Hello, Goodbye and Hello

‘Hello’ to everyone within Sign for Scotland and the wider ‘Yes Scotland’ movement. Hello to the Scottish National Party who put forward the independence vote, hello to the Scottish Green party who backed it, hello to Labour, Liberals and Conservatives for Independence who realised that this issue went beyond party politics. Hello, too, to the smaller parties currently outside the Scottish parliament but who offer a wealth of choice to future governments.

The biggest hello goes to those of no political party. Those hardy souls who stood for hours collecting signatures in all kinds of weather for these past two years, who gave whatever funds they could afford towards our noble cause and who never allowed themselves to give up.

 

Most people will not be recognised for their efforts, for they number so many, yet they will have something much more precious. When they are old and grey, they will be able to tell their grandchildren the part they played in winning Scotland’s sovereignty. They’ll say ‘this was when we took responsibility for ourselves and returned to the family of nations’.

It’s an especially poignant moment when I think back on all those people who believed in an independent Scotland and yet couldn’t see this day. Ever since we lost our sovereignty there have been those who have tried to win it back and now we have the chance to make their struggle and sacrifice worthwhile.

 

Amongst all these ‘hellos’ we need to say a few ‘goodbyes’. ‘Goodbye’ to the divisive and poisoned Westminster politics who could never put Scotland first. Goodbye to warmongering, and constant fighting overseas. Goodbye to ‘business as usual’ and the sense of entitlement Scotland’s MPs too often suffered from.  And finally, we say goodbye to helplessness. No more will we be reduced to a faint voice far from the centre of power. We will become the architects of our future. The ultimate power in Scotland above all others will once more be her people, the way it should always have been.

A ‘Yes’ vote means saying another ‘Hello’. This hello is to a move diverse, inclusive politics, a hello that welcomes reform and change and the possibility of a better tomorrow.

 

The referendum on Scottish Independence is only a few days away and this will be my final entry before that historic vote. Soon, we will know if the destiny of Scotland lies with her people or not.  We will know if our efforts to secure a ‘Yes’ vote have been successful or not. We will know if we are a nation or not. Please, it might not seem like there is much more that can be done, but make sure to vote ‘Yes’ and to tell others that you support independence. Make sure that over these last few days that you do one more positive act for the campaign. And after the result comes in, make sure that you are ready for the early days of a better nation.

Let’s say ‘hello, goodbye and hello’, together.
Drew
 
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The Negotiator

The strength of Scotland's position in post referendum negotiations is completely dependant upon the outcome of the vote. A Yes makes us much, much stronger. A no makes us weaker. Here are the reasons why:
 

 

 

Strength of Yes

Scotland as a country is fundamentally self-sufficient. We produce excesses of electricity, have abundant supplies of water, export food and textiles and generally have most of the other essentials of life. We have a balance of trade surplus as a result of our natural resources as well as other industries, and with a significant tourism sector we have no problems with brand recognition or sources of revenue.

 

The things that the UK offer aren't important. We don't need a vast military as we have no nearby threats, we don't need a permanent seat in the UN security council, and we certainly don't need nuclear weapons. Our largest market is provided by the EU (and which the EFTA could equally offer) and the currency is fully tradeable. There isn't anything that we need to have from Westminster.

 

The UK however has a debt problem that isn't getting better, and the £ needs more exports to guarantee its value. The UK also has significant trade with Scotland that it will need to protect and the prospect of leaving the EU is very real, making good relations a priority. And, strictly speaking, the liability for current pensioners will not change, as their national insurance contributions were paid to Westminster. Starting with no debt or pension payments will mean Scotland will begin with a very lucrative budget surplus.

 

Finally, the Westminster negotiators are rubbish. Because the path to power is guaranteed, the people who gain high politicial office don't require any special talent or skill. The Westminster system is a lazy system that lacks the competitive nature of a proportional parliament. We will have the more skillful negotiators, and we will be giving them the best possible hand.

  

All of this means that Scotland holds the advantage in any negotiations. And there are plenty of things that could be done to make Westminster squirm (like demand the immediate removal of Trident or insist on an audit of the UK's debt - both of which they will not want).

 

Weakness of no

A no vote leaves Scotland vulnerable. With independence no longer an option (thus making us dependent on Westminster) there is no incentive for any further devolution. Indeed, both halves of Westminster have an incentive to reduce the importance of Holyrood.

 

A no vote also means a cut to the Scottish budget is not only a possibility but a likelihood. The fact is, Scotland more than pays its way and is a net-contributor, but that won't stop Westminster politicians from demanding that spending is cut here. The current system makes no allowance for where money is earned and the only UK 'region' which will be viewed as an exception is London and the South East.

 

With no means to defend ourselves and every reason to cut, Westminster will view a post-no Scotland as a means to secure more votes in England, and deny reform for a generation.

 

You don't have to be a great negotiator to see the difference. A Yes vote means that Westminster is left over an oil and whisky barrel. No leaves us open to no end of cuts and the prospect of a weakened Holyrood. Even if you don't want Scotland to be independent, you can see how independence is the best way to protect our interests.

Drew
  
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Not in the News - Early August Edition

Welcome to the ninth of our bi-monthly series looking back at the stories which the main stream media in Scotland didn't offer much attention to, and comparing them to those that hit the front pages. Our last edition covering late July can be found here.

  

Don't make the games political, or we'll make it personal

The Commonwealth Games were a fantastic event for Scotland. There were numerous trade deals signed which will generate more wealth and jobs for our country, and we proved to ourselves that we can produce a fantastic squad of athletes capable of competing with anyone.

 

Unfortunately, some of our athletes received bullying from UK organisations.

 

 

With a Yes vote, no Scottish athlete will ever be threatened for taking their own flag onto a podium (whether they choose to represent Scotland or the UK). This is one of the key aspects of independence: independent nations are equal nations. There are no second class national flags amongst independent countries.

 
Statistical Gymnastics (the BBC in Scotland is full of nincompoops!)

When it comes to manipulating figures, the BBC deserves a gold medal! We mentioned in our last edition of 'Not in the News' that the BBC had quickly altered figures on their website which originally showed Scotland as a net contributor to the UK. Now, thanks to Scott Minto of Wings over Scotland, we know how they are 'justifying' this change.

 

The scam starts like this: the actual export figures for Scotland in 2012 (the most recent year for which figures exist) were £98,100,000,000 (ninty eight billion, one hundred million pounds). With this figure, Scotland is clearly an net contributor, which is why the BBC had to change it. But how do you change reality? The BBC followed 3 easy steps:

 

1) They excluded oil and gas from Scotland's figures (but not from the UK's). This is immediately biased as the equivalent action of removing funds generated by financial transactions in the City of London are never done or considered. The excuse offered is that there hasn't been a formal agreement yet between the Scottish and Westminster Governments regarding marine territory, although this type of thing is covered extensively in the 'Delimitation of the territorial sea between States with opposite or adjacent coast' and other international agreements. It is also Westminster who refuses to pre-negotiate. The BBC's solution is to assume that Scotland will have no rights anywhere (which is ridiculous).

  

Despite removing one of our most valuable revenue streams, Scottish exports would top £73,700,000,000 per year, which would still show us as net contributors. Something else needed to be done to talk us down.

 

2) The BBC excluded all exports from Scotland to the rest of the UK. No reason is given for this. The total affect of this change is to artificially lower our exports by £47,700,000,000 per year (down to £25,900,000,000). Yet even this figure would be too high for the BBC to use, so 1 more excerise in statistical gymnastics was required.

 

3) The 2012 figures, which are the most up-to-date, were replaced with the lower 2010 totals. The only possible reason for selecting 2010 and not 2011 or 2012 is to artifically put down Scotland's economic performance to fit into the BBC's narrative of lies.

Three unjustifible changes - assuming that Scotland has no oil or gas whilst predicting full UK control and no adjustments to the more volitile City money, the exclusing of all Scottish exports to the rest of the UK (but not the same in reverse) and the misleading of people by selecting out of date figures from a previous year - have been made by the BBC.

 

Yes Scotland is not competing against a no campaign, it is competing the Westminster mouthpiece known as the BBC. They are lying to you and have done so for quite some time. Don't trust the BBC.

 
Sidestepping parliament and the people

On the 29th of July, CND (the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) reported that David Cameron had signed a secret, decade-long nuclear agreement with the Government of the United States.

 

This was done without the opportunity for Parliament to discuss the terms which will not be disclosed to the public or MPs. This is how democracy works at Westminster. You can read more about this story at Newsnet Scotland.

 
The Times they are a lyin'

The Times newspaper: Making up Usain Bolt quotes so the no campaign doesn't have to. The Main Stream Media: Mo power, mo power, mo power, mo nonsense!

 

According to unionist newspapers, this is someone who doesn't like Scotland

 

Do you hate or despise independence?

On the 11th of July popular independence site 'Wings over Scotland' revealed the 16th questions being asked of Scots ex-pats living in the United States. These included such balanced questions as: "Do you think that the Scottish Government has any real idea of the financial and economic costs of ending the Union?" and "Are you more persuaded by the analysis and concerns of The Banker magazine or assured by the statements of the Scottish Government?" (you can look at each of the questions, along with their preambles, here).

 

The poll was organised by The Friends of Scotland who claim to be non-political organisation. They sent the survey to just 300 people. With the biased nature of the questions revealed in advance only a desperate rag would try to present their results as any kind of serious analysis.

 

Oh Daily Record, who included it on their Scotland now site. Oh Scotsman, who advertised their rival's website just to let their readers see the results (but not necessarily the questions). Oh Press & Journal, who decided to ignore journalism and follow their tabloid peers.

 
It's hard to keep track of London's expenditure

Keeping up-to-date with all of the non-Barnett expenditure that the UK lavishes on London and the South East of England can be quite tricky (see one of our attempts here), but considering that this one project alone is likely to cost Scotland over £19 billion we thought we would mention it.

 

"Once the Galactic Railroad is complete in London, we'll consider replacing the broken 'give way' sign near Tomintoul."

'Plans afoot for £200bn orbital railway!' was the headline in the Mail online. Unsurprisingly, similar plans for cities and towns in Scotland have not been announced. But don't worry, London expects another £1,300,000,000,000 (with over £120,000,000,000 coming from Scotland). And there are suggestions that they are going to get their wish.

  

Plans to have 39.7% of all UK state investment spent where just 13.14% of the people live are being made. If we're independent, then we can prove to those outside of London that there is an alternative.

 
On the Bonnie or Fracked Banks of Loch Lomond

The international media recently highlighted the expansion of fracking licences across the UK to include national parks and places of outstanding beauty. We now have confirmation that the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park is going to be targeted.

 

Those opposed to fracking, which is also known as hydraulic fracturing, do so for both environmental and economic reasons. It triggers earthquakes, poisons water supplies, causes illness and loses money (lots of money). Fracking isn't required in an energy rich country like Scotland but will be forced upon us anyway if Westminster remains in charge.

 

And Westminster isn't likely to change their minds over the process. The blue side is being paid by the fracking companies, and the red side are happy to expand fracking further. There is only one certainty: vote no and Scotland will be fracked!

 
Crude attempts at silence

BP have been examining the potential for vast quantities of oil in the waters west of the Shetland Isles for quite some time. They announced in June that they were excited about the Clair field in particular.

 

Following an analysis of the initial (but as yet not publicly announced) results, Prime Minister David Cameron hurriedly visited the Shetland Islands (something that his predecessors had not done in over in over 30 years). He said little to the press and no further comment has been offered by No 10. Workers are not due to return to the site until after the referendum.

  

This has led to speculation that BP may have found one of the largest deposits of oil in the world.

 

We know from past experience that Westminster has lied to the people of Scotland about our resources. From the McCrone report which was classified for decades as 'top secret', to the cover-up of oil discovered on the west coast of Scotland, and mis-information regarding a future's fund similar to that which Norway has. Even international magazines recognise that the UK Government is lying.

 

Questions remain as to just how much wealth Scotland has. But the UK Government don't want you to know before you vote. Perhaps because the answer would guarantee a Yes.

 
What was once deleted is now un-deleted

Anti-independence comedy troope the Confederation of British Industry were embarrassed yet again in August (just as they have in April [twice], May, June and July). Emails which were thought to have been deleted have been uncovered by the Electoral Commission and finally revealed.

 

For context, here is a quote from a spokesperson for the confederation from earlier this year:

"The early conversations that took place between the EC and the CBI were at relatively junior official level and confined to narrow compliance issues," CBI statement

 

So let's take a look at who the 'relatively junior' officials were:

  

Iain McMillan, Director of the CBI in Scotland

David Lonsdale, Assistant Director of the CBI in Scotland

 

I guess the CBI consider a director (and his assistant) of its (admittedly very small) Scottish branch to be nothing more than a junior official. For once I think I may have to agree with them.

 

But where is the BBC in this story? As paying members of the anti-independence group they would have better access to information than most. Why is there no mention of this story on their news website? It's not as if they haven't highlighted the CBI in the past or stressed the importance of the views of these junior officials...

 

I guess they will keep us waiting until Friday the 19th of September.

No vote guarantees a raid on our troops' pensions

The UK Government will tax service personnel more for their pensions as a result of changes to the tax system from April 2017. The rules surrounding the introduction of a flat rate pension system means that those on a second state pension will no longer receive a rebate on their national insurance (potentially affecting anyone who is a state employee). This will cost the average Army private £162 a year in additional tax.

When victory is recorded as defeat

Amongst undecided who watched the STV debate between First Minister Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling MP, the Yes side won by 54% to 46%. So who does the newspapers and the BBC declare as the winner? Alistair Darling!

 

The excuse the controlled media gave for claiming that Alistair Darling won is because of a snap opinion poll by ICM. This opinion poll showed what you would expect - those thinking of voting Yes at the start backed the First Minister and those intending to vote no before the debate supported Alistair Darling. But they asked more people who were already committed to voting no than voting yes.

 
Our favourite quote came from Wee Ginger Dug:

"But for the most part the currency question is technocratic pseudowaffle. It’s one of those practical problems to which there is a practical solution. And there are several solutions, ranging all the way from a formal currency union to sticking the UK national debt up George Osborne’s arse and setting up a new Scottish currency, and all points in between. My personal favourite is the sticking it up George Osborne’s arse option, mainly because I’d like to see the look on his face. You can probably tell I’m not primarily motivated by economic arguments there."

Which is why you should read sites like Newsnet Scotland, Wings over Scotland, SCOT goes POP! and National Collective.

 
We don't need Westminster's approval

Contrary to suggestions made by the mainstream media, Scotland does not need Westminster's approval to use the pound or any other currency.

 

These countries share the same currencies, some officially, others unilaterally

Our most popular blog, 'So who else can't use the pound?', goes into detail about how and why we don't need permission from George Osborne or anyone else from Whitehall. Quite frankly, if you believe that Westminster would hurt businesses in England just to spite us, then why on earth would you want them making decisions over Scotland?

 
Why my juggling has prevented atomic war

I have been juggling for a number of years. There has been no nuclear wars during that time. Therefore, my juggling is the reason why there has been no nuclear wars.

 

This is how I learned to juggle

That is the argument put forward by Annabel Goldie MSP. Voting against the removal of nuclear weapons from Scotland alongside her Tory, Labour and Liberal Democrat allies, the representative for the West of Scotland said:

"The fact is that since acquiring Trident, and its predecessor, Polaris, we have had four decades of non-nuclear conflict." Annabel Goldie, presumably being serious

It feels almost embarrassing to point out that non-nuclear states have also avoided nuclear conflict during that time.

 

We have already looked into the reasons why Trident does nothing to keep us safe and is a complete waste of money. We have also examined NATO membership, and why the power to decide what alliances we make will be up to voters in Scotland. For unionist MSPs to actively vote to keep weapons for mass destruction stored a few minutes away from our largest city (and for Scots to continue paying for the things) is abhorant.

 

But after a Yes vote, these parties will change and start acting in Scotland's interests.

 
FREEDOM (of information)!

Our freedom of information request found the the UK Government's leaflet 'What staying in the United Kingdom means for Scotland' had no BSL or audio versions. You can read the full story here.

 

The BBC, which used the low number of orders for the BSL version of the White Paper to attack the Yes campaign, has, as of yet, not given the same attention to an even worse example by Westminster. We can only speculate as to why...

"I say the BBC is biased!" "And I say the BBC is incompetent!" (at least they agree the BBC is full of nincompoops!)

All aboard the love boat

Love is in the air as 200 people who aren't able to vote in the referendum told us that we should vote no because they care so much about us. You can check out some of their personal messages below.

 

First on the list - Piers Morgan:

"OK, Scotland, you've had your fun. Now just quietly vote 'NO' and we'll say no more about it." Piers Morgan, 8th of August

David Starkey:

"If we decide to go down this route of having an English national day, that means we become a feeble little country, just like the Scots and the Welsh and the Irish." David Starkey, BBC Question Time

 

Rob Liddle:

"The only reason any people remain in Scotland is on account of the extremely cheap alcohol available in supermarkets, plus a ready supply of heroin for when the alcohol runs out...Soon Carlisle and Berwick will resemble those awful UN transit camps you used to see in Rwanda; in this case the inhabitants would be millions of displaced, grey-eyed Jocks pleading for a fix of lager or subsidised methadone." Rob Liddle, Sunday Times

"Love us (or else!)" no campaign 'celebrities'

We can't wait to see what plan Ronnie Corbett and Barbara Windsor have to create a more democratic system, what Dan Snow and Dame Vera Lynn proposed to do about the 1 in 5 children in Scotland who live in poverty, or what Mick Jagger and David Bowie think about tax avoidance (I suspect we may have to wait some time for that last one).

 

Post script - we understand that Mick Jagger will be releasing an album to support the 'no' campaign. Songs include: 'Sympathy for Westminster', 'Tory money is on my side', 'I know it's only child poverty (but I like it)', 'Under our thumb', '19th September Nervous Breakdown' and finishing with 'It's all over now'. The album will be called 'Tax Exile on Downing St'.

 
The Scotsman is telt!

We just wanted to point people towards the fantastic letter by broadcaster Derek Bateman for the editor of the Scotsman "newspaper". It is definitely worth a read!

Wings gives you no bull!

Popular online blog Wings over Scotland has produced its long awaited 'Wee Blue Book'! Digital versions can be downloaded from its website in an easy read format for laptops and smart phones (click here). On its first day it achieved over 100,000 downloads. A physical version will also be coming soon.

  

It is a fantastic read and covers the main issues of the referendum campaign. Short and sweet, it is bound to be a big help to those who are looking for more information (and we know they won't find it in the newspapers - as seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and above).

 

Occupancy rates at over 1,000,000%! 999,000,000 people at risk!!!

Another case of the BBC attacking the Scottish NHS with exaggerated figures. The reason why? Newsnet Scotland covered that back in 2012.

 
Join us again near the end of August for our next look at what's 'not in the news'!
Drew
 
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Not in the News - Late June edition

Welcome to the seventh of our bi-monthly series looking back at the stories which the main stream media in Scotland didn't offer much attention to, and comparing them to those that hit the front pages. Our last edition covering early June can be found here.

 
Westminster's £140,000 questions (that we aren't supposed to know the answers to)

It turns out that Westminster has spent £140,000 of taxpayers money on examining Scottish attitudes to independence.

Whilst they are entitled to this, they would not be entitled to share this information with one side of the debate and not formally declare this spending with the Electoral Commission as it offers a distinct and unearned advantage. This was point of a recent freedom of information request made by Reverend Stuart Campbell at Wings over Scotland.

Westminster's £720,000 no campaign leaflets (that the Electoral Commission isn't counting)

The BBC's Tim Reid highlighted a story in June that the UK Government was planning on spending £720,000 of taxpayers money on posting anti-independence leaflets to almost every house in Scotland. This will not be counted against the official no campaign expenditure limit.

 

This isn't particularly surprising. Voters in Quebec will be familiar of state government interventions in referendums and how important they can be. Just see this story from CBC News from 2007. What is surprising is that voters in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are willing to have their taxes spent in this manner (unless this becomes classified under 'Scottish Expenditure').

 

A desperate smear and a regular smear

With 100 days to go the no campaign held a rally. This was how it was described by the Times newspaper:

“[Alistair Darling] was the only politician to speak at the Better Together rally in Glasgow. All the others were ordinary men and women who had volunteered to talk about why they were campaigning to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom.

They were led by Claire Lally, a mother from Clydebank, with a child with serious health problems.” Times newspaper, 10th of June 2014

It was later revealed that this wasn't necessarily accurate, as Ms Lally is in fact a member of Labour's shadow cabinet in Scotland and has been for some time. You can see this screenshot from Jackie Baillie MSP's website welcoming her. And STV highlighted Ms Lally introducing and launching Johann Lamont’s Scottish Labour leadership bid in November 2011.

There is nothing wrong with Ms Lally declaring her support for a no vote, however it is mis-leading to suggest that she is not involved in politics. This prompted an advisor to the First Minister, Campbell Gunn, to contact a newspaper to highlight this point.

 

The issue came when Mr Gunn (wrongly) said that she was also the daughter-in-law of former Lord Provost of Glasgow Pat Lally (who shares the same name). This was incorrect and the advisor issued a public apology.

 

This created the following headlines: "Claire Lally row: First Minister under pressure to fire special adviser" (The Courier), "The dark side has lured Gunn across the line" (Telegraph) and "Make no mistake, Alex Salmond approves of abusive tactics" (Express).

"Only Yes supporters make abusive comments," MSM (probably)

The independence campaign has been bitter at times. Last year, on "Scottish Labour for Scotland" Facebook page, a person named 'Daniel Kelly' made this remark following the announcement that Alex Salmond's aunt had passed away:

"Don't you wish his dear old dad did the same."

When faced with criticism that many senior members of the Labour Party were both members of the group and friends with Daniel Kelly, the official Labour Party response at the time was:

"This desperate smear campaign falls at the first hurdle because this Facebook page is not owned, managed, or operated by Scottish Labour, and it will not detract from the rantings and ravings of SNP candidates - sacked or otherwise - online."

Despite the ill-tempered language, the independence movement in Scotland has been one of the most peaceful in history. It is an inspiration around the world and should be praised. To ensure this remains the case we would prefer if the media stopped presenting the campaign as one side attacking the other (especially when many of the alleged perpretrators have been the victims of death threats).

 

How much hurt Ms Lally experienced from the mistaken identity of her father will never be known (although we suspect it was less than that suffered by David Ferguson in 2010). Hopefully the media will recognise that using terms such as 'attack' and 'vile' are not accurate or helpful, and that blame should be placed upon the few morons who do commit actual abuse, instead of against everyone with a computer who supports independence.

 
Oh dear, Scotsman "newspaper"...

The referendum campaign has been terrible for the Scotsman newspaper. A massive fall in sales, coupled with the disastrous 'Klan Alba' headline which had suggested that anyone considering voting Yes could be Klu Klux Klan and Nazi sympathisers, the tabloid has struggled badly, and in June they took another step towards oblivion with the posting of an untrue statement against Reverend Stu of Wings over Scotland.

  

The Scotsman edition from Friday the 13th of June claimed that he had 'used the site [Wings over Scotland] to call on nationalist campaigners to photograph their opponents so that they can be publically identified." This wasn't true as the response from Revened Stu explains. The newspaper pulled the article from their website, but no correction or apology was issued until the 19th.

 

We don't believe that the Scotsman has much of a future whether Scotland votes Yes or no. The paper appears to have lost any sense of professionalism and will only be remembered as an example of the controlled media at its very worst.

 
Lights, camera, action!

The much ridicled 'no' campaign cinema adverts were recorded at Pacific Quay, the headquarters for the BBC in Scotland. Impartiality from the British State Broadcaster...not a chance!

 
We don't need no education (another Brown in the Westminster wall)

Amongst the promises of more powers (also see here) for the Scottish parliament, there was hints as to what powers the UK Government is looking to take from Scotland. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke of his desire for education (which has always been in Scottish hands) to be controlled by Westminster.

Gordon Brown's school days

This 'one nation' approach to education is likely to see £9,000 per year tuition fees, and more privatisation of education services. Control over education, health and our legal system can all be lost if we vote no. Only independence guarantees that the wishes of the people of Scotland always matter.

Of course, you could trust Westminster's promises (just don't trust their memory).

BBC Strangelove (or how I learned to stop thinking and love the bomb)

Oh the BBC. They are, by far, the most frequent contributor to our 'not in the news' series. Without them we wouldn't receive our near daily laugh at how ridiculous our media currently is or how, time after time, they consistently miss the point or completely ignore reality. On this occasion, they were discussing the results of the annual British Social Attitudes survey.

 

Here are the results of people's attitudes to the question: 'Are you in favour or against Britain having its own nuclear weapons?'

 

This question does not consider independence or our opportunity to remove Trident and other non-conventional weapons from Scotland, only the principle of whether Britain should host Atomic Bombs. As you can see, the attitude in Scotland is very different from that in England and Wales. So how will this be reported on the BBC in Scotland?

Oh BBC in Scotland. Shall we list the problems with this graphic? Thankfully, Scot Goes Pop has already done this:

1. The overall survey shows that the Scottish Public are against Britain having nuclear weapons, so it is ridiculous to argue that people want Trident to stay in Scotland when they are against the weapons in principle.
2. Most respondents are therefore looking at the practical situation based on the assumption that these weapons will remain (essentially because they have already been asked if they want Atomic bombs or not).
3. This is a sub-sample poll, which means that the margin of error is larger than normal. The 9% lead for the UK scrapping Trident is much more robust than the 4% lead for these weapons staying on the Clyde on the basis that they will remain in the UK arsenal.

There is also a fourth issue: the question asked to people in Scotland was different to those in England and Wales. Despite the BBC reporting that the question was '"do you think that the United Kingdom should be required to remove its weapons in an independent Scotland," the real question asked was:

"How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? If Scotland becomes an independent country, Britain's nuclear weapons submarines should continue to be based in Scotland." Social Attitudes Survey Question

The Vanguard-class submarines are capable of using alternative munitions, meaning that this question doesn't address the central issue. Of course, the only reason someone would ask such an awkwardly worded question is if they wanted to show artificial support for nuclear weapons in Scotland.

 

The BBC, providing comedy instead of news for just £145.50 a year (perhaps we are being unfair - if they did start reporting news then the Westminster MPs who control their funding may act upon their threats. It's much safer to stay in their good books, isn't it?).

 
Everyone hates you

We've mentioned before that the most cynical aspect of the no campaign is its attempts to portray Scotland as having no value. The international version of this has came back in recent days, with David Cameron asking the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stating, unsurprisingly, that large centralised states should remain large centralised states.

 

But around the same time, China was making other anouncements, including one confirming support for Argentina's claim over the Falkland Islands (also known as 'Las Malvinas'). Westminster politicians seem happy to support attacks on Scottish sovereignty, but less enthusiastic regarding their control.

 
Cupcakes (a subject close to my heart)

The licence fee is expensive, isn't it? £145.50 for colour TVs. Imagine what you could buy with that money in your pocket. Enough for cupcakes for an entire production crew with change left over! We know this because one BBC executive did just that!

 

Shane Allen, comedy commissioning controller (which I am sure is an absolutely vital job), thought it would be a nice gesture to buy cupcakes for staff involved in the making of two programmes he was involved with. He then thought it would be even nicer if he passed on the £120.00 bill to us. Thank you Shane. I'm glad that I could contribute to the cupcake bill at the BBC!

 

But what other food and drink costs do the BBC pass on to licence fee payers? Well someone did make a freedom of information request but the British State Broadcaster is a little slow in responding...

Money, Money, Money
The BBC (yet again) got its facts wrong.

In the original report regarding the first days of the Republic of Ireland, the BBC wrongly claimed that the Pound ceased to be used and that the state created its own currency from day one. In the corrected version they finally acknowledged that this wasn't true. The Pound was used for 7 years without any issues. We have already explained why this would be the case in our blog 'so who else can't use the pound?'

 
Money, Money, Money (2)

The Sun newspaper was the latest to show that it doesn't understand how currencies work. In June, they produced the headline SCOTS CURRENCY 'BEING PLANNED', which unfortunately for the Sun, wasn't true.

"The lie that an independent Scotland couldn’t use the pound is the most brazen and indisputable falsehood of the entire referendum debate. Even though there’s no chance in any sane reality of Scotland being kicked out of the EU or NATO even temporarily, it’s nevertheless not possible to state as an absolute 100% certainty that neither thing would happen.

But currency is different. It’s an unarguable fact that Scotland could keep using Sterling with or without an official currency union. Everybody knows it. If you put it directly to any No-camp politician (as almost no journalist ever does), they’ll harrumph and grump and say why it’s a bad idea and try to change the subject, but eventually they’ll admit that yes, it’s true – Scotland COULD keep the pound.

And then they’ll put out another leaflet maintaining the lie that it couldn’t." Wings over Scotland, 20th of June

Are you on the list?

During June, Mike Dailly from Govan Law Centre made an announcement on Twitter that he was "working on publishing a list for the national media of who supports @RevStu on social media". @RevStu is the personal twitter account for Wings over Scotland founder Reverend Stuart Campbell.

"Ironically for a self-professed socialist and trade union fan, Dailly appeared to be suggesting that he was engaged in creating some sort of a blacklist to be circulated to the media, in which anyone who followed me would be incriminated by association.

 

That this is perhaps a somewhat inconsistent policy for someone who follows the Holocaust-denying ex-UKIPper and present-day loony Alistair McConnachie (see here), and extremist Loyalist nutcases Andrew Skinner and “Stronger United”, among lesser trolls, seems to have gone over Mike’s head somewhat." Reverend Stuart Campbell, Wings over Scotland

And the outcome of this action from Mike Dailly? The number of followers for @RevStu increased by over a third within 24 hours.

 
You can also buy "I'm on the list" items at the Wings over Scotland store!
 
What you can't (but we can) say
Newsnet Scotland released an episode of Duggy Dug entitled 'the no nightmare' in June. The cartoon showed a possible future for Scotland based on statements and policy aims made by the UK Labour and Conservative Parties (the only parties who can form the government at Westminster).

Duggy Dug, the latest evil and dangerous Cybernat!

The video included a cartoon of Johann Lamont MSP dressed in a House of Lords robe with a badge entitled 'Vermin in Ermine'. This was to symbolise that her opposition to independence could be motivated by a potential reward from the British state. The phrase 'Vermin in Ermine' was heavily criticised by certain figures and the official no campaign:

"This is yet another absolutely disgraceful attack on a woman by a nationalist group. We hope that Newsnet do the decent thing, take down the film and apologise. Calling someone 'vermin' because you happen to disagree with them is just not on." Better Together (no) spokesperson.

However, the term 'Vermin in Ermine' was originally coined by former deputy Prime Minister Lord John Prescott. In a statement, a Newsnet Scotland spokesperson said:

"We used John Prescott's 'vermin in ermine' term in order to illustrate the hypocrisy that surrounds Labour politicians when it comes to the House of Lords'. Newsnet Scotland, 21st of June

 
Newsnet also highlighted that claims the video was against women were mis-guided as the animator behind the Duggy Dug cartoons is herself female. We're sure that the newspapers will highlight this double standard and that the no campaign will apologise for their mistake and see the funny side of this parody (or maybe not).
 
Protest? What protest?
The protest against austerity in London was recorded in much of the international press in June. An estimated 50,000 people were present making it a pretty significant story. But the BBC and other controlled media outlets barely offered a mention.
 

 
The BBC had time to cover a much smaller protest by some London Taxi drivers, and to track down a Scot who was cheering on Uruguay at the World Cup, but not this? It's almost as if they were simply there to protect and advance the interests of the British State.
 
Any time, just not then...
On Sunday, the 22nd of June, we met by the news that there would be a debate between First Minister Alex Salmond [Yes] and Alistair Darling MP [no] on STV. On Tuesday, 24th of June, we were told that this wasn't going to take place. The reason...the no campaign didn't like the proposed date.

Yes, the same no campaign which cried, "if he [First Minister Alex Salmond] wants a debate, Alistair Darling...is ready to have one any time, any place, any where," pulled out of the debate because of its timing. Although this has caused much laughter amongst the online community (see here) it does prevent voters in Scotland from receiving both sides of the argument and thus hurts our democracy.
 
The decision by the no campaign to withdraw follows similar approaches taken by various no campaigners across Scotland. They have refused to have a debate between Alistair Darling and Dennis Canavan (the chair of the no and Yes campaigns respectively), refused to have a debate hosted by the Electoral Reform Society between Yes and no campaigners in Glasgow (or to help jointly arrange a meeting with Yes activits) and even told a unionist MSP not attend a debate by 'better together bosses'.

"I would debate, if only I had a little courage," Alistair Darling (probably)

Whilst there has and will be coverage of this attempt to scupper a debate, the controlled media will not highlight all the other instances where voters have been denied a chance to challenge both sides. Of course, there is a reason why those desperate for a no don't want you to see the arguments.

Does David Cameron know where the UK is?
The twitter account UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) issued a tweet on the 23rd of June stating "By staying united we have much more to share and much more to gain. #UNITEDKingdom" along with a picture of what Mr Cameron's staff must have thought was the UK. There was just one large problem.
 
The Isle of Man Government issued the following reply:

 
In the words of Pride's Purge: "[I]s it only me finds the levels of amateurishness emanating from Cameron’s office truly embarrassing? 
  
Join us again in the middle of July for our next look at what's 'not in the news'!
Drew
 
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