Well the verdict is in and it seems that Alex Salmond, the SNP first minister of Scotland, has emerged as the winner from last night’s second TV debate on Scottish independence. While the first contest was generally presented as a victory for Alistair Darling, the leader of the Unionist “No” campaign (partly on the basis that star-performer Salmond failed to meet expectations by wiping the metaphorical floor with his British Labour opponent), this time around there was no room for doubt. This was the “Yes” side’s night despite the surly spin emerging from the London political and media establishments (the debate was unfairly chaired, there was an over-representation of “Yes” voters in the audience, “No” voters were intimidated into not voicing their opinions, etc.). Wee Ginger Dug gives his typically acerbic take on the debate and you can watch it for yourself in full below.
AN SIONNACH FIONN 
managed to see debate in real time. Some questions from the studio audience were fantastic eg if we’re better together why aren’t we better already?
Just sums up the entire independence yes campaign.
Hope they win and hope ireland is the first country to offer congratulations.
what a 2016 celebration we can look forward to if that happens!
PS posting from a friend’s computer due to ***-up with mine – hope it’s temporary and i don’t need a new one!the expense for a decent one doesn’t bear thinking about!
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So far the reaction of the Irish political establishment in Dublin has been very muted in relation to the Scottish referendum. Disgracefully so in my opinion. There is definitely a feeling of sympathy in some Irish political circles for London’s views on the matter which, given our history, is utterly bizarre. I’m rather ashamed of that.
Spent the weekend taking apart a friend’s laptop to clean it out. Several inches of dust and crud inside. Plus that nagging feeling that when you put it back together again it wasn’t going to work 😉 He in same book as you. Money too tight to mention. Laptops are far too expensive for what most people use them for: some browsing, streaming, social media and Word/Excel docs.
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Did you see frau merkel making clear her opposition to catalonian independence, means the European Union is a big cancer like the british empire………
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I didn’t see that at all, you have a link maybe? 🙂 Merkel is just supporting Rajoy.. it’s funny, a PP minister let it slip last year that ‘we need to bombard barcelona every 50 years to keep them in line”… or to that effect… Some pups
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Thanks for the link to the full ‘debate’ (hardly really a debate, but still …) so far I’ve only seen highlights. Hopefully this is the tipping point, can I hold my breath from three weeks — LOL!
The problem seemed to be that the SNP policy on currency was correct but ‘too clever by half’ for the average punter to follow, although lots of hints were dropped. In brief they probably don’t want a formal currency union so long as they can start debt-free, but don’t want to be seen as advocating this position. Rather fall over backwards to demand it (kinda “please don’t throw me in the briar patch …”) and then when it’s refused, and maybe England’s balance of payments or whatever go to Hell, then the Scots emerge the innocent party, very clever really, if a bit risky in this case.
In fact it’s a replay of the “third question” issue. Most Scots would probably have chosen a DevoMax option if it was on the ballot. The SNP were in favour, providing other parties were prepared to campaign for it, and anyway only London could actually deliver such an option. But the Westminster ruled it out, forcing a straight choice on the Scots of Full Indy vs. Status Quo (or probably worse). So if Yes wins, who can we blame for ‘losing Scotland’ — clearly not the SNP.
Anyway I think in the second ‘debate’, AS managed to get across his currency stance in terms that most people could understand, and with that issue out of the way could go the offensive and ask what the UK was offering, and since the answer was really sod all the game was over.
Just hope we make a better fist of our independence than you think Ireland has. Maybe some of our optimism will rub off 🙂
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Good analysis, better than I could type in the brief moments I get to blog. And yep, in answer to another Comment, you definitely should be blogging! 😉
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If only it didn’t sound so much like ‘blagging’ 🙂
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Like the man says, we don’t need to become a nation once again, we are and always have been a nation, it’s simply a question of confidence, of believing in ourselves. And what a nation we might become, if only Hope overcomes Fear.
In which case very probably …
(Sentimental, me? C’mon I could have posted ‘Caledonia’) 🙂
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Having a bit of trouble with my broadband connection just now, but this ‘own goal’ by the ‘No’ side has to be shared. I mean, you really couldn’t make this up … 🙂
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/08/27/patronisingbtlady-scottish-independence_n_5721048.html
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Ah, Patronising BT Lady 😀 I was going to post something on her but she was EVERYWHERE on social media already. Strange coincidence that the NO side makes a major PR blunder then we have the quick release of a video showing YES campaigners attacking NO advocates. Personally I wouldn’t trust Jim Murphy as far as I could throw him.
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Waste of two good eggs, if they were good, if you ask me. There have been reports of two or three rather more serious assaults against Yes campaigners, one a pregnant woman, one an old man, plus death threats etc. Now the wee Darling is blethering on about riots at the polling stations, hopefully no one will be daft enough to act on his ‘suggestion’. Of course all par for the course of Project Fear. Indeed they don’t seem to be able to offer any substantive reason to back the Union, just FUD and more FUD and veiled threats.
Meanwhile the Orangemen are planning a major march through Edinburgh, which should bring in a few more Yes votes, I mean with enemies like that who needs friends? 😉
One good sign in the last few days is that there appears to be a tendency for some No to come over to the Yes side, which if correct is a very good sign indeed.
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The latest polling is looking good.
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Especially since it comes from a polling company that has tended to favour NO. A more pro-YES company a couple of days ago gave exactly the same result btw. Just waiting for the first one that shows a YES lead, that would really spell Game Over, since everyone on the ground seems to believe that all the polls underestimate the YES vote. This is going to be either Scotland’s greatest triumph or our greatest flop ever.
Nice image here, despite the corny title — Soar Alba (groan!) If I were an artist I would feel obliged to add at the bottom the image of a withered chrysalis coloured like a faded union flag.
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It will be a remarkable result if YES succeed after two years of unrelenting attacks, hostility and negativity from across the spectrum of British popular culture and media. Scotland really would be a “foreign” nation if after all that the majority still went against the “accepted” understanding of things as viewed by the London elites.
The withered chrysalis would be a pointed edition to that image and an apropos one.
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That video is just pathetic and cringeworthy.
‘Yes’ side certainly got a few more votes because of it.
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It plays to the “Celtic Cringe” common throughout the whole of the “Celtic Fringe”. Be glad you don’t suffer from a “Baltic Cringe”, did you ever?
The government/No campaign is really now insulting the intelligence of the populace, at least if the leaflet seen here is typical :
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