Written by Andrew Rosie
Headline and image: Blame the Editor
How the mighty have fallen. Founded as a radical liberal newspaper, The Scotsman under a succession of right-wing editors moved from championing devolution at a time when it was not fashionable to opposing independence in 2014. Under the new editor, Euan McGrory, it seems to be more balanced than the Herald but it still retains an overwhelming number of Unionist columnists.
Among these is Jim Duffy who nailed his colours to the mast by proclaiming on Friday that if Scotland breaks free from the UK it faces bankruptcy and would not be invited to join the EU.
The article is utter drivel and lifted from a Daily Express piece on the previous day by an eccentric Napier University lecturer Piotr Jaworski which quotes economist Ronald McDonald who is a leading member of the anti-independence Scottish Business UK founded by Care Home owner Robert Kilgour and includes financial “experts” Guy Stenhouse and Kevin Hague.
The usual arguments on EU membership and the Gers deficit can be easily countered, not least by
https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/brexit-news/what-comes-after-an-snp-election-win-6446920
Business for Scotland
or Richard Murphy’s Tax Research blog
Scotland has one of the largest Life Sciences clusters in Europe, employing over 40,000 people across some 770 organisations. Life Sciences companies contribute in excess of £5.2bn turnover and about £2.4bn gross value added to the Scottish economy. Under the SNP, the Scottish life sciences sector has grown at 7% per annum since 2010.
Livingston based firm Biotech Valneva have already signed a deal to provide the UK government with 60 million Covid doses in the second half of 2021 and if trials are successful, the EU are set to purchase tens of millions of doses of their new coronavirus vaccine which is considered ‘unique’ because it is an ‘inactivated vaccine’.
The Scottish Government is investing £100 million in Hydrogen, which is the energy fuel of the future, over the next five years to support a green recovery and Scotland’s just transition to net zero. Scotland is set to become a leading hydrogen nation, with an ambition to generate 5GW of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen by 2030 – enough to power the equivalent of 1.8 million homes.
Scotland’s success stories don’t feature prominently in our media where bad news and doom and gloom makes for better headlines.
In this context it is interesting to note that, like Gordon Brown’s think tank, Scotland in Union has removed all references to its leading members, such as Hugh Pennington, in order that they can be portrayed as neutral experts in the run up to May’s election and next independence referendum.
Talking-up Scotland / Scottish media fact checking is like shooting fish in a barrel 
And all briefed by the dark forces of our Imperial masters
Lackeys and Quislings indeed they are
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The paragraph starting with ‘the article is utter drivel’ reads very smoothly. A spiders web springs to mind, a web of lies being spun by these BritNats.
Sorry to real spiders everywhere.
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They are starting early with the ‘too poor’ lies, when everyone knows that has been utterly debunked by many very professional experts in economics. Again, these people display delight at anything they CONstrue as bad for Scotland. Hope karma hits ’em on the ar*e one day.
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I agree almost completely with this.
I hesitate over the “everyone knows”. I think more people know now than knew in 2014, but I believe it should be a prime objective of any YES campaign to make sure that absolutely everybody DOES know that this stuff has more place on my allotment than in people’s minds – and exactly how and why this is the case.
I think an awful lot of people who voted NO last time were like me. Their heart said YES, bu their head asked HOW? Next time there need to be thoroughly prepared, easily understood answers.
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“I agree almost completely with this.” – and I with you, albeit with some comments to make.
1) Some folk will NEVER be satisfied with any answer – easily understood or not. Their questions may be provocations, not intended to seek answers which enhance understanding. We need to be much more on the ‘front foot’ next time round, establishing the ground on which the debate takes place and not getting stuck endlessly in the mire of our opponents preferred ground.
2) I’ve learned something from pro-Brexit spokespersons in the 2016 campaign. Sometimes one has firmly (and not apologetically) to point out that there are inevitable uncertainties, especially on economics. Not everything is predicable, even in the medium term (see the UK Office of Budget Responsibility’s track record!).
Whatever choice is made over Scotland’s constitutional future, the only certainty is that matters will not remain just as they are now. The choice to be made is over who has influence, who makes the decisions that will affect Scotland – it’s about ‘agency’. This needs put in a “thoroughly prepared, easily understood” way too.
And I try to remember this other basic truth:
“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know.
“There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know.
“But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.”
Donald Rumsfeld (12 February, 2002)
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Just to say stewart, that all during the last Scottish Independence Referendum campaign, we were very much on the front foot, mainly due to the fact that we have one of the best S.N.P, M.S.Ps going. We easily won our constituency, and I anticipate we will again.
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Respect!
Clearly over-generalising based on my perception – and yes with the benefit of hindsight – of how the national media engagement was conducted stuck in the ground chosen by Unionists.
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It is clear that the British Nationalist strategy is going to be Project Fear 2. Despite Bodger Broon and Starmer’s vows, they have nothing to offer.So, they are re-running Project Fear. This will be coupled by a heavy vilification of Scottish politicians, Scottish organisations, anything Scottish. It is the dehumanising approach they applied to native peoples in Africa and Asia when they dared to think they could run their own affairs. It is clear that Labour in Scotland is fully signed up to Scotland in Union and that is the reason Richard Leonard got the bullet. Today, on GMS we had the two Labour ‘tankies’, Brian Wilson and ‘Dame’ Anne McGuire telling us what Labour should do and that ‘there will be no second independence referendum’.
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“Dame’ Anne McGuire telling us what Labour should do and that ‘there will be no second independence referendum’.”
Wikipedia has notable things to say about Dame Anne McGuire:
‘McGuire is a member of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), becoming its chair in May 2013 and was described by LFI director Jennifer Gerber as “a true friend of Israel”.’
And:
‘McGuire was described by The Daily Telegraph as “the ultimate loyalist” for never having rebelled once in Parliament. She described votes over cutting benefits for single mothers as the closest she came to rebelling against the government and supporting the 2003 Iraq War most difficult decision she had to make.” ‘Closest’, ‘difficult’ but it’s in the end that matters!
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Scotland raises £66Billion in tax revenues and could raise even more without Westminster colossal interference. £3Billion in tax evasion. £1Billion too much on the military. £4Billion on loan repayments on monies not borrowed or spent in Scotland. Scotland cannot borrow £5Billion which would pay for itself invested in the economy, with growth. Scotland would be better off not paying for illegal wars and corruption of Westminster. Taking £Billions from Scotland which could be better spent. Scotland could be like Norway and raise £80Billion.
The EU cost Scotland nothing and brought benefit. Nearest, biggest market. EU grants, loans and investment. CAP payments. Shared military spending keeping costs down. Brexit is a complete disaster beyond belief. The Tory mess and shambles. Total,incompetence.
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1 billion on defence
Me thinks far more savings to be made
6 new F35 stealth fighters 1 billion on their own then horrendous maintenance ongoing costs
You have no idea the attention these aircraft
Need after each flight
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