Green Yes, the Scottish Green Party’s campaign for a Yes vote in the independence referendum, is highlighting the panic within the No campaign as proof of how disconnected the UK political parties are from the Scottish electorate.
Patrick Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow and Co-convener of the Scottish Greens, said:
“This referendum has been coming since 2011 yet with less than ten days to go only now do the UK’s political leaders spring in action, with the attempted hoisting of a flag.
“Cameron, Clegg and Miliband’s actions demonstrate the very disconnect from Scotland’s politics that is motivating so many people to vote Yes. For huge numbers of Yes voters this has nothing to do with flags or identity, and everything to do with building an accountable democracy, a more equal society, and ending the austerity endorsed by all three of these men.”
On Labour MP Gordon Brown’s suggestion of further devolution, Mr Harvie said: “None of the extra powers apparently on offer would allow us to speak for ourselves on the world stage, or reject weapons of mass destruction in our waters, or hold unelected power to account. Scots have a chance to forge a new political culture, not just in Scotland, but across these islands. A Yes vote is the way to achieve that.”
***
Responding to the comments of Douglas Alexander MP and others in the No Campaign talking up the impact of a Yes vote on financial markets, Sir George Mathewson, former Chairman and Chief Executive, Royal Bank of Scotland plc said:
‘The shareprices of the major Scottish public companies have actually risen by an average of 4.9pc compared to a 3.7pc ftse rise since the peak of No Campaign support in September 2013. Over that period, more and more voters have moved to Yes as the polls tighten. This data includes the latest increases in share prices today as it became clear the weekend’s You Gov poll was no flash in the pan.
‘The No Campaign’s scaremongering is derisory, damaging and desperate. This is a time for common sense to replace the politicking of Westminster politicians.
‘Scotland choosing to determine its own future is a very sound proposition not just for people here but for the wider British economy and the financial markets.’
***
Better Together claimed that the cost of separation became clear today, as the eyes of the world put the nationalists’ plans for separation under intense scrutiny.
Today the Daily Telegraph reports that Japan’s biggest bank, Nomura, has advised clients to reduce financial exposure to the UK and be prepared for sterling to collapse.
The Telegraph also reports comments from representatives of SLI Macro Partners, New York Mellon, France’s SNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank.
Further to this today the international bank Credit Suisse has produced a report that warns of the risks of separation.
The report states that a separate Scotland would fall into a deep recession.
These interventions come after a day of chaos on the markets as the cost of separation became real:
- The value of the pound fell to its lowest level in ten months
- Scottish firms, employing over 40,000 people in Scotland, over £2 billion in value
- The price of a barrel of oil fell below $100 for the first time in sixteen months
Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander said:
“With days until the biggest decision in our history, the eyes of the world are upon Scotland.
“On Monday the markets reacted to the very real threat of separation. We saw the value of our currency fall and billions wiped off the value of our Scottish companies. The cost of separation is real, and it would hurt every family in Scotland.
“Now we see global investors advise their clients about the cost to them of separation, and a report from one of the world’s most respected banks report that separation would cost Scotland dear – in lost jobs, falling wages and huge public spending cuts to our NHS, our schools, our pensions and our welfare state.
“This is not an election where we can change our mind in 4 years. This is not try before you buy. This is forever.
“We need to know what currency we would use. We need to know how we would fund our NHS and our pensions. The nationalists are risking the future of every Scottish family by not being honest about the consequences of their plans. They cannot continue to mislead and misdirect. We need honest answers, and we need them now.
“Separation is a risk we simply do not have to take. There is a better way to make a better nation. We can have what the majority of Scots want – more powers for Scotland with a clear delivery plan now in place, without taking on all of the risks of independence. It’s the best of both worlds. We should say No Thanks to separation on 18 September”
***
***
The Edinburgh Reporter produces a selection of remarks and comments and pointers to articles about the Scottish Independence Referendum whenever we can.
People living in Scotland are invited to vote in the referendum on independence from the United Kingdom on 18 September 2014. The referendum question is “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
Whether you intend voting Yes or No to that question, your views, and those of others, have a place here. We invite comments and we also invite you to write about what you think by using our Submit your Story feature here.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
Scottish independence is the only option: Is it just me that wants to get away from a disease ridden Westminster. We had the financial crash in 2008 and the bank bale out by Gordon Brown without introducing appropriate measures as a condition of the tax payers’ loan. No bank director was ever taken to court for gambling the publics money away. What happened to a Directors principal fiduciary responsibility that of his or her ‘Duty of Care’?
“Fiduciaries who act carelessly or recklessly are responsible for any resulting loss to the corporate shareholders or other principals” So why were none of them taken to court?
Since the 2008 crash we’ve had the mis selling PPI scandal, HSBC’s lax anti-money laundering policies for the Mexican drug cartel, then Standard Chartered’s illegal transactions with Iran, Sudan, Libya, and Burma and more recently a number of banks fixing the Libor rate that governs the interest rate we all pay and still no one has gone to jail but steal something to eat because you’re starving and you are odds on to end up in jail. One law for the poor and a completely different on for the poor all presided over by a succession of Westminster governments. Oh and don’t forget the austerity cuts that we the poor are all paying and would you believe none of the party’s have apologised for. And here’s the other big rub no banker was ever forced to hand back his or her bonus based on all their illegal activities and as if to rub salt in our gaping wounds the government and Bank of England have set world breaking low interest rates where in real terms the people’s money is disintegrating before their eyes whilst a free pass is once again handed to the bankers.
One of the proposals put forward by the EEC was to introduce a financial transaction tax to recoup some money from the institutions that had caused the financial collapse in the first place due to their recklessness and low and behold the conservative party rejected it as they felt it would make the greedy, corrupt and irresponsible London bankers uncompetitive.
If we want social justice and a trickling down of the wealth to the less fortunate we have to get away from Westminster.
That’s why I’m voting for ‘Yes’ and so should everyone else who has a long memory of a biased Westminster government
Teddy Thompson
Comments are closed.