News of the Week
This week I will talk about the topic that is on everyone's lips: The Scottish referendum. With only 1 week to go, things are certainly hotting up with the debate for Yay or Nay.
The recent explosion of interest, has been the result of a recent YouGov poll which showed that the Yes campaign was narrowly in front. This is for the first time since the debate really began. The poll showed that 51% backed Yes, compared to 49% for No. This has left the Yes campaign in a very buoyant mood indeed.
Nicola Sturgeon, SNP, Deputy First Minister outside Glasgow Central Mosque with some Yes supporters.
However, as always political polls should be taken with a pinch of proverbial salt. This particular poll is only of 1084 people and excludes the Don't Knows (DK). Although this has been enough to send the political establishment dashing up on the first train north to quell the nationalist mood and give some backbone to the No campaign.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29126386
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29126386
3 Amigos
The three main party leaders: Cameron, Clegg and Miliband have all put on a rare display of unity to preserve the union between Scotland and the rUK. Each promising different things to ensure that this fair isle of ours stays as one. To me it appeared like the 3 Amigos of Business as Usual (BAU) politics in a desperate attempt to hold things together. Whether or not they have any impact on the polls for the referendum as they tighten is still to be decided. What is though is that neither side can rest on their proverbial laurels until next Thursday.
Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil. The 3 main party leaders in Scotland.
The Female of the Species...
So what can be the cause of this sudden rise in support for the Yes campaign? One reason might be the female vote. This is very important as women have a slight demographic advantage in comparison to men in Scotland. I think its around 52% to 48%. As such this makes wooing those "wee Scottish lassies" very important for both sides of the campaign.
The Yes campaign has been particularly active with groups such as:
Women For Independence
https://www.facebook.com/women4independence;
Women For Independence
https://www.facebook.com/women4independence;
Mums for Change
As well the many other groups that women can be involved in. What they show is that the Yes campaign takes the female vote very seriously and wants to persuade enough women to see that being in an independent country is more beneficial to them. This is in addition to the SNP making Nicola Sturgeon (see earlier photo) as their campaign leader for the SNP's Yes campaign. A tactical move on the SNP's part? Maybe or maybe not. Although it does help with the Yes campaign's image of appealing to the women of Scotland.
Whilst in comparison, the Better Together campaign just has a generic "Get Involved" page for people to sign up on.
http://bettertogether.net/page/s/volunteer-now
http://bettertogether.net/page/s/volunteer-now
Now I am not trying to poo-poo what Better Together have done. Not at all. The generic sign method has the advantage of gathering in supporters from all walks of life without then sub dividing them by gender etc., as the Yes campaign has done. However, this misses the trick of providing a space for women in particular to meet and discuss the issues of the referendum together and how it will effect them. Also the coalition of groups supporting the Yes campaign has the look of many different groups with different objectives coming together to support a common cause.
Although, I will say that perhaps I do have a slight bias for the Yes campaign and I do welcome any comments from the No campaign.
Although, I will say that perhaps I do have a slight bias for the Yes campaign and I do welcome any comments from the No campaign.
My point is that the importance of gaining the female vote is paramount to deciding the referendum. As this interesting BBC documentary (see link below), engaging women in the debate has proven an intriguing insight into the wider issue of women and politics. So I will let you decide, but I would that the programme is definitely worth a watch!
The Resterners
So what about the rest of the UK? What do people think in England, Wales and Northern Ireland? Do they care?
Well on that last point, I think that the rest of the British population are beginning to care about what happens in Scotland. As was shown by the knee jerk reaction by the Westminster establishment to the aforementioned poll by YouGov. But what about the common people?
On Monday, the BBC did a report in which they came to my own home town of Chesterfield to ask people about what they thought on the referendum. I am assuming that they chose ChesVegas (my personal name for the town) as its roughly half way between Scotland and London. Or maybe a dart was thrown at a map of the East Midlands by the production team, and it landed on Chesterfield. Now there was a mixture of Yes, No and DK but what it did show was that some people in England do care about what the Scots do.
My home town of Chesterfield and how it became involved in the referendum debate.
The feeling that I personally sense the most is that people in England are asking:
"Well what about us here in England?"
One of the things that has arisen south of the border is a growing sense of wondering what it is to be English. Traditionally the English have been happy with the status quo within the union. However, ever since there has been devolution to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in the late 90s, has left some people wondering well what about England.
With issues such as the West Lothian question and the on average higher amount spending per head in Scotland (thanks to the Barnett formula). It has led to a renewed English nationalism to appear in many forms and guises from the English Defence League (EDL) to the English Democrats.
Even within the Green Party, it is official party policy to have greater devolution to the English regions. This is in contrast to the English Democrats who want an independent English parliament. There have even been calls for a Cornish Assembly and possibly even a Yorkshire assembly!
http://www.change.org/p/the-uk-prime-minister-and-cabinet-create-a-cornish-assembly
Even within the Green Party, it is official party policy to have greater devolution to the English regions. This is in contrast to the English Democrats who want an independent English parliament. There have even been calls for a Cornish Assembly and possibly even a Yorkshire assembly!
http://www.change.org/p/the-uk-prime-minister-and-cabinet-create-a-cornish-assembly
Whether these calls for devolved English assemblies ever become reality is a debate for another day. However, what it does show is that the way we do politics in Britain will never be quite the same again.
This is why I am supporting the Yes campaign after many months of dithering. As I want it to open up a nation wide debate of how we do politics. Not just in Scotland, but across all of the UK. Even if it is a No vote, I still feel that this political "genie" can't be put back in the bottle. It needs to be out there and discussed.
So on the evening of Thursday 18th September, I intend to pull an all nighter and watch the results come in. This will be the most momentous event in recent British political history and its effects will last long into the future. So from me it is a resounding YES!
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