Scottish independence: Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond and Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon promises an indyref tour of public Q&A sessions, is this ‘Meet the lying Fookers’ road show?

Dear All

After the disastrous launch that was the white paper for a ‘substance lite’ New Scotland, Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond and his Scottish Government ministers are going on an indy tour.

In case you don’t know that means, preaching to the converted with the press in tow looking for a story.

The ‘jolly fat man’ turns up somewhere and the ‘crowds’ mob him as their ‘saviour’.

If you are interested in that sickening spectacle you can then quiz Salmond and his Cabinet cronies their vacuous plan for independence at a series of meetings across the country.

And if you thought the SNP was paying for these meetings, you can forget that idea; these are publicly-funded events.

You’re paying the full whack for what is little more than SNP ‘rallies’.

So, given the blueprint for Scotland has no real substance and is more or less a political manifesto, why bother going?

It isn’t like Alex Salmond is popular; it isn’t like Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is popular either!

So far there have been two independence marches, the first attracted 5,000 people and the second one, managed to attract about 8,500 people, this is out of a population of 5 million people.

The plan for the tour was disclosed by Salmond at a question and answer session in Edinburgh because he has nowhere left to turn, and if he did every day between now and the vote, he still couldn’t shift opinion.

You see it comes down to trust, and people don’t trust Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.

Salmond said:

"We want people to continue to talk about Scotland's future, and we want to take this conversation out to communities across Scotland."

Talk is over a long time ago.

Salmond added:

"We want people to know the ways in which the powers of independence can be used to build a wealthier and fairer Scotland and ensure that everyone benefits from our natural wealth and talent."

Bull shit…. Bullshit….. bullshit!

As a sign of how little he understands what is going on around him, he thinks because the White Paper has already been downloaded 50,000 times that is a good sign.

No, it isn’t!

Salmond was at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre flanked by his senior team of ministers to answer a range of questions.

The audience included people from large and small businesses, trade unions, the voluntary and public sectors, charities and other organisations.

So a carefully selected staged managed audience, the hallmark of his leadership.

No working class allowed?

Topics raised the terms of EU membership, the SNP were caught peddling the lie of automatic membership so anything they say on that or anything else under Salmond and Sturgeon is entirely meaningless.

Also on the wishlist was the SNP plan to keep sterling as currency, they don’t get a vote on that and they don’t get a vote on the Bank of England giving them lender of last resort status.

Then there is the fabled written constitution of the United States of Salmond were self evident truth will be on show, so what does the constitution contain?

No one knows, so if you want a constitution to enshrine you get two mules and 40 acres; get your pitch in now!

And then there is the thorny issue of tax policies which experts say leaves many unanswered questions.

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The ‘get to know’ indy session was viewed at its peak online by more than 650 people.

Wow, 5 million people and 650 people viewed it, things really are getting worse for Salmond.

Previously Salmond dismissed comments from Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, who suggested Scotland would have to "join the queue" for EU membership but he can’t dismiss the veto option of 27 EU members.

Asked if there is a plan B for negotiations, Mr Salmond said:

"Prime Minister Rajoy was asked five times by a Spanish paper in the last week - would he veto an independent Scotland's membership of the European Union - and he refused to say so. The reason is that he won't say that and wouldn't do that."

Salmond now speaks for the Spanish Government?

Maybe Salmond is a mind reader, previously he said in 2010 that the SNP would deliver 20 seats for Westminster, he delivered nothing but the same number prior to the election as elected at the General election.

He even managed to lose Glasgow East; well he was help by John Mason who sat on his hands after being told twice there was a problem.

Here is more tripe from Salmond:

"I can point to the legal provisions that tell you that in no state, no part of a member state, there's no provision to expel anyone from the European Union and you can't invent a process to do that."

This is bogus, once Scotland leaves the UK; by its own hand it ceases to be a member via the Treaty of Union, no Union no membership.

So, it isn’t a matter of being ‘expelled’ because the entire UK would have to be expelled for his idea to have any gravitas.

The man is a clown.

Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead:

 "There's no reason to anticipate any disruption because the budgets are set to 2020."

That is an opinion which is not based on fact; it is the same as the guy in the pub venturing an opinion.

Unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon decided to try and use the impact of reforms on vulnerable people to create grudge and grievance.

She said:

"For me, right now, what's happening to our welfare state is one of the biggest arguments for Scotland becoming independent. If we don't get the Yes vote next year, then I don't think five years from now or 10 years from now we will have a welfare state in the UK that is recognisable to most of us."

That isn’t an argument and shows a lack of understanding of how independence should be achieved, Government policies can be changed and governments voted out at Westminster.

Ian McKay, from the Institute of Directors, said:

"I'd perhaps reflect, along with other business associations, increasing frustration in the business community, particularly those of us seeking to maintain a non-partisan view in the debate, to have proper answers to questions that are important as we see it to business and to the economy. It seems to us that increasingly there are answers being made on the hoof to make policies up, or wish-lists that are appearing, that basically tell us when we ask questions that it will be okay when we have independence, or okay from the other side because the UK is a big country.”

McKay zeroed in on plans to re-nationalise the service the Royal Mail, which the SNP think is a vote winner.

He said:

"That's an interesting idea, particularly as to how one renationalises part of a company which is established by a stock exchange in a different sovereign state. I think there'd be one or two other companies, large multinationals here in Scotland, who'd be interested in the answer to that."

And I am sure that there will be many others who will be wondering how the public seizure of assets can be justify; Scotland, the North Korea of the West.

I wonder if the SNP will go with a ‘battle bus’ theme as the SNP tries to sell independence to the masses, so far, Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hasn’t done a terribly good job in the nearly two years at the helm as the ‘face of independence’.

Best leave her behind Alex!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University