Winding themselves up

My goodness there is some serious ersesqueakery ramping up over the last few days in the minds of those with a vested interest in stopping Scotland returning to its rightful state as an independent self- governing progressive social democratic country in the 21st century world.

All of this hysteria has arisen since First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, almost apologetic in her attempts to portray low key, stated to Robert Peston that the publication of the long awaited Growth Commission report into the opportunities for Scotland of independence will start off a period of, she hopes, sensible debate about the independence question.

A subject that most of those unionist high profilers talk about almost endlessly seems to have set them off into paroxysms of anxiety akin to Clive Dunn’s Corporal Jones of Dad’s Army charging hither and thither shouting ‘don’t panic, don’t panic’ at the top of his voice when the First Minister mentions it.

You’d think she’d just called a general strike, recalled the SNP group of MP’s from Westminster, and announced a hundred thousand strong march to London to demand immediate independence by their reaction to her comments. I really think they are rattled.

The day after the First Minister appeared on the Peston show saw a unionist event in London, organised by one of the biggest and most influential right-wing UK think tanks, and publicised heavily in the state media, showcase speeches from those two good old ‘socialists’ Baron Darling of Roulanish and Jim ‘The Eggman’ Murphy, alongside Michael Gove and Ruth Davidson of the Ruth Davidson Scotland Party. Dearie me, what a dubious line up that is to haunt the same stage at the same time.

This mob are getting ready. There’s a lot of campaign money from wealthy unionist donors quietly getting squirrelled away for when the negative propaganda rocket boosters on Project Fear need to be turned to Max. Have no doubt, they are sensing a mood change amongst the undecided. They can take nothing for granted.

This bunch of fine examples of Proud Scots speeches at the event, however, suggested that they must think that their target audience, not those in the room listening to them, you, who the BBC, the Hootsmon, and the rest are disseminating their words to, must be high on a new and particularly mind altering form of crack cocaine.

Baron Roulade of the dark eye bush boldly announced in his bang up to date, finger on the pulse wisdom, that “there will not be another independence vote in the near future, and possibly not in my lifetime”. As someone on Twitter suggested the other day in response ‘ Really? I didn’t know he was ill’.

Jim Murphy, who seems to have been sprung from the temperature controlled cool room of a well known soft drink company, (he’ll soon be the only sugary thing left in Irn-Bru) apparently, according to him, isnae a unionist, and has never been one. “He’s a social democrat for whom the Union is a vital part of sharing risk and reward.” Reward being very big on Jim’s agenda.

Michael Gove, who surely has the pinup personality and look of 21st century right wing reckless economic isolationism about him takes the Kit Kat though with his assertion that Brexit has strengthened the Union, a precious Union he suggests with its progressive and liberal free speech contrasts with us dafties on the left who stilt individual success and keep working people, particularly the ones that his party’s austerity policies are ruining the lives of, down. I really do not know what planet he comes from. It’s certainly not anywhere close by the Moon.

At least we knew what Ruth Davidson would say, because we hear it often enough. Day job, give it a rest Nicola, don’t give them permission to have a referendum boss, all the usual diatribes.

All of them came up with the same conclusion. Publicly in their view the people of Scotland do not want a referendum on independence.

Tell that to the many thousands who marched just a few Saturdays ago. Tell that to the many more who support the belief that Scotland is best governed by the people who live there.

Nicola Sturgeon said on the Peston show the other day, and I paraphrase, that the work of the Growth Commission which will be presented later this week will explore the opportunities available to Scotland through independence in a positive, hopeful way, encouraging thoughtful questioning and debate, in sharp contrast to Brexit where the public are being asked to form opinions and plan for negative consequences with very little concrete knowledge of what is coming.

Undoubtedly every single recommendation in the Growth Commission report will be spotlighted, pilloried, top headlined by Jackie Burd skateboarding in the usual pet panel of unionist negative head shaking academic and business experts, and blasted in tomorrow’s fish and chip wrappers for months.

But Hope and positivity took a Yes Campaign in 2014 from limited polling numbers to very nearly pulling it off on 18th September that year. We are getting nearer the start of round two and being able to communicate what life in an independent Scotland can be like via the information produced in this report, and other sources, to those not yet convinced, is going to be vital. We must,and will,get that right.

Be assured, we’ve got them rattled good and proper.

Scotland will be so much better off, in every way, once it returns to its rightful independent state.