1. As we come into 2014 and see the Referendum day of the 18th September within reach, you can sense a feeling of excitement amongst some – the prospect of being part of a new country – a life refreshed, renewed, revitalised. What a party could be in store for us all on the 19th September…
  2. But what if it is all political sleight of hand? Not at all how it is being portrayed. What if this is not for the people of Scotland at all, but rather about those who already have a great deal of power, wanting to get complete control over our lives and our country?
  3. In his book 1984, George Orwell warned of what can happen when a Government controls the agenda, tries to manipulate the way we think and feel about things. He highlighted the dangers of how language can be used to mean something completely different to normal usage and how a Government can use its power to issue propaganda in divisive and corrosive ‘Newspeak’ to change who we are…
  4. You could be forgiven for thinking the Referendum is about trying to win ‘independence’ – but are you sure?
  5. Elsewhere in the world independence is what you seek when you are an oppressed people, within a larger state that does not allow you access to the democracy, freedom and equality that others enjoy.
  6. Neither Scotland or the United Kingdom are perfect, both can and should continue to be improved. But here in Scotland we are not remotely an oppressed people. We have access to democracy at a number of levels -in London, Edinburgh and in Local Government. Despite nationalist claims, the people of Scotland have great influence to the highest level, and have done for generations. Over the last 150 years almost half of UK Prime Ministers have been Scottish or of Scottish descent, and over the years countless senior Ministers have been Scottish. That does not sound like a lack of influence.
  7. I believe with their White Paper the SNP Government took misrepresentation to a whole new level. It was presented to the people of Scotland as the most comprehensive blueprint for an independent country ever published. As an official White Paper, you might have thought the Scottish Civil Service would have ensured it is balanced, fair and properly thought through and presented. But it is not. It is printed on white paper, so we can call it white. But it is full of half-truths and nationalist propaganda, so it should properly be called a White Manifesto. In my opinion presenting it as something else has been one of the most shameful exercises of a Government trying to mislead its own people in any modern democracy, with the Scottish Civil Service badly compromised in the process.
  8.  In my view the Scottish Nationalists are shameless in the way they seek to cynically mislead and bribe the people of Scotland to turn them against their fellow countrymen and women – the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
  9. They claim we will become better by becoming smaller and in so many ways lesser, by turning our backs on so many things and people that we love and care about.
  10.  I am sorry to spoil the party but I fear there is nothing to celebrate in this nationalist vision of a brave new world, where ‘independence’ becomes a watchword for a divisive and insular view of our lives and a betrayal of so much that we care about.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Ordinary Man