Every week Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore writes a column for newspapers in his Borders constituency.
Independence Referendum
Over the past month, I have been working with the Scottish Government to agree the terms of the independence referendum and I am pleased to say that this week, the Prime Minister and the First Minister signed the agreement. This agreement is the culmination of months of debate and several weeks of talks I have held with the Deputy First Minister on this issue.
The agreement sets out that the referendum will consist of one question which is to be agreed by the Electoral Commission. It also outlines that the referendum will take place before the end of 2014 with the Scottish Government able to extend the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds if they wish. I am extremely pleased that we have been able to reach this deal so we can now get on with the real debate over Scotland’s future. I personally will be campaigning against separation from the UK because I believe, as Scots, we are stronger together and poorer apart.
Guide dogs for the Blind
Last week was Guide Dogs week which raised awareness of the obstacles blind and partially sighted people face and how we can work together to break them down. The week is also an opportunity for the charity to fundraise to enable more dogs to be trained as guides and give more blind and partially sighted people the freedom to get out and about, a freedom which sighted people can often take for granted.
A number of my constituents have written to me about the campaigns run by Guide Dogs for the Blind and more recently, I received a number of letters regarding their Safe and Sound campaign. This campaign calls for the introduction of safe audible sounds on quiet hybrid and electric vehicles to ensure that people can hear them.
The charity had a stand at Lib Dem Conference which challenged MPs to set the best lap time on a large Scalextric track and aimed to raise awareness of the campaign. I was pleased I managed a respectable time and the interactive nature of the stand certainly got the campaign message across effectively. I am also pleased to say that they won the prize for the best charity stand at Lib Dem Conference, which just goes to show the impact it had. I will certainly be encouraging the Department for Transport and car manufacturers to consider the charity’s concerns and I hope changes will be made to ensure hybrid and electric vehicles take account of the needs of partially sighted and blind people.
* Michael Moore was the Liberal Democrat MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk from 1997-2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2010-2013.
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12 Comments
Thanks Michael for all your efforts on the referendum. The UK and our party is greatly in your debt!
Is there a Lib Dem official line on a Scottish referendum? Given the state of the UK electoral system and what goes on in parliament, I would be supportive of Scots who want to be independent.
There must be a small, though real chance that the Scots could vote to leave, followed by the remainder of the UK voting to leave the EU. In which case, how many of us would make a bid to become Scottish?
Martin There must be a small, though real chance that the Scots could vote to leave
Unless you can up with a coherent response in why we are better together than ‘to wee, to poor, to stupid’ then you are going to be very disappointed. With the on going privatising of the health service in England which will cause people to suicide rather than get into further debt to pay for expensive health care as in the US then vote no if you wish. Independence is about people not political posturing to get a seat on those red benches.
Thanks for trying to get the sounds on quiet vehicles.
Cynical Highlander,
If scare stories about the NHS are going to be representative of the quality of debate by the ‘Yes’ campaign, then I fear for Scotland.
There’s a perfectly legitimate argument to be made for independence, about the right to self-determination, about what an independent Scotland would do differently.
But if you’re going to try to scare Scots into voting ‘Yes’, you’d better be confident that you’ll be able to fund the sort of public services you claim are at risk. And given the inflation rate in healthcare and the growing elderly population, I for one wouldn’t want to offer too many guarantees.
Indeed, “Vote for independence because otherwise you’ll have to pay for healthcare” is utter, abject lies.
This is the sort of No2AV-level smear campaigning that urgently needs to be outlawed by reform of PPERA before the independence referendum takes place.
nope, you just have to put up with them.
people are responsible for the type and quality of their government, and that includes exercising the kind of judgement we expect from adults of legally sound mind who are granted the franchise.
Welfare Reform Deaths Scandal !
Community Action Party sources have sensationally revealed that they hold evidence that the governments welfare reform agenda is contributing to the death of 73 people per week.
I am sorry if you are unaware on what is happening and treat those who spread facts as scaremongering shows that it obviously is the red benches for your colleagues that is taking precedent, sad.
Cynical Highlander,
You just don’t give up, do you? The Community Action Party, eh? Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about them…
“The Community Action Party is a minor political party in the United Kingdom, mostly active in Greater Manchester and Merseyside. It advocates free health care and education provision, a managed public transport infrastructure free to all at the point of use…”
So, a political party which consists of less than a dozen councillors in the Greater Manchester area has done some research which would stand up to critical analysis? How likely is that?
Look, I am entirely open-minded about Scottish independence, but if your tactic is to scare people with shock stories about what is happening south of the border, I hope that you’re prepared to hold up your hand if you win, and it isn’t as rosy a future as you claim…
Mark Valladares
“The Community Action Party is a minor political party in the United Kingdom, mostly active in Greater Manchester and Merseyside. It advocates free health care and education provision, a managed public transport infrastructure free to all at the point of use…”
Ah you mean like the LibDems in Scotland. LoL
Critical Highlander,
I’ll take it from that that you don’t actually have a positive argument then.
It is the right of peoples to seek self-determination, to take control over their destiny, and if the Scots wish to do so, they should have the right to do so. But that choice should be a properly informed one, a point which you appear to have disregarded.
So, carry right on, and see if it works. But remember, if it doesn’t, there’s no turning back…
Mark Valladares
So, carry right on, and see if it works. But remember, if it doesn’t, there’s no turning back…
Since the UK is one of the most unequal countries in the Western world and the Better together campaign can only come up with scaremongering nonsense to justify there stance then informed debate will be impossible which is unfair for both sides of this argument. Since all of the media is against Independence for Scotland including the BBC who love a rammy on any of their controlled so called debates using them to target the SNP to suit there Labour friends.
Tell me if any Tory, LibDem or SNP sitting Member of Parliament who was last seen in Westminster since last February and spent his time swanning around the world giving speeches for money would be ignored by the media like Gordon Brown is doing. My answer is NO as they would be hounded and quite rightly so.