FionaK |
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| Milliband and Cameron: in agreement on the Scottish referendum. It is odd: Labour needs Scotland and the Tories would have a permanent majority on current showing if Scotland left the union. Seems that tories have some principles maybe. Can't explain it otherwise, unless they do indeed think it might give other parts of the UK ideas
At present they are saying Scotland does not have the legal power to hold a referendum. Poppycock. It is true it will not be binding legally: that is utterly irrelevant. There is nothing at all to stop SNP from holding one: and they have a manifesto committment to doing so which they MUST honour. Nobody here is confused about it, but neither are they unaware that the outcome will be carried through legaly thereafter. If the vote is for independence and the UK tries to block that there will be UDI: so that is not an option. In reality the argument will be about how much of the stuff that is not nailed down will be removed in the subsequent hard negotiation. And the certainty we will get a poor deal out of that is one of the reasons many scots will not vote for independence: far from being unaware of economic issues and problems it is the foundation of much hesitation.
That pair are talking about the need to make the case for the union: it as been made and lived for centuries: it is not like we don't know what that is like: we do not know what independence will be like: and we would like to talk about that on our own terms and in our own time. They should butt out while we do that. I am amazed that Milliband does not realise that, even if Cameron is too insulated to be aware how this is playing here. It does not really matter, in truth: we are not children, to be swayed by the date of the vote (as the cheeky bastards suggested at the weekend) or by pique over their arrogance in interefering in this ( though that arrogance itself is a big part of the problem and this reinforces that perception: it does not generate it) We vote on grown up issues, and they won't include concern about what the flag will look like: which they are also discussing as I write.
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