In Glasgow this morning, Charles Kennedy launched a new Liberal Democrat poster campaign reminding people of the good things that the UK has created together. Why would you walk away? is its theme.
At the launch, Charles said:
People often ask us for the positive reasons to say No Thanks. They want to hear good things about our place in the UK. And so they should.
Like millions of Scots I’ve had the benefit of being part of a bigger UK. And I don’t believe that we should walk away from that. Together, our family of nations has achieved great things. In so many ways we have built the best.
In the NHS we have the best health service in the world.
We are the world’s second largest aid donor, helping the planet’s poorest.
And in the BBC we have the world’s best broadcaster too.
We’ve built these things together. And I don’t believe that we should walk away from them.
These are the positive reasons for people to vote No Thanks. It is the sunshine, positive case to stay in the UK.
Today, the challenges we face are big. The global economy, climate change, our security. And I just think that on all of these, Scotland can give more and get more by being part of something bigger. We can build a stronger Scotland within the UK. A No Vote faster, better, safer change with more powers on tax and welfare for the Scottish Parliament.
It would be wrong to turn inwards. And it would be wrong to walk away.
That is the positive case for No Thanks which I will be taking to every person I meet in the final days of this campaign.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
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12 Comments
All lovely, except that it isn’t the Scottish situation that’s turning inwards and walking away. For that you need to look to the UK establishment and UKIP, where the insular xenophobia looks more and more likely to prevail.
Fortunately for Scotland, the separatist idea has been mostly co-opted by a strand of the internationalist centre-left. While I still don’t trust it, the only conclusion I can draw is that against the status quo, it is the lesser of two evils. And a No vote can only be for the status quo.
I like it, much more the kind of message that I hope will work, but I’m a sucker for Charles. He could tell me pretty much anything and I’d believe it! His tenure as leader was the time I felt most connected to the party and it feels like nothings ever quite been right since.
One of the things missing from list is that together we built an empire and then turned it into a rather successful Commonwealth, but such thoughts might not go down so well in some quarters these days…
The shame I think is that the positive vote No campaign, has seemingly only kicked off this week. Likewise there is beginning to be some admission that if the Scotland votes Yes then the UK constitution will need to be amended – and this could be an opportunity to introduce some unspecific but hinted at change, unfortunately because this hasn’t been worked through or debated it can only serve to supply ammunition to the cynics – as T-J alludes to No is being promoted as a vote for the status quo rather than for change…
It does seem daft, after having had 2 years notice on the referendum, Westminster et al seem to have ignored it and hoped it would go away, with yesterdays news story about HS2 “the new London to Birmingham trainline” just serving as a reminder of how once again, our politicians have focused on political vanity instead of the real issues of the day. [Aside: an example of a previous instance, was when Westminster spent stupid amounts of time debating fox hunting instead of the changes to pensions…]
It is a nice poster, but the bigger issue is today’s news about the SNP hiding £450 billion of NHS cuts until after the referendum. If this is true it will finish off the Yes campaign and I would have great joy in pointing out the hypocrisy of the Yes campaign that I have detected all along.
The SNPs health minister doesn’t deny it, but Alex Salmond does.
Eddie
Think about it.
Two days before a vote a labour politician comes out with a secret dossier. He claims that his opponents will do something dreadful the day after the voting.
Not exactly a new tactic from the Labour Party . I,seem to recall similar stunts from Labour in the past. I would not be at all surprised, if they pull a similar stunt in England in May of next year.
I know John, but the SNP want to be softer on big business than the Conservatives and weaken the power of the state by breaking up the UK and prevent federalism, so perhaps you should question why you support an independent Scotland. Have a think about it.
John Tilley:
“Two days before a vote a labour politician comes out with a secret dossier. ”
There is no “secret dossier”. There is a ministerial briefing paper, which a civil servant (not a Labour politician) has very courageously made public. Are you seriously suggesting that the Labour Party is in the business of forging Scottish Government ministerial briefing papers?
Spain have said Scotland can’t join the EU and keep the pound:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11099167/Spanish-warn-independent-Scotland-would-get-euro-not-pound.html
The Yes campaign is disintegrating. They are fighting back saying the no campaign is falling apart with Tory MPs refusing more powers for Scotland, which is why the solution is an English parliament, not devolution on demand with double standards all over the place.
Wow, Spain says that Scotland can’t have a thing that the UK has already said it can’t have, and that constitutes falling apart.
The No campaign has been in a flat panic this past week, offering concessions and bribes with no consultation, offers it really has no right to make on behalf of everyone else n the UK. Frankly, it is plainly obvious which side is most intact going into the last day of campaigning.
Whichever way the vote goes, the political leadership behind the No campaign have lost a lot of respect with all this flapping about. And based on track records it looks like they will lose what integrity they still have in the process of abandoning those pledges. For the sake of not completely wasting all this hope and engagement with politics that has been generated, let’s hope I’m wrong about them.
Eddie
I have thought about why I favour a YES vote . Primarily because it is in line with the views of Liberals going back to Gladstone.
Like independence for Ireland it is a logical step in providing self determination, a chance for people to take control over their own lives and communities.
The attitude of friends and family resident in Scotland has also influenced me.
The knowledge that over the last twenty five years when I have been up and down the M6 to see family there has been growth of confidence amongst Scots and the decline in dependency . There has been a cultural rebirth with music, literature and the other arts developing in a quite different way from England. The gap between England in general and London in particular has grown bigger and bigger as the years have gone by.
I have also over the last few months watched the ever more negative and backward looking elements of Unionism.
LDV has been submerged in Unionist propaganda for months now and I have become more convinced of a YES vote the worse the Unionist panic and paranoia has got.
The Liberal Party and Liberal Democrats have never been a Unionist party. Why over the last four years the leadership has changed the party line to support of the Conservative and Unionist party on this issue is beyond me.
It seems that in Scotland most of the positive, intelligent, interesting people, people with a bit of drive and verve are voting YES.
The meek, boring and traditionalists, the uninspiring and the negative fill the NO camp. Those that lack imagination and the energy to make a go of the future want to stick with the London nurse for fear of something worse.
I am not talking about politicians here I am talking about people outside of politics who have been energised by the referendum debate and the prospect of freedom and self determination. Liberal objectives as opposed to the narrow defeatism of the NO lot.
Hi John, I genuinely understand. I don’t want to give you any more opposing arguments, because I think you know them.
I would understand a Yes vote if residents of Scotland aren’t happy with what they are being offered, but I would say “stay and negotiate”. However, I also understand that these pledges for more powers have come too late for many.
Charlie K never did walk away. He was pushed out! 🙁