Post referendum, there are a lot of things going on. Clearly the SNP and the Greens and probably some others are doing really well as folks rally in support and, dare I say, solidarity.
Our National paper seems to be doing well – there is always one in my household. For a new daily I find it pretty good and very relevant. Mind you, considering the drive behind it, is it any wonder it is relevant. I am keen to see how it evolves. I have a few ideas but I feel the producers need to be left to develop within their own comfort zone initially. Feedback etc can come along later.
Before I forget, a new game. I know that many of you have already discovered this but just in case not, it is worth a mention. This in fact could be a great Xmas game. Very many people, especially within the YES movement are disgusted with the BBC and all it stands for. In fact, many have rejected or returned their TV license and actively switch-off anything to do with the BBC. Well, here’s my idea – it can be a lot of fun. Switch back to the BBC in small dozes to watch about half an hour of mainstream news. You can do that as a family or as a group, you can even take notes on what you see and hear. Now switch over to RT; it’s on SKY CH512 and most Freeview boxes or even RT.com. Watch about half an hour of mainstream news and keep taking notes. Now the fun begins. Compare notes on what you got from the BBC against what you got from RT. See how long it takes to come to a conclusion. Very quickly I realised that the BBC was like children’s TV for adults whereas RT was grown-up TV for adults. Try it and see for yourself. Unfortunately, too late to package this and get it into the shops for Xmas, but ‘fun for all the family’ nevertheless. Oh! and it costs you nothing …. unless you overdose on BBC {I recommend 30 minutes max}.
Every game has to have rules. Our rules have been kindly produced by Dr John Robertson [read the rules]
Back to the focus. Watching the fortunes of the victors, that is the Better Together lot, you couldn’t make it up. One be one they are falling like flies. I suppose the first casualty was Alex Salmon. However, if someone suggested this was his ‘Plan B’ then that would make a lot of sense. Perhaps he and Nicola agreed that if YES was not successful at the first attempt they would go for a pincer movement? – it might just be true?
Actually, the first casualty was truth. The so called ‘Vow’ which no-one in the YES camp wanted anyway went true to form. Finger pointing and denial. On a positive note we saw the demise of Lamont, Darling and Brown. Don’t be too surprised if we have not heard the last of Brown and Darling. The latest CIA revelations on torture and the involvement of the Brits, especially in terms of extra-ordinary rendition {spelt State torture} may just see that man Blair being held up to the toaster. Who knows where that may lead? the people behind him, the people bank rolling him? interesting times ahead.
If the polls are to be believed – even if they are only 50% right then we are about to witness a renaissance in Scottish politics. If anybody out there is asked to lend a Labour candidate the deposits in the General Election – think hard about that – you will probably lose your money.
The Scottish sub-office of the Westminster Labour Party are well poised to succeed in driving their party into the dirt. Murphy as leader, for now, and Deputy Dog Dugdale {excuse the pun} fronting Labour in the Scottish Parliament should be a pantomine. PTSD here we come.
Remarkably, the referendum seems to have triggered even more disquiet down south than in Scotland. The main (if you can call them that) parties are in a race to the bottom. Perhaps we will see the Queen asking the Monster Raving Looney Party to form the next UK Government – don’t laugh?
Word to the wise though. In a sense, all our Christmas’s have come at once with the main parties in their race to the bottom. But, we must stay focused. It is great that the SNP are doing so well. I, like many others, am not SNP. When it comes to voting I will have no hesitation in voting SNP. All the YES’rs I know are doing the same. That is my pledge – until we get our independence.
But don’t let’s get ahead of ourselves. The focus has to be the YES campaign. Don’t let’s dwell on the SNP, they are doing just fine. Voting for them in the General election or Scottish elections or even local elections is a given. Promoting and supporting them in any pre-independence election is also a given. Regardless of the outcome of the General Election or any other election the YES campaign must maintain it’s SINGULAR IDENTITY.
As the Better Together lies begin to unfold it is very tempting to gloat at NO voters and express derision at their temerity, stupidity and lack of judgement. But where will that get us. We must be MAGNANIMOUS at all times. If NO voters got it wrong or feel let down we must not judge, we must let them find there way back. If we are magnanimous, they will come and join us. Remember, many YES voters have voted for Labour in Scotland in the past – all I can say is ‘judge not, lest we be judged ourselves’.
I joined in a good discussion on Facebook about the future of the Monarchy. There was a huge amount of negative feeling and rejection of the Royals. Eventually, I put my penny halfpenny in. I have no strong view but I am very concerned there are many potential YES voters who are Royalists or at least supporters of the Crown. They may not opt for a republican Scotland and this could cost us our independence. If that is what the people of Scotland want, then, post independence, the Royals should have an opportunity to decide if they wish to maintain their presence in Scotland, explain to the Scottish people what they see their roles are, and the benefit to Scotland. Then Scotland should get a referendum to decide what they want to do. Surprisingly, quite a few in the discussion accepted the point. I took from that a real mature attitude. It is so easy for discussions to become polarised. I want to see a Scotland where we debate with an open mind come down on the side of the best or the most popular option, even if that is in contrast with our views. What a transformation that would be. Scotland has been known for divisions throughout its history, {Catholic v Protestant, Celtic v Rangers, the clans} – how great would it be to display conciliation and magnanimity to our list of positive Scottish attributes.
The challenge we have on a daily basis is to maintain our momentum. This is especially challenging if the Yes Movement are non-political. Politics, by its very nature has a built in momentum. Politics is very much of the day. It changes daily or even hourly – as such you don’t have to think about momentum. Not so, the independence movement – we must MAINTAIN the momentum.
We must also resist the temptations of affiliations that present themselves. For example, YES attracted 1.6 million votes. Any political party would love to tap into that rich seam of support. To some extent this is already happening with the SNP; especially as we have one specific goal in common. However, we must take care that the YES Movement does not become subordinate to the SNP – we are a different entity entirely. It may be the case that the 1.6 million YES votes were enhanced be the SNP but it is also entirely possible or indeed likely that the YES votes were curtailed under a glass ceiling because of the perceived affiliation with the SNP. Don’t forget, on the 19 September 2014 the SNP had 25,000 members while the YES campaign had 1,600,000 votes.
If YES allows itself to be affiliated with any political movement, that is how it will be judged, that is how it will be attacked and that is how it will be defeated.
I have my thinking hat on trying to understand how the YES Movement maintains its singularity and non-political ethos while engaging all Scots who are persuaded or yet to be persuaded to take the reigns of their own country.
Watch this space … coming soon, I have an idea that may help extend the reach of social media??