in public hustings at all, the bulk of the events have been those at schools and colleges. Invited to debate independence in front of crowds of grown-ups, the No camp is oddly reticent, as we discovered ourselves last year when we offered to pay for and set up a head-to-head, with a neutral and mutually-approved chair, between respective campaign figureheads Dennis Canavan and Alistair Darling, getting only abuse in response.
Of course, a bunch of evil cybernats such as ourselves might expect to be rebuffed. But what if the cuddly, respectable official Yes Scotland organisation had a go?
There’s a remarkable piece in today’s Scotsman that we had to share with you:
And if you think that magnificent headline’s good, wait until you hear the rest.
Peter Arnott in The Global Dispatches, 29 January 2014:
And that, readers, is why it matters that I live in England.
We do hope none of these shock troops get caught up and hurt in the lovebombing.
Scottish independence: Cable warns of VAT on food
Caroline Flint warns that independence would mean £875 on energy bills
Warning of risk to transport links after Yes vote
No camp in grocery price rise claims (NB unrelated to VAT)
RBS would move to London if Scotland breaks away
That’s all just today. Anyone sound frightened to you?
Here’s the Herald today on YouGov’s latest independence polling:
All absolutely true. But is it the whole truth?
Yesterday, a wealthy American man who as far as we know won’t have a vote in the referendum expressed a personal opinion about independence which made the front page of half of Scotland and Britain’s newspapers, was trumpeted all over the TV and radio, and got “Better Together” very excited.
This morning some idiot based in Luxembourg honked about it on BBC Breakfast news, throwing in his own clueless and ill-informed (and of course, unchallenged) view. We’re having some difficulty working out why we’re supposed to care about either man’s position, or why they were given lots of free airtime to espouse them.
It seems that today marked the official start of the much-vaunted “lovebombing” campaign aimed at persuading Scots to stay in the UK by showing them how much they’re loved by the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The opening salvo did some unfortunate and costly collateral damage, but luckily the Union had a white knight following close behind to smooth over any injured feelings.
Would you like to meet him, readers?
Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.
