The Persuader
Nobody else is going to do this, so we’ll do it ourselves.
On August 11 last year, this site published a document called The Wee Blue Book. Over 800,000 copies of it were downloaded directly from this site alone in the weeks before the independence referendum, and uncountable numbers from other places. It was converted into all manner of formats, recorded as an audiobook, translated into Gaelic, and made into a website.
More importantly, to get its message to people who wouldn’t normally read a partisan Yes website, we also printed 250,000 paper copies ourselves (paid for through an incredibly successful fundraiser), and over 50,000 were printed by other people.
From the beginning of September an ad-hoc grassroots volunteer team then undertook the ridiculously, madly ambitious logistical task of distributing the books to every last corner of Scotland, from the remotest farm in the Borders to the furthest-flung islands of the north and west, and – despite no experience whatsoever – succeeded.
The Wee Blue Book was sent out into the world with an explicit mission goal of reaching the undecided. Where our volunteers had access to canvass data (which was almost everywhere) they were told to target Don’t Knows only. With demands from campaign groups for five times as many books as were available, wasting precious copies on already-Yes or impossible-No voters was an unaffordable luxury.
But did it achieve anything? All we have to judge that by is polling data. There were 22 opinion polls published after the release of the book. In the rest of 2014 there were another 46, which breaks down conveniently into two groups of 23 each, almost the same size as the post-WBB group for handy comparison purposes.
Taking polls in groups of 22/23 at a time smooths out momentary spikes and troughs, the differing methodologies and sample types of the five main pollsters, and the standard margin of error. So what do the three sets of 2014 opinion polls tell us?
Average Yes vote: 35%
Average No lead: 12.2%
The No camp’s lead in these months varied from a freak high of 25% (Ipsos Mori in late February – the only other lead in the 20s was a 20% from Survation at the end of January) to a low of just 5% in three different Panelbase polls in March and April.
GROUP 2 (April-August, 23 polls)
Average Yes vote: 36.3%
Average No lead: 10.9%
This time the gap ranged from a mere 3% (ICM in April and Panelbase in June) up to a peak of 20% (YouGov in early August). But in those four months the Yes campaign nibbled away just 1.3% of the average No lead.
GROUP 3 (post-Wee Blue Book, August/September, 22 polls)
Average Yes vote: 43.3%
Average No lead: 3.7%
In the five weeks after the publication of the WBB, the average Yes vote leapt 7%, and the No lead plunged by 7.2% – more than five-and-a-half times as much as it had dropped in the previous four months, in a quarter of the time.
Interestingly, the gains almost all came from the Don’t Know group that the WBB had directly targeted – the average No vote dropped by just 0.5% (from 47.5% to 47%).
We have no way of knowing how much, if any, of that dramatic narrowing was down to the book. Perhaps it’s entirely coincidental that 300,000 copies of a detailed, sourced case for independence being delivered specifically into the hands of undecided voters saw two-thirds of them switch to Yes.
We also need to note, of course, that when it came to the actual vote No won by over 10%. The late loss of nerve at the ballot box that characterises almost all decisions about massive change took place as expected – the 6.9% movement from Yes to No on polling day very closely resembled the last-minute 7.2% Yes-to-No shift that turned round the second Quebec independence referendum in 1995.
But it was a momentary – albeit crucial – panic. After the vote opinion moved straight back again, and the average No lead in the next 23 polls, spread across a full 12 months, has shrunk further to just 1.6%. Having seen the Unionist parties renege on their promises, we suspect Scots won’t bottle it a second time.
Whenever that day comes round – and we don’t think it’s an “if” – there’ll be an updated edition of the Wee Blue Book in their pockets. We don’t think it’s an accident that the overwhelmingly-Unionist media has determinedly written it out of history. But the people who took it to every part of Scotland remember. Folks, we salute you.
Three cheers for the Wee Blue (Insurgent’s) Book.
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more …
link to wp.me
Spooky.
Just tweeted on your National piece today that without WBB Yes would not have got over 40%.
WBB totally energised the YES indyref campaign. SNP were flagging and clearly were not ready for it.
Said it before but thanks to all involved especially Stu.
#stillyes
Thank you Rev Stu for the wee blue book and this site.
Keeps me somewhat sane!
Next time….
Love it. Can’t wait to start campaigning again. It was great.
When I started at the Yes Inverclyde shop, I collected articles, blogs, newspaper cuttings, graphs, charts, anything that I felt would be necessary. I fully expected people to come in with any number of questions about what independence would mean for them, and wanted to be prepared. By the time the campaign ended, I had completely stuffed 4 binders with literally hundreds of pages’ worth of material to ensure absolutely everything could be answered.
The Wee Blue Book managed to encapsulate everything into a pocket-sized package. Even when Yes HQ frowned on Wings, we thought it was simply too useful not to utilize. We delivered it, we had it out on our stalls (as pictured above, taken by yours truly!), we kept a supply in our shop.
Thank you Stuart, Lindsay, Doug, Morag, Andrew, Scott and Stewart, for everything you’ve done, and continue to do. Looking forward to The Wee Blue Book, Second Edition!
I didn’t take any pictures but I helped put the Wee Blue Book through doors from Kelty to Rosyth in West Fife. Just before polling day some of us from YesBenarty went round putting a box full of Wee Blue Books through as many doors as we could, targeting the more affluent streets in the Benarty area. We also talked to as many people as answered their door. After the referendum we got breakdowns of the areas on Facebook. The Benarty area voted 60% Yes and 40% no.
It was worth its weight in gold!
If there ever is an indyref2 it’ll be interesting to see what your economic figures are for WBB2
Another Right-Wing think tank with a phony title prays that Scots will reject democracy:
“Prof Michael Keating, of the Centre on Constitutional Change at Edinburgh University, said Sturgeon knew too many voters were weary of referendums to risk a second vote. He predicted that the SNP’s popularity would soon dip because of voters’ concern over domestic policies. “The shine will wear off, that’s inevitable,” he said”.
If we want to win the next one we should be trying to get the Wee Blue Book to as many first time voters as possible as soon as they are old enough to vote if not before. Give them the facts before they are brain washed by the MSM.
The 12th picture from the top, the one with the notice attached to the lamp-post, is that the same street corner where DimJim was ever so politely told to GTF, during his infamous shiteathon, by a passing motorist?
🙂
On a more serious note – Good to know for definate we are to get another (updated) wee book, puts my mind at ease but i’ll still be working on some of my own stuff. Keep up the good fight everyone!
“The Wee Blue Book was sent out into the world with an explicit mission goal of reaching the undecided. Where our volunteers had access to canvass data (which was almost everywhere) they were told to target Don’t Knows only. With demands from campaign groups for five times as many books as were available, wasting precious copies on already-Yes or impossible-No voters was an unaffordable luxury.”
And wasting precious copies is exactly what some people did. To this day, I remain extremely pissed off that someone at my mum’s work – a definite, not-for-turning No voter – received FOUR copies through his letterbox. A criminal waste, especially considering his whole street must have received multiple copies as well.
I remember stressing about how I was going to get enough copies to folk in Aberdeen and the shire, only to find out folk had been pissing about with them like that. Folk who, I’ll bet, had done the square root of fuck all to help their local Yes group, hence having no knowledge of who to target. Anger isn’t the word.
And the past few days, on the Bella Caledonia Facebook page, I’ve seen folk going “yay, I’ve still got three copies!” To which I think “why are they not in the hands of folk who were undecided?”
Still, the Wee Blue Book did more to convince people than anything the official campaign produced. The undecideds at my work who I gave a copy to all voted Yes. Nothing else had that power. Next time, the official campaign needs to produce something like the Wee Blue Book. Never mind 700 page tomes that no one will read, or namby-pamby leaflets with folk at the seaside going “everything will be wonderful!” The folk I convinced wanted facts, not airy-fairy pish. That’s why the Wee Blue Book succeeded where other literature failed.
Wow, good job guys. Onwards and upwards.
Are there still print copies for sale anywhere? Amazon says unavailable but it would make a good Christmas pressie.
Money well spent and credit to the Rev for all the hard work he put into it and to those who distributed them.
The next Wee Blue Book should be called “The Lying Bastards”
The Better Together lies are now our most effective weapon
I’d very happily contribute to a booklet detailing them
Come Independence – and it’s coming yet for awe that – the part the Wee Blue Book will be recognised.
Then, maybe ten years on, the Rev will get the credit he deserves. This septugenarian hopes he’s around to give him another cheer.
“there’ll be an updated edition of the Wee Blue Book in their pockets.”
I like that.
Brings a tear to my eye, I’ve absolutely no doubt that the wee blue book had a profound impact on the vote outcome…we got so close…and the distribution, the energy and mass enthusiasm that drove this was palpable. People arranging to meet strangers anywhere and everywhere to provide as little as 20/30 to 1000’s of copies…whatever the amount the sheer open ended trust within our movement was forged forever…
You have a deep and loyal network that awaits WBB update with…anticipation…because it is coming Stu, and in no small measure Wings has been a phenomenal driving force that has in my opinion, fundamentally altered the politically landscape by educating the people in our country: I think as more and more people ‘tuned’ into wings, the vote share increased on the Yes side…throughout that last year especially.
The pics are great…and thank you so much Stu, for everything.
The WWB was massively influential, we all know people who changed their minds after reading it. Just sorry the media refuse to acknowledge your massive contribution, RevStu. It’s possible you had more impact on the referendum outcome than any other individual apart from Alex Salmond.
I hope the official yes campaign people and SNP are taking note, if they had been doing their job properly there would have been no need for the WBB. They still aren’t debunking the unionist myths quickly or effectively enough.
We could do with a WBB type document going into the Scottish Elections next year, there are still too many people believe the lies put out about college places, single police force, named person, university admissions/funding, more powers etc. Even PDFs that we can laminate would be useful.
Something to celebrate on this historic day. The iconic Wee Blue Book.
Just heard my husband applaud “Morag” on the radio phone-in for castigating “Proud Scots” who shamefully voted against their country’s independence. Was that our Morag I wonder?
It was a pity there was not a concise booklet such as the Wee Blue Book available at the start of the Referendum campaign rather than near the end. All those involved in producing the booklet deserve credit where credit is due.
I have absolutely no doubt the WBB converted voters to Yes. Exactly how many, will never be know.
Creating and distributing it was an amazing achievement.
I have the feeling IndyRef2 will be called at short notice. There will need to be demand – polling constistently showing a solid Yes lead. There will need to be a big trigger event, or pattern of events. It won’t be until the dust of Holyrood2016 has settled.
However, it could be anytime after that and, I guess, have a very short campaign period.
We need to have everything ready!
Perhaps soon there should begin discussions about where Yes succeeded, and do it better this time. And, where Yes was weak and make sure we strengthen information and arguments there.
There’s a lot of evidence, but it’s not as simple a task as it appears. The NHS, for instance, was sighted by both Yes and No voters as a major reason for their decision!
WBB!
Wonderful Bonus Benefit!
Proud of us all taking on an almost impossible task in getting this book distributed throughout the Country and succeeding in doing just that.
Wee Blue Book created friendships, networks and life long alliances and for that I will be eternally grateful.
Without it I may not have met some of these wonderful people!
Many heartfelt thanks!
Did the WBB work?
Of course it did.
On polling day I handed a WBB to a person who was going into the polling station undecided. This person came back out of the polling station after a lengthy 15 mins & said to me ‘I read the WBB & voted Yes’ handed it back to me & insisted that I gave it to the next undecided.
It was a Game Changer, of that I have no doubt. Thanks Stu & thanks everyone who worked their a**es off to get it out there. It was special, magical & wonderful.
Aye, the WBB was quite a thing and the determination and effort put in by the grass roots to get them out was astonishing.
On the 18th of September I did not have one copy left. Every last one I had went out to work.
Thankfully I now have a wee hard-back copy as a memento.
I have often wondered what the outcome would have been if wee had had the WBB 4 weeks earlier. I sincerely believe we would have won. As it was it almost got us over the line.
Now we know we are not at the end of this journey we are only at the beginning and from where I’m looking now it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a long road.
Time to start a separate fundraiser *today* for the NewWeeBB, so when the time comes, we’ll be ahead of the game & ready to print & distribute LOTS of them.
An amazing achievement by all involved.
Dozens of “Proud Scots” on Good Morning Scotland saying Scotland is too poor and too wee to be a normal country.
I got that a lot during the referendum campaign, too. Definitely worth considering, though I think (hope?) SNP HQ will be on top it.
What I’m really looking forward to – and I think will be absolutely crucial – is Project Red. As much as Labour have shafted us in Westminster, the Holyrood brigade have been even more damaging and shocking. For too long they’ve been getting away with their nonsense because we’ve had bigger fish to fry, all while they taunt the SNP for “keeping their eye off the ball” and “forgetting they’re a party of government.” They’re going to rue the day they said that, because it isn’t just the SNP’s record that’ll be under scrutiny…
I am not sure that the BBC’s blatant lies and bias can accurately be called propaganda.
Rory, don’t you just love him.
Radio Beeb in Scotland , as usual gives last word to No voter..
Nicola speech shown in full on sky, but only few mins on BBC ‘confuse
‘confuse 24`
Wonderful Bonus Book.
Thank you for this project and article.
Met life long friends through the distribution network that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
WBB created a network and energy that continues to this day and for that thanks are due to all involved.
I hope too that Official recognition is given eventually to Rev Stu and the rest of the team involved in its creation!
Yes, I know it convinced three of my family and help supply info for others who were Yes to pass on.
It, and some other info, convince the whole extended family of a friend of my partner.
The only response I got from one absolute No voter was that he’d found some spelling mistakes.
The Yes stall in Aviemore had the No stall man, just along the way, come along and ask if there were any WWBs spare as that was what people were asking for!
Chitternlicht says:
18 September, 2015 at 9:10 am
Spooky.
Just tweeted on your National piece today that without WBB Yes would not have got over 40%.
I would agree with that. I remember when I was out campaigning last year, my surprise that so many ordinary people on the doorsteps either had copies of the WBB, or at least knew about it.
That’s all down to you folks. The Rev and his WBB team did a fantastic job, but I’m sue he/they would agree that the extended WoS family were also amazing their efforts to spread the word.
WBB was a great achievement. I got my boxes from @thepnr whom I bumped into in Broughty Ferry. I delivered them from Inverbervie to Aberdeen, including some country roads that were missed by the main leaflet drops.
WBB was so much better that the official leaflets.
Ken500 wrote:
“Can’t wait to start campaigning again.”
Don’t know about anyone else Ken but i’ve never stopped.
I more or less got straight back into it by continuing to promote this site wherever i went and urging people to vote SNP at every possible election.
The referendum may have been done but i’ve never let the dust settle on our aims and until we achieve independence the war rages on.
Simple acts such as getting this sites web address printed across the back of a jacket or favourite top can do enough to raise the curiosity and conversations in people.
It only cost me circa £12 to get it done at a wee shop in Kelso.
It’s paid for itself ten-fold since then and even if it only managed to convince or convert one person it was worth every penny.
@ Rev.
Just a suggestion – If you don’t already know maybe you should start trying to get a rough idea of numbers and maybe people should start organising themselves into groups to cover all areas and prevent wasteful overlapping as described by DD up thread. Put me down for 200 copies and i’ll cover my area.
🙂
One more suggestion – If you haven’t already got all of our last fundraiser accounted for why don’t you set up an account and kick-start a heavy deposit into it.
And between now and IndyRef2 you could deposit a large sum of every fundraiser into the account so when the time comes the project will be well financed.
Just a couple of thoughts off the tap-o-ma-heed.
BTW, good to read the positive news about your dad.
Lots of technical problems with BBC Radio Scotland. Constant disruptions.
Spooky
Well said a very passionate Morag on the radio this morning, certainly made a few NO voters feel uncomfortable, judging by the response. Worth hearing if you get the chance. 🙂
One of the great achievements in any Western democracy v. total great British meeja blackout, shock.
Quite a maelstrom of emotion reading this and enjoying the photos(once more). It all seems but a few hours ago. I can almost remember those three days minute by minute. The heady excitement/anticipation of the 18th, the crushing disappointment of the 19th and then the strange goings on of the 20th – we were dusted down, tails were up and we were ready to go again.
Yeah, we lost, but we have not been beaten.
Looking forward to WBB2. 🙂
Go Morag! What an advocate for the YES. Promised not to listen to radio Scotland this morning but had to get the car to the chemists and there she was.
“The only country in the world to turn down independence, not a proud Scot an ‘ashamed Scot'”. I know what you mean Morag. 🙁
Brilliant Morag, if your reading this, you are an inspiration. I’ve heard you on radio 5 live a few times too. Bless you. 🙂
@Capella
Wasn’t she great…She’s not our Morag, although ours is great too.
Still not convinced Scotland was ‘No’. Am convinced the British States lies and biased unionist media made it look that way.
@ Sandra
Click the link in the article “the wee blue book” or click on the Wee Blue Book icon in the middle of this page and you will find all the downloadable versions of The Wee Blue Book.
There is also one at the bottom of the download page which is the professional, print-ready download which you can take to a local printer and have books printed.
Yes, they would make an excellent Christmas present. 🙂
It was the single most important thing for convincing undecided. My 80 year old daily mail reading mum voted yes after I gave her a copy to balance all the guff she was getting from bbc and papers. Absolutely brilliant.rather than a 700 page tome I would like to see scotgov produce a smilarly concise sourced statements Of fact to battle the papers pish. The snp greens ric can then go forward and outline what they would do in government of indy scotland.
Well said Doug Daniel, again. Onwards folks.
Doug Daniel.
A week before the referendum I was in the company of seven confirmed No voters. Five of them got WBBs. I refused to give copies to the other two. BT activists. Polling day, all five voted Yes, and some of their spouses.
This was remarkable as they were breaking rank with their perceived alpha pals, and what was expected of them socially.
My point is you couldn’t write off every supposed No voter. I even had a very posh RP woman approached me in the street to thank me for the WBB. She’d voted Yes. I’d never met her before and would have put money on her being a No.
The WBB’s were like wee blue hand grenades. Brilliant effort Stu. Phenomenal.
I’m convinced a revised WBB will take us over the line.
Rory, don’t you just love him.
Aye, makes a joke lampooning BBC’s interventions in a plebiscite but appears on BBC political programmes to lampoon Scotland’s attempts to gain democracy.
A man of massive contradictions, all of them to gain exposure.
Some people say `what was the point in a YES supporter keeping/getting the WBB,it should be given away to an undecided`.
Not all YES supporters have the political acumen of Stu or most of the main contributors on this site.
With the family, at work, in the pub with friends, out canvassing, the WBB was an indispensable reference guide to go to when undecided or NO voters were quoting Better Together/MSM misinformation and down right lies.
The WBB won over thousands of undecided not from them reading The Book but from YES supporters having read The Book and being able from that to preach The Word of The Book.
There are too many ignorant people about. .
The best literature. Facts and figures came out after the postal vote.
Next time.
Good news about WBB Edition 2.
I just checked the BBC poll and of course to see the result you have to vote again, oh dear, how clumsy of me. It shuts midday today:
“Read the shortlist and cast your vote at the bottom of the page. Voting closes midday 18 September.”
link to bbc.co.uk
BBC-GIRUY
“The only country in the world to turn down independence, not a proud Scot an ‘ashamed Scot’”.
Does it need saying, their historic The Vow fraud, devo-max and federal UK, pouring out of English media, take these staggering liars and hypocrites
link to theguardian.com
“Gordon Brown is right: federalism is on its way if the Scots shun independence”
Shunned, one year later, nothing. England retains its control of Scotland, English media trolls Scotland, as per.
The YES campaign should have produced a “wee blue book” or something similar. What were they doing?
Thank you.
Can we maybe start a long-term crowdfunder for the updated version now, so that whenever the next indyref comes around, we’ll have enough money to deliver one through every single door in Scotland, and more?
Doug nails it above. The WBB was punchy, relevant, and easily understood by even the most disconnected voter.
By contrast, the White Paper was impenetrable and much of the official Yes campaign material was vapid guff.
A year ago tomorrow we all felt crushed and humiliated. I am more convinced now than ever that defeat was necessary to allow us ultimately to achieve victory.
That we will do, and WBB 2 will play no small part in it.
FFS Sky
Commentators Torrance and McTernan
What a joke
Nice article from the Rev in today’s National, but I couldn’t help but laugh heartily at Duncan Hotherslol’s article next to it:
“Fear is not a sign of healthy debate.”
(in reference to No supporters being too afraid to voice their opinions)
McTernan and Torrance given a whole load of time to lie through their teeth by SKY and a dumb interviewer with a page of loaded questions. (Bets on whether Torrance is paid by MI5 or MI6.)
No balance from the Yes side.
The attacks on Scotland’s democracy won’t abate until we own Scotland
Well done to one and all who had the vision and commitment to contribute to the content of The Wee Blue Book and to everyone who had the faith to help finance it.
For those of us who had hubs and were distributors, I am sure we are not alone in feeling privileged that we could help too and, in our case, would be more than willing to do so again.
As soon as the download was put on the web, we went into “print mode” at home and started distributing A5 double-sided copies at events (our printer eventually “died” some months ago having done sterling work throughout the Indy campaign).
It was fantastic when we received the pocket-sized, printed booklets. It felt like having the keys to the country in our hands.
We know we needed more, but, next time we’ll be ready, won’t we? We can’t depend on politicians, but, we can depend on Wingers 🙂
Oh, did, I forget the thank Stu? 😉 Does it need saying? Yup, Thanks from approx. 1.6 million souls. 🙂
@ Doug Daniel
Totally agree with your sentiments about the purpose and the waste in some places.
I removed the supply from a group when I found that one of them was advocating just putting them through every door because they apparently didn’t know where their undecided voters were. I redistributed supplies to another group who knew exactly what they needed to do.
@ Morag
Well done, again, Morag, on saying on radio what many think! Re The Wee Blue Book – it was a lovely, sunny drive to deliver your two boxes! One of the many joys I recall last summer.
Thought for the day
New book, transition of the no camp from don’t go have more power, promises, vows, Cameron switch, Smith, watering down labour betrayals, Scotland act, actually less power, more tax, less budget
The risk of staying with the union
The picture of two WBB’s sitting on a bus shelter seat gave me a doubletake. That was where my last three copies went. Just left on local bus shelter seats. They didn’t last long.
I hope they were either taken by the interested UD or by someone looking for one to give to loved one or friend they wanted to help towards Yes.
I gave them to UD’s on the doorstep I thought would benefit for them. My supplies were sporadic from local Yes and RIC colleagues. Hand down to hand down is how you penetrate to the doorstep and the receiving hand.
The Distribution might have been ad hoc and amateur but it worked, possibly better than a more formal system would have. There was no official determination of who should have some.
The WBB simply percolated into Scotland.
I kept one, because I was doing double duty (2pm to close) outside our local polling station for Yes and I wanted one in case. It got pored over by the two young polis who were there.
Some correlations are just too compelling to ignore. A former lab head showed me a graph once, the rise of Childhood Obesity in Scotland from iirc 1970 to present on the same graph as the rise in the number of McDonalds outlets. The Obesity graph rises in lockstep with the McD’s, just lagging by 18months or so. Compelling.
So is your speculation about the effect of the WBB. Knowledge is power and Scotland had been kept ignorant for a long time. There was an absolute NEED for the WBB.
My eternal admiration for you as a result. Keep safe Stu, stay away from McD’s 😉
‘The only country in the world to turn down independence’
I don’t think we did turn it down, we were threatened and forced to say ‘No’.
Not quite the same as turning it down.
@ Senlac, 10:36am
My thoughts exactly and I am sure it is on the minds of many others too.
In the meantime, we could all start our own indy fund and when the time comes just empty the pot into the project. Little by little…
Nicolas excellent speech in Edinburgh this morning.
link to youtube.com
.
So from UKOK liars like the Graun who said vote NO and we will give you ukok federalism
“Gordon Brown is right: federalism is on its way if the Scots shun independence”
to
link to theguardian.com
The second and more important task is to ask whether the commission has come up with what Scots want. The answer, almost certainly, is that it has.
Devolution is certainly not as cool as independence. But independence is mostly supported only by a minority – albeit by 45% in the referendum. By contrast a majority of Scots always say with unerring consistency that they want more devolution. Most of the polls show Scots wanting more control of their own country while remaining within the UK. That is exactly what Smith offers.
Hard core fraudsters ukok style, but its ukok to defraud a whole country because its just a minority.
I obtained a box or two from thepnr and went looking for Yes voters with the intention that they were to give them on to undecided family and friends.
When I was manning stalls in Dundee it was amazing how many people had copies.
I wholeheartedly agree that WBB2 can play a huge part in getting the yes vote to 50+%.
We also need a far better, dynamic and street-wise leader of the Yes campaign
scotsbob says:
“The YES campaign should have produced a “wee blue book” or something similar. What were they doing?”
Frittering our money away on a myriad of reactive leaflets that were often more confusing then enlightening. I’m sure Yes central bought many a favour with all the printers they used. Anyone would have thought they were trying to muddy the waters – certainly the impression I got. Blair Jenkins should never have been leading the Yes campaign. He was absolutely useless.
The WBB was the best piece of campaigning literature produced during the whole referendum period, period.
Call me a bin-raking mink if you must 🙂 but in the days following the vote it saddened me to think of each discarded WBB being pulped so I went out and managed to rescue half a dozen copies from peoples recycling boxes.
It wasn’t time wasted. Once the referendum dust had settled a staunch NO-voting work colleague who wouldn’t have touched the book with a barge-pole before the vote, took and read a copy, a few weeks later in May the same life long Labour voter voted SNP 🙂
Next time the enemies of democracy will not get two years to mount and sustain a fear campaign. And that has them scared.
I remember being in our Yes shop just a few days before the ref last year and in walks a guy who had never voted in his life, admitted to being totally ignorant of politics and was ashamed that he had left it so late to find out anything about the implications of the upcoming vote. But he said that he “had heard from a guy in the pub of a wee book that told you everything you needed to know”, and off he trotted with a copy for his undecided family, and another for a neighbour in the same boat.
It made a huge difference Stu, bring on Indyref2 and WBB2 – a million copies next time tho!
Shameless twat Lord Darling claim that the Indy campaign divided the country. He conveniently omits the division he, Brown & Blair & Co caused by their sabre-rattling & mass murder in Iraq. Roll on their one-way trips to the Hague.
O/T however I note from BBC news 24 this morning 1105 am
Listening to the correspondent Christian Fraser that “London” apparently
has a “Croatian ambassador ”
Perhaps if London has ambassadors possibly Scotland could
have also ??
Worth it then and still is
Prof Poultice says: Theres been no perceptible change in voting intentions for YES or NO in the last year except to say that YES have increased by about 5%
How do you talk pish like that and by the time you’ve gotten to the end of the sentence still leave the impression NO is still winning
Wee Blue Book 2 maybe could include a list of people who are Spokesgits for their respective favoured sides and help to remove the partisan bias effect that the Telly Media love to monster us with ( A pull out list sheet of names and affiliations)
Oh no maybe not I’ve just realised what that sounds like
Still !!!
@Call me Dave,
I just checked out Morag’s bit on Radio Scotland, Christ, what an amazing woman. Got me all teary eyed.
Listened to some of the No voters talking through fear and ignornance but also some great Yes voters who knew their stuff and spoke well.
There’s a lot of work to be done before we win the next Referendum but we’ll get there. It’s in our (the people’s) hands. If we work hard, work smart and work together we can’t lose.
I am quite certain that the YES campaign would not have achieved 45% without the help of Wings. Yet even now there are STILL wet Indies decrying him and denying him.
Grouse Beater says:
“Next time the enemies of democracy will not get two years to mount and sustain a fear campaign. And that has them scared.”
Indeed GB, I’ve been pushing the massage that the next indyref should be a snap referendum – if the Greeks can organise one in two weeks, so can we. Don’t give the establishment ANY time to arrange their black ops.
Has also occurred to me that if need be we can have a referendum on having a referendum to scotch any opposition to our legitimacy to do it.
Blair Jenkins should have been fired, and early on into the campaign.
The formal Yes campaign was far too restrained and polite.
Good post by Stu on National website (and newspaper) today – several other really good ones too by the Wee Ginger Dug, Harvie et al
Stu said “I STARTED Wings Over Scotland because I was sick of hearing things being said on TV and reading things in newspapers that I knew weren’t true, but which absolutely nobody challenged. The most obvious example is the idea that Labour needed Scottish seats to win UK elections – that’s absolute hogwash, but everyone repeated it like a self-evident mantra. ”
I had felt like that as far back as 1978 – one feels so helpless when you see members of your own community or family embedding untruths into their frame of reference to make decisions about life, government, politics , sociall justice and the economy based on the belief they are well informed.
Many MSM journalists grew up in this mileau and not a few don’t even have the nouse to realize they are spouting drivel – as we say in the computer industry ‘GIGO’ — garbage in garbage out and indeed if they did not reflect the mantras they would not be able to find work these days. (There is a wonderful way of expressing this in Gaelic – but poor Stu has been infected by that UKOK meme so I won’t go there)
We really need a ‘Wings over Ireland’ and probably Wales and England too.
BUT we need to learn from Stu’s example and support old media formats like the National and IScot both on line and in the battle for space on the shelves – as most people are still influenced by the printed page- and we need to create a space where real journalism can be nurtured and grow.
The Wee Blue Book. Well done all involved.
hell yea the wee blue book was a game changer it still is,the wingers finest moment so far and i do believe it was the reason the onions pulled out the vow.
Next time though lets not get bogged down by wet blankets from the official yes campaign, sometimes i wondered who`s side the head people in it were on.
We need a real firebrand to lead the next campaign ,i would go with our Tommy who i thought did a brilliant job during the indy ref and deserves a shot at it,no more Mr nice guy lets get right in their faces and set about them we have the ammo.
The figures don’t surprise me. I remember posting at the time that never has so much been owed by so many to one person. You.
Nearly. Just nearly. We will prevail. On this day of all days, believe it.
UK, we’re coming to get you and this time you’re lies and fearmongering won’t work. The appalling result of your deceit is now all around us with this government. We will not forget.
Listening to Nicola Sturgeon on GMS today. She reiterated, in an indirect way, a point frequently made since last year.
We, the people of Scotland, are the ones who now, more than ever before, have the tangible power to make another independence referendum a reality.
We have a national government just waiting…….waiting for a majority in the polls to say they want it. We have a proven, democratic process to deliver a binding referendum.
We have an open door to independence, if we choose.
We shouldn’t wait for the SNP to drag us to the independence door threshold again.
We simply need to continue to harness the politicised energy in the Country to one single aim – to keep converting NO/DK’s to YES.
When we reach a consistent 60/40 or 65/35 Yes/No in the polls we will have crossed the rubicon. The Government have stated quite clearly that it must “listen to the sovereign will of the Scottish People”.
The people waiting, frustrated by a lack of call for a second referendum have missed the point. The SNP Government has handed the Scottish people a gilt-edged route to independence. We simply have to convince a “few” more to the YES side.
I’ve read a good few books. A very small number have changed my life. Of those the Wee Blue Book was the most concise and fun to read. Thank you!
Rev Stu.
Please follow this post with an analysis of the antipathy from the Yes campaign to WoS.
Was Blair Jenkins the correct man in post?
Or a hidden Q-man?
Please please please when/if the time comes,can we have the WBB2 out relatively earlier :)?
WBB was indeed a game changer for many people and probably the most persuasive tool in the whole YES campaign. It is probably worth being in continuous print,amended and up-dated as appropriate. That would probably be easier than a complete new edition and it could include a “LIES ” section.
WWB 2014, WWB 2015, WBB 2016 and so on. No problem I fancy in funding it.
I get a bit exasperated by the number of people on this site and others who think it useful to have a pop at the SNP
The SNP got us here.The SNP with lots of friends of mine, now sadly passed on, with whom I tramped the streets of Glasgow and Lanarkshire from the early sixties when we were getting less than 1% of the vote. Their was no career prospect’s or MPs or councillor’s billets in those day and there was no establishment funds either.
The SNP approached the referendum unarmed in comparison to our enemies’ resources,with virtually no space in any of our media to state its case and to rebut unionist distortions and yet people across Scotland rose to a cause the SNP had fashioned.That was great. That is the theme.
Let’s talk about the good stuff that happened.
Exactly right Fergus. 60% or above and we demand a referendum, or walk away with the support of the nation.
I secretly suspect Catalan’s are already over the 60% mark. What they do might have a ripple effect on Scotland.
Nicola’s been practically BEGGING us to do this. It can’t be the SNP, it has to be the people who push forward with this.
Get another Yes Scotland up and running. Heck, get individual groups going: Inverclyde for Independence has been going since the referendum. Keep doing events. Keep engaging the public.
The longer Darling and Cameron and all their cohorts keep braying about people not wanting another referendum, the longer people might start to believe it – either that, or they start to get fed up with politicians telling them whether they’re fed up of something or not. Certainly Darling’s done himself no favours over Corbyn: in a sane world, not even the Labour faithful should take a word he says seriously ever again.
It’s up to us.
The story of how I got my hands on first 80, then a whole box of about 200, then the multiple boxes needed to deliver across rural Tweeddale is probably as ripping a yarn as how they were delivered. And special thanks to Jim and his wife for driving all the way from Troon to leave that box in my garage in West Linton while I was at work.
I was co-ordinating the deliveries in rural Tweeddale West, and I can confirm nobody got two. Most people got one, because we just didn’t have the canvassing data. I tried to avoid known Yes voters, but a couple begged copies from me to help convert friends and family. (One chap in a remote cottage up an unmade road began to decline the literature I had in my hand with the words “we’ve already voted Yes by post,” then did a double-take and said “is that a Wee Blue Book? PLEASE can I have it?” I didn’t have the heart to say no.)
I remember delivering the last half-dozen I had, at a farm with 12 cottages. I did them each-about, alternate cottages getting a book or a WBB business card. Then I just stood and looked at the view of the Lyne valley, which was spectacular from up there.
Later, our canvassing director appeared with half a box he’d taken from the canvassing team to prevent hoarding, and in the end I took them to the Penicuik Yes shop, which had almost run out. I finished with the single copy I’d been sent as a crowdfunding perk, which is still in my handbag. I probably had about 2,500 through my hands altogether, though obviously I didn’t deliver them all personally.
When I got back to work on the Monday after the referendum I discovered another copy lying on the filing cabinet in my office, overlooked. A pang of guilt struck. But then, in church the following Sunday an elderly lady took me aside and said she had a favour to ask. Did I have another copy of the Wee Blue Book for her to give to her son who wasn’t quite Yes yet? She was reluctant to give away the one that had been posted through her letterbox (by one of the Plaid Cymru volunteers as it happens) which she had used to convert her extremely No-inclined husband at the last minute. So I gave her the one from my office. She was already, only ten days on, thinking about indyref 2!
I heard other stories. One of the church elders went home from church the Sunday before the referendum to find a WBB on his doorstep (Plaid again, thanks Dyfrig), read it, and was telling everyone to vote Yes by the Monday.
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if we’d had 2 million copies and they’d come out just a week or two earlier.
Curtice ‘the expert’ who is always wrong. The Bookies friend. Wonder when he would resurface, after the negligent Poll Inquiry.
McTernan slaggs off Labour. The Tories have been printing money for the last 5 years. Have given tax breaks to the wealthiest (them) while starving children. They don’t collect enough in the rest of the UK to fund public services. Tax take down 1/4 from £600Billion to £466Billion. Scotland raises £54Billion and gets back £50Billion. Pro rata the rest of the UK raises £39Billion. Borrows and spends £90Billion more.
The Tories have ruined the Oil sector. Taxed at 55%, although the price has halved. If the tax was reduced people would not be lossing their jobs. The Oil sector should be taxed corresponding to the barrel price.
Rev, you deserve whatever in independent Scotland we have instead of knighthoods.
Your contribution has been immeasurable – except youve just done a pretty good job there of measuring it.
Im straining at the leash for Indyref2 – I’ll be doing my best to get WBB2 out there to as many folk as possible.
Maybe we also need a WBB-sized version of Ponsonby/Robertsons documentation of BBC bias, to wake more folk up on that front?
“The only response I got from one absolute No voter was that he’d found some spelling mistakes.”
Wait, WHAT?
I’m as certain as can be that there are none.
O/T
The vote on the BBC England website ended at 11:59 today. No mention of who won and the article about British Battles appears to have disappeared.
A few hours ago Bannockburn was ahead on 33%; next was Battle of Britain at 23%
Where is the BBC report on this?
I just posted this in the Herald, it won’t last long before being deleted:
“This article has changed, and a totally different headline. It should be set up as a new article, with new comments, not leaving the old ones left behind. This has been happening a lot in the Herald the last few days. ”
it’s on an article which was titled “Union ‘on borrowed time’ – Sturgeon” and is now titled “Sturgeon: there can be no shortcuts to independence” with quite different text in the article.
It’s scurrilous behaviour, very dishonest.
The Wee Blue Book is absolutely fantastic and your contribution to the independence movement truly immense. It filled a massive need.
It is not just the WBB. The contribution of Wings to the referendum campaign is never sufficiently acknowledged.
Yes, fantastic work Rev Stu.
Let’s get millions out next time, I gave my copy away, they were flying off the stalls here in Edinburgh.
Still YES.
Agreed, on spelling mistakes, but I didn’t want to waste time, others wanted to read it. The tone told me there wasn’t a discussion in mind.
I was going with ‘inform those wanting information’, and moved on. I guess I should have asked to have it pointed out.
Incase anyone hasn’t seen, Chris Cairns has just launched a crowdfunder for his book – really looking forward to having a copy of this
link to indiegogo.com
Me a few days ago on Wings:
“ Can’t be too long before feary-smeary Right-Wing MSM investigate Corbyn’s sex life.
Today in the Torygraph:
link to msn.com
True to type.
Ananurhing: “My point is you couldn’t write off every supposed No voter.”
Aye, but if the first WBB didn’t convert my mum’s work colleague, copies two, three and four weren’t going to do it either. That’s what annoyed me. It was a valuable resource, and yet some folk were seemingly just giving it away like a Pizza Hut flyer.
Betty Boop: “I removed the supply from a group when I found that one of them was advocating just putting them through every door because they apparently didn’t know where their undecided voters were. I redistributed supplies to another group who knew exactly what they needed to do.”
That’s good to know. At the time, Stu and others implored people not to just randomly shove them through letterboxes, but it was clear people were going to do it anyway. Just like it’s obvious people were keeping copies as mementos – you wonder how many of the 300,000 actually found their way into the hands of undecided voters.
————-
Folk are talking about getting a fundraiser going in preparation for the next one. Let’s face it, funds will not be a problem – Wings readers have seemingly bottomless pockets. What we really need is to make sure that we’re more organised next time. We had a small core of volunteers, and those volunteers tried to get copies to the right people, but it wasn’t always possible. Folk did what they could, but time was against us.
Next time, we’ll make sure there are contacts in every Yes group, who can then ensure copies are distributed properly. We’ll need to get data beforehand as to how many copies are needed for each area, and make sure those contacts get the books, rather than just random folk. But hey, it’s all part of the learning experience!
(Or we can just get Stu to print a few million copies and pay for the Royal Mail to deliver one to every household…)
The only response I got from one absolute No voter was that he’d found some spelling mistakes.”
Wait, WHAT?
I’m as certain as can be that there are none.
You spelled Unionism ‘independence’.
Every single one of my WBBs went to undecided voters. I put up big notices in my Internet Cafe (Glasgow): “Still Undecided? Take a Wee Blue Book to help you decide” with big piles of them for customers to take one. Joe Public (my customers) hadn’t seen anything like it and many told me personally that they were genuinely grateful to have a publication that gave them no nonsense, well-sourced and referenced facts in a small, easy-to-read manner.
Well done Stu and everyone who helped produce and deliver WBB. And nice to know the SNP’s recent survey had WoS listed among their list of blog sites. I ticked it (of course) but also named it in some of the “Other” news information sources in the survey. They notice WoS alright.
It was a fantastic publication, but imho it was too late. It should have been released at least 4wks earlier, to make the desired circulation and overall impact.
In the spirit of keeping the momentum towards Yes going, anyone up for crowdfunding and distributing a “one year on” leaflet. Of course we’d need some talented person to organise it, hint, hint…
I think its too difficult to isolate the effect of the Blue Book amongst all the other things going on in the campaigns. However the Blue Book fills a large gap between whats being fed by the BBC (shallow soundbites with bias) and the large dry White Paper which is too big for most of the public – although its true a lot of people did obtain a copy.
The Blue Book 2 will be an essential.
But do not think it has been missed by the opposition who deny it any air time and column inches. They will be working at attacking and undermining BB2 when the time comes.
Just heard my husband applaud “Morag” on the radio phone-in for castigating “Proud Scots” who shamefully voted against their country’s independence. Was that our Morag I wonder?
I’d love to take the credit, but no. I think she’s a lady from Dundee. However, I endorse this opinion!
I didn’t read the WBB, still haven’t though I might in the quiet season. What I did during Ref 1 was totally my own thing, read all the reports, all the data, IFS, CPPR, IPPR, ONS, OBR, NIESR, the ratings agencies, banks, HMRC, all the UK Gov white papers, and so all my postings were my own work, any mistake was mine and mine alone.
I used Unionist work and UK Gov stuff to challenge their own very duff conclusions, where the data was one thing, the executive summaries subtly changed that, the press release with the report went even further, and then the MSM twisted it even further so that good news for Indy became bad news, oh very bad naughty Indy, bowls of depression like Grapes of Wrath. Imagine that, with our rainfall, the Unionists would have us believe Independent Scotland would become a dusty desert with camels having mirages of oases. Water water nowhere, narry a drop to drink.
My then economics student son read the WBB from cover to cover (electronically as more suits the younger perhaps). He thought it was excellent. His opinion is good enough for me.
My finances are crap (I’m on it boss), but I’ll find a few bob for crowdfunding WBB2.
Can I put in a shout out for kendomacaroonbar who got the first WBB printed out of his own pocket 10 days before the official printrun.
Thats the same ken macdonald who was asking us for support for his iScot magazine the other day.
Doug, I can echo Morags comments about hoarding. I had the Inverness delivery. Kinivie gave me carte blanche to sort out who to distribute to, rather than stick to the initial requests. Ended up supplying East Sutherland as well as Easter Ross and Inverness. Towards the last few boxes, they were being guarded and only given out to DK, loads of Yessers”just wanted a copy” were refused. Absolutely fantastic response from people who read it and really made a difference. It was the gamechanger. At the beginning we got pissed off by YES scotland who tried to spike it and Wings, but ignored them anyway. (Probably that twat Ross Greer)
Just listed to Brewer/big debate thing. Alex Rowley was onWhen he spoke, all I could see in my minds eye was Gary Tank Commander…
I just loved the nawbags frothing at the mouth whenever the wee blue book popped up on Yes stalls.
The writing out of Wings from the timeline of indyref is an absolute joke. You have the page views as proof of how much it was important to the campaign. Whenever we were hit with one of Project Fears shock and awe days, the first thing I would do would be to see what you were saying.
More power to the good Rev. The fact journos are so full of hate and jealousy towards him makes him all the more essential in our culture.
Wee Nicola is amazing !
WBB was a game changer for so many.
@DougDaniel
Has anyone looked into how much would it cost to mail drop every household in Scotland?
Because a crowdfunded initiative that did something of that magnitude would probably also benefit from news coverage
“One more suggestion – If you haven’t already got all of our last fundraiser accounted for why don’t you set up an account and kick-start a heavy deposit into it.”
Still plenty left from the last one (it’s got to last until March, after all). I’m not going to spend it just for the sake of spending it, so it’s staying as a fighting fund for contingencies like an unexpected second referendum suddenly happening 🙂
I spent my lunchtimes during the last week of the campaign handing out WBBs in Dumfries High Street. I was amazed how everyone had heard about the WBB and also amazed at how a clear majority took one with enthusiasm. I was convinced that Dumfries was voting Yes (which would have meant everywhere in Scotland would be Yes by some margin). That is why I am very very suspicious of the result that was declared as 2-1 against. The evidence we encountered didn’t support that result.
By the way, I don’t feel sad or miserable today, and won’t tomorrow either. I lived through the truly annoying 1979 Devo Ref where people were saying “Vote NO for this package, it’s not very good, a better one will come along very soon”.
Devo Ref 2 came 18 years later. What a waste of 18 years.
1997 Devo result: YES 74.6%, NO 25.4%. The ayes had it.
Meanwhile it’s the 18th September, one year on, the sun is shining.
“The YES campaign should have produced a “wee blue book” or something similar. What were they doing?”
Trying to stop people giving out the Wee Blue Book.
@ Chris Downie
Yea you could be right about that but hindsight is a wonderful thing,lets not forget we were on a learning curve and what the Rev and his brilliant team managed to do as far as i am aware had never been done before.
Its all part of the learning process and boy have we learned next time the onions are in for a real fight and they know it,can you smell the fear.
I look back and think what a wonderful time that was, to be in Scotland and to be part of the Yes campaign. Next time we’ll win, i have no doubt. In north Edinburgh, we already have Leith Aye and Pilton Aye fundraisers. Building a grassroots surge is the way to go -act like indyref2 is happening.
Have to agree with others here, that until the WBB appeared, we were starved of persuasive information during the campaign that we could leave with others. Leaflets are binned.
Two lessons for me:
1. Need WBB2 earlier in the campaign. Most of the information is historic and updates should be fairly easy to incorporate (Stu…). Money and resources definitely won’t be a problem.
2. Still had people even in the last week of the campaign not knowing where to get copies and desperate for some. We need to make sure distribution hubs and local centres are published
“But he said that he “had heard from a guy in the pub of a wee book that told you everything you needed to know”, and off he trotted with a copy for his undecided family, and another for a neighbour in the same boat.”
Brought a wee bit of a lump to my throat, that one did. Cheers, Kev.
“One chap in a remote cottage up an unmade road began to decline the literature I had in my hand with the words “we’ve already voted Yes by post,” then did a double-take and said “is that a Wee Blue Book? PLEASE can I have it?””
That one too. Damn you all.
The reason the Wee Blue Book was so powerful is because it was written, published & distributed by we, the people, not some politician or grand appointee. And due to miniscule resources, was created with relatively high efficiency, was concise & straight to the point.
On the other hand, the 700 page paper written by the Scottish government was so typical of large, state run organisations; cumbersome, bureaucratic, too long & thus mostly unreadable. In essence, it remains a bloated & unconvincing document.
The Yes campaign was, despite its weak, anodyne & uncharismatic leadership, remarkably successful in shifting a large section of the electorate. Again, because of the grass roots activism beneath it.
But next time, whatever the “official” campaign is called, it must consider complete disengagement from the BBC & the largely foreign owned, main stream media.
The soft courting of newspapers & TV broadcasters was a huge blunder that did nothing but encourage propaganda to be propagated on an industrial scale.
The Wee Blue Book however was a massive threat which is why, even to this day, virtually all the traditional media pretends that it never existed.
An update version, with an even higher voter penetration & an earlier entry to the market is key to helping us win the next referendum.
And don’t make the naïve mistake of expecting anything to come from the Scottish government or the SNP or the “official” Yes campaign that will have anything close to the power of a revised Wee Blue Book.
Posting went missing strange, perhaps I forgot to fill in the boxes. It’s one where I ended up saying my finances were ( – ah – a word beginning with c ending in p and with ra in the middle, probably filtered out) but I’d find a few bob to donate to crowdfunding WBB2 when it happens.
link to bbc.co.uk
Takes you back. Scots friends in Hastings said they torched it anyway but what they remember most is the Scots oil pouring out of the effigy’s backside, under the kilt. Who knows why they torched Nessie too.
@jimnarlene says: 18 September, 2015 at 9:11 am:
“Next time….”
You may never have thought about it, jimnarlene, but old long time nationalists like myself, who have been committed to Scottish Independence since boyhood, have been saying, “next time” for nigh on 70 years.
Which may explain why I was not nearly so downhearted as the majority of WoS commenters.
If I’m certain of anything it is that my country is on the brink of retaking its independence back, not from the English establishment, but from the real enemies Scotland has always had in their midst.
We now call them, “Proud Scots buts”, however they have been around as long as there has been a Scotland. These are the Scots in our gene pool with the defective Scottish gene that causes what we call, “The Scottish Cringe”.
We see this in every walk of Scottish life and, as a child, I first witnessed it on my very first day at a Scottish primary school. I was born on a Scottish farm where everyone spoke wir ain tune o Wir ain Lallans leid. (Owersettin intil the Inglis= Our own dialect of the Lowlands Scottish Language).
I was immediately subjected to physical torture by the dominies who were, to a (wo)man, all products of an Oxbridge Education. Even at that tender age I knew this was a very wrong.
Why would the ancient Scottish language, learned at my Grandmother’s knee, be judged as so inferior to the language of a another country warrant the physical punishment of little children by brainwashed sufferers of the Scottish Cringe? Always a quick learner I could soon speak, “proper”, English.
To the day I left the state Education system I made a point of using, at least one, Scots word in every lesson – then, without being told, walking to the dominie with outstretched hand for the ritual administration of, “The Lochgelly”, Tawse.
I believe that was the start of me becoming a lifelong Scottish Nationalist while still not yet five years old. I’ve thus been saying, “Next time”, almost all my life.
O/T – Apologies.
It is now one year since Scotland’s date with destiny. Wings Over Scotland readers did many wonderful things during those hectic, exciting days and months. But one of the things you did which I think will truly stand the test of time is the production of a wonderful wee film, ‘Autumn Leaves’ by Scottish film director, James Buchanan. The film follows the indy debate among three generations of a family, some YEs and some No.
Funding for the film was greatly assisted by many of WoS readers and made its screen premiere at the GFT in Glasgow one week before the indy vote.
Watching it now fills we with much nostalgia and not a little melancholy as to what might have been. The film captures the intensity of the debate in a way that no other media can.
‘Autumn Leaves’ was linked here on WoS on the 18th September last year at the moment the polls closed (when the film is set) but for those of you who perhaps missed it first time round, here it is again:
Password: scotland (all lower case)
BTW – the title ‘Autumn Leaves’ was chosen as it worked on a number of levels. The indy referendum was held in Autumn and was, potentially, the time Scotland would vote to leave the Union. It also links to a line in ‘Flower of Scotland’ (And Autumn leaves lie thick and still).
Enjoy.
It was the best of times…it was the worst of times (afterwards)
What I remember most was the time pressure. We could have done with the WBB a month earlier, but then maybe the ad hoc distribution system would have been too relaxed.
As it was, I was getting frantic emails from folk wondering when their consignment was going to arrive – on the phone every day to the wonderful Andy Mushet, whose presses were working flat out – trying to prioritise where the next batch would go. And of course when we got it a bit wrong, as was inevitable, people’s co-operation rapidly sorted the errors. Boxes went from NE Fife to Dundee to cover a shortage – and we know of Jim’s drive to help out Morag in West Linton. That kind of communication and willingness to step up was invaluable.
Not enough has been said about Angus Cheyne’s efforts, using his garden supplies delivery network to get boxes of WBBs to places that were difficult to reach by other means. That Arbroath hub was delegated to Ivan, whose unflapabable business mind dealt with everything, good or bad, that we threw at him.
Not enough has been said about Sandra (Kestral) who dealt with the whole greater Glasgow area out of the Shettlestone hub and ran the ebay operation in addition. That was a mammoth operation, comparable with a major retailer’s distribution. Done with no experience, but a razor-sharp mind and an unwillingness to be bullied.
So, it was an amateur operation, held together by glue and bits of string at times, but mostly by everyone’s willingness to do whatever was needed without complaint, and driven by Lindsay’s immaculate compilation and analysis of data.
I don’t entirely agree with Doug. Sure, there were mistakes, and folk who didn’t really know what they should have been doing. Would a more professional operation have improved matters? Maybe – but it would also have damaged the spontaneity and sense of desperation which, in the end, made the whole thing work..
Sorry for the long post, but those were times I shall never forget and look back on with pride in what people can achieve just by organising spontaneously.
I’m not sure that the YES campaign could have raised its game any higher than it did. Yes, off course there were low points, like Blair Jenkins endorsing the BBC’s coverage, but it was something great to motivate such a wide section of our society to get off their backside and do something.
In the opposite corner, the No campaign was dismal beyond belief. I don’t think that was accidental. A better campaign would have inspired better debate, and that was the last thing the Unionists wanted.
There are two things which YES couldn’t overcome. It was hopelessly outgunned by the hostile media and manipulation of the Independence agenda. That too was not accidental. The MSM is the living embodiment of the Britnat State, and if nothing else, it has been thoroughly flushed from cover.
But what remains, in my humble opinion, is the issue of inertia. People are too complacent and worried by change. That is the heart of the NO vote. Anxiety amongst our fearties. Better the Devil you know.
I don’t know how that can be addressed, but my instincts are that the Unionists are confronted with the same dilemma, but with their ace card, the BBC, thoroughly compromised and discredited.
It is all to play for.
It was a great shame that it couldn’t have been a couple of weeks earlier. (That’s not a criticism of Stu who did a fantastic job) My copies (from the first batch) arrived the same day as the postal vote.
Somebody whom I gave one to told me that two other people that she showed it to would have voted yes if they had read it first but they had already sent their votes off.
This was a particular issue for older voters, who are more likely to be postal and had had most their information from the BBC.
I agree that it definitely had a huge effect, also through driving traffic to this site.
Stuart has a persuasive style of writing that gets the message across in a simple clear manner.
It would be good to see an ‘official’ WBB working together with the official YES campaign.
The YES mailshots were often a bit lacking.
I can’t remember seeing one with the simple message “The Scottish Government recommends a YES vote”.
Volunteers could have distributed it in the Purdah period.
Re “The YES campaign should have produced a “wee blue book” or something similar. What were they doing?”
Trying to stop people giving out the Wee Blue Book
I think this highlights one of the weaknesses for the Yes campaign; – a measure of control freakery, probably as a result of the knowledge that the MSM controlled the traditional information landscape and a fear of that.
Ironically enough, I think this has now turned into a strength. Because next time the Yes campaign just needs to make a very loud statement that the MSM is a big liar; not to believe a word it says.
The Yes campaign is now so much a part of Scottish society that Yes can take a leaf out of the MSMs strategy and make statements that will stick. If you make them often enough they become part of the current lexicon.
The MSM is a liar – repeat and often.
Then….
Indy Ref2
O/T The Battle page was still up on my browser, so I’ve archived it again, the results are clear, Bannockburn won! Now what happens, and whit was the point of this from the BBC?
Is Oliver Donewell gonnae make a Bannockburn battle fakeumentary noo?
link to archive.is
errrmmm… a wee bit off topic, but .. (chortle)
link to bbc.co.uk
Wonder how that happened
sorry Stuart, left the http bit in the web address.
here’s the days best news so far
link to bbc.co.uk
Wonder how that happened 🙂
The SNP has today celebrated victory in the Ayr East by-election, gaining the biggest increase in vote of any party and swings from all other parties.
John Wallace was elected SNP Councillor for the Ayr East ward of South Ayrshire with an increase in first preference votes of 6.5 per cent and a 6.9 per cent swing from Labour to the SNP.
link to snp.org
Corbyn mania not resonating in Tory heartlands
The late loss of nerve at the ballot box that characterises almost all decisions about massive change took place as expected – the 6.9% movement from Yes to No on polling day very closely resembled the last-minute 7.2% Yes-to-No shift that turned round the second Quebec independence referendum in 1995.
I’ll never forget that cold, misty day on the 18th last year, going round chapping on “YES” people doors to get them out to vote. I remember a couple of dearies who said they had been out to vote already. The body language did not look good, they looked very sheepish and refused to say how they voted. Either they had been swayed by the vow or someone had been at them. As I said my goodbyes and wished them well, I turned round and thought to myself: “Oh no, they have bottled it!”. 🙁
Ravelin says:
“In the spirit of keeping the momentum towards Yes going, anyone up for crowdfunding and distributing a “one year on” leaflet..”
————–
I think we should have an official Scottish Government mailshot every year. Like a company report setting out achievements and plans. We are all shareholders in a way.
A website questionnaire should be linked, asking for feedback, so we get a huge annual opinion poll of people’s priorities. It would be one way of making the Scottish government more in touch and accessible.
And in many countries, the leader has a major televised speech every year reporting on the condition of the nation, and setting out future plans. Why can’t we have something similar ?
@Jim Thomson
Bwahahahahahaha! 😀
RE: Feeling depressed today?
To busy beeling and getting determined for round two.
@Breeks
At the start, before that, and right to the end of the Indy Ref campaign, the default vote was NO to change.
What needs to change for Indy Ref 2 is somehow to make that default vote become YES to change.
Don’t ask me how 🙂
@Stoooo says: 18 September, 2015 at 9:24 am:
“If we want to win the next one we should be trying to get the Wee Blue Book to as many first time voters as possible as soon as they are old enough to vote if not before. Give them the facts before they are brain washed by the MSM.”
Ach! Stoooo, BBC Radio Scotland starts brainwashing us before we are old enough to vote.
In fact, as the foetus has been proven to react to sound in the womb, it wouldn’t be a WBB through a letterbox that was required but an Iplayer where you just wouldn’t believe.
I’ll get my coat!
During the Commonwealth Games I got talking to the Turkish guy who manages my local chippie (near Hampden stadium). He was complaining to me about how all the visitors to the Hampden events were herded away to the public transport immediately after each event and so he was getting virtually no Commonwealth Games dividend.
My ears pricked up when he said to me “We need independence my friend.”.
So I talked to him a bit more and got talking to his staff, including a young guy from Georgia, who wasn’t really interested in politics (but was registered to vote so I was told). So I went upstairs to my flat and got some leaflets and business cards, including the Wings one and dropped them in.
Later I passed in a Wee Blue Book when I got some copies, and specifically targeted it at the Georgian guy.
Then in the nights leading up to the vote, I bumped into both the Georgian guy and his Turkish boss in George Square standing waving saltires on big poles, lapping up the pre-vote atmosphere in Freedom Square.
I have no doubt that the Wee Blue Book (with a little help from our Turkish friend who had long ago come to the right conclusion) persuaded this young man to vote Yes.
Arabs for Independence said at 12:08 pm:-“The vote on the BBC England website ended at 11:59 today. No mention of who won and the article about British Battles appears to have disappeared.”
I’ve managed to find the Final result 🙂
Boudica
2%
Brunanburh
4%
Hastings
19%
Bannockburn
33%
Bosworth
3%
Armada
6%
Naseby
7%
Boyne
2%
Battle of Britain
23%
Chris Downie says:
18 September, 2015 at 12:45 pm
It was a fantastic publication, but imho it was too late. It should have been released at least 4wks earlier, to make the desired circulation and overall impact.
I know what you are saying Chris, but it’s worth remembering that a venture of this type, at this scale had never been attempted before. There were undoubtably huge problems making sure production, quality control and distribution etc went smoothly. Everyone was learning as they went along and it was a truly magnificent effort. Perfect timing I don’t know, but what I do know is that people working towards Scottish independence continually learn and improve, which is why we are where we now are. Lessons will be learned.
I totally agree with all-of-the-above criticism of Jenkins and the official Yes campaign. Uninspiring, flaccid, derivative, passionless, unimaginative, you name it.
But that’s what happens when you put things in the hands of ‘professionals’. The ones with the right ‘connections’, not forgetting the perfect teeth, the impressive suits and shoes, the impeccable speaking style informed by polite discourse and decorum.
But as useless as a wet fart when the going gets really tough.
If it hadn’t been for the energised ‘amatuerism’ of Wings and the grassroots movement, I doubt the Yes vote would have broken through the 30% mark. But no one from that side of the fence, the ones who never use harsh language or are too afraid to express how they really feel about a situation in case it offends, would dare admit such in public.
But that’s the way it is. The inoffensive obviousness of the ‘professionals’ (politicians here mostly included) verses the inspired, creative, tireless amateurs, whose names go unmentioned.
Forza Wings!
There’s a well-kent Slovenian poster who, in the Guardian, in a characterisitc very long posting said that no country achieved Independence without grassroots. So that with just a YES campaign and the Government campaigning, there was no chance of success. Well, she had a point.
Wings produced the WBB, and was probably a large part of building that grassroots, which numbers thousands, hundreds of thousands. To this day, it just needs reawakening. Most people I talked to had heard of Wings, for good – or bad at times! And once the WBB was out, everybody, everybody, talked about it. Even Unionists.
The SNP and ScotGov had no real choice but to campaign, and campaign hard for the Ref. What might be better next time perhaps is if they remained a little aloof as organisations, the Gov did its Gov stuff, produced balanced reports, financial figures, full reports on currency options, costs, but no party policy.
And leave the Grassroots to win the Ref.
I can’t remember how Blair Jenkins was chosen to lead the Yes campaign, but I think it was something to do with his BBC connections. Well that worked out well.
I agree that the Yes leaflets and newsletters (of which I delivered thousands) were bland and uninspiring and were not a patch on the WBB. They never denounced the lies of the No campaign.
Does anyone know who selected Blair Jenkins and who authored and approved the Yes literature.
We must do better next time.
Tommy Shepherd would be my man. He has the right credentials, (ex labour) and is an inspiring speaker. (See his maiden speech in HoC).
I just wanted to add my thanks to you Stu for having taken the time to produce what was undeniably the ‘missing link’ for so many people in Scotland.
The WBB reached parts that other literature just couldn’t (if only you could bottle it).
I work within a nest of pro-fracking, “austerity doesn’t affect me”, No voting WM acolytes. It’s painful, but needs must.
Nothing gave me more pleasure than to arrive early in the morning – print, fold, staple and distribute around the offices a full colour copy of the WBB.
I don’t know how many I converted, but at least one colleague sussed me out, was subsequently converted and was soon joining in with the surreptitious WoS postal & distribution service at her end of the work site.
Between us we must have produced a good 100+ copies (no easy task under cloak & dagger conditions using a VERY pro-No employer’s resources)
And now I have my own hard copy of the WBB for myself. A prized item held onto tightly with appreciation that there are people such as yourself helping us fight the good cause.
Maybe the MSM and the many deniers will try to write you and the WBB out of history, but their efforts will be in vain. The WBB will stand the test of time for indeed having told us what the MSM wouldn’t, couldn’t or was too inept to tell us.
All that’s left to say is, roll on WBB2 – “The Deciding Chapter”
Jim Thomson says:
18 September, 2015 at 1:37 pm
errrmmm… a wee bit off topic, but .. (chortle)
link to bbc.co.uk
Wonder how that happened
Oops!
Methinks someone within the BBC is facing the chop. Sorry about the pun there. What am I talking about no I’m not! 😀
Oh to be a fly on the wall of the group meeting when the results were announced and the winner declared. Chile has just suffered an earthquake but let’s face it even that 8.3 quake has nothing on what London must have felt when Bannockburn was announced as the winner. 😀
I know we all gave a huge vote of thanks to you Stu at the time of the WBB. We all knew it was a game changer and indeed it was. So without any fear of irony I say again to you THANK YOU for the WBB, Wings over Scotland and everything you have done, are doing and will continue to do in order to help us all win the fight that is Scottish independence! 😉
@galamcennalath says: 18 September, 2015 at 9:49 am:
“I have absolutely no doubt the WBB converted voters to Yes. Exactly how many, will never be know.”
There was, of course, a secondary effect, galamcennalath.
This was the effect of the Yessers who carried a WBB and thus had referenced sources to answers to questions asked by others.
I was so grateful, during the campaign, to have the WBB to give to undecideds. They got the truth in a more enduring way than they could from my conversations with them.
I’m glad you will be updating it.
In a cinema soon near you:
Wee Blue Book 2 – The Revenge.
(A Pixar animation, the company that brought you ‘Brave’, ‘Braver’ and to commemorate Referendum Day, ‘Ya Big Effin’ Feardies!’)
I received a copy of the Wee Blue Book with one of my perks (after the referendum) and it still has pride of place in my library. One of the best tools for informing people, thank you for all your hard work Stu.
Keep up the good work – was YES, still YES, ALWAYS YES
Its official – Bannockburn is the winner
Jim Thomson, hahahahahahah….60,000 votes, mostly from 200 wingers! LOL
The only place we double-delivered the WWB was a wee village in rural Dumfriesshire where it turned out that a local had downloaded the pdf, printed it out 200 times at his own expense, cut, compiled and stapled it and then distributed it to every house in the village. All without fanfare or letting anyone know!
An amazing commitment, people just instinctively knew how important it was.
How about producing a lead-up to WBB2 now… a series of calendars with good pictures and and good – short – phrases that stick in the mind.
Such as ” Faces of Austerity” showing what has happened to real people because Scotland is not free.
Or “Children of Scotland” with questions about their future .
Different calendars can be prepared for different target groups.
This can be a prep for targetting specific groups and areas when the time comes for the next round – may it come soon.
Hot off the press:
Thank you once again for taking part in the BBC Trust’s first phase of consultation on the future of the BBC as part of the Charter Review process.
The BBC’s management has presented a series of ideas and initiatives link to bbc.co.uk
which it believes will make the BBC more open and distinctive. Following the publication of the ideas, the Trust has extended its consultation on the future of the BBC.
We welcome your views on the BBC’s ideas via our second online consultation link to consultations.external.bbc.co.uk
@Lesley-Anne
Well, what a fantastic result. It probably wouldn’t have happened, but for WOS and Wingers spreading the word to 20,000 voters.
😉
link to bbc.co.uk
Wonder how that happened
Oops!
“The battle still exerts a powerful influence on the concept of Scottish identity and independence”
Creepy slice of ukok BBC propaganda word choice with “concept” there instead of just
“The battle still exerts a powerful influence on Scottish identity and independence”
Does it BBC? who cares what you BBC gits think of Scottish identity, concepts or anything else.
@Jim Thomson
Made the front page of BBC Scotland webpage. Not the top article, but every little helps.
@Betty Boop Thanks for that.
@Rev Stu Are you saying the Yes campaign tried to stop you distributing the WBB?
The WBB hard copy will be much appreciated Stu.
Little did I know when I stopped on Calton Hill to congratulate you on an excellent blog that the future was going to hold so much excitement and hard work.
Roll on the next one. From my initial 2000 household distribution of yes material and some WBB’s, I recon I could now cover the whole town with the contacts I have made since things started.
Fireproofjim said at 1:58 pm:-“Does anyone know who selected Blair Jenkins and who authored and approved the Yes literature.
We must do better next time.”
“Tommy Shepherd would be my man. He has the right credentials, (ex labour) and is an inspiring speaker. (See his maiden speech in HoC).”
Thanks for that—-here’s a link to Parliament TV— Tommy Sheppard’s brilliant Maiden Speech.28th May.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to anyone who hasn’t seen it.Stirring stuff.
link to tinyurl.com
The book was a big help!From YES Marchmont stalls,our English Scots for YES one,Open Air YES(hubbys project,i think he shifted 300)and my local Musselburgh branch.
My Mum and Dad both made up their minds after reading it,both YES by the way,and my brother even reported copies being posted through doors in St.Boswells.
I have some great memories ,and have to say YES Marchmont and Cuttbackmark probably put the most hard work in,but it was a huge team effort and the Wee Blue Book made a big contribution!
yesindyref2 says:
18 September, 2015 at 2:21 pm
@Lesley-Anne
Well, what a fantastic result. It probably wouldn’t have happened, but for WOS and Wingers spreading the word to 20,000 voters.
😉
I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about yesindyref2. 😀 😀 😀
I mean it’s not as if I got a chance to vote. Oh wait a minute maybe I did vote once or twice or three times or so! 😀 😀 😀
Looking back over the last year, I think it was necessary to lose this time. The Yes movement has not failed. Now people are taking much greater notice of the behaviour of westminster and unionist parties, and now they can see for themselves why we need independence. If Yes had won a year ago, it would have been too close, and a lot of people would have found it hard to accept. The SNP would have been smeared relentlessly and probably lost support. A job made all too easy by the amount of hatred some had for Alex Salmond.
We’ll win resoundingly and convincingly next time.
Well I still have mine. It doesn’t answer one question that has been with me very day since the Referendum and that is what kind of people vote to be ruled by a foreign Govt that hates their guts.
On other matters I just had two teeth out at the dentist. I feel like I have been 10 rounds with somebody that punches harder than me and my head is now staring to thump. I felt much worse on the 19th Sept last year.
Avoiding the Brit Nat Press and Media like they had leprosy today. The same with the tennis and it will be the same with that other Brit Nat fest the Wuggah World Cup. I would rather have another two teeth out.
Hi Kininvie @1.28pm.
“So, it was an amateur operation, held together by glue and bits of string at times…”
That would be the Wings hairy string?
8=)
Haha re the battle of the battles, a bit of fun and nonsense AND getting one over on the BBC at the same time. Love it 😀
yesindyref2 says:
18 September, 2015 at 2:21 pm
@Lesley-Anne
Well, what a fantastic result. It probably wouldn’t have happened, but for WOS and Wingers spreading the word to 20,000 voters.
You do realise that a few toy spitfires will have been thrown out of the pram. Hope you lot are happy. 🙂
Dunning is in Perthshire, near Auchterader. The photo captioned ‘Somewhere in Edinburgh’ is the top of Easter Road where joins with London Road.
Great work, Rev. Stu and I’m delighted to hear you’ll do it again for the next one. My girlfriend and I were working at a low-paying, insecure workplace and handed stacks of WBBs out to our colleagues. I’m pretty confident in saying they were insturmental in contributing to it being roughly 85% Yes by polling day. The remainder we put through people’s doors in our area in East Edinburgh.
sorry to go OT, but there is a really excellent article by Owen Jones on the Guardian’s on-line page. He gets many things spot on and confronts Scottish labour with some very uncomfortable home truths.
Don’t be mislead by the title ” Only a convincing Labour party stands between Scotland and independence” it is well worth reading.
(I can’t access the archive link thingmybob at work)
@Luigi
“Hope you lot are happy.”
😀
“Not enough has been said about Angus Cheyne’s efforts”
Jesus, man. You nearly gave me a heart attack there thinking I might have left him out of the original Team WBB thanks post.
But yes, it’s not possible to overstate the size of the feat that was achieved by a bunch of people who by all rights simply shouldn’t have been able to manage it. Which is why it’s such an embarrassment and disgrace to journalism that you won’t find a single word written in a newspaper about it.
ClanDonald says:
18 September, 2015 at 2:53 pm
Haha re the battle of the battles, a bit of fun and nonsense AND getting one over on the BBC at the same time. Love it 😀
Achtung Spitfire!
I can’t thank WOS and the WBB enough, for the commitment and dedication Stu and everyone else involved in the production of this ever evolving site.
I have posted before that, I have always supported independence, so my mind was already made up.
I used to see small signs at road junctions advertising WOS and the WBB, but never paid much attention to them.
It was about 1-2 weeks before the referendum that somebody handed me a copy of the book to give to an undecided voter.
I then picked up many copies after that to get the message out.
I wish I had been more alert to the content earlier, because I managed to win over many undecided voters with the copies I gave out.(in the small time I had)
Like everyone on here, we are more aware of what to expect at the NEXT referendum and we are ready for the challenge.
Slightly O/T up here in the highlands we used to hear fighter jets on a daily basis, until Lossie and Kinloss moved their squadrons south.
The last time I heard a fighter jet was either the 18th or 19th sept last year.
One just flew over the house today, coincidence or what??
Rule the Butchers apron and all that Sh*t.
Aye right.
Luigi says:
18 September, 2015 at 2:56 pm
yesindyref2 says:
18 September, 2015 at 2:21 pm
@Lesley-Anne
Well, what a fantastic result. It probably wouldn’t have happened, but for WOS and Wingers spreading the word to 20,000 voters.
You do realise that a few toy spitfires will have been thrown out of the pram. Hope you lot are happy. 🙂
Nah Luigi I’m no happy. Being happy just doesn’t cut it with me today somehow. 😉 … I’m deleriously overjoyed! 😀 😀 😀
“Are you saying the Yes campaign tried to stop you distributing the WBB?”
Yes. Or rather, not me but other people. Certain members of Yes Scotland staff actively tried to prevent groups giving out Wings material or even referencing us.
My husband passed out several copies at his work and told folks to pass them on. My last copy went to my neighbour who took it on a bowlers bus trip as she knew most of them were no voters.
I will admit to being a wee bit greedy with that one as I wanted a copy to keep. Luckily I’ve got my hardback copy which I won’t be giving up, it will have to prised out of my cold dead hands.
link to youtube.com
link to rt.com
I only voted once for Bannockburn. (I think)
I do however suffer from Alzheimers which is why I have a note on my desk which reminds me to vote… 😉
So, so, so, now let me check to make sure I havn’t forgotten anything.
Sorry folks but I really have to put up this link. 😉
Today is the day that Thugs R Us hold their fantastic rousing Union Day celebrations in George Square. Let the great “Thug in” begin! 😀
link to facebook.com
link to bbc.co.uk
Bannockburn tops BBC Poll !!!! …Psssfff 🙂 🙂 🙂
There’s no limit to what a man can do, or where he can go, if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.
I love that statement – so true. We can’t all be first ministers, we can’t all be Rev Stus or WGDs, but we can all do our part, no matter how big or small. It’s because of the thousands of unsung heroes who helped spread the WBB, and who are still working away on our goal, that we are going to win. People who don’t care about their own egos or status, but care about Scotland. How different from the selfish, egocentric, top-down approach of BT.
If you are one of those unsung heroes, that noone here knows about but you work on regardless, then thank you. Thank you very much.
Wings has spearheaded the mass educational movement that was the YES campaign – 2014 was a trial run.Some are still finding out for themselves the scale of duplicity from UKOK in keeping Scotland in the too poor,wee,stupid mindset.
Once they know what we know independence will be a natural step forwards – it will happen much sooner than we think . The new Blue Book is a must.
Stu is right re Yes campaign but I don’t believe it was through lack of good will.
It was fear of giving the press ammunition in a febrile atmosphere. Was that a mistake? Perhaps. It might have de-legitimised WBB if there was a full frontal assault.
Unofficially? The Yes campaign knew (and I believe wanted) folk to pass WBB out like mad even when canvassing. In some sense, it spurred folk on.
I will go to my grave believing the huge shift to Yes was achieved in a large part by Wings over Scotland.
Well done to John Wallace. I canvassed with him during the general election for Phillipa Whitford. He was a key player in her campaign.
He Really deserves it. Was an SNPer from way back in what was then very stoney ground . He was heartbroken when he missed election by a few votes the last time. He says he won in the final count by 35 votes this time.
It’s hard working men and women like this who knocked on doors for over 30 years or more that created the foundation for the broad based campaign today. Those of us who have had the scales removed from our eyes in recent decades owe the John Wallaces of this world a debt of thanks
Rev; I never found any resistance to the WBB in the Yes camp during the referendum – but if there was it would be understandable as who knew at the time it wold have such a good effect? Having managed many elections I know how something coming from left field can be disconcerting when u are maxed out – and yes, there are spelling mistakes – I am pretty sureI emailed them summer 2014
£20 away to Chris Cairns for his book
Bannockburn voted Britain’s most decisive battle in BBC poll
Surprised they would report this.
“Are you saying the Yes campaign tried to stop you distributing the WBB?”
Some people are get really weird over their politics and Scotland running Scotland does bring out some crackers.
Bremner up there used to across as a pretty well balanced progressive decent old cove but then, week before 18 Sept, out of the Channel 4 blue, there he was raging for NO in what started as sane tv indy debate but turned into a display of really nasty toryboy britnat loonies.
Bremner’s best friend, Gavin Hastings furious rant over how much “you” enjoyed the Commonwealth games, that was good enough so vote NO, stands out too. And today bettertogether slander of the day on Scottish democracy?
Muriel Gray ?@ArtyBagger 4 hrs4 hours ago
“So very dull being born in a Scotland where everyone was rather fond of each other. Super now we’re divided forever. Thanks to all involved.”
Nae bad. Muriel world never had anyone that wanted Scotland to be independent before?
Gary45% says:
18 September, 2015 at 3:11 pm
“Slightly O/T up here in the highlands we used to hear fighter jets on a daily basis, until Lossie and Kinloss moved their squadrons south.
The last time I heard a fighter jet was either the 18th or 19th sept last year.
One just flew over the house today, coincidence or what??
Rule the Butchers apron and all that Sh*t.
Aye right.”
They haven’t gone. I get them pretty much every effin day but then I am only 8 miles from RAF Lossie and the guff’s.
Just wait until the next exercise when Rule Britannia borrows Jets and Ships etc to practice invading Scottish Highlands and Britannia TV Aberdeen can spew some guff about it. Oh and about how those Britannic Fly Boys are essential to chase Russian Blackbirds out of International Airspace. Britannia TV Aberdeen loves that one.
In my opinion it was a monumentous achievement to get out those Wee Blue books in such a short time frame.
Alas the size and clout of the media machine that we were, and still are up against is at times disheartening.
We must find a way in part at least of negating the unionist media machine next time around.
Any ideas?
“slackshoe says:
18 September, 2015 at 2:46 pm
Looking back over the last year, I think it was necessary to lose this time. The Yes movement has not failed. Now people are taking much greater notice of the behaviour of westminster and unionist parties, and now they can see for themselves why we need independence. If Yes had won a year ago, it would have been too close, and a lot of people would have found it hard to accept. The SNP would have been smeared relentlessly and probably lost support. A job made all too easy by the amount of hatred some had for Alex Salmond.”
I agree. The 19th was a dreadful day, particularly because our Yes hub was told by HQ mid afternoon on the 18th to stop “knocking up” and to prepare for a historic night. I stood outside a polling station in a stardust dwam, thinking tomorrow would see a better Scotland for my children to live in. The subsequent pain I suffered means I can never give up on independence: thanks once again to all our Massey Fergusons and Bamber Gascgoines, though.
And today, as I passed through M&S, I spot a biscuit tin with the legend “Biscuits taste Better Together”, with proceeds to go to a well-known cancer charity. The font is very similar to the BT campaign also.
Paranoid, moi?
“I get knocked down but I get up again” as the song says. Repeat until free.
Thanks for WBB, Stu. If we’d had it even a fortnight earlier I think we would have scraped home. Everyone in the movement owes you a debt.
Arf Arf – Bannockburn wins 🙂
I thought the WBB and Wings site was so important that after the result I had a look to see if The Rev could be nominated for the Literature Nobel Peace Prize…I was of the opinion YES (something of a habit) but was told by someone more informed that it was a no starter. Sorry about that.
No doubts what so ever that it did more than anything else produced to change the 30 to the 45%, and continues in the same direction.
Glad to hear there will be a sequel.
A thought in the same direction, can we start campaigning now – pick one subject and saturate the area for 2-3 months.
It will need billboards, and – unlike proper political parties – it can use humour, and hold corrupt hypocrites to account.
Its not like there hasn’t been a shortage of such posters being produced, its just that its only those on-line who’ve really seen them.
Huge thanks to everyone who campaigned and continues.
Aye Yes for a’ that.
Emphasis on “tried.” Yes Inverclyde were told in no uncertain terms that distributing any material that referenced Wings was “unhelpful,” and that we weren’t to have the Wee Blue Book in the shop.
We obliged, as you see above, by putting the WBB on a table OUTSIDE the shop. 😉
@ indyref2 & breeks ‘NO to change.
How about pushing the line that ‘You voted NO to change and yet you are getting MORE austerity, MORE poor and starving Scots unable to heat their homes.
Time now to vote YES for change which will instead BENEFIT fellow Scots’
I remember the situation where somebody from Yes Scotland tried to stop leaflets referencing WoS.
But the 10,000 leaflets I had bought with Wings, and other Pro Independence web sites listed, went out anyway.
I didn’t deliver them all personally.
Mmm, Herald news page has a new poll “It’s a year since the indyref result was revealed, if the ballot was run again today how would you vote?”
Currently sitting at 67% YES …
@Daisy Walker
Pensions.
It affects the young as well, as by the time they’re of pension age, it’ll be 70+, if we stay in the UK.
I’m sure someone will know whether or not more localised printing and distribution hubs would be more efficient versus more expensive, but with the possibility of sending last minute revisions to several hubs, many copies could be printed off simultaneously with shorter delivery routes.
I heard a Cameron clip there on BBC radio Scotland giving the nod for the Smith Commission to make the Scottish parliament permanent it took all of 21 seconds…Oh wait that was the next item about how long it took a mammal to have a piss!
A freebee for a relieved Cameron a soaking for Scotland…
Aye right!
The WBB was one of the best things to come about during the referendum.
I even had a few of my labour acquaintances asking for them. I know two voted YES and reckon one other of the five voted YES, one maybe and one never left the NO.
Two of them have left the labour party the rest live in hope.. 🙁
Haven’t heard the Sturgeon speech yet.
As for Bremner’s propaganda quip–many a true word spoken in jest, eh Rory?
So, the consensus of opinion seems to point to Blair Jenkins being a bit of a flop in managing the Yes campaign. I agree.
Today I see Sturgeon is more or less ruling out another referendum any time soon. OK Maaaam.
With politics you lose every time.
@Macandroid
Yes. More needs to be made that things are changing in the UK, not for the better. A negative campaign in other words, and what better time to do it than when there isn’t an actual referendum planned. Yet.
I did a quick poll of a NO voter from last year. Still NO, same reason, doesn’t want change.
By the way, I think it’s a disgrace that the Battle of Britain was singled out from the Second World War. It spits in the face of all the others who fought and died, in many many battles, including that against the sea itself, the land, and at times the air.
Grouse Beater
“In a cinema soon near you:… Wee Blue Book 2 – The Revenge.
(A Pixar animation, the company that brought you ‘Brave’, ‘Braver’ and to commemorate Referendum Day, ‘Ya Big Effin’ Feardies!’)”
… good to see you still haven’t got a clue how to make friend and influence people Grousey!
Referendum 2… Referendumer
Been an interesting day..all Cameron has is some notion that he’s allowed Holyrood to be permanent.
The WBB was absolute genius and I wish to thank the Rev and all other involved in producing it.
The Rev supplied the ammunition and the wingers delivered it, it is that simple. Big thanks too to kinivie who was the main man for getting the books out there.
Plenty are due respect, but know what at the end of the day it is the guy or gal with a half a box or twenty books passing them to those that matter that made the difference.
This was a huge job and everybody played their part, well done to the wingers and those that support Wings.
SNP in Cupar, Fife targeted don’t knows and I was one who went to Freuchie with a list of mainly Pensioners. They had lots of questions, of course the main one was about their pensions. Most were excitedly waiting on the arrival of the WBB and we think that it made a huge difference in voting intentions among the don’t knows. Thanks Stu it made a huge difference!
O/t today I was on the Independence March in Edinburgh. We started at King,s Stables Road but we’re kettled by the police and made to walk to the Scottish Parliament via a back road because The Council they would not give permission for us to walk down the Royal Mile!
This is the same Council that allowed an Orange March along Princes Street, waving Union Jacks, not long before the Referendum!
Hey sensibledave!
How are the UKOK hell are ya? Dave, sensible question here for hard core britnats like your good self here, when’s the next and last referendum coming do you think and what’s the best thing England can actually do to prevent Scotland running Scotland?
Take your time sensibledave says:
…The Empire Biscuit Bites Back…
What a vacuous and mean comment from you to Grouse, sensibledave…I expect less from you! 0/10
Hello! Who’s picking the team?
link to archive.is
Thanks for everything Stu.
The next blue book
How to go from producing half the world’s shipping to zero in 50 years and at the same time being the 13 th largest oil producer in the world
Good government London style
yesindyref2 @ 4.32
You wrote: “By the way, I think it’s a disgrace that the Battle of Britain was singled out from the Second World War. It spits in the face of all the others who fought and died, in many many battles, including that against the sea itself, the land, and at times the air.”
No – it doesn’t spit in the face of anything or anyone. It simply commemorates a particular time in WWII that, subsequently, proved to be the turning point – the moment when Adolf Hitler understood he couldn’t invade Britain because he didn’t have air superiority. That is all.
Inside every copy I wrote.
DON’T KEEP ME. PASS ME ON TO A DON’T KNOW. GIVE ME WINGS.
yesindyref2 says:
18 September, 2015 at 4:32 pm
I did a quick poll of a NO voter from last year. Still NO, same reason, doesn’t want change.
For every hard NO, there’s another one wavering. You don’t know which until you speak to them. Keep going, trooper!
Alceddo Atthis says:
18 September, 2015 at 4:26 pm
Today I see Sturgeon is more or less ruling out another referendum any time soon. OK Maaaam.
—————————
That is not the impression that I got from her speech. Did I miss something?
K1 @ 4.51
… Merely commenting on Grousey’s articulate persuasion skills. If I had been a Scottish No voter, I am sure he would convert me.
Heedy @ 4.48
Whato Heedy! ow ya doin me ol china?
I note you are still confused and you think that everyone in the UK, other than those that voted YES in the referendum, are Unionists. We are not. We don’t really care that much.
I listened to Nicola’s speech today. She’s getting feisty isn’t she? She is now “warning” us that we are on “borrowed time”. A warning is a threat. A threat of what? That there will be another referendum? Most of us don’t care whether there is or not. We only care that the majority of Scottish voters get what they want – whatever that is.
Rather than warning and threatening – why doesn’t she just call for another referendum? I suspect we both know the answer to that.
O/T – I see in The National 20-page pull out section today there is a piece on Joe Pike’s book ‘Project Fear’.
“But that Better Together managed to achieve quite what they achieved is no small miracle.”
So we only got so close because of their incompetence. I don’t think so. – I still sometimes wonder about the National.
Nobody for Tennis?
James on Scot-GP is attending and reports an enormous YES flag in the crowd but unusually I don’t have the appetite for it today.
Gave it a go for a minute but couldn’t see anything but a sea of UG’s and strange people with UJ suits on. Never picked out MP Murray there though but he might be lurking.
Good luck to the players though keep the antipodean cousins down except for the rugby and tennis. 🙂
The hoots man reports the Ayrshire East by-election and ‘admits the SNP win but adds that the swing from labour was the lowest of the recent ones and that they won the last one AND maybe hinting there is a Corbyn effect.
James on Scot GP tells it different.
PS:
OH!…Checked out the local Morrison’s post box (re: a few posts back) and I am glad to say it is a pucka North Briton design.
🙂
@call me dave
I would say any t intention of labour reforming the hol has been placed on the back burner.
I am sure that we can all put aside partisan politics on this special day and join me in wishing the England team all the best tonight as they embark on another epic adventure on the Rugby fields?
@sensibledave
How come Wales gets to host the Wugby World Cup and Scotland only got a miserable Commonwealth Games?
Rugby … Doh!
proved to be the turning point – the moment when Adolf Hitler understood he couldn’t invade Britain because he didn’t have air superiority. That is all.
Even that’s wrong sensible. What turning point was it that got turned. Russia defeated Nazi Germany. The UK lost, over and over and over, from the British Empire, to the Japanese in the far east, across Africa, you name it. Russia defeated Hitler, America defeated the Japanese.
England still lives in a parallel British nationalist universe to what really happened and Trident’s merely the end of empire hangover for upper-class twits in London.
Arabs for Independence @ 18 12:08 pm
Arabs for Independence
I found the result of the poll by accident from heedtrackers BBC link @ 1.22 pm (at the bottom of the page).
The poll winner announcement can be found here and the actual poll with the results (at the bottom of the page) can be found from the link below the header here.
The Result was:
33% Bannockburn
22% Battle of Britain
19% Hastings
7% Naseby
6% Armada
4% Brunanburh
3% Bosworth
2% Boudica
2% Boyne
It appears to have been hidden underneath a stone in England… well nothing unusual there, that’s what usually happens to BBC news items if they do not fit in with their perspective.
Gerry, it sounds like you did indeed miss something.
link to theguardian.com
Apparently we need to be patient and win over the unionists. And she makes clear that she accepts last year’s referendum was fair result which she accepts, etc.
If a unionist said that to me in person, I’d regard it as deeply offensive and probably use swear words in response. Why does Sturgeon get to say it? Got to appear credible and be diplomatic, Ma’am?
That’s the road to ruin and we all know it — the same logic was deployed to excuse Labour’s lurch to the extreme right in the 90s. Instead of toning down we need someone that will ramp up.
@sensibledave
I hate to do the mines’s bigger thing but I’ve probably read 10 times as many books about the Second World War as you have, and don’t take my opinions from the BBC.
There were a lot of battles, a lot of mini wars, a lot of heroism.
And a lot of turning points. Without all of them, the war was lost.
indigo
The last time we did a door to door postal delivery it was about 6p a drop. I’ll check with R Magain
@ Sensibledave
According to the BBC today, the pivotal battle in British history, the turning point if you like, was Bannockburn.
Well, now there’s a new thread and not to steal Rev’s well-deserved plaudits. I did get to browse WOS around Friday 19th teatime and was encouraged by the upbeat, defiant postings, planning GE already. But I couldn’t face the Herald, my posting haunt of the previous 2 years for which I gave up on the Grun.
When I did look I was amazed at the calm forward-looking posts, even starting if I remember, at 5 in the morning. So a special tribute to the regular Indy posters on the Herald who managed what I couldn’t, and kept it up and going there, so soon.
In no particular order: DDM, PC, TL, IL, MB, JJ, JM. JR, GP, PH, GK, MD, SL, JA, MM and many others. You all know who you are.
Salutes from PP
yesindyref2 5:50 pm
You wrote “I hate to do the mines’s bigger thing but I’ve probably read 10 times as many books about the Second World War as you have, and don’t take my opinions from the BBC.
There were a lot of battles, a lot of mini wars, a lot of heroism.
And a lot of turning points. Without all of them, the war was lost.”
I agree. So what was your point. Is it that you just can’t cope with some “British” people paying respect to their heroes for a particular part of the war? Is there nothing that falls outside of the Indy thing as far as you are concerned? Do you really have to embarrass yourself by trying to make everything part of it? Pathetic.
Iain Moore@3.39
We are along the coast in the Sneck, the jets used to be pretty frequent over here.
“Maybe I am getting paranoid”.
Also,
My wife made up small business size cards with the WOS, Bella, Grouse, Wee Ginger and Calton Jock web-sites.
On the front, For the facts about Politics, The Media and The EBC.
We casually leave them on trains, buses etc.
Proud Cybernat 6:02
According to the BBC today, the pivotal battle in British history, the turning point if you like, was Bannockburn.
… here we go again. Lets keep going back and see how long we can hold the grudges. We could start by bombing Scandinavia or Rome maybe? Bloody Vikings and and Romans coming over here with raping and pillaging, their bloody walls and straight roads. Let get ’em back I say.
Anyway, more important matters are afoot. 20 stone Fijian wingers for one!
Alcedo Atthis says:
18 September, 2015 at 5:45 pm
Gerry, it sounds like you did indeed miss something.
link to theguardian.com
Apparently we need to be patient and win over the unionists. And she makes clear that she accepts last year’s referendum was fair result which she accepts, etc.
——————–
Totally see where you are coming from Alcedo and I share your impatience. The polls are fairly steadily moving toward yes and it’s slow and steady. There doesn’t appear to have been a Corbyn bounce either in the few by-elections that have happened in the interim.
There is a real chance here that things will begin to slide quickly. Corbyn’s labour party can only win scotland by alienating england or vice versa. And although trident would not IMO be a clever issue to use as a trigger event on which to call indyref2, it is political manna from heaven that should be used at every chance by the SNP to expose the new labour reality behind Corbyn’s veneer of credibility.
If the cohesive group that the YES campaign remains to be, cannot get to a steady 60% by 2017, then we are doing something very wrong.
This morning’s speech from NS was a statement of intent, a crossing of the Rubicon. It’s game on, and it is up to us to facilitate the required circumstances for ref2 to be called.
IMO 57% in the polls for Yes is neck and neck on the day. We need 60%, and we are moving toward it. Take heart.
sensible dave – I notice little respect is given to the more than 20% of pilots in the Battle of Britain who were not British – but of course we always hear it as “when England stood alone”. The most successful squadron in the Battle of Britain was No 303 – a Polish squadron. Hear little about it! Sick of this constant war remembrance guff. We all remember those who died but this rubbish from Westminster is simply politicking on those who died for their own sinister purposes!
@sensibledave
Oh dear, you really do lose the plot quickly. How sad.
Please don’t engage with Trolls, guys, (and I don’t just mean the obvious Sensible Dave), it’s spoiling a good thread. There’s another more subtle one who’s come out from under the bridge recently. Any one else spotted him? Think we need to update the definition of concern trolling. Let them rave on and stew in their desperate UKOKery.
You see, call me dave, those of us who really like your posts could do with a more distinctive name to distinguish you from YKW when we get a bit forgetful. You wouldn’t consider something more dramatic like Wallace The Avenger, Vlad The Impaler or some such?
My wee blue book.
Given to me by a braveheart lookalikey in Elgin outside the yes shoppie.
That day changed my thinking.
Thanks, whoever you are (does anyone know who he was?)
I photocopied it and sent it to my friends and relations. They photocopied it too and sent it on to their friends.
Thank you, Braveheart 🙂
Without a shadow of a doubt, the Wee Blue Book changed everything at one stage.
Even my Mother, who believed in the Union, wobbled after reading it. It raised questions that left her with grave doubts about the Union, but in the end, she voted ‘No’ as she liked the English and had load of English friends. I could see why she did it, but I think the WBB broke through that coat of Union armour.
Keep it up to date if you can Stuart. Another day will come, and once again, we will be ready to distribute!
Bannockburn! Lets keep going back and see how long we can hold the grudges. We could start by bombing Scandinavia or Rome maybe? Bloody Vikings and and Romans coming over here
The British state – England – has just celebrated the Battle of Waterloo. Take a hike, you bloody halfwit!
Lol Gerry… I was half hoping for an argument but I can see you’re much too reasonable and smart for that. And you’re right, impatience on my part.
I think there will be something of a bounce for SLAB as a result of Corbyn but it’s too early to say how significant it’ll be.
The idea that we are to wait for unionists to see the light fills me we nothing but a nihilistic despair.
@ Andy-B, Doug Daniel and others:
Re organizing distribution more effectively to target the right voters, I wonder if the National Yes Registry could play a part? They are probably coming to talk to us in Yes East Ayrshire – I will try to remember to mention it.
Hi heedtracker.
“Bremner’s best friend, Gavin Hastings furious rant over how much “you” enjoyed the Commonwealth games, that was good enough so vote NO, stands out too.”
I think my favourite clip from the Commonwealth Games is this one, of the Scottish team in the tunnel, as they entered the arena.
link to youtube.com
There is an endless line of examples where Scotland and Scots are written out of twisted Britnat history.
Just watched the ‘docudrama’ on GTA. No Scottish accent detected throughout, three perfunctory mentions of Edinburgh one referring to Rockstar North as the ‘animators’ and their work not being good enough.
Ho hum.
Wee Blue Book = ) Thankyou Rev Stu!!!
Nicola’s speech today = ) Thankyou Nicola Sturgeon!!!
Wingers and activists and believers in Scotland = ) Thankyou!!! Oh thankyou!!!
Happy Happy Anniverisary of the First Battle on our renewed Road to Independence!!!
I had three WBB’s left on the morning of the 18th. I left them in bus shelters on my way to work. I would like to think someone picked them up and read them. If not I wish I kept one as a souvenir.
All praise is due Rev for the inspiration and all out endeavour of the WBB. You almost won the Ref with it against the monolithic msm onslaught of Britprop lies.
I can’t express my gratitude enough to you for the extra ammunition it provided on the doorsteps….time and time again I was able to engage with often virulent ‘Noes’ and get them to often come half way to at least accepting their total dissatisfaction with status quo and possibility of …at least…considering changing.
How many of those ‘turned’ I’ll never know…but plenty DKs and soft ‘mebbes’ certainly did….invited into houses to speak to spouses and family members…. and leaving them inspired and clutching the WBB and a ‘Yes’ poster for the window is something that lives on in my mind.
The insipid and limp ‘Yes’ literature….Blair Jenkins’ comatose persona and suspect commitment….without your firebrand tome….could anyone dispute we could have come as close as we did?
When the final histories are written of our unrelenting and dogged struggle against the rotten UK State, your leading role in launching ‘Wings’ and the ‘WBB’ will loom large in the narrative of how an intrepid and resourceful patriot utilised the new media to attack the ailing and corrupt Westminster political mausoleum.
“Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been’.”
@TriangularEars
You reminded me of a RIC canvass in a NE Dundee suburb. Because of the buses I got there early and was hungry so went into the local takeaway for a supper and the guy clocked my badges and we got talking.
He was Yes and wanted posters to put in all his businesses so I gave him what I had. His cook, a lad from Pakistan was No and they were having trouble taking him round.
So to his delight I pulled out a WBB for him. The RIC Dundee sign truck was driving around and after the canvas he insisted all his staff and all of use posed for a photo in front of it for the business Fb page.
Just an example of how Yes such areas here in Dundee were. He had no fears for his businesses.
What annoyed me was first thing on the 18th the local Yes get the vote out operation send a carful of us out to a leafy suburb with long gravel drives, three cars in them. Entry door service buttons in multis, tenements etc operate until 12noon and we were not getting our core vote out.
But it was the SNP (before the surge of memberships) running the operation and they had not canvassed the places RIC did. That was a mistake.
Every vote counts. 97% registered, only 85% voted. We failed to get our vote out. Those first time voters who needed reminding, encouraging, maybe accompanied to the polls.
Next time we have to do better to get that sector of our vote out. If we don’t the MSM fed, Proud Brit elderly will swamp us again.
I’m reminded on the tale one Dundee RIC guy tells of being chased down a close by a junkie, who it turned out was desperate for voter registration forms for himself and his girlfriend. Did he and his girlfriend vote I wonder. Their votes count too.
Good of sensibledave to come onto the comments and remind me why I voted Yes.
Wbb2 should have have a couple of chapters dedicated to exposing the lies that bitter together ‘promised’ us..
Can’t wait for WBB2
Rory Bremner great guy….he rubbished the YES case on broadcast media before the Referendum….now that the Establishment are safe (for now) he can tell the truth of the BBC
Hope you get a regular slot in The National……
O/t k1 yesterday at1.33. I think the ebc were hoping, or trying to manipulate the ‘ battle of britain’ as the greatest battles winner. So we would all feel a nice sense of britness better together.
[…] On August 11 last year, this site published a document called The Wee Blue Book. Over 800,000 copies of it were downloaded directly from this site alone in the weeks before the independence referendum, and uncountable numbers from other places. It was converted into all manner of formats, recorded as an audiobook, translated into Gaelic, and made into a website. […]
When the next scots referendum comes we have to recognise that many BritNats will always vote for rule from London. Of course we should do our best to persuade otherwise but if we can persuade some of the majority of don’t knows and No voters to vote for Scotland next time it will mean success.
@Clydebuilt
TBF sure Rory Bremner started out as a clear U. He announced a series of shows in Scotland which were to be in defence of the union but there was a noted change in his attitude throughout the campaign and they were not the relentless u message I’m sure Better Together hoped for.
The guy is not stupid and I believe he is anti elitist by nature.
[…] site produced a 72-page book on the case for independence from scratch in a week, in our spare time from running the site. […]