sub50

The Op's had too many variables for the referendum that they were unused to. In WM elections though they have plenty of experience of and data. Never reply too much on them but at this type of thing they can be a good indicator. Keeping the Tories out is usually the mantra but surely Scots are going to start to realise that the degree of distinction between red Tories and blue Tories is too small to worry about? The Thatcher effect is slowly receding into the past. It may not make the Tories as electable as Ruth Davidson believes but may have the effect of cooling the 'anyone but the Tories' cry. There are a lot of other things at play, the Lib Dem vote does not appear to be recovering and they will likely again be punished for going into government with the blue Tories. Where will that vote go to? How much was actually an anti-tory vote? Will the Tories come to an arrangement with UKIP? If not will UKIP experience the same problem the SNP have had in recent years of people deciding to vote for them in some elections but tactically in others? This will greatly impact up here as Labour voters will be swayed by the likelihood of a Labour win UK wide. If it is looking shaky for red Tories many Scots may revert to their Holyrood option. Interesting times.

Habit and not much else. The end could be swift though when promises are broken and Labour look to be losing in England.

No. It is up to Westminster what powers it has and they can taken away or added to as WM sees fit. An early motion vote in Westminster tomorrow could make Holyrood disappear, it position is that fragile legally if not in actuality.

Who does? It is no more defined than the wooly descriptions of greater powers. We all have different views on it. Most of the 45, and a fair proportion of the 55, would share a vision of it being everything except Defence and Foreign affairs. But in reality we are about to be given three different versions of what it looks like. None of which we are going to like.

Is this the action of a YES sympathiser in Follow Follow? Let them join in their droves!!

My reflection is that we lost as we could not reach too many of the 2M who voted No. The almost total bias of the MSM meant that YES = SNP = White paper. As a result all of YES had to carry the can for what was effectively a manifesto. This proved to be a static goal and the No media did not miss. Currency - No plan B. The crap stuck and many No voters did not like the idea of living in the uncertain world where we would not get a CU and there appeared to be no plan B. Europe - I do not believe that this is a game changer for most people. Feeling on Europe may be different here than in the rest of the UK but I am not sure if it goes deep enough to have made much of a difference. NATO - As per Europe. Economy - This REALLY hurt us. The narrative was that a Scotland with the pound would be forced into economic purgatory and this would result in rising costs due to transaction fees, inflation, job losses and corporate flight. Pension companies would be forced to leave due to EU law on cross border schemes being in deficit and Michelle Mone would leave as she could not make money with Scotland outside the UK (wait a minute..). Promising referenda on key issues post YES would have cut the legs from some of this. The SNP could still have championed the White Paper whilst making it clear that the people would be able to decide. (The CU issue would as we all know have been a different after a YES vote and this would have changed the dynamic after the vote. Before it the YES camp could have explored all the issues and although no scenario would have been acceptable to NO it would not have been the static target that CU presented.) NATO and European membership could have been shelved as issues with the script being that the SNP line is as per White Paper but at the secondary referenda's we all get a say. This could have allowed us to focus more on the Economy. Bill Clinton was right (it the economy stupid) and polling had told us a long way out that if everyone believed they would be just £500 per annum better off the outcome was a clear YES. We needed to get the message through that the flow of money is from us to the south. That any extra we get back is not Englands money but is actually borrowed on our behalf. Rarely was there any acknowledgement that almost all wealthy countries are running a deficit all the time. Instead we were fighting all the media and the establishment across too many different battlegrounds at the same time. That we ever got the 45% is in hindsight astonishing. Going forward the following needs to be rammed home to the doubters who thought that nothing would change. We get a higher per capita allocation of funding for public services. This is premised upon our increased level of need. Why then should that funding be the resource that we use to pay for a far better NHS, care for the elderly, free university tuition, better school estate, free prescription etc? Our need for these extra services is no greater than anywhere else. Surely if we need more money in a United Kingdom it should only be for the purpose of equalising services? Why are we entitled to a better level of public services than the rest of the UK? After all we just affirmed that we are not a country (in the proper sense as countries govern themselves) but a region of a larger state. The reality is that the 55% want their cake and eat it. They want their own circumstances to remain the same and for some mysterious largesse from Westminster to pay for our increased spending. However they have sent a very clear message that they want to be better together. Imagine how that sounds to the poor in Liverpool, Bristol or Newcastle? We cannot demand more simply because we have always received it or even argue that we have greater need. When the extra spending is threatened and it certainly will be what will the 55% say then? Will they argue that we contribute more? If they believe that we do they should have voted YES. Or will they meekly shrug and just accept our lot? What would the MSM say, would they stand up then for Scotland? (Maybe as some of these journalists live here and may not be happy about tuition fees for their kids.) The 45% will keep this interesting. Westminster knows that we have not melted away. They know that we need only convert 1 in 20 to form a majority. There are too many variables to accurately predict the future. Labour is in dire straits in Scotland. The Tories are threatened by UKIP and need to curry favour more down south than in Scotland where they have 1 MP. And the the Lib Dems? People in Scotland will not easily forget that they climbed into bed with the Tories for 5 years. We do indeed live in interesting times. My prediction though is that we are about to be shafted, and probably for a while, before things get better.

An interesting and exciting set of possibilities start to present themselves with that volume of members and that ratio. We could create a database of every registered voter and have the membership take 'responsibility' for almost everyone. We could create a skills database to target areas such as the new media or social engagement. It is an astonishing number of people, the challenge will be to engage with them before the fire dims.

I've got large roll left over!!! Now know just what to do with it.....

His last words are chilling. Is there is nothing that man would not have said or done to win the referendum? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zp3Ksqkf7I&feature=youtu.be

Oh dear! An expensive and now unwanted day out!

125 views but no replies. Come on someone must have a suggestion as we cannot reply on blogs and social media.

That gives him and them a credit they are not due. It was a panicked last minute measure. Desperate and cynical but certainly not a long term strategy. A long term strategy would not have boxed them into the untenable position they find themselves trying to square a circle. Devo Max/English parliament/federalisation? They are about to be in an awful mess.

I agree ,they created a three way vote using only two options. It was despicable and an affront to democracy. Hundreds of thousands had voted when Devo Max suddenly roared onto the scene. Many of them truly voted for no change and had the meaning of their vote change after the fact. There was no reporting of this angle.

Actual factual reporting of current affairs and events in the Scotland and the wider world. I will be cancelling my TV licence and so TV news will be off the table. No daily newspapers fit for purpose. I don't need to read an editorial that agrees with me but I do need a bias free reporting. Where are people going for this?

Hope the rain becomes truly biblical.

They moved the goal posts. It was supposed to be a two option referendum but in the end we got a loaded three way question. Vote NO for no change Vote NO for Devo Max Vote YES for Independence. In reality if you wanted no change at all you had no real choice. The calculation was that people who wanted no change and wanted to vote would never vote yes so they would capture them anyway. It worked. Genius in some ways but morally and ethically abhorrent. Think of all the old dears who voted no before any real Devo Max was on the table and then throw in the promise of greater powers once they have cast the mountain of postal votes they used. I am not sure it was planned but that really does not matter. It was cynical and wrong. If they do not deliver on the promises made to secure the NO vote I feel no compunction to humour previous promises no to have another vote.

Could you PLEASE put the caps lock off? I am already experiencing a post vote hangover and all your shouting is really bad form! Thank you.

I joined the SNP. This cannot be the end. WE are the 45

Thank you for that. I am too raw to subscribe to anything right now but you make some good points. (WE ARE THE 45%)

Me thinks ticket sales (£60 each) may be somewhat slower now!!

Is there a plan to share some more discontent down at the Quay this weekend?

Last time we were there I parked very close to the ground and then went to the pub. On return I was asked by a wee ned to give him £5 because he had been watching my car! Had to explain to him that the extortion was probably best attempted before the 'service' had been provided. Sadly I don't think he got it.

Just bought 4 online. If it is YES tomorrow tickets will be like gold dust. If a No not sure I will even go!

Pretty sure this is one table Dundee will top!

This is a major development but I am sure it will get little coverage. If this was a different issue the BBC would be phoning every constituency office asking for an off the record count about the matter. Nothing of any substance will get through parliament, though I suspect he three amigos knew that and really do not care.