Tag Archives: Scottish independence referendum

Yes, Scotland should have more independence. Wales too. But don’t forget the English

By Stephen Tall | Mon 8th September 2014 - 9:47 pm

I’m a federalist which, I guess, places me somewhere between the unionists and the separatists. Which means that, as I ‘fessed up last February, I’m much more ambivalent about the case for Scottish independence than most Lib Dems:

I believe in power being as close to the people as possible. Is ‘devo-max’ or full independence the best way to achieve that? That’s the key question Scots need to be able to answer by September. Ironically, it’s the one not on the ballot paper.

So I’m not as fazed as many down south are by the apparent tightening of the polls suggesting …

Posted in News | 28 Comments

Clegg’s pitch to Scotland to say No to independence: “Change is on its way.”

By The Voice | Mon 8th September 2014 - 4:16 pm

The weekend news of the first poll pointing to a possible Yes vote in the Scottish independence referendum has dominated the headlines – and it may prompt those parties campaigning for Scotland to remain within the UK to commit irrevocably to further devolved powers to the Scottish Assembly. That was the strong message today from Lib Dem leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, speaking at a press conference this morning:

For the first time in my political lifetime, there is clear, unwavering unity on this question. Finally, everyone who believes in the United Kingdom believes in more power – more control for Scotland, in Scotland.

Posted in News | Also tagged nick clegg | 41 Comments

Opinion: A new constitution won’t deliver the social change people think they’ll get with a yes vote

By Stephen Harte | Mon 8th September 2014 - 10:25 am

As a Scottish Liberal and a lawyer, I have been inclined at times to get too involved in the minutiae of constitutional issues. I can explain how to count several forms of PR and I have firm and detailed views on written constitutions. Enduring two years of referendum campaigning in Scotland, however, has woken me up to the dangers of over-emphasising constitutional issues.

When you read much of what comes from the Yes campaign, you are lefd to believe that every social problem – real and perceived – that has ever occurred in Scotland will be solved by changing the constitutional settlement. Scotland will become a land of milk and honey where all social problems melt away (or, at the very least, are showered with unending supplies of healing money) and a raft of social services will be presented as being “free”.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged constitutional reform and Scotland | 7 Comments

LibLink: Charles Kennedy: Scotland’s energy considerations benefit from the UK

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th September 2014 - 1:15 pm

Charles Kennedy is one of a handful of politicians on the pro-UK side never to have put a foot wrong in the independence debate. Labour’s Kezia Dugdale, always passionate on feminism and social justice is another. Better Together could do a lot worse than leaving all the talking to them for the next 12 days.

On his own website, Charles has written a typically thoughtful article about Scotland’s energy needs, what we gain from being part of the UK and how independence would affect us.

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged charles kennedy and Scotland | 8 Comments

Opinion: Why I’m voting “Yes Scotland” on September 18

By Simon Horner | Sat 6th September 2014 - 9:00 am

I have recently returned to Scotland after 27 years working for the European Commission in Brussels. After 18 September, I plan to campaign hard for the Scottish Lib Dems, irrespective of the outcome of the independence vote.

At the moment, though, I am in something of a limbo, finding myself on the “wrong” side of the referendum debate vis-a-vis my own party. As I am half-English and half-Scots, with family in Devon, I might be expected to vote “No”, but after a lot of soul-searching, I realise that it has to be a “Yes”. There are three key reasons for this.

Posted in Op-eds | 36 Comments

LibLink: Sir Malcolm Bruce MP – The positive case for the Union

By NewsHound | Thu 4th September 2014 - 9:33 am

Sir Malcom Bruce, Lib Dem deputy leader, has been writing for Endeavour Public Affairs on the choice facing Scots in next week’s referendum.

Here’s an excerpt:

To make a positive case for Scotland to remain in the United Kingdom is to recognise multiple identities and respect that what it means to feel British – or Scottish for that matter – is up to the individual as long as it is inclusive.

It would be all too easy to pick apart the arguments presented by the Yes campaign with endless short-term policy guarantees, limitless and non-costed spending promises. However, there is also a very strong argument in making a positive case for saying a polite but robust No, Thanks to independence.

Sharing resources and strengths while supporting each other through weakness means we can achieve much more than if either party was alone.

As much as there is to set Scotland apart from the rest of the United Kingdom, there is as much that brings us together in terms of culture, (modern) language, shared history, and the free movement of people over the generations. Together we have consistently punched above our weight in terms of international diplomacy, social development, the arts, invention, and enterprise. Scotland and Scots have played a major role in this.

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged malcolm bruce | 2 Comments

Opinion: A real respect agenda

By Alex Dingwall | Wed 3rd September 2014 - 3:59 pm

As we near 18^th September and the Independence referendum vote the language of some commentators and politicians on both sides has become less respectful and in some cases quite febrile.

Unfortunately that has included our own party where in the last few weeks we have seen speeches reported on Liberal Democrat Voice using the language of:

Standing on street corners, dripping poison about the NHS into the ears of passers-by

and

nationalist thugs

It’s a language that has been compounded by our agreement to adverts that suggest the only way to demonstrate your love for your children is to vote No.

The Yes Scotland …

Posted in News | Also tagged Scotland | 9 Comments

Opinion: Charles Kennedy asks “What should we tell the Scots?”

By Matt Gallagher | Wed 3rd September 2014 - 9:20 am

On Monday I received an e-mail from Charles Kennedy and the Scottish Liberal Democrats. It asked Lib Dems across the UK to help the No campaign by completing a brief survey entitled,”What do you think we should be telling voters in Scotland?” The survey was indeed brief (3 questions), and the answers were pre-loaded, so I thought that I would compose my own response to my fellow Scots.

The preamble to the Liberal Democrat Federal Constitution states that ‘we look forward to a world in which all people share the same basic rights, in which they live together in peace and in which their different cultures will be able to develop freely.’

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged charles kennedy | 13 Comments

Danny Alexander says EU membership would not be possible with Salmond’s “bonkers” sterlingisation plan

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 2nd September 2014 - 7:40 pm

I wrote last night that Alex Salmond’s plan to use the pound come what amy after independence would lead to higher personal credit costs as well as higher national debt costs. According to Danny Alexander it might also compromise Scotland’s EU membership. He has a letter from the former EU Commissioner Oli Rehn who told him that it would “not be possible” for Scotland to join the EU while using someone else’s currency.

Rehn said in a letter sent to Danny today:

As to the question whether ‘sterlingisation’ were compatible with EU membership, the answer is that this would simply not be possible, since that would obviously imply a situation where the candidate country concerned would not have a monetary authority of its own and thus no necessary instruments of the EMU.

This certainly puts more doubt as if there wasn’t enough already on the Yes Campaign’s currency plans. No doubt they will have whole load eminent people lined up in the morning to tell us that it’s all going to be fine and we shouldn’t worry about it, but people aren’t daft. In fact, they will probably say that it strengthens their case for a currency union and surely the nasty UK wouldn’t deny them that, especially when they would have a mandate for it from the referendum. Except that the mandate wouldn’t apply to the rest of the UK.

Danny announced this a little while ago in a speech at Chatham House. He probably showed a little too much glee to be honest. A more thoughtful “look, we did try to investigate to see if it would be possible but regrettably it isn’t” tone might be a little more appropriate. We don’t really need more aggression and dissonance in all of this. People are turning off. The most common reaction of my Facebook friends to last week’s ill-tempered debate between Darling and Salmond was to switch of. A “more in sorrow than anger” approach might keep them listening.

Posted in News | Also tagged currency, Danny Alexander, eu and Scotland | 34 Comments

Jim Murphy returns to Scottish independence campaign trail, promises more powers for Scottish Parliament

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 2nd September 2014 - 6:15 pm

Never let it be said that I’m not good to my niece. This morning I took her into Edinburgh to see the return of Labour’s Jim Murphy and his Irn Bru crates to the Independence Referendum trail. You may remember he had to call his “100 town in 100 days” tour off at the end of last week after encountering angry mobs of Yes campaigners.

A much friendlier crowd, estimated by the BBC to be around 300, turned up to see him today in one of the most beautiful locations in Edinburgh outside the National Gallery which has the Castle behind and views down to the Scott Monument and Waverley Bridge.

I have to say I’m not Murphy’s biggest fan. I don’t like the language he has used in the past, saying that he is a patriot, not a nationalist. Everyone involved in this campaign has the best interests of Scotland at heart. There is just a fairly fundamental disagreement on how to deliver the best future and I think that using words like patriotic raises the toxicity level of the debate unnecessarily. I may be alone in this. I know Tim Farron used the word a lot during the European elections – and I told him exactly the same thing. There was a marked softening of that nationalist/patriot rhetoric from Murphy today. He used the word patriotic much more often than I am comfortable with, but he did acknowledge that it applied to everyone who loved Scotland.

It was standard campaign stuff with a bit of humour. He said that we could heckle him all we liked so long as we didn’t play with his crates. He’s also learned early on in the campaign not to give questioners the microphone because the first time he did that, they ran off with it. He looked very comfortable on the stump. As my niece wryly remarked, “It’ll be doing wonders for his ego.” There were a couple of heckles, and someone unfurled a big saltire with YES on it at the back. Oh, and there was a Sun journalist in a chicken suit for some reason best known to themselves. No eggs, though, this time.

Posted in News | Also tagged jim murphy and Scotland | 5 Comments

Of course sterlingisation and debt default would lead to Scots paying more for loans, mortgages and credit

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 1st September 2014 - 8:39 pm

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has been taking a bit of a pasting on social media from nationalists who don’t like what he said in a tv interview yesterday. He argued what I thought was a pretty obvious point that in a Scotland where we were using the pound without the protection of a lender of last resort and where Alex Salmond had led us to inglorious default on our share of the UK debt, our mortgages, car loans and credit cards would be more expensive than they are now.

There are several reasons for this. First of all, if we have no lender of last resort, the banks have to keep more money in their reserves which mens they have less to lend out. That will push up their interest rates to start with. We would all end up paying more. Think about the effects that would have on already stressed household budgets. We’ve so far avoided the huge spike in repossessions that we saw in the 1990s recession. That could change rapidly.

Remember when Vince Cable was complaining that viable businesses were really struggling because banks wouldn’t lend to them in the wake of the last recession? We’d have that to deal with as well.

Posted in News | Also tagged currency, default and Scotland | 17 Comments

Danny Alexander sets out vision for more powers after a No vote in the Scottish referendum

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 1st September 2014 - 1:15 pm

On Friday night, Danny Alexander, Willie Rennie and Charles Kennedy held a public meeting in Inverness on the independence referendum. A key theme was what would happen in the event of a No vote. For Highland communities, rule from Edinburgh is every bit as dangerous as rule from London. Nowhere has this been as keenly demonstrated as through the centralisation of the Scottish police force. This has now led to armed police being present on routine duties on the streets of peaceful Highland towns and communities with the wishes of residents and the local authority being casually disregarded.

I was quite impressed to see even a central belt Labour MP get the need for making the A9 dual carriageway the other week. Michael Connarty and I were on the panel at a Better Together event in Bathgate and he was slating the SNP’s centralisation agenda so you can tell how bad things are getting up here.

While the specifics of Danny’s speech were Highland related, there is a lot in there for anyone who’s interested in the general question of more powers. He used the F word, too, saying that federalism was much more radical and liberal than independence.

I think we are definitely within touching distance of being able to get a good bit down the road towards the Federal UK that Liberal Democrats want. It’s clear that the outcome will be close enough that if there is no noticeable change, we will be here again within a decade. Obviously full federalism needs the rest of the UK’s agreement but there is much that could be done, as set out in the report of Sir Menzies Campbell’s Home Rule Commission.

Posted in News | Also tagged Danny Alexander and Scotland | 19 Comments

LibLink: Sam Ghibaldan: Put people, not nations first

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 31st August 2014 - 11:08 am

Sam Ghibaldan was Special Adviser to Jim Wallace and Nicol Stephen throughout the Liberal Democrats’ 8 years in coalition with Labour at Holyrood from 1999 and 2007.

He’s written an article for the Scotsman outlining the importance of liberalism in securing us the rights we hold for granted and comparing it with nationalism in the context of the Scottish independence referendum.

First he outlines what liberalism has done for us:

But at their core is the liberal belief that gradually took root during the 19th century, and was brought to fruition in response to the lives squandered during two world wars, that every individual mattered. Once that dangerous, radical idea became established, so did the concept that the state should nurture people, equipping them with education, healthcare and other support. As it turned out, these were just the things needed to promote personal liberty, which exploded into the 1960s as deference fell out of fashion and choice became an expectation instead of a luxury.

Liberalism’s contribution to human wellbeing, in the form of happiness and self-fulfilment, has been immense. We are free. Free to make our own career choices, to enjoy ourselves as we wish, to believe – or not – in whatever we want, to live comfortably regardless of our sexuality without fear of society’s censure.

Personal choice, freedom, liberty – however you describe it – is more important than nationality, religion or any tribal identity. It allows us to be who we are, and who we want to be. People may choose allegiances, identities, whether related to football teams, musical tribes, religions or nations. But in a society that allows and facilitates such diversity, the important thing is that people can do just that – choose – and the state does not define them, or their rights, by those choices. First and foremost, they are human beings, individuals and fellow citizens.

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged liberalism, nationalism and Scotland | 2 Comments

And the winner of the referendum debate was…….Charles Kennedy

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 29th August 2014 - 2:15 pm

I’m sure we all remember THAT debate on Monday night between Alistair Darling and Alex Salmond. It was what we call in Scotland a right rammy. Two men standing up on stage shouting at each other has typified the independence debate has generally been going on up here. It’s not edifying. I took part in STV’s live blog of the event and you can see my take on it here.

Although Salmond is widely judged to have won the debate, the pivotal moment came when he laughed at me. Well, not actually at me, but at anyone who wants reassurance that we’re not risking higher interest rates or economic instability over the fundamental issue of the currency. When Alistair Darling, on behalf of people with those concerns, continued to question he First Minister on the risks that sterlingisation would put us under, and to challenge the wisdom of not taking a share of the UK’s debt, Salmond laughed. In a very sneery way. And then he called Darling a One Trick Pony. You know, when you’re trying to persuade people to trust you and make the massive change you want, you need to show you understand their concerns and address them, not treat them with contempt. It’s no wonder that the main theme in my Facebook was that people were fed up and were switching off.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged charles kennedy and Scotland | 4 Comments

Opinion: 19th September – now what?

By Malcolm Wood | Thu 28th August 2014 - 2:52 pm

Looking ahead: It’s 19th September, and Scotland has voted “No” to independence. Thank goodness for that! The uncertainty is over. The people of Scotland will continue to have their say in how the whole of Britain is run; will still use the pound (and still have their say in how it is managed); will, without the need for difficult negotiations, still be part of the EU and still have the whole of NATO ready to protect it; will still be both British and Scottish, without having to choose one or other; will still have representation on the UN security council. And the Union will not have to endure the pain of partition – which a century of evidence from countries like Yugoslavia, Sudan, India and even Ireland tells us can be very great indeed.

The Union has survived, but it was close, and there’s still a problem. Nearly half of Scotland’s population is so unhappy with the way that it is governed that it was willing to turn its back on the benefits of being part of a long-lasting and successful union. Clearly something needs to change, if this widespread discontent is to be contained.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged welfare | 12 Comments

Better Together can always make a better ad. Alex Salmond can not give us a better currency option than we have being part of the UK

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 27th August 2014 - 8:30 pm

What’s the last thing you would want to happen on postal voters’ polling day? How about your own side putting out a broadcast that is beyond terrible? Better Together’s latest effort, showing a woman’s two minute clumsy, contrived monologue as she makes up her mind to vote No. It was Rosie Barnes and her rabbit without the political intelligence.

I’m willing to accept that I may not be its target audience. After all, I am a thoroughly committed No voter and this will have been aimed at undecided women in the largely Labour voting central belt of Scotland. I’m not sure I’m meant to absolutely hate it as much as I do, though. There are ways of appealing to a segment of the population without really annoying a similar group of people.

Calling a broadcast “The woman who made her mind up” as if this was some flight of fancy is the first major error and it doesn’t get much better. That it was shared more on social media by Yes campaigners than pro UK supporters tells its own story. They have made hay, contributing to a #patronisingbtlady thread on Twitter which, to be honest is just as patronising and sexist as the original broadcast.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged better together and Scotland | 42 Comments

Caron Lindsay on this evening’s referendum debate

By The Voice | Mon 25th August 2014 - 6:04 pm

Over on STV, our own editor, Caron Lindsay, has been making some predictions about the Salmond/Darling debate this evening.

Alex Salmond goes into tonight’s debate as the underdog.

The Yes campaign is behind in the polls and he knows that he failed to make a convincing case for independence three weeks ago.

Posted in LibLink | 17 Comments

Opinion: Scotland’s Future – a view from the Gallery

By Hannah Bettsworth | Sat 23rd August 2014 - 12:53 pm

I’ve recently had the chance to work in the Scottish Parliament during August, and it’s been a really great experience. On Thursday, I was fortunate enough to get tickets to the final debate before recess, courtesy of Liam McArthur MSP. By the wonders of technology, you can watch it too.

It was an interesting experience. Alex Salmond took the opportunity to note all the good things the Scottish parliament had done, and attempt to be fair to other parties. He did actually manage this; however, his argument that the parliament has done some great things and made some mistakes could apply to every parliament across the world, including Westminster.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged Scotland | 2 Comments

Former Liberal Democrat MP John Barrett says he’s voting Yes in the Independence Referendum

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 21st August 2014 - 5:21 pm

Way back in January, former Edinburgh West Liberal Democrat MP John Barrett made a very intelligent contribution to the debate on independence in an article for the Scotsman. He said his vote was still up for grabs. He was fed up with the banality of the official campaigns and highly critical of the Liberal Democrats for participating in Better Together.

Well, his vote isn’t up for grabs any more as he’s decided that he’s voting yes on 18th September and explains why in today’s Edinburgh Evening News. Even though I reach a different conclusion on the question of independence, I can’t find much to disagree with in what he has to say about the quality of the two official campaigns:

I believe neither side is telling the whole truth and that the facts about the future of an independent Scotland, or one remaining in the UK, are not as clear as either side likes to make out. There are risks with either option and if either, or at least one side, would admit to this, they would gain more credibility in the public’s eyes.

Alex Salmond claiming he will get everything he wants in every single set of complex negotiations after a Yes vote is something I am sure that even he does not believe.

On the other side, the No campaign claiming that Scotland’s future use of the pound or membership of the EU will be something they will not support is equally hard to believe.

Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged john barrett scotland | 34 Comments

Opinion: Liberal Democrats for independence

By Denis Mollison | Wed 20th August 2014 - 2:40 pm

How has our party got swept up into the negativity of Better Together, and how does one reconcile that negativity with the commitment of the Edinburgh agreement to negotiate in a cooperative way?

The problem lies in a probably well-founded belief that discussing possible negotiations cooperatively in advance would lead to a realisation that they’re perfectly practicable, that Scotland could achieve political independence while maintaining close social and other ties to rUK. Hence the refusal to pre-negotiate, the refusal to investigate options – for example, to ask for an official EU position on continued membership for all present EU citizens – in favour of a simple scare story: if you vote Yes you will fall over a cliff.

In contrast, much of the Yes campaign is genuinely grass-roots, and conducted imaginatively, intelligently and with a sense of humour.

It is about self-determination, not nationalism. Indeed it is England that is becoming ever more narrowly nationalistic, as epitomised in the ludicrous promotion of `British values’: apart from being delusional, this concept has no traction in the wider world. We should condemn Islamic State for its gross violations of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights; if we condemn it for its violations of British values we will rightly be laughed at.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged Scotland | 50 Comments

Danny Alexander and David Torrance discuss the Independence Referendum

By The Voice | Wed 20th August 2014 - 8:56 am

It is an hour and six minutes of your life you won’t get back, but it is actually worth listening to this conversation between Danny Alexander and political commentator David Torrance as part of Dundee University’s Five Million Questions project.

David has just written a book on Federalism so it was obvious he was going to be quizzing Danny on that subject.

It’s also available on You Tube here. Enjoy. It’s much better than a lot of the hot air around the independence referendum.

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged 5 million questions, Danny Alexander, david torrance, federalism and Scotland | Leave a comment

LibLink: Willie Rennie: Alex Salmond’s future looks bleak so he turns to the past

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 19th August 2014 - 6:36 pm

Willie Rennie has been writing for the Daily Express in response to Alex Salmond’s invocation of Robert the Bruce yesterday. The First Minister has obviously given up on the detail and is sticking with the Big Picture aimed at emotional appeal. I’ve always been one for tugging on the heartstrings. I go on about it all the time. You do need to have some facts in there somewhere, though. It helps if those facts have some relation to the truth, as well.

It’s been annoying me for some time that the pro UK side has not been quick enough to rebut the ridiculous claims that the pro-independnece side makes about the NHS. They claim that it’s been privatised in England. I’m no fan of the changes in the Health and Social Care Act of 2012, but I know that health care is still free at the point of need as it should always be. It’s been annoying that few senior Labour figures have rammed that home to the SNP, perhaps because it doesn’t suit them to do so in a Westminster General Election context. Willie makes it perfectly clear who calls the shots as far as the Scottish NHS is concerned:

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged alex salmond, daily express and Scotland | 1 Comment

Danny Alexander: “We would all be diminished by Scottish independence”

By NewsHound | Mon 18th August 2014 - 4:40 pm

With just a month to go before the referendum on Scottish independence, Danny Alexander gave an interview to yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph emphasising that a vote for independence would be forever and that he would be “desperately sad” to see the UK, with its strong social and economic ties, break up.

He suggested that people from other parts of the UK could urge their family and friends in Scotland to vote No on September 18th.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged Danny Alexander and Scotland | 16 Comments

Opinion: Better Together should agree to a third independence referendum debate

By Alex Dingwall | Mon 18th August 2014 - 10:05 am

It appears that despite lengthy discussions between Sky news and the Yes and No campaigns there will now be no third televised debate between the two campaigns.

According to the Sunday Times:

A spokesman for Better Together said: “We made it clear right from the start that all television debates would have to be done before the first postal votes start to go out.

There are only two weeks now before around 1m people who are registered for postal votes start to receive their voting forms.

It’s only right that the debates between the leaders of the Yes and No campaigns have all been seen by then. If Mr Salmond had not spent so much time trying to delay both the STV and BBC debates, other bids could have been accommodated.”

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged alistair darling, better together and willie rennie | 10 Comments

Rennie on the SNP’s “dishonest, desperate and disgraceful” NHS scaremongering

By Nick T | Thu 14th August 2014 - 1:20 pm

Scottish Lib Dem Leader Willie Rennie delivered a passionate speech yesterday setting out his positive arguments for Scotland remaining in the United Kingdom.

A link to the whole speech is below, but he spent a bit of time rebutting some recent scaremongering by the SNP on the issue of the NHS:

And across the UK, few things unite people like our belief in the NHS.

Founded on the principles that it should meet the needs of everyone, that it should be free at the point of delivery, and that it should be based on clinical need not the ability to pay, it remains a source of pride in which each and every one of us has a stake.

These principles are unique and they are enduring.

For the Nationalists to claim that they are under threat is dishonest, desperate and disgraceful.

It is also factually wrong.

Despite the financial pressure of the global financial crisis, the NHS budget has been protected and NHS funding in England is now £12.7 billion higher than it was in 2010.

Private sector involvement in England’s NHS is paid for with public money, meaning that the cash equivalent is protected for Scotland – and the Scottish Government can spend it however they see fit.

The publicly-funded NHS was this year ranked best healthcare system across the 11 richest countries in the world – and we are determined to keep it that way.

But five weeks out from the independence referendum, and the SNP has suddenly started to pretend that funding is in doubt.

Standing on street corners, dripping poison about the NHS into the ears of passers bye is a sign of just how desperate they are becoming.

Posted in News | Also tagged NHS and willie rennie | 5 Comments

Charles Kennedy: Independence would “inflict huge damage” on rural Scotland

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 1st August 2014 - 10:35 am

Charles Kennedy is not one for the sort of sloppy, casual scaremongering we’ve seen from both sides in the Scottish independence debate. Danny Alexander has form for it, saying, unhelpfully, the other day that independence would be worse for Scotland than the 2008 economic crash. So when he expresses concerns about stuff, we should probably take notice.

He will be talking today about the effects of independence on rural Scotland, like the massive area he represents. He’s particularly concerned with the costs of providing the postal service.

Posted in News | Also tagged charles kennedy, royal mail, rural and Scotland | 5 Comments

Food for Thought: Scottish independence?

By Mary Reid | Tue 29th July 2014 - 2:28 pm

An educational charity called WORLDwrite contacted Lib Dem Voice recently with a link to their programme below.

This was made by WORLDbytes, which is a “unique online Citizen TV channel set up and run by the education charity WORLDwrite. Dedicated to advancing new knowledge, skills and ideas, the charity promotes excellence in citizen reporting and provides free training to volunteer-learners which combines practical film making with tackling challenging issues.” It offers a 6 week training programme for 16 – 25 year olds, so may well be of interest to any Liberal Youth readers.

This is a video their volunteers made about the Scottish referendum.

Posted in News | 8 Comments

LibLink: Charles Kennedy: Why our destiny must lie with the F word

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 24th July 2014 - 4:02 pm

The Independence Referendum campaign continues to be depressing. The only really good things associated with it tend to come from Liberal Democrats and most especially Charles Kennedy. He’s written a thoughtful and persuasive article in the Herald about the dilemma facing Scotland beyond 18th September as, whoever wins, we’ve all lost out from increasing centralism to Edinburgh in recent years.

He outlines the problem:

In the pre-devolution days of one- party Tory domination there was much legitimate railing against the excessive concentration of power within Whitehall. The centre accrued and amassed while

…

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged charles kennedy, featured, federalism, Scotland and the herald | 24 Comments

Willie Rennie vs Tommy Sheridan and an angry mob

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 28th June 2014 - 9:08 am

I wrote yesterday about my experience at what was for all intents and purposes a taxpayer funded rally for the Yes campaign for independence. The Yes supporters were very nice when they told me that “No” voters were stupid.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie was not so lucky the other night when he turned up to a meeting in Abbeyview, Dunfermline this week to debate the pros and cons of independence with Tommy Sheridan, the former Socialist MSP. All Willie knew from the invitation was that it had been organised as a debate for undecided voters. This is the (imprintless) flyer advertising it:

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged tommy sheridan and willie rennie | 8 Comments

The weirdest evening I’ve ever had at taxpayers’ expense

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 27th June 2014 - 9:52 am

Well, last night was a weird evening. And I know what weird is. I go to the Glee Club a wild, rude, drunken end of Liberal Democrat Conference singalong and Doctor Who conventions.

This, though, was the Scotland’s Future taxpayer funded Scottish Government independence event in Livingston, held in a local hotel. It was hosted by Training and Youth Employment Cabinet Minister and local MSP Angela Constance who was lovely, as she always is. She also had that clever political talent of under-promisng and over-delivering. She said …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged angela constance, kenny macaskill and Scotland | 6 Comments

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Tag Archives: Scottish independence referendum

Yes, Scotland should have more independence. Wales too. But don’t forget the English

Clegg’s pitch to Scotland to say No to independence: “Change is on its way.”

Opinion: A new constitution won’t deliver the social change people think they’ll get with a yes vote

LibLink: Charles Kennedy: Scotland’s energy considerations benefit from the UK

Opinion: Why I’m voting “Yes Scotland” on September 18

LibLink: Sir Malcolm Bruce MP – The positive case for the Union

Opinion: A real respect agenda

Opinion: Charles Kennedy asks “What should we tell the Scots?”

Danny Alexander says EU membership would not be possible with Salmond’s “bonkers” sterlingisation plan

Jim Murphy returns to Scottish independence campaign trail, promises more powers for Scottish Parliament

Of course sterlingisation and debt default would lead to Scots paying more for loans, mortgages and credit

Danny Alexander sets out vision for more powers after a No vote in the Scottish referendum

LibLink: Sam Ghibaldan: Put people, not nations first

And the winner of the referendum debate was…….Charles Kennedy

Opinion: 19th September – now what?

Better Together can always make a better ad. Alex Salmond can not give us a better currency option than we have being part of the UK

Caron Lindsay on this evening’s referendum debate

Opinion: Scotland’s Future – a view from the Gallery

Former Liberal Democrat MP John Barrett says he’s voting Yes in the Independence Referendum

Opinion: Liberal Democrats for independence

Danny Alexander and David Torrance discuss the Independence Referendum

LibLink: Willie Rennie: Alex Salmond’s future looks bleak so he turns to the past

Danny Alexander: “We would all be diminished by Scottish independence”

Opinion: Better Together should agree to a third independence referendum debate

Rennie on the SNP’s “dishonest, desperate and disgraceful” NHS scaremongering

Charles Kennedy: Independence would “inflict huge damage” on rural Scotland

Food for Thought: Scottish independence?

LibLink: Charles Kennedy: Why our destiny must lie with the F word

Willie Rennie vs Tommy Sheridan and an angry mob

The weirdest evening I’ve ever had at taxpayers’ expense

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A strange but welcome feeling

Observations of an Expat: The Elephant Returns

Liberal Democrats should be the first choice for women

Liberal Democrats cannot afford to be absent from Britain’s cities

Tag Archives: Scottish independence referendum

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