Mike Vickers' Blog

The Devil has all the best stories (tunes).

So it is with the SNP and Scottish Independence – not that I am comparing!

But the SNP does have the splendid opportunity to offer the Scottish Citizens Heaven on Earth (interestingly the Devil has the best stories but only God can provide Heaven on Earth – who is kidding who!) once Scotland is independent.  .

In any voting system parties at election time offer mañana– the SNP’s style of mañana is well publicised: Free Higher Education, Free Bus Passes for the Elderly, no change in the NHS, attractive Tax regimes for business all based on Danish Style Social democracy – Yes may even be Borgen Series 3 (with Nicola Sturgeon in the title role) is planned for Scotland.

We still wait for the No vote offering.  The best that the ‘Better Together’ group can offer so far is that Scotland after a No vote will be no worse than it is now – far from mañana.  Better Together is of course hamstrung by the sheer weight of the rest of the UK – a population ten times the size of the Scottish population.  Promises to Scotland cannot be offered to Scotland without offering them to the rest of the UK and the UK Government is in no position to offer anything that costs money.  But it is surprising that Better Together seem unable even to go on bended knee to ask Scotland to stay in the Union – something which is free.

As Lesley Riddoch in her latest article in the Scotsman wrote – Devo-max cannot be justified without thinking federal UK and even here what’s to be done about the City of London.

http://www.lesleyriddoch.com/2013/02/e.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LesleyRiddoch+%28Lesley+Riddoch%29