Monday 6 May 2013

77,000,008 questions that the ‘no’ campaign hasn’t answered


Better Together, the official campaign for no sovereignty for Scotland, has come up with 500 (currently impossible to locate at the time of writing) questions for the Yes Campaign.  We at Sign for Scotland thought we could do better, so we have come up with 77 million (and eight) questions for the no campaign!

 
The head of Better Together's debate team

Let’s get started with Question 1:
Can you guarantee that the people of Scotland will get the government they vote for every year?  Voting ‘Yes’ makes this a certainty.

Question 2:
Can you guarantee that the people of Scotland will not be dragged unwillingly out of the EU following Westminster’s referendum?  Voting ‘Yes’ makes this a certainty.

Question 3:
Can you guarantee that the Scottish National Health Service will not face cuts to its budget due solely to privatisation by Westminster?  Voting ‘Yes’ makes this a certainty.

Question 4:
Can you guarantee that Trident, its replacement, and other Weapons of Mass Destruction which the people of Scotland disapprove of will be removed from Scottish soil as soon as can be safely achieved?  Voting ‘Yes’ makes this a certainty.

 
This is how you are supposed to react to 500 questions.

Question 5:
Can you guarantee that at least one oil fund will be set up and used for the benefit of future generations of people who live in Scotland?  Voting ‘Yes’ makes this a certainty.

Question 6:
Can you guarantee a written constitution will be created which will enshrine the rights of everyone in Scotland, instead of Westminster’s invisible code of conduct?  Voting ‘Yes’ makes this a certainty.

Question 7:
Can you guarantee that measures which the majority of Scottish representatives oppose, such as the bedroom tax, will no longer be imposed on Scotland?  Voting ‘Yes’ makes this a certainty.

Question 8:
Can you guarantee that Scotland will no longer be dragged into unsanctioned, unwanted wars?  Voting ‘Yes’ makes this a certainty.

And Questions 9 to 77,000,008:
Can you guarantee that Scotland will not spend another penny on the House of Lords?  Many of them have vested interests in certain areas of policy, some are hereditary peers meaning that they are in that position through birthright alone, and none of them are elected by the people.  Can voting ‘no’ guarantee that not another penny of Scotland’s money is spent on this institution, and that none of their decisions will affect us, the way that voting Yes will achieve?

To create a fair debate, we want to know what the ‘no’ future holds.  Will we see the tangible benefits of Independence reflected in continuing with a Westminster dominated society?  Will we see reforms, and the prospect of reforms, taking place or just more of the same?  Will we see answers to any of these questions?

 
"We still haven't heard the benefits of Independence," better together statement

In truth, we’re a little disappointed that Better Together could only come up with 500 questions (assuming that they have come up with 500 as at the moment of their announcement they weren’t available for anyone to view outside their media pals).  We hope that they will come up with more in the near future and, perhaps, allow us to see them, instead of simply a sample which have already been answered and a number.

And if they can only tell us a number, then please don’t make it a puny 500, make it a big 77,000,008!
Drew

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