*Indy Post Klaxon* A handy guide to the big scare stories for undecideds and soft Nos 1. We cant afford it We absolutely can, even Alistair Darling and David Cameron agree Scotland would be a successful Independent nation. Scottish taxes pay for Scottish services now, despite getting less back than we put in. Savings on Trident and other military spending, as well as savings on the costs of bloated Westminster and Lords will be an instant boost. We also pay billions of pounds to fund rUk projects like overhauling Londons sewers, we wont pay those in iScotland. Of course there will be one off set up costs but we can afford those. 2. The oil is running out Well duh! Thats kind of how finite resources work. Sensible estimates suggest we have between 40 and 100 years worth left. That is more than enough time to use the security oil revenue brings to grow and diversify our economy. Renewables, despite what some No voters believe, will last forever. We have more than 20% of Europes renewable energy potential and havent even begun to exploit it fully. Not only is renewable energy reliable, it will create jobs in engineering, research science, manufacturing and labour. Despite not being anywhere near full potential, Scotland has a 25% energy surplus. We create more energy than we need! 3.) The financial services industry will flee Scotland This scare is a deliberate misrepresentation by the media. Businesses are required by law to have contingency plans for every eventuality. RBS, Standard Life etc have contingency plans for a Yes vote. Those plans involve possibly moving their registered address to London, this is a technical procedure. The financial institutions have assured us that no significant operations or jobs will leave Scotland. 4. The cost of my shopping will go up A few supermarkets and department stores, at the insistence of David Cameron, suggested prices may rise. Most retracted those statements when their customers let them know how unpopular they were. This demonstrates perfectly the power customers have, supermarkets are hyper competitive, people will shop where they get the best deals. As for John Lewis et al, they are already robbing bastards 5. We will have no army Not sure where people get this notion. No one has suggested not having an army. The white paper outlines plans for a Scottish Defence Force. 5.1 Russia/ISIS will invade us Lets pretend this is not ludicrous for a moment. There has been no land invasion on the British Isles for hundreds of years. The type of threats we face in the modern world are from terrorism, armies are not very effective at defending against terrorism. It could actually be argued that UK foreign policy makes us less safe, not more. The failure by the West to form a proper exit plan from Iraq left it in chaos. Leaving a power vacuum that ISIS filled. Even in the very very unlikely event we were invaded, we would still have the same allies we have now. 6. What currency will we use? Despite Allistair Darlings best efforts I think most of us have got beyond this one. It will be the pound! Either in a formal Currency Union, or unilaterally with sterlingization Thats some of the scares dealt with What do we have to fear from a No vote? 1. Politicians will continue to dip our pockets Despite the very public expenses scandal MPs expenses continue to rise. The cost of the, unelected, House of Lords is growing fast. Lords collect £300 a day just for attending, many sign in collect their money and bugger off. We have no say on who is made a Lord and cannot remove them. MPs at Westminster awarded themselves an 11% pay rise last year and are due a 9% this year. Most folks pay is frozen, or rises are below inflation which means in real terms your pay is going down. Kate for example has lost £3000! 2 We will continue to have policy imposed on us Despite the Scottish Parliament and the majority of Scottish MPs voting against the bedroom tax and the sell off the Royal Mail they were imposed upon us. The only way to stop this happening is a Yes vote 3 Westminster will continue to make cuts and attack the vulnerable through welfare policy All the Westminster parties are agreed on cuts. They will come. Welfare reform under the Tories will be directly responsible for 100k new cases of child poverty by 2020. Labour and the Tories are fighting each other to be the toughest on Welfare, punishing the poor for the mistakes of the rich. ATOS who are the company which deal with disabilities claims have refused claims to the terminally ill! 4. The Tories are currently leading in polls for the next general election, with UKIP polling third. A Tory/UKIP coalition is a real possibility There are many more problems with Westminster, but I think this post is long enough! May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears Anyone with any other worries please ask and Ill try and answer. Gavin Ross Sharon Law Stephanie McHallum Megan Kate Georgeson Matilda Mc Crimmon Painted Stone Thrower Fiona Clark Fiona Ferguson Fiona Wallace Mags Dodds Angelene Herron George Taylor Jay Taylor Pete McGee Jnr Sean Laverty Meghan Khan Jack Livingstone Iain Gillies Jamie Gillies Steve Atkinson
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 10:05:46 +0000
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