tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post9211969523520137242..comments2024-03-28T07:16:39.621+00:00Comments on Lallands Peat Worrier: Scottish Independence: those chancy Ipsos-MORI trends...Lallands Peat Worrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18276270498204697708noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-2742481873683740002012-10-21T00:08:22.230+01:002012-10-21T00:08:22.230+01:00It looks from the stats that those with most fear ...It looks from the stats that those with most fear redistribution, and the "older deprived" fear there might be nothing to redistribute.<br /><br />Salmond has done nothing to foster debate on the Scottish economy now or what we could do differently after independence.<br /><br />Not so long ago there was a welcome call on here for such a debate. To no avail.<br />Are we all, like Salmond, too frightened or too ignorant to talk about economics?<br /><br />People often hearken to "The Swedish Model", with little to no understanding of how it works.<br />The Finns followed it quite successfully.<br />Then they became mesmerised by Nokia, dropped the R&D, training and diversification, and ignored the lessons of the Swedish banking crisis of the early 90's.<br />I'd advise against saying this in their presenceterrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15075471706398555654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-88976129268732308872012-10-20T13:52:05.031+01:002012-10-20T13:52:05.031+01:00The important poll is the 'bought and sold for...The important poll is the 'bought and sold for English gold' one that showed Scots would be more inclined to vote yes if they thought they would be better off by doing so. The price seemed to be about £500 pa.<br /><br />I anticipate two years of the SNP insisting independence will make us all richer by at least £500 pa. <br /><br />Groundskeeper Willienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-30532653707519873372012-10-20T06:10:02.075+01:002012-10-20T06:10:02.075+01:00You've pointed out a good number of trends her...You've pointed out a good number of trends here, most important of which is the fact that the more financially well off someone is, the less likely he is to support independence. I suppose this is only to be expected though since the status quo has made that individual wealthy whereas the status quo only offers more of the same to less privileged people, especially when a Conservative government in London is forcing constant doses of austerity down the throats of everyday Scotsmen.<br /><br />Anyhow, I've written a short piece about Canadian provincial politics on my blog that you might find of interest. I'll also probably put together another piece about Scotland and Scottish independence at some point in the near future as well.Countdown to Novemberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06392037198510169516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-4977652510873918362012-10-18T22:30:39.199+01:002012-10-18T22:30:39.199+01:00Effie - 'in the end everyone understands what ...Effie - 'in the end everyone understands what independence means and they are not buying.;<br /><br />Yes, I think this is right. The Scottish polls have been weird for a few years now but I believe there is an underlying distrust of the nationalist project - bolstered by frequent crowing by some nationalist posters that Salmond is 'cleverly' not 'frightening the horses' by saying what he really thinks on issues such as the monarchy.<br /><br />All this does is reinforce the view of Eck as a trickster (a view of course not confined to unionists) and it does harm to the nationalists. One for the SNP strategists to tackle.<br /><br /><br />LPW -' Firstly, you're really struck by the volatility of findings beneath the topline.'<br /><br />Yes, volatility, but a more worrying apathy as well. The council election turnout was respectable and compared well with England, but we still have that 50% Holyrood turnout to ponder - and in the coonsil by-election in my own constituency, Hillhead, a turnout of 14% - 14%!! And Labour fought hard - I got phone calls from the party and from Ann McKechin to get my arse oot, and I know the SNP exerted pressure also - and won the seat with, I must say, a good candidate. And after that, 14% turnout? That, for both nat and unionist, is our real problemEdwin Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05317173893948248954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-1834398160532901262012-10-18T21:31:31.838+01:002012-10-18T21:31:31.838+01:00Everyone spins polls according to their political ...Everyone spins polls according to their political prejudices. But if polls have any validity at all, and if they don’t why discuss them, then clearly things are not going too well for the nationalists. It shows good sense to admit this. The problem for Mr Salmond is that his clever strategy of putting forward a vision of independence, designed to calm the fears of the Scottish electorate, is not working. In the end everyone understands what independence means and they are not buying. In order for the SNP to win something needs to change in the next two years. Either some unforeseen event must work in their favour, or there must be a change in policy. I’ll only really fear that the nationalists are winning if the bookies make independence the favourite, but if I had no worries at all about this matter, I’d clearly not bother to campaign at all. You’re right not to give up, as even longs shots have a chance. The greatest danger for unionists is complacency. effiedeanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00898070865193101575noreply@blogger.com