Déjà vu as Scottish referendum campaign turns nasty

Alex Salmond unveiled the Scottish government’s referendum plans today, calling it the “most exciting in Scotland’s modern history”; we look ahead to the campaign.

 

First minister Alex Salmond unveiled the Scottish government’s referendum plans today, saying the period in the run-up to the independence vote would be the “most exciting in Scotland’s modern history”; Left Foot Forward’s Mike Morgan-Giles looks ahead to the campaign

The general concept of holding a referendum does seems particularly appealing, given it gives genuine decision-making power to the people on major issues. Yet after the fiercely fought – and some, myself included, would say nasty – referendum campaign on a new electoral system last year, it seems a sense of déjà vu is upon us once again with the Scottish campaign.


The NO2AV campaign was littered with lies, damn lies and statistics.

The posters they used during the campaign had images of babies lying ill in hospitals, using these spurious and emotive pictures to link AV with reduced healthcare spending. They even deliberately misrepresented the amount AV would cost to implement on their posters.

This campaign of misinformation really was a sign of a failure in democratic institutions. People only have the means to make a fair value judgement when they have accurate information, but sadly the lack of oversight in this case allowed for a perverse agenda to win through. The Electoral Commission should have been able to step in last year during the referendum campaign, but unfortunately lacked the powers to do so, as it only deals with political parties.

There are signs, however, that this approach has started again in Scotland.

For example, suggestions Scotland wouldn’t be able to set its own interest rates if it continued using the pound. Yet after Czechoslovakia split, two new currencies were used – the Czech Koruna and Slovak Koruna – with both countries having control over their own rates. However, it is not just the policy in the spotlight, with Jeremy Paxman even comparing Alex Salmond to Robert Mugabe on Newsnight last night.

Today, Salmond launched a formal public consultation on the dynamics of the 2014 referendum, despite earlier attempts by David Cameron to impose the rules of the game on the Scots himself.

The strong mandate of the SNP gives them complete legitimacy to consult the Scottish people and then organise the referendum themselves.

There is also simply no legal reason for an order has to be passed to make a Scottish independence referendum binding – unless of course the UK government itself intended to ignore the result, which would provoke a constitutional crisis. Rather, this is simply yet another attempt to shape the agenda from Westminster and undermine Salmond.

The UK government should more than most understand the right to self-determination, following invasions in recent years of places such as Kosovo, Iraq and Libya. It is difficult to understand how the government can justify intervention in others parts of the world in the guise of human rights and democracy, when it seeks to restrict Scotland’s own right to choose.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “all peoples have a right to self-determination” and that “by virtue of that right they are free to determine their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development” – this is surely therefore the most important principle; indeed the world’s most recent nation state, South Sudan, was recognised quickly by the UK following its independence.

What we now need is a fair campaign, with the Scottish people deciding the rules, with a respected oversight body monitoring the campaign. After the farce of the electoral system referendum last year, another tainted campaign won’t speak volumes for fairness or democracy.

See also:

Salmond has questions to answer, because the evidence doesn’t support himWilliam Bain MP, January 24th 2012

Questions multiply over financial status of an independent ScotlandAlex Hern, January 20th 2012

Win or lose, Scottish independence referendum heralds a revolution in UK politicsEd Jacobs, January 16th 2012

Cameron got it wrong on Scotland, and he probably knows itEd Jacobs, January 10th 2012

SNP: Cam’s “economic uncertainty” argument is nonsense; we’ll stick to our timetableHumza Yousaf MSP, January 9th 2012

32 Responses to “Déjà vu as Scottish referendum campaign turns nasty”

  1. Charles Currie

    That’s the sum weight of your argument!, some of the the SNP supporters are of the view, if your not with us your against so therefore they are xenophobic?.

    There’s a couple of thousand year’s of culture in most country’s, what do we do with that in these day’s of Globalization?, sweep it under the carpet so to speak!.

    I have no argument towards foreign nationalists who have put roots here, voting on this issue but those that have been here for 5 minutes don’t even no the language never mind the culture!.

    I have no more a say on what happens in England than i do of what happens in china, poland, india, or the planet mars, i know little of their country as i do of their culture, let’s not argue the merits of that, facts are facts!.

    Speaking of facts, did you purposely leave out certain facts of the SNP’s reluctance to sign the claim of right’s because you are ill informed or were you purposefully trying to mislead!?.

    I’l fill in the blanks for you with this-
    The Claim of Right was published in 1988 and proclaimed: “We acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of government best suited to their needs.”
    It became the declaration of intent for the cross-party The Scottish Constitutional Convention , which was set up to press for devolution.
    The Scottish Constitutional Convention, on which members of Labour and the Liberal Democrats sat with other civic and political representatives, argued that Scotland’s democratic rights had been eroded since the Treaty of the Act of Union in 1707.
    Its main demand was for the right of the Scottish people to elect a new parliament or assembly.
    The Claim of Right was signed at the General Assembly Hall, on the Mound in Edinburgh on the 30th March 1989 by 58 of Scotland’s 72 MPs, 7 of Scotland’s 8 MEPs, 59 out of 65 of the Scottish regional, district and island councils and numerous political parties, churches and other civic organisations like trade unions.
    Initially the Scottish National Party (SNP) had participated in the Scottish Constitutional Convention, but the then party leader Gordon Wilson, along with Jim Sillars, decided to withdraw the SNP from participation owing to the convention’s unwillingness to discuss Scottish independence as a constitutional option.
    SNP members did not sign the Claim of Right.
    The Conservative government of the day was hostile to the convention.

    Yes, that same claim of rights!

    There is a difference from being willing participant’s to abstaining because of fundamental principle’s?

    In this day and age of PC Brigadist’s, anyone with nationalist feeling’s are xenophobic!?, Pfft!

  2. Derick

    Yes we will expect that, as would any democrat.
    And of course we will respect the result if people vote for Scotland to remain in union with England. Quite bizarre of you to suggest otherwise. But some chinless wonder from Chipping Norton attempting partition is totally unacceptable (and REALLY stupid). Still I suppose the oppressed ‘non-Scottish’ people of Rockall will be glad of the Noble Lord’s support. Oh, hang on….

    if you recall, it is the SNP who are promoting the referendum and have been for several years. It is the unionist parties who have been utterly opposed to letting the people decide, and who went into an election on that premise – which they lost and lost badly. And then promptly began demanding a referendum ‘immediately’ without further discussion.

  3. Anonymous

    So you think that the Westmister governemtn, perhaps under the cloak of their Vichy Scots supporters, should step in and tell the Scots what to do? Oh boy, have you got a lot to learn.

    All we want is the ability to elect and deselect a government, something we don’t have the power to do under the present arrangment. We have one Tory MP and yet we have Cameron as a PM! Would you have supported the Black & Tans in Ireland? The atrocities committed by the British army in India? That’s just two examples of countries that got fed up of Westminster rule. There are many more! Do you seriously think the Brits have a right to interfere in a Scottish referendum?

    You are REALLY out of touch!

  4. Anonymous

    Adrian, do you really think that Scotland would keep the pound Sterling forever? It is far more concenient to keep it for the moment while alternatives are sought. Most countries that split up tend to keep the bigger partners currencies for a while. There will be a Scottish pound. The Scottish pound, will be tied to Sterlng for a while until the country gets on its feet.

  5. Anonymous

    Scotland has a strong leader, probably the best politician in the UK. This annoys a lot of BritNats, be they in Scotland or England. To deny that the Westminster dirty tricks brigade will not be out in force over the referendum is to be naive. We have no doubt who we’ll be opposing. The naysayers will be beaten by the fact that they cannot evince ONE good reason to stay in the UK. You can be sure that the dirty tricks brigade will be planting stories in the press (Salmond and his wife eat babies), Shetland wants independence from Scotland (happening already in Daily Mail land) and the best one of all, the one all the unionists love to quote, We’re too wee/poor/stupid to be independent!

    The one that gets me though and it’ll be the one that finishes off the naysayers, is London Labour on board with the Tories! That really will be the end of Labour in Scotland. We won’t have to fight the tartan tories, they’ll do it for us!

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