Dear Dirty America

Michael J Blair
Perthshire, Scotland

(see MJ Blair’s Scottish Independence series here)

The votes were cast, the counting done and the country knew the result. 45% yes. 55% no!

It was much as I had predicted but not what the Yes campaign wanted or for that matter understood. There was almost complete denial of the fact they had lost. How had this happened? They had been promised a win! There was an air of complete bewilderment when the results were being announced.

“Where did all the No voters come from? They weren’t there when we were chapping on doors!” That was one of the most memorable quotes I heard on Friday.

Once again as I noted in a previous article, the No voters were keeping their own counsel and not advertising their true intent.

The main problem of the Yes campaign was telling the young first time electorate, the result couldn’t be anything other than a vote for independence. Older people have heard all the promises before and aren’t naive enough to be taken in by pie in the sky rhetoric. To see the looks of complete disbelief on the faces of young people as the result sunk in was heartbreakingly sad. Not for the loss but for being promised the earth and getting a handful of ashes instead!

The biggest news on Friday was that the Great Leader had resigned as Leader of the SNP and as First Minister. This was something of a shock to most people, but I had already been told that this was on the cards. He would always try to spin the story away from the reality of defeat to have himself as the focus of attention.

As a matter of fact, he would have resigned even after a Yes vote. Not as soon but before independence was a reality and a disappointment.

Now, most people who have resigned keep a low profile, but not Alex Salmond. He is now spouting nonsense about gaining independence despite being well beaten at the ballot box. He is saying that as Scotland will get more and more devolved power, eventually it might as well declare itself independent. Utter nonsense of course but he had to give hope to the thousands who believed his boasts and promises.

The sheer brass neck of the man is staggering! Of course he is aiming this nonsense at the so called 45%! A group of people who are using the 45% who voted Yes to attempt to keep the debate alive but cannot accept the democratic will of the people of Scotland, despite the result being conclusive.

This wasn’t a computer game where if you lose, you can just start over and keep going until you win! This was real life, where the final vote is final. The end. Finis!

By all means, start your own political party and campaign democratically for future change but do not go down the threatening route.

Some veiled muttering of “war” which anyone who voted No, has “asked for” from some radical Yes voters. These are people who regardless of the result of the referendum, still wouldn’t be happy! They are impossible to please, so no point in trying!

Mr Salmond has encouraged this thinking from the beginning of the campaign. It suited him to have this threatening mob working to intimidate anyone who disagreed with anything the Yes campaign said!

And even now that he has “resigned”, he is still directing operations.

He is one of the most shameless politicians in the UK. He darkly hints at other means of gaining independence. Is he advocating UDI? Is he the Ian Smith of Scotland? Could he be meaning revolution? Or is all of this just the whining of a poor loser? My money would be on the latter! He showed his true character in his resignation and his acceptance of defeat speeches. No praise for the winner, just bitterness at being thwarted from what he saw as his true destiny!

His anointed successor is his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon. The wee wumman with the pained expression of sincerity and a wardrobe of fairly dull clothing! The media noted that she wears shoes with heels, as if this is some kind of daredevil action!

Although she has been in the Great Leader’s shadow for a long time, she has shown that she has a mind of her own, and has said the only way to independence is through the ballot box. A common sense attitude that will stand her in good stead in the coming months and years.

If she is duly elected unopposed, it will mean that the three main political parties in Scotland are led by women. This shows how progressive Scotland really is, without voting for independence.

There may be some minor excitement in the election of a deputy First Minister. At first there were only two candidates. Both male. Both so bland, no one except their immediate family would recognise and be able to name them!

But suddenly there is a new candidate. A female candidate. A female candidate who was “dressed up like a downtown Christmas tree!”*

Kitten heels made from real kittens!
No not really but made to look like kittens!
Huge glittery dangly earrings!
A smile which would dazzle at twenty paces!
Extremely colourful dress!

I could be wrong but I get the feeling she wanted to be noticed. But I’ve forgotten her name because I was looking at her heels! She made a big impact at the Conservative party conference. But that’s not difficult at the dullest week in British politics!

Of course some people will say it also shows just how shallow the pool of political talent is in Scotland. And they would be correct.

There has been a huge surge in support for the SNP in the past week. Over 30, 000 new members. This is another reason Salmond ran away. He could see that disaffected Labour voters would clamour to join the only party advocating independence and still clinging to the vain hope that somehow the result could be overturned due to some voting or counting anomaly. Or perhaps the election fairy would wave its magic wand and change everything! Strangely enough, neither of these things happened!

The tens of thousands of new members will pose a huge challenge to Nicola Sturgeon’s first year in charge of the party. These new members aren’t the usual knitted Harris tweed tartan types. These people are radical socialists who, if numbers keep increasing, will influence party/government policy and be able to quite easily take over the party.

This isn’t fanciful thinking. This is the reality! These new members aren’t interested in the SNP. They are only after one thing, independence for Scotland and a very left wing socialist state! There would be no way that they would keep a monarchy after they win power. Scotland would become a republic.

Now you can understand why The Great Leader jumped ship. He is nobody’s fool. He saw exactly what would happen and knew he couldn’t stick around to preside over what was to come!

I imagine in a few years when the party is being torn apart by in-fighting and huge policy differences, Mr Salmond will suddenly appear, to take the reins again and lead the party to safety and new heights.

One thing for sure, he hasn’t finished what he started and is taking a long view. Let the party twist and turn with this new and rowdy influx of support. Allow Nicola Sturgeon to prove that she isn’t able to keep the party united and then wait until he is “asked” to come to the party’s rescue. He is not a man who likes to be associated with failure.

is what they say

Meanwhile the “45” get evermore desperate in trying to claim a 10% losing margin is actually a mandate for independence. I asked if the result had been in their favour, would they be saying this was really a win for the anti-independence campaign? No answers were forthcoming.

The media have already dropped the subject as if it had never existed and consigned it to the dustbin of history. The extra powers promised will eventually be given but probably watered down to whatever is going to be accepted by the Scottish Government.

The “45” will lose most of it’s support to people wanting to have a life. The cosy camaraderie of the long months of campaigning will be replaced by tired resignation.

The SNP will be left with a huge number of members who only want to be part of the excitement of independence and not interested in the boring day to day politics. A small percentage of these people will stay on and could possibly attempt a takeover of the party. The next two years will be very interesting.

As far as the referendum is concerned, I’m glad to see the back of it! It caused division and no small measure of hate. It also became very boring! None of which was good for Scotland.

*Chuck Berry, “Sweet little rock and roller”

ALSO BY MJ BLAIR

Doomed or Idyllic: Scottish independence debate caught between rabid utterings from opposite camps

State spying in the name of terrorism

Surveillance society: one nation under CCTV

[Ripped ‘Vote Yes’ poster photo from Connie Ma; UK window sticker photo from Richard Webb; Rigged graphic by Scottish Independence Movement]