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Wings Over Scotland


Woman confused about location

Posted on August 30, 2013 by

STV this morning reports a speech to be given today by Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson, in which she issues some blood-curdling warnings about the chaotic impact of independence on Scottish trade with the UK.

ruthdavidsonst3

There are a couple of things Ms Davidson should probably know.

Here’s what she says:

“If we were to leave the United Kingdom it would inevitably mean one set of rules and regulations in Scotland and another set just across the border in the remainder of the UK.

Different financial regulations, different employment laws, different insurance requirements, different tax authorities, different accreditations and qualifications with which small companies would be obliged to contend.”

Alert readers will be somewhat ahead of us at this point.

Scotland ALREADY has different employment laws – it has a completely different and independent legal system to England. It also already has a completely different and independent education system, therefore “different accreditations and qualifications”.

Those things have been the case for hundreds of years, yet don’t seem to have proven a barrier to business. It seems unlikely that “different insurance requirements”, should they actually arise as a result of independence (and we’re not sure why they would), are going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

(Also, how on Earth does the UK manage to trade with scores of other nations?)

We’re a bit concerned that Ruth Davidson doesn’t appear to be aware that some of the terrible consequences she predicts for independence have already happened, centuries before she was born. Does anyone have her phone number so we can get her up to speed before she drops any more embarrassing clangers?

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110 to “Woman confused about location”

  1. Paul Kirkwood
    Ignored
    says:

    RD is deeply dippy!

  2. Ally
    Ignored
    says:

    Surely it’s the fact that we have different “rules & regulations” that has kept Ruthie in gainful employment over the last few years?

  3. muttley79
    Ignored
    says:

    Do Unionists, such as Ruth Davidson, actually know much about Scotland at all?  The answer appears to be no.  I hope she carries on in this fashion.  They appear to be making things up at will.

  4. Jaki McCarthy
    Ignored
    says:

    What a clanger from Ruthie !doh !

  5. Seasick Dave
    Ignored
    says:

    Obviously, if there are different rules and regs to be dealt with they will only affect one country in a negative manner. i.e. Scotland.
     
     

  6. Allan28
    Ignored
    says:

    How can the Conservatives offer a referendum on EU membership when they are so confused as to what that membership means?

  7. Morag
    Ignored
    says:

    How can she be part of the devolved legislature of Scotland and not realise what that actually entails?  Why are we paying her, again?
     
    And when will the majority of the population wake up to the fact that the entire unionist cabal is simply making shit up on a daily basis?

  8. gordoz
    Ignored
    says:

    WARNINGS ?
    “If we were to leave the United Kingdom (Yippeee !!) it would inevitably mean one set of rules and regulations in Scotland and another set just across the border in the remainder of the UK (Err what ??? isn’t that the case anyway).
    Different financial regulations,(Yippeee) different employment laws, (Yipppeeee) different insurance requirements, different tax authorities,(Yeeehhaaaa) different accreditations and qualifications with which small companies would be obliged to contend.”(Err what ??? isn’t that the case anyway).
    Has she come over to our side ?? ……… You know what I mean. Aren’t thes all things of a rather positive aspirational nature ?
    What exactly is her point ???
    Rev please dont  point this out to her – this BT Glasgow event might just be a right laugh after all.

  9. Angus McPhee
    Ignored
    says:

    Of course she already knows this. The bet is that a proportion of the audience don’t.

  10. Alba4Eva
    Ignored
    says:

    Ally says: ”

    Surely it’s the fact that we have different “rules & regulations” that has kept Ruthie in gainful employment over the last few years?”
     
     
    Corrected 🙂

  11. Juteman
    Ignored
    says:

    Maybe the Unionist tactic is for Indy folk to get so pissed off with their lies, that someone loses the plot and does something stupid?
     

  12. balgayboy
    Ignored
    says:

    Why not ask her to be more specific? smells of shite to me.
     

  13. Malcolm
    Ignored
    says:

    What I read:

    “If we were to leave the United Kingdom it would inevitably mean one set of rules and regulations in Scotland and another set just across the border in the remainder of the UK.
    Better financial regulations, better employment laws, better insurance requirements, better tax authorities, better accreditations and qualifications with which small companies would be obliged to contend.”

  14. Alba4Eva
    Ignored
    says:

    Allysays: “Surely it’s the fact that we have different ‘rules & regulations’ that has kept Ruthie in gainful employment over the last few years?” 
     
    Corrected (this time hopefully… score through didn’t work) 🙂

  15. frankieboy
    Ignored
    says:

    What I like about her is that she talks rubbish with total conviction.

  16. Alba4Eva
    Ignored
    says:

    Why is the scorethrough not working? 🙁

  17. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    Ruth and Willie comedy duo should be at the Edinburgh fringe not in Holyrood.

  18. Gordon Bain
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Juteman
     
    That is precisely my fear. I hope it all goes well tomorrow in Glasgow.

  19. scotchwoman
    Ignored
    says:

    She certainly puts the arse in farce……

  20. James Morton
    Ignored
    says:

    I suppose in 300 years of union its easy to lose perspective. Davidson’s views are a by product of the last 70 years of banal unionism. It’s greatest triumph was to become part of the furniture and so no one really questioned it, or examined it at all.

    The old Scottish unionists who fought for Scotland’s unique cultural and civic distinctiveness with the union are long gone. All that are left are those that accept it because its “always been there, hasn’t it?”. That is why they continue to drop these clangers and inadvertently promote an idea of cultural & civic dependency on the union. As if it were the union that gave us these things, rather than it being what Scotland gave the union. 

    Now we face attacks on this distinctiveness on a daily basis from a government that Scotland did not vote for. Unionists seem incapable of seeing the danger this represents to the union. Their answer to it is to say that what happens in England should not sway your vote to end the union, but at the same time argue for policies to be implemented to bring Scotland into line with England. For example the adoption of “something for nothing” attacks on the welfare state by Lamont, the call for responsibility and cuts without powers by Davidson. There was also the very odd attempt by MSM to constantly promote UKIP as the next “coming thing” in Scotland. It seemed vital to certain commentators that Scotland would vote UKIP and so dispel the notion that Scotland and England were drifting apart. Well its simply a matter of fact that UKIP is not even on the horizon in Scotland. And so we have to endure a run of commentators decrying nationalists for having closed minds. The irony in all this is that independence seeks to protect the very status quo most unionists think they are fighting for. Like I said, 300 yrs of union – its easy to lose perspective.

  21. Macart
    Ignored
    says:

    Ruthie’s not really keeping up here, is she? Or is she just kind of hoping that no one would notice the uni cycling pachyderm in the room?

  22. balgayboy
    Ignored
    says:

    cynicalHighlander says:12.34
    Ruth and Willie comedy duo? now there’s a thought!!

  23. Luigi
    Ignored
    says:

    Ruth Davidson, Johann Lamont and Willie Rennie are clearly the worst political “leaders” ever to set foot in Holyrood, by a long shot. The big question is:
     
    Who is the worst of all?
     
    Three strong cadidates. Difficult choice, very difficult choice.

  24. Chris
    Ignored
    says:

    She’s just another ruling elite who has sold out her fellow Scots, like the ones from 1707 that Burns described… Her ignorance is being exposed. Good work, WOS.

  25. gordoz
    Ignored
    says:

    You put this better than I did – magic
     
    Malcolm says:
    30 August, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    What I read:

  26. scaredy cat.
    Ignored
    says:

    For the sake of accuracy it is worth pointing out that, despite the different legal systems, there are a number of pieces of UK wide legislation. These laws are exactly the same throughout the UK without any amendments for the countries in the union), The law is applied in the same way, and only the court system makes a difference if there is a breach.
    I don’t know whether employment law is one of these. If it is drawn from an EU Directive, it might be. Having said all that, it really makes no difference. If we like the existing law, we adopt it. If we don’t, we can change it. This is actually a great opportunity to improve some of our outdated or difficult to use legislation. Or to reverse some of the stupid decisions made by the current UK Government.
     
    As Stu has pointed out, we already work with different sets of legislation for many things anyway.

  27. James Kay
    Ignored
    says:

    Ruth Davidson attended Buckhaven High School, in Methil. It is possible, but extremely unlikely, that she studied for some A-level qualifications.
     
    Otherwise, she and all her schoolmates would have taken purely Scottish examinations.
     
    How does she equate that with:
     
    “If we were to leave the United Kingdom  … different accreditations and qualifications ….”

  28. Norrie
    Ignored
    says:

    Malcolm
    You beat me to it

  29. Charles Docherty
    Ignored
    says:

    I was just about to watch the Three Stoogies movie on Sky when I found out that it isn’t a Bitter Together peroduction starring Ruth Davidson, Willie Rennie and Johann Lamont.

  30. Murray McCallum
    Ignored
    says:

    Sorry I am extremely confused by what Ruth Davidson is stating here:
     
    Isn’t she effectively ruling out any further devolved powers (which will lead to Scotland – UK differences) in the future?
     
    Doesn’t this totally contradict what the BT Tory Front would like us to believe?

  31. Chic McGregor
    Ignored
    says:

    Also pointing to “different financial regulations” at the same time as other U’s are saying that London regulations would apply (if monetary union)

  32. david
    Ignored
    says:

    i concur wirh juteman, this must be making people angry

  33. Brian milligan
    Ignored
    says:

    Pak yer bags Ruth, dont get a return ticket.
     

  34. Gillie
    Ignored
    says:

    There are already quite a number of Scottish professional bodies, ICAS, RIAS, RCPE, FRSE, RMS, etc, that deal with accreditation in Scotland. Some of these bodies set higher professional standards than their counterparts in England. 
     
    More importantly why is the STV broadcasting this guff by Ruth Davidson? 

  35. Nkosi
    Ignored
    says:

    I have a mix of educational qualifications from different countries which has never seemed to be a problem with any of the employers I have had. School certificates from South Africa, Mechanical Engineering certificates from South Africa, Information Technology from Scotland, CAD HNC and HND from Scotland, Construction HNC from Scotland, Computing HNC from Scotland, and  a MC(IT)P (Windows 7 and Server 2003) gained in Scotland but what is probably and American certification. Ruthie lives, like the rest of the Unionists in la la land along with Puff the Magic Dragon.

  36. K8tie
    Ignored
    says:

    Some advice for Ruth: ‘Look to your consciences and remember that the theatre of the world is wider than the realm of England’ (Mary Queen of Scots, 1587)

  37. david
    Ignored
    says:

    attention seeking sycophants will by nature say anything just to be heard or noticed and please their masters

  38. scotchwoman
    Ignored
    says:

    Slightly O/T but related, cross border mobile roaming charges scare story undermined again :
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23896896

  39. Jamie Arriere
    Ignored
    says:

    Re the photo caption – I think you’re thick enough as it is, Ruthie! She doesn’t seem to have a grasp of the nature of the union we already have, which has always allowed for distinct Scottish laws, institutions and regulations. Where it makes sense to have the same as England we can choose to keep them.
     
    I think life may be a little too complicated for her, bless her.

  40. seoc
    Ignored
    says:

    Scotland will devise whatever is needed to do the best for Scots – the permission of others is not required.

  41. mato21
    Ignored
    says:

    She looks like the eejit she obviously is

  42. The Man in the Jar
    Ignored
    says:

    Bring back “Auntie Bella”. You might not have agreed with her but at least she wasn’t a blithering half-wit like Davidson.

  43. Training Day
    Ignored
    says:

    It’s all soooo much bother and hassle, this separation malarkey.  Why do anything?
     
    Yawwwwn.

  44. scotchwoman
    Ignored
    says:

    Sorry to go slightly O/T again but ongoing misinformation relating to responsibilities and assets from Tom Peterkin in the Scotsman. Apparently the Queen owns the Crown Estate! FAIL :
    http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/scottish-island-councils-in-talks-over-more-power-1-3064228
     

  45. HandandShrimp
    Ignored
    says:

    For a Tory she seems to know little about how business operates. Big companies straddle many borders and system without trouble. Small businesses operate in the system they are in. A Scottish small business will operate to whatever the regime is whether that is Holyrood or Westminster. Rules, regulations accreditations develop and change, that is life. What the feck does she think is going to happen? Day one of independence all CEOs must wear their underpants on their heads?
    We have had this bull from the day the referendum was announced. The uncertainity would reduce business confidence, raise unemployment and frighten off inward investment. What has happened? Business confidence has risen, unemployment compares favourably with the UK and EU averages and inward investment has seen something of a boom with the highest levels in over a decade.
     
    In short, these people are utterly clueless and are more concerned about painting a scary picture than actually addressing genuine issues. They cannot be trusted because they are incompetent liars…..is that too harsh?  
     

  46. callum
    Ignored
    says:

    I quite like the idea of “being different”, so much so that I’d vote YES.  My company already operates in a different legal framework than my south-of-the-border competition – which is quite handy because they can’t operate here!!

  47. Chic McGregor
    Ignored
    says:

    She had no bother operating across borders when she went to Spain to stir things with them re Scottish independence.

  48. handclapping
    Ignored
    says:

    I like the bit about different financial regulations; so BoS, RBS, Standard Life are small companies?
     
    The other thing that doesn’t ring true coming from a Tory is that all this is bad for small companies. When my life was distributed among 3 tax offices it was the most lucrative time, I could play one off against another and saved myself a small fortune. Ask half the farmers on the Eire NI border whether its a problem and watch the smile spread over their face as they assure you it is! And yet here’s a Tory saying its bad, good thing I’m not a Dalek.

  49. Winging it
    Ignored
    says:

    Same old, same old.
    If this is the best they can come up with after a 2 month break, we’ve surely got this in the bag.  You honestly couldn’t give these people a brass neck with a blow torch.

  50. Macart
    Ignored
    says:

    @Handandshrimp
     
    (thinks)….. No, not harsh enough yet. 🙂

  51. Bobby McKail
    Ignored
    says:

    @HandandShrimp No you got it spot on! 🙂

  52. Rev. Stuart Campbell
    Ignored
    says:

    “Why is the scorethrough not working?”

    It seems to only work for admin (ie me).

  53. Gordon SMith
    Ignored
    says:

    Ever since the famous “On 13% contribute.. ”  error and insult to Scotland, at the  Conservative conference in Englandshire, I would have thought old Ruthie wold have been more careful when talking down Scotland , but apparently not.
     

  54. Bugger (the Panda)
    Ignored
    says:

    test

  55. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    @ scotchwoman
    The link without contibuting to there funds.
    http://archive.is/AB64R

  56. AberdeenLoon
    Ignored
    says:

    @luigi
    Ruth Davidson, Johann Lamont and Willie Rennie are clearly the worst political “leaders” ever to set foot in Holyrood, by a long shot
     
    Please broaden your horizons 🙂
     

  57. HandandShrimp
    Ignored
    says:

    I think Ruth tripped over the line in the sand.  

  58. Arbroath 1320
    Ignored
    says:

    Before I make any sort of comment about the extremely highly intellectual commentary about the hardships of Scotland going it alone can I just apologise to dingbats around the world. It is never my intention to insult all you brave hard working dingbats however what I’m about to say may appear to be exactly that an insult. I can assure you all that it is not.
     
    In the humblest of humble opinions it is my view that Ruth Davidson is a humongous DINGBAT of the highest order! She is a total embarrassment to all dingbats around the world! Even the most dim witted of dim witted dingbats would never come out and spew the bile that Ruthie did today.

  59. Andrew Morton
    Ignored
    says:

    I worked for forty years in the insurance industry and, strangely enough, we managed to write policies on the Isle of Man no trouble at all despite a different rate of Insurance Premium tax and a different regulatory authority.
    Amazingly, we even managed to write policies on mainland Europe where there are different legal systems, etc..
    There won’t be a problem.

  60. Luigi
    Ignored
    says:

    Please broaden your horizons
     
    Ok, I’ll include Ian Gray, Tavish Scott, —- ach ok I get the point!

  61. Arbroath 1320
    Ignored
    says:

    She wants the people of Scotland to take her seriously?…………….Is she serious? 😆

  62. Angus
    Ignored
    says:

    Ruth isn’t in need of being informed-she just hopes her lies about the ‘barriers’ of an Independent Scotland will be widely reported as fact.

  63. Murray McCallum
    Ignored
    says:

    A.Darling may have said:
    “Look, I don’t really want to go there, but I’ve always said that the people of Scotland should hold stupid and incompetent politicians to account.  Anyone in the World can hold stupid and incompetent politicians to account.  The question for me is should we?”

  64. Ron Burgundy
    Ignored
    says:

    It really makes you weep. A total cretin who gets away with it because of an equally cretinous or corrupt and conniving MSM who fail to challenge her.
    Andrew Kerr, Glenn Maxwell, Rona Dougall, John McKay, Raymond Buchanan and Tooddleoothenoo and Brewer are all national disgrace. I am no advocate of Fox News but just imagine what Bill O’Reilly would do to her!!!
    But they give her a pass because they are either too thick or “in the tank” for the Union.

  65. Bob Howie
    Ignored
    says:

    Just because these Westminster parties stuck Scottish at the front of their name and are populated by Scots does not imply they care a hoot about Scotland, the only politicians you can trust to tell you the truth are the ones who will lose their jobs after independence. The Scottish Labour/Tory/Lib Dem will cease to exist as they are “foreign” parties and we cannot have parties from another country partaking in elections on Scotland so they will either have to resign and get re-elected or best yet just resign but they will all have to find a new party to join as their names now are owned by Westminster!

  66. Doug Daniel
    Ignored
    says:

    Ron – Bill O’Reilly wouldn’t do anything to her, because if he was in the Scottish media, he’d be a unionist. A Tory unionist at that!

  67. Andy-B
    Ignored
    says:

    I think youll find Rev that Miss Davidson, is well aware of what she’s saying, remember the BT camp will win no medals by telling the truth.
     
    Only by causing chaos and confusion amongst the masses will she and her cohorts, instil a sense of doubt.
     
    I read this saying somewhere cant remember where, anyway it struck a cord with me, with regards to the difference in approaches to the referendum, by the YES and No camps.
     
    Quote  “The truth is like a lion, set it free and it will defend itself”

  68. Seasick Dave
    Ignored
    says:

    Just remember that Ms Davidson is an ex Beeboid.
     
    This gives her a free pass to spout shite unchallenged.

  69. Ron Burgundy
    Ignored
    says:

    Doug
    I see the point you are making and it has validity as his Republican / conservative agenda fits with right wing Unionism. In his present incarnation he would berate Scottish independence probably as an attemped “socialist experiment”. I accept that.
    But I still think it is amusing to imagine an O’Reilly type figure being placed into the Scottish media landscape and how nonsense like this from Davidson would be dealt with. I realise that it is pointless musing on my part because it can never happen given the different media structures and broadcasting frameworks within this country and the US.
    For all the bias and political sectarianism of US cable networks are we any better off in Scotland with a weak and impotent state broadcaster manned with lazy lackeys with no authority or courage, happy to follow instructions from the Unionist political establishment. Better stop getting really pissed off

  70. proudscot
    Ignored
    says:

    How did the Holyrood Tories manage to elect this silly little person as their leader in preference to Murdo Fraser? I don’t agree with most of Fraser’s right wing political beliefs, but at least he comes across as sincere and non-aggressive in his attitude. Compared to him, and to Davidson’s predecessor, the equally right wing but likeable “Grannybelle” Goldie, this hysterical wee sixth form prefect, is about the worst choice the Holyrood Tories could have made.

  71. les wilson
    Ignored
    says:

    Cynical Highlander.
    Nice thought, an older version of the Krankies would fit so well with Ruthie and Rennie, I can imagine it right now Ha Ha !

  72. Albalha
    Ignored
    says:

    @seasickDave
    I know some?, most? people on here, believe all BBC folks, past or present, are akin to devil spawn, but as an ex ‘Beeboid’ I will continue to register my disagreement, That’s it done for another day.
    Why not pick on her ex, maybe current, flak jacket days or Church of Scotland membership? 

  73. Albalha
    Ignored
    says:

    That’s clearly rhetorical!

  74. Jimbo
    Ignored
    says:

    This has to be most embarrassing for the Tory Party in Scotland, that they have a leader who’s ignorance is on show for all to see.
     
    These people pay advisors and researchers to keep them right. You’d think that when they want to attack the policies/initiatives of the opposition they would at least try to ensure they get their facts right.
     
    It wasn’t that long ago that we had that Moore chappie talk as if his constituency was in England. Now we have Ruth Davidson telling us that an independent Scotland will have problems because we’ll have to adapt to rules and regulations that we already have. It’s really depressing to learn that we actually have Scottish politicians who know so little about their own country, yet feel they are qualified to make decisions on Scotland’s future.

  75. creigs1707repeal
    Ignored
    says:

    O/T – Here’s a response I have written to this nonsense BT article ‘Best of Both Worlds’ (http://www.bettertogether.net/blog/entry/tell-us-why-you-think-we-get-the-best-of-both-worlds)
     
    You can read my response here

    http://www.scottcreighton.co.uk/indyref/PDF/BT-Counter.pdf

    (PDF file).
     
    YES Scotland.

  76. steve stewart
    Ignored
    says:

    eh, right, this is so far off topic it’s unreal, so apologies for that!
     
    But I have just stumbled across an article saying the commonwealth games tickets went on sale 10 days ago!!  When did this happen? (well, obviously 10 days ago)
     
    I should point out I’m down in London but I’ve heard nothing about this what so ever on the news down here.  And I’m on the news all day long.
     
    See, told you it was off topic.

  77. Turnip_ghost
    Ignored
    says:

    If any of these arguments are made tomorrow an anyone from here is attending just politely raise your hand and point out their mistake while adding “You want us to use these arguments to convince others…I don’t want to sound like an idiot as well…”

  78. john king
    Ignored
    says:

    “Ruth and Willie comedy duo? now there’s a thought!!”
    that would be dumb and dumber then?
      

  79. BobW
    Ignored
    says:

    Bob Howie
    the only politicians you can trust to tell you the truth are the ones who will lose their jobs after independence”
     Bob,  I’m confuddled, I’d put them in the least trusted pot.
     
    Current SNP Westminster MPs excepted.

  80. Jimbo
    Ignored
    says:

    @Creigs.
     
    Good response Scott, but I don’t see it on their boards. I doubt if it will ever see the light of day.

  81. jim
    Ignored
    says:

    We were bought and sold for English gold and titles 300 years ago, so presumably those who are  fighting  against indepenbence will be similarly rewarded if the voye goes against us.

  82. The Flamster
    Ignored
    says:

    Oh do shut up Ruth and all of the other Unionist planks – can’t be bothered listening to all your nonsense again and again and again 🙂

  83. Bugger (the Panda)
    Ignored
    says:

    Creigs1707repeal
    The link to Better Together showed no comments and the link to your reply gave me a 404 page not found nerror

    EDIT
    the link to your reply worked from within Wings. I was trying to connect via my mail notification of your post.

  84. Seasick Dave
    Ignored
    says:

    Albalha
     
    The clue is in the name; its the first B.
     
    Yes, I know you are an ex Beeboid but the organisation is there to protect and promulgate the views of the British state and thus, dear old Ruth, and her rubbishing views of Scotland, will be given appropriate airtime and gravitas.

  85. Albalha
    Ignored
    says:

    @seasickDave
    In her case I think that’s irrelevant, fairly low down the BBC food chain, if it were a senior bod, fair enough. And the little I’ve heard of her time there she wasn’t treated that well.
    My point is that the likelihood of there being, relatively speaking, more members of the Tory Party in Scotland who are/were BBC employees compared to CofS members and/or from a military background is slim at best.

  86. Colin Hunter
    Ignored
    says:

    Has it ever occurred to her that every independent country we trade with has their own different set of rules/regulations/laws/etc. It is of little or no consequence anyway if we are still in the EU. What does it matter if our rules are different to those in England? Most of them already are and have been for years!

  87. Braco
    Ignored
    says:

    James Morton,
    great post!
     
    I would add that the leading defenders of ‘banal’ Unionism know the facts, but believe that their past thorough cultivation among the electorate of this ‘banal’ consensus, has ensured that the electorate either don’t  know the facts, or simply don’t care enough about them to find out.
     
    I have even met NO voters who obviously have no understanding and spout simple untruths such as, ‘Scotland has never been Independent’ and then ‘ok maybe back in Wallace’s time’.
     
    When confronted with the truth though, rather than feel embarrassment they become louder and more belligerent. It’s really an incredible phenomenon to behold and hard to believe unless witnessed. I am sure psychologists have a term for it.
     
    The good news is that although the chances of converting those idiots is very limited, by exposing the stupidity at the core of ‘banal Unionism’, very many undecided witnesses of such an exchange are inevitably repelled by the arrogant attitude necessary to hold true to such ignorance after it has been proven factually wrong.
     
    It also has a very strong undermining effect on anything else that these vocal ‘banal unionists’ say in the future. Scotland’s supposedly weak economic position is another very good example of this kind of easily smashed banal consensus, when handled face to face and in an overtly ‘reasonable’ manner.
     
     
    I am beginning to believe this to be the main reason they fought so hard, throughout the ages, to ensure no referendum ever took place. A referendum inevitably means their banal consensus is forced to defend itself over all those previously propagated generalised and untested assertions.
     
    Assertions given a veneer of truth through simple repetition by just about every trusted Scottish institutional authority up until the reconvening of The Scots Parliament in Holyrood.
     
    This kind of sustained and detailed scrutiny is something our authorities have always understood to be a process the Union could never withstand, so their solution has been simple, never allow it to be put under any focused and sustained democratic scrutiny. Hence no referendum on the Union, always (and only when forced) on the form of the Union. Thereby actually re affirming the inevitability of Union (the very definition of banal Unionism).
     
    This has been a very, very successful tactic for the Unionist establishment. Until now!

  88. Taranaich
    Ignored
    says:

    O/T – Here’s a response I have written to this nonsense BT article ‘Best of Both Worlds’
     
    Spectacular work, creig1707!

  89. The Rough Bounds
    Ignored
    says:

    Some of us are doing Ruth Davidson a disservice. She isn’t dim. She knows exactly how Scotland operates on many different levels from the rest of the British Isles, but she isn’t interested in telling the truth.
    What she is doing is spitting out propaganda (ie lies,) in order to frighten the Scots away from their God given right of independence. Aka Freedom.
     

  90. muttley79
    Ignored
    says:

    @HandandShrimp
     
    In short, these people are utterly clueless and are more concerned about painting a scary picture than actually addressing genuine issues. They cannot be trusted because they are incompetent liars…..is that too harsh?  
     
    Nah, it is not harsh enough…

  91. jim mitchell
    Ignored
    says:

    You have to hand it to her, it takes a special kind of talent to pack so many obvious mistakes into the one speach!

  92. Juteman
    Ignored
    says:

    Let us not forget, they are only doing their duty as agents of the British State.

  93. Davy
    Ignored
    says:

    We hav’nt seen much of Ruthie this summer and I think I know why !! I believe she has been attending the “J Lamont” Summer School for aspiring Politians for the future.
    And this load of belthering bolloxs is actually her final exam, awell theres always a resit next year.
     
    Hail Alba.
     

  94. Elaine
    Ignored
    says:

    Now we face attacks on this distinctiveness on a daily basis from a government that Scotland did not vote for.
    Maybe you didnt vote for the current government but a lot of Scots did vote for the coalition parties so your statement is factually incorrect.

    Unionists seem incapable of seeing the danger this represents to the union. Their answer to it is to say that what happens in England should not sway your vote to end the union, but at the same time argue for policies to be implemented to bring Scotland into line with England. For example the adoption of “something for nothing” attacks on the welfare state by Lamont, the call for responsibility and cuts without powers by Davidson.
    I think you will find that the UK has been living beyond its means for the last 50 years and the welfare changes that have been implemented are only the thin end of the wedge. the Country is having to borrow billions to pay for the welfare bill and how is that going to change with independence? If anything the same tightening policies will also need to be brought in here with public spending reigned in simply because we cant afford it or will Scotland go cap in hand to Brussels and ask for more? it wont happen.

    There was also the very odd attempt by MSM to constantly promote UKIP as the next “coming thing” in Scotland. It seemed vital to certain commentators that Scotland would vote UKIP and so dispel the notion that Scotland and England were drifting apart. Well its simply a matter of fact that UKIP is not even on the horizon in Scotland.
    No not yet but why treat Farage like a leper when he comes here? what is there to fear?

    And so we have to endure a run of commentators decrying nationalists for having closed minds. The irony in all this is that independence seeks to protect the very status quo most unionists think they are fighting for. Like I said, 300 yrs of union – its easy to lose perspective.
    Yes and so you will continue to muddle through from crisis to crisis in an independent Scotland keeping the status quo when obviously things have to and must change otherwise the country will be bankrupt paying huge amounts in all the welfare state handouts that have been retained. This will be because there is no tax being paid as I will probably like many others move my savings elsewhere rather than fund continued irresponsible public spending.
     

  95. Dramfineday
    Ignored
    says:

    The Rough Bounds says:
    30 August, 2013 at 5:17 pm

    Some of us are doing Ruth Davidson a disservice. She isn’t dim. She knows exactly how Scotland operates on many different levels from the rest of the British Isles, but she isn’t interested in telling the truth.
    What she is doing is spitting out propaganda (ie lies,)
     
    Indeed RB, and worth remembering she was an apprentice with the BBC – she appears to have picked up the dark arts exceedingly well. I bet they are all proud of her.

  96. Bugger (the Panda)
    Ignored
    says:

    Elaine I was going to post something neat and cybernasty but then I thought why bother, you would probably not understand it anyway and take it as an affirmation of your UKIP trolling agenda.

    Do I detect that you are beginning to think that the vote will be a YES?
     

  97. HenBroon
    Ignored
    says:

    It appears to be a common unionist trait, not knowing where you are or where you have been, or even what you campaigned for and what values you projected.
    It is the duplicity of these unionist liars that sticks in my craw, that they assume you are as thick as they need you to be.
    However if Satan casts his net tomorrow he can catch them all in The Mitchell library. I can hear them now.  “It wisnae me, it wisnae me.”

  98. HenBroon
    Ignored
    says:

    For the UKIP Troll.
     
     
    Benefits:  An independent Scotland couldn’t afford to pay the bill for everyone on benefits.

    This myth was put about by leader of the Scottish Tories, Ruth Davidson the Action Krankie.  Her great strengths are abseiling, kick-boxing and making a face like a lemon whenever anyone mentions “independence” or “Tory irrelevance”.  Ruth is deeply concerned about the ability of an independent Scotland to pay its welfare benefits bill, because after independence she’ll be unemployable.

    Ruth said that the amount Scotland spends on welfare benefits is greater than the amount we receive in taxation from North Sea Oil.  So we wouldn’t be able to afford bus passes and old age pensions.

    Ruth can tie ropes together, but either she struggles to cope with joined up thinking or she imagines Scottish voters do.  Her statement rests upon the bizarre notion that no one in the country pays any taxes at all and we have no industries, economic activity or employment, except the oil. 

    The whisky industry alone contributes £800 million annually to the Scottish economy, then there’s tourism, manufacturing, the financial sector, and all the other jobs that have so far managed to avoid the swingeing cuts being imposed by Westminster.

    So as you get up out of bed to go to work of a morning, remember that Ruth thinks you don’t have a job at all.  Since her own job as leader of a non-existent party is pretty much a non-job, it’s easy to see why she’s confused.

    Course the reason that Scotland has a high benefits bill in the first place is because of Westminster economic policies that see fit to dump thousands of Scots on the scrapheap of unemployment.  Ruth’s party wants to reduce the benefits bill by forcing people with terminal cancer to go on work experience interviews, where they’ll be told to inform potential employers there’s no problem with a short-term contract.  The Tories also intend to force unemployed people work for free for private companies even though slavery is illegal.  Ruth forgot to mention those bits. 

    Scotland receives less from the Union than it contributes, according to the UK government’s own figures: see Subsidies.  We more than pay our own way already, we more than pay for the benefits received by inhabitants of Scotland.  According to the most recent Government Expenditure and Revenues Statistics (GERS), the annual benefit bill is a lower proportion of Scottish revenue than it is across the UK as a whole.  All benefits paid out in Scotland total 40% of all revenues collected from Scotland.  Across the UK as a whole, the benefits bill makes up 42% of all expenditure.  This means that Scotland can more easily afford to pay decent benefits to its citizens than the UK as a whole is able to.  We don’t depend on Westminster to foot our unemployment bill, we only depend on Westminster to create mass unemployment in the first place.  That’s something Tories have historically been quite good at.

    It needs to be pointed out that in the GERS figures a notional share of expenses for “UK national expenditure” is allocated to Scotland even though these monies are not spent in Scotland.  The London Olympics and the high speed railway between London and Birmingham are deemed to be “national expenditure”.  Scotland is also allocated a share of the cost of Trident and an overblown defence budget which is wasted on aircraft carriers without planes and the cancellation of Nimrod after spending billions on the project.  The GERS figures don’t represent the government expenditure of an independent Scotland accurately, they portray a worst case Westminster scenario.  In reality we’d be considerably better off.

    After independence we’d have more to spend on state pensions if we choose, not less.  We would not have to force terminal cancer patients to go on job training schemes either.  We could afford these things because we would no longer be paying for Westminster politicians’ egos and their desire to strut their funky stuff on the stage of world politics doing Tarzan impressions like the Action Krankie swinging from a Trident.  (See: Defence)
     
     
    MUCH MORE VALUABLE FACTS HERE.

  99. Davy
    Ignored
    says:

    Elaine, I also have to agree with “bugger the panda” I believe a Yes vote is becoming to much for you to handle. And if you believe the threat of you moving your savings is really going to convince people of the vaildity of your argument , sorry their is a very big disappointment heading your way.

    Note : regarding the number of votes for the coalition parties, the results still were 1 tory & 11 libdems a total of 12 out of 59 Scottish MP’s, 80% against. You may think their was a lot of votes for the coalition parties, but their was a lot more against.
     
    Alba Gu snooker loopy!
    PS. It is allways good to have someone from the other side on site, come again.
      

  100. creigs17707repeal
    Ignored
    says:

    @Jimbo says:
    30 August, 2013 at 4:08 pm

     
    Good response Scott, but I don’t see it on their boards. I doubt if it will ever see the light of day.
     
    Hi Jimbo – I refuse to create a Facebook/Twitter account so I cannot post the response on the BT blog. If anyone else wants to try, please feel free.  Here’s the link again to the article:
     
    http://www.scottcreighton.co.uk/indyref/PDF/BT-Counter.pdf

     
    YES Scotland.

  101. James Morton
    Ignored
    says:

    @ elaineMaybe you didnt vote for the current government but a lot of Scots did vote for the coalition parties so your statement is factually incorrect.
    The Facts are that the majority of Scots voters did not vote for the conservative party but got a conservative government all the same. Factually correct, I think you would agree.

    I think you will find that the UK has been living beyond its means for the last 50 years and the welfare changes that have been implemented are only the thin end of the wedge. the Country is having to borrow billions to pay for the welfare bill and how is that going to change with independence? If anything the same tightening policies will also need to be brought in here with public spending reigned in simply because we cant afford it or will Scotland go cap in hand to Brussels and ask for more? it wont happen.
    You are forgetting that Scotland is a much smaller nation. The notion that its benefits bill would even be in the same ball park as the UK is absurd & underscores the point I made earlier about the unionist argument for dependency culture being a boon for Scotland. Also lets not forget that actual welfare spending is increasing despite austerity – why is this happening? simple the welfare fund; which incidentally over 70% of which is spent on pensioners, is being raided to give money to private firms like ATOS and the alphabet soup of private companies hired in on a cost-plus basis to assist the unemployed getting work . Atos make 3.2 billion to manage a section of the welfare budget that is only 4.5 billion. Job seekers allowance also accounts for about the same. Workfare, the common practice of putting the unemployed into supermarkets to pack shelves for no wages, means that people are still receiving benefits, with assistance on travel costs, driving the benefits bill even higher. Lest we forget, remember the pensioners? their fund is consistently under claimed every year. The housing benefit bill is also increasing, despite the cuts and is being driven by the private rented sector. The idiots in Westminster, think that the answer to this is to punish the tenant, who actually has no control over how rents are set.

    Conclusion: The benefits bill is increasing, but it seems to be increasing to meet private sector costs for handling what was once controlled by the state. It needs to be brought under control, this could be achieved by reducing or removing private sector involvement altogether. Sadly the Tories see welfare as the last of the family silver and they are hell-bent on selling it to their rich friends in the city.

    No not yet but why treat Farage like a leper when he comes here? what is there to fear?
    Ah you’re a UKIP supporter. Well here’s why: He is such a swivel eyed goof that the cretin actually thinks that if Scotland when independent, we would starve to death within a year. A man so deluded that he thinks all the food Scotland eats, comes from England. Lest we forget this smirking saloon bar bigot runs a party that has exactly less than 0.97% of the vote here. The crofters party, the oldest and smallest party in Scotland I think, has more votes than you. What do I fear? the damage him and rest of you are capable of achieving if you ever were in charge. Which is why Scotland in its infinite wisdom decreed that the only thing you are fit to pass in Scotland is wind.

    Yes and so you will continue to muddle through from crisis to crisis in an independent Scotland keeping the status quo when obviously things have to and must change otherwise the country will be bankrupt paying huge amounts in all the welfare state handouts that have been retained. This will be because there is no tax being paid as I will probably like many others move my savings elsewhere rather than fund continued irresponsible public spending. 
    And so there we have it. The same old bromide. Scotland the subsidy junkie. Scotland the benefit scrounger. Scotland the weak, Scotland the incapable, Scotland the clueless. A Scotland that’s not really part of the UK, just a recipient of  UK largesse. But the only way to keep this generous bounty is to accept an idiotic set of policies that are making those least responsible pay the most for the stupidity of its government and its bankers. 
    I said in this post, 300 years of Union. Its easy to lose perspective. But for you and UKIP: Your party seem to actually think that Scotland has not advanced one jot in those 300 years, and is still suffering from Darien. You don’t even have perspective on this. Banal Unionism doesn’t begin to explain how disconnected your party and its politics are from Scottish civil and cultural life.

  102. Davy
    Ignored
    says:

    Creigs1707repeal,
                      That was an outstanding reply to ‘better together’ bolloxs, please feel free to carry on in a similer vein anytime. I totally enjoyed that.
     
    Hail Alba.
     

  103. william pirrie
    Ignored
    says:

    Rev Stu, slightly off topic but it has struck me that I’ve discovered a positive case for the Union. If, as some people have put forward, that after a Yes vote then the SNP would disappear as the reason for their existence would have been achieved, then that leaves the possibility of either Lamont, Davidson (remember Scotland used to have a large tory vote ) or if we are really going into the realms of fantasy Wee Willie becoming Prime Minister of Scotland.
    Please keep this as a secret because if it gets into the hands of the no campaign all the good work of people like yourself and other Yes campaigners will be lost as people flock to vote NO. 

  104. Roll_On_2014
    Ignored
    says:

    Test

  105. NSTST
    Ignored
    says:

    Poor old Ruthie, she keeps em’ coming…

  106. Welsh Sion
    Ignored
    says:

    THE DAILY GARBAGE

    CONFUSED WOMAN FOUND SPEAKING NONSENSE IN GLASGOW STREET

    by our Crime Correspondent, T. Leaf

    Today’s lead story concerns the distressing tale of a young lady who was found wandering around Glasgow late last night, looking completely disorientated and making comments which have left local police puzzled. She has subsequently been identified as Untruth Davidson, 34, and is believed to be some sort of jobbing politician at a wee, pretendy Parliament somewhere in Scotland.

    The woman in question was found by police officers roaming the streets late last night and expressing views that have left her audience astounded. The following account is taken from a simultaneous report from PC Plod of the local constabulary, having referred to his notepad:

    “At around 11 pm last night, both myself and PC Dibble came across a young lady in the Atlantic Quay area of Glasgow. As we approached this female, we heard her jabbering aloud, saying

    ‘If we were to leave the United Kingdom it would inevitably mean one set of rules and regulations in Scotland and another set just across the border in the remainder of the UK.’

    Being conscientious upholders of law and order in Scotland, we were both rather surprised by these remarks, and PC Dibble was inclined to inform the female in question that there already were different sets of rules and regulations in Scotland to those in other parts of the UK. I, myself, having recognised the female in question as a member of the Lavatory Party at the Scottish Parliament, attempted to inform her that it was due to that self-same Parliament that she was a member of, that such rules were different. PC Dibble (who has a Scots Law Degree) went even further, and told the female in question that Scotland in fact has had a different legal system before the creation of the said Parliament and that therefore laws between the component parts of the UK had already been different for many years.

    The woman then became aggressive and started hitting out at PC Dibble and myself with her stiletto shoes and crying out in a loud voice: “Where the hell is Scotland?” Naturally, at this stage, both PC Dibble and myself felt that the female was in a state of intoxication, but finding no trace of alcohol on her breath, we (rather reluctantly) had to concede that the female in question was stone cold sober. She then began to shout at us again that should the United Kingdom break up then,

    ‘Different financial regulations, different employment laws, different insurance requirements, different tax authorities, different accreditations and qualifications with which small companies would be obliged to contend Would be the order of the day.’

    Both PC Dibble and myself again tried to calm the woman down by saying that these things already existed within the parish she inhabited. To which remarks, she put her fingers to her ears and started singing, (off key I might add):

    “Not listening. La-la-la-la.”

    We then proceeded to issue a formal police caution to Ms Davidson that her words amounted to ones of complete ignorance as to the current situation in Scotland and not how things would turn out following the conclusion of the Independence Referendum next year. We felt constrained also to supply her with a free atlas (courtesy of The Scotsman – who may yet regret their largesse, as they consistently fail to locate Scotland either), in order for the female in question to discover for herself the location of Scotland.

    PC Dibble and myself then returned to Glasgow Police Station, shaking our heads and muttering comments about the ignorance of some members of the younger generation.”

    PC Plod is 49.

  107. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    “Night all” 

  108. john king
    Ignored
    says:

    I think I’ve changed my mind about independence, I’m voting no, 
    Ruth might have a point here, 
    if we’re to become a foreign country, I don’t want to have to learn a foreign language 
    I’m too old for it
    vote no to keep English as your language
    cos they kin tak it aff us ye ken 🙁  Alistair Darling said and he widnae lie
    jist look at that pictur o ruthy, she looks like shes practisin Spanish th th th th

  109. Patrick Roden
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Elaine,
    You seem to forget that a lot of the votes cast for the Lib Dems were cast by people who had no idea that they would enter into a coalition with the Tories.
    According to all the polls,  the Lib Dems share of the vote has been decimated and a  lot of these people will never trust or vote for them again.
    You feel we should except Nigel Farage? I think this shows you just how different your political beliefs are to the overwhelming majority of people in Scotland.
    This doesn’t make you a bad person, it’s just that you will find very few people agree with you.
    Your political beliefs probably cloud your judgement so I won’t bother pointing out to you that your swallowing of the lies and deception that have said that Scotland is a poor nation that couldn’t afford to look after ourselves etc…..is a big fat lie!
    If you do see the need to make sure you have not fallen for lies and deception though, please come back and we will be more than happy to give you all the information you would need to make your mind up.  
    Just for starters, you might like to Google the ‘McCrone Report’ You may be surprised.
    Good luck.

  110. ,I think Ruth Davidson is only there to take the fall.History is made when changes happen never has there been “history made” by standing still/status quo,history is made by the bold thinking,which she lacks in bucket loads.How can there be a barrier when the EU is all about taking them away? a border well similar we are just having geographical borders and no patrols to stop us from trading.There was a great point she made about how we export our financial services south east north and west and it brings in £9.billion,that is a positive for YES.She gives more reasons for YES than even some of the SNP.



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