Monday, July 14, 2014

Scottish independence: Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon see the continual meltdown of Yes support, 34% and heading downwards, Nicola Sturgeon was the wrong person to be the ‘face of independence’ and how it shows in the polls


























Dear All

A few days ago, there was a poll which put support for a Yes vote at 41%, support for a No vote was 46%, and about 13% was undecided.

Presumably the Nationalists must have thought; ‘oh that looks good’!

Maybe someone at the SNP HQ may have thought; that guy George Laird isn’t as good as he keeps claiming to be.

So, just to set the record straight, I predicted a surge in a Yes vote some time ago in a frank discussion with people from different political backgrounds. I won’t discuss what my thoughts were on the nuts and bolts of that thinking since the Nationalists drop by my blog, they have had enough of my ideas and help in the past.

Yes, there are some people who do value the George Laird view in both the Unionist and Nationalist camps.

Such was the interest in the 41% poll; an independence supporter was kind enough to send it me.

I wrote back and explained that I wasn’t worried because I predicted a shift and that it was too early to think about ordering the bubbly.

That was then, this is now, and support for Scottish independence has fallen.

Blip!

A week in politics as Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson, once stated is a long time.

Although there will be peaks and troughs in the remainder of this campaign due to announcements and counter announcements, the people of Scotland have already made up their minds.

Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon may say that there is ‘everything to play for’, but that is just fantasy.

The currency of independence is truth!

And when you lie, like a fake £20 note it is useless, some people might get palmed off with it but the majority won’t be.

In the circa 70 days that are left, people will remember that Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon don’t have a narrative, they don’t have any plans, they don’t have a vision.

Their ‘White Paper’ is just sheer utter tripe, two SNP manifestos smashed together, one for Westminster and one for Holyrood which doesn’t work. The ‘White Paper’ should have been politically neutral, it wasn’t, a serious mistake, far from being a comprehensive blue print as suggest by SNP MSP Joan McAlpine, it is entire vacuous, making promises that the SNP cannot deliver such as a currency union. I don’t seriously listen to Ms. McAlpine on politics because she is entirely out of her depth. 25% of ‘promises’ in that paper are worthless; and they aren’t ‘little things’ either, they don’t stack up, did anyone seriously think that this rubbish would pass without question?

When looking at the ICM poll, support for voting Yes is 34%.

Given support for Scottish independence usually sit around the lower 30’s, the Yes Scotland campaign is as I previously said, a waste of time, money and resources. Since last month, their support has fallen by 2%, the meltdown which starts slowly will gain pace.

On the What Scotland Thinks website, polling expert Professor John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said:

"First of all 56% of Yes voters now actually think that the powers of the Scottish Parliament would be increased if Scotland votes No, six points higher than at any time since ICM first asked this question in March. Secondly, no less than 86% of those No voters who say they want more devolution say they will still vote No even if they were doubtful that more powers would be on their way. That figure too is an all-time high (previously, 81%) since the question was first posed as long ago as last September. But if the No vote has indeed hardened somewhat, this simply suggests that it could prove even more difficult for either side to shift the balance of opinion in the next two months than it has been in the referendum campaign so far. As the campaign is behind in the polls that of course is unwelcome news so far as the Yes side is concerned."

In short plain speak, the No vote is hardening!

I guess the rather ill judged ‘milk and honey’ narrative which incidentally doesn’t exist except in the feeble minds of Salmond and Sturgeon wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe unpopular Nicola Sturgeon will go through the back catalogue of Borgen episodes and see if there is a story line she could use.

Everything appears to be Borgen, Borgen and more Borgen in the SNP.

Better Together campaign director Blair McDougall said:

"As we get closer, people are making up their minds and are breaking for us. It is clear that we have the momentum and that we speak for the majority of Scots. The poll also shows that people recognise that if we say 'no thanks' to separation in September, we can have the best of both worlds. Full power over our schools and hospitals and more powers over how we raise and spend money and welfare. A No vote gives us the progress we want in Scotland and avoids the risks that we don't want."

Like the entire destruction of the shipbuilding industry in Scotland which Salmond and Sturgeon couldn’t be bothered to address, and yes, I do include the farce of Sturgeon going to Govan to ‘save’ 835 jobs, of which, she managed along with John Swinney to save absolutely none!

Not exactly unpopular Nicola Sturgeon’s finest hour, there she was running after ‘scraps’ of good publicity, rather an undignified affair which yet again highlights her as ‘common’, a distinct lack of breeding! 

The Westminster Government on the other hand managed to save both Govan and Scotstoun yards through a political decision at the expense of Portmouth.

And in the interests of fairness, they could have tried harder to save Portsmouth and the jobs of the work force.

Women for Independence has been scaremongering recently on the NHS, they have the odious publicly unelectable SNP Candidate Natalie McGarry who is named in a Police Scotland criminal investigation as a member.

Anyway, Women for Independence have been acting in the most irresponsibly way regarding the Scottish National Health Service. If we don’t vote Yes; they say we will lose our health service in 10 years.

Maybe they can explain the privatisation and bring in of outside contractors which the SNP seem happy about, and how that fits in with their ludicrous claim that only a Yes vote can keep the NHS in Scotland safe?

Is the NHS only safe when the SNP do privatisation but unsafe when other parties controlling the Scottish Government do privatisation?

Simple minded rubbish in order to get votes, crude, pathetic and clumsy; anyone it seems can talk shite in Women for Independence.

Support for voting Yes is 34%.

Finally, time for a quote:

“It’s not where you come from but where you are going!”

Well, to refresh Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon’s memories, you two aren’t going anywhere, you’re just clowns!

And that is the official George Laird view on Scottish independence.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

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