CONSIDERING NO

The Labour Party in Britain is in turmoil. It doesnt know if its rake, rou or
paladin; socialist stalwart or Tory libertine; in Scotland its paralysed so
comprehensively as to be utterly inefectual. (Johann or Anas; Anas or Jim?
Tough choice.) Uneasy whether to endorse the Westminster line of Welfare
Reform or concentrate on the bogey man SNP, from 2011 til 2014 they took their
eyes of the prize, made a pigs ear of both, and allowed the landslide of a
majority SNP administration at Holyrood, which was committed to calling a
referendum on Independence.
Now Labour are stuck between a rock and a hard place!
The idea that a No vote will cancel uncertainty & division bubbling under in our
society is, Im afraid, naivety of the highest order. That life can be as simple as if
the referendum debate never happened? Come on! Imagining a return to the
status quo is not only deluded, it is dangerously complacent. Things have already
changed; irrevocably changed. It will change further after a No outcome than
even the visionary result of a Yes vote.
The public debate in pubs & clubs and church halls throughout the land has
revealed a desire by the Scottish electorate for engagement, a new and hopefully
democratic culture in this country, on a scale and quality that would surprise
many.
I dont expect that to disappear and be forgotten after the referendum. I hope
people realise that Scotland will be recognised as a beacon for democracy and
social justice in the world; perhaps something theyd not considered when they
thought of their simple Yes or No. This is an issue of World signifcance;
something which will be spoken by generations to come as a defning moment in
world history and Scotland played its part.
OUR referendum has raised the need for genuine reform of the creaking, rotten,
corrupt British State, and has revealed numerous unattractive elements of a
defensive, secretive, mendacious, self-interested, pessimistic establishment,
which, whatever side youre on, wed rather not have seen revealed so
persistently in institutions that once held our respect. (Saville; paedophilia;
Murdoch; bankers; MI5; MPs; the BBC; Starbucks/Amazon; tax avoidance;
cover-up; Hillsborough; Blair; Iraq/Afghanistan; WMD; expenses; Cyril Smith; I
could go on!)
Despite the wish of many in the BBC and Labour Party that the referendum
question had never been raised, the status quo may well be on the ballot paper,
but it is certainly not on the cards! A return to normality is a wish for a stability
that has already disappeared.
You cant go home when its not there any more.
A No vote will change that stability as radically, if not more so, than a Yes vote.
A No vote is just as much of a vote for change.
It isnt only Yes voters who should look into the crystal ball of independence and
imagine a future that is radically diferent.
It may appear a paradox but, consider the following:
Every piece of Westminster legislation that has attacked the poor and dismantled
the Welfare State; every policy that has ensured it is only the poor who have paid
the price of the recession caused by the greed of the rich; every act of economic
& social vandalism It has been the position of the voters of Scotland (you and I)
that none of these things have been our fault. That we didnt vote for them.
Well, we wont be able to say that any more following September 18th!
Up until September the 18th, weve all been able to hide behind it being someone
elses fault. Scottish Labour has made it an art form!
However, either way the referendum vote goes, Yes or No, that comfortable
position will have been dismantled.
Were either voting to take responsibility for our own economics; our own wealth
distribution; our own decisions to make war or peace; OR, we are voting away
OUR control over all of these matters to Westminster. Forever!
Either way, WE, collectively, will be responsible.
If a Yes voter has to consider whatever happens for good or ill in an independent
Scotland, a No voter must equally accept moral responsibility for giving
Westminster permanent permission to do whatever it likes forever! No
questions asked. Moral Hazards work both ways.
Whatever austerity measures are coming down the line, all those policies that
werent your fault before September 18th?
After September the 18th, they WILL be your fault.
Sorry!
Every single one of them WILL BE YOUR FAULT!
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Every single day youll be reminded:
When Tories make a coalition pact with UKIP and win the election in 2015,
despite having no seats in Scotland at all? Its YOUR fault.
When theres a vote to leave the EU and Scotland votes to stay, but we have to
leave anyway because England votes Yes? Your fault.
Sorry. Thats just the way it is.
In Scotland 2016 it will be impossible to fnd anyone wholl admit to voting No. So
disruptive & chaotic will be the consequences; It will feel very bad to have voted
No for all it brings.
Your No vote, or failure to vote, will signal that its better for Scotland to sufer
right wing neo-conservative governments it doesnt vote for, rather than take
responsibility for its own afairs.
You will have voted for Scotland to cease to exist.
Is that what you want? Think about it.
Alex Salmond is not the only player in this referendum. David Cameron agreed to
it too. Why do you think he did that? Because hes a friend of democracy? Surely
even No voters dont believe that?
No!
You and I know that Cameron agreed in order to call Scotlands bluf; to settle the
Scottish Question for ever.
Cameron did it because he was confdent of a No vote. A cocky position based
on him having all the weapons. Television! Newsprint! Intelligence Service! Big
business!
But what have the Tories and the British establishment to gain from a No vote?
Everything!
Our silence; our subservience; our money; our oil!
They know that if WE take independence of the table, if WE remove voluntarily
that bargaining chip from future negotiations, then there wont need to be any
future negotiations ever again. Ever! Having voted for it, we will have thrown away
any infuence over what happens next.
Everything we have gained since devolution has been predicated on the
bargaining chip of independence. Does anyone seriously expect a prize for
loyalty when we remove OUR best card? One or two No sayers can expect
knighthoods, maybe, but what can the ordinary No voter expect as a reward?
The Yes camp are constantly asked about negotiations after rejection of the
United Kingdom on currency, NATO, oil, Trident and the rest? Well, what kind of
negotiations do you expect when youve said to the other side; Weve nothing to
bargain with?
Listen to English & Welsh backbenchers who havent had the bargaining position
weve had; that bargaining position youre going to happily throw away. See how
long promises to protect the Barnett formula and add powers to Holyrood last.
David Cameron isnt ofering diferent forms of democracy. Hes ofering a choice
between independence and shutting up!
Independence may have its difculties, but shutting up is exactly what will be
demanded of us if we dont have the guts for self-determination.
A replacement for Trident; You dont want that? Shut Up.
A slashing of health spending as privatisation of the NHS speeds up? You dont
like that? Shut up.
YOU voted for it.
Before September 18th, folk in Scotland discussing the Welfare State and the
decline of local government and the miners and the poll tax and the sale of
council housing and the destruction of our industries could say in their deluded
way: Och, it was terrible. But it wasnt our fault. Were not responsible. We didnt
vote for that.
Well, no more.
After September 18th, we in Scotland will be responsible for whatever happens to
us. The choice is whether we want democracy to go with OUR responsibility.
Thanks to the referendum our future is, temporarily, in our own hands.
A No vote is no place to hide from that future; it is merely a vote to have no
infuence over our OWN future. We will have delivered a mandate to Westminster,
which we cant infuence or call to account, and so allow them to do whatever
they like with our destiny.
Are you comfortable with that? In a years time wholl admit to it?
Everything has changed. Everyone has to face that reality.
Our choice on September 18th is: Do we make the way we change Scotland
subject to democratic control WITHIN Scotland? Or, do we leave that change to
whoever someone ELSE votes for?
Democracy, with all of the responsibilities it implies, is coming soon to a place
near you. For the frst time in history, for one day in September, Scotland will
have the opportunity to become a democratic country, with its people responsible
for themselves.
Putting your head in the sand with a No vote wont make it go away.
No future; No past; No hope.
Is that what YOU want for future generations?
I dont.
Vote YES!
With a No vote our Block Grant from Westminster will be cut by 10-20%. Its
already under threat!
YOUR free prescription will disappear; they already pay for prescriptions in
England & Wales!
YOUR free bus pass? It will disappear too, guaranteed! They dont have this
down south!
No Student fees? Gone! Our kids will leave university indebted for life with typical
borrowings of 30-45k.
Council Tax? Expect a huge increase in Council Tax which has been protected by
the Scottish Government to date. Its going up!
Frightening! Yes, it is frightening - but it is also inspiring.
This is the game changer. This is OUR chance.
Yes is the only game in town. If you care for our future and for that of our children,
vote YES!
Thank you.