Some food for thought in this article which is in a slightly different format from the usual. Medical emergencies and hospital visits have taken their toll on time and creativity this week unfortunately. On that subject can anyone volunteer a reason why these wonderful people who rush around doing their utmost to keep us healthy, or even alive, are paid a pittance compared to folk on the telly that are pretending to do it? Mixed-up priorities somewhere.
Anyway, last week’s somewhat depressing post brought in a couple of emails that were too good to be hidden away in amongst the comments as well as saving me from having to write something. First up, Morag Kerr:
“I’ve worried that the SNP were dropping the ball in the past, but not so much recently. Recently, any time I thought they were sitting back and missing open goals, I realised as events developed that I had simply underestimated the long game that was being played.
I knew when the party was elected in 2007 that there would be head-banging moments when the press were all against the government, because that’s what the press does. In fact there have been fewer instances of that than I anticipated – I don’t count lies and smears, of course. I realised when the date of the referendum was announced that we had a long haul ahead, and there would be moments when it would all seem hopeless. So this isn’t surprising. Hang in there.
On the subject of getting the debate away from Salmond and the SNP, I had a slightly depressing experience yesterday. I went to the inaugural meeting of Yes Scotland in the Borders. It was generally very positive, but I began to get really spooked by the number of people who would stand up and preface their remarks by saying which SNP branch they were from and how long they had been a member.
Near the end, I prefaced my remarks by saying I’d been a member for over 20 years, I’ve got friends in the SNP going way back, but I thought now was time for some of us to step back a bit. I suggested that ordinary members (as opposed to elected representatives and committee members) should think about taking off their SNP badges and being “Yes Scotland” people in public from now on.
You’d think I’d suggested keeping Trident or modernising Hunterston.
Even the Yes Scotland people threw up their hands and refused to comment. My own branch convener didn’t sound like he was at all happy with little me. Dammit, I wasn’t suggesting I was going to resign from the SNP or anything, I was only talking about badges and public perceptions.
I’ve been an SNP member for 20 years for one reason only, and that’s to get to this point. For me, it’s not about the SNP any more, really. I still trust the SNP to lead the charge and keep it steady as she goes, but I know the campaign needs more than that. If I’d never been an SNP member I would be rabid Yes Scotland at the moment. So why not?
One man said, “I’m wearing both badges together, that’s the way to go.” I said, well, some people will want to do that of course, I’m just suggesting that as many people as feel they can, should simply wear the Yes Scotland badge. For goodness sake, how often do we hear, we don’t want Fat Eck to win “his” referendum. He only wants his place in history, he sees himself as the new Wallace and wants statues. And so on. The idea that an independent Scotland IS the SNP.
I spoke to an independence-supporting friend whose husband is a party member later that evening. (They had missed the meeting because of a birthday party in Aberdeen.) She agreed with me. I had said I would leave my SNP badge on my car, where it has been since 1992 (OK, not the same car!). However, I think I’ll take it off and put a second Yes Scotland badge there in its place. That car gets parked in a lot of places, people walk past….
On a lighter note, one very cheery thing that happened was that a Polish building worker showed up to the meeting and expressed an interest in getting involved. He had kept quiet until one of the SNP people started to ask about getting Yes Scotland literature translated into Polish and other useful languages, then he outed himself in broken but comprehensible English.
I hope there are more where he came from.”
Don’t we all, Morag. If I can quote Braveheart – “The trouble with Scotland is it’s full of Scots.” I wish it was full of people who had the gumption to be what they could be.
And from Lesley-Anne McLelland:
“Here’s a thought.
Perhaps by NOT retaliating in any agressive manner they are actually highlighting the full negativity of the NO campaign. In doing so they might be thinking along the lines of letting the NO camp get on with all their negativity knowing that in time people will get so fed up with the negativity that they will actually switch to the YES camp because of the MORE positive message they bring to the debate. In other words by not being so forceful with their message the YES team are actually letting the NO camp do their (the YES camp) work for them.
In fact I believe this is beginning to happen. I read a tweet from Angus MacNeil yesterday where he has had a, now ex, Labour supporter say on his FB page that he is fed up with all the acrimoniuous negativity from Labour and it appears that this person may now be thinking about joining the SNP. So, in my view, the trail AWAY from Labour looks like to have already started.
In time the YES team will, I’m sure, start firing their guns but there’s no need to do so just now, after all we still have 2 years to go.”
All good points and maybe I just need a cooler heid, but it’s hard when the likes of Ed Contraband are up here lecturing us like this week. So people no longer trust the First Minister? That’ll be why he still continues to enjoy record approval ratings then. In contrast, if the bold Ed’s approval rating was the outside temperature we’d all be freezing our knackers off.
Speaking of hot and cold things… okay we weren’t really but even if it’s just a tenuous link it does allow me to sign off with a tribute to His Lordship Mike Watson. You know the guy:
“Hoi you! WTF are ye daein’ wi’ these curtains?”
“Och I’m just arson around…”
Labour must be losing so many members that they’re desperate for subs if they’ve let this character back in. Enjoy:
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Thing is Dave sometimes things happen, or a series of event occur, that just seem to hit the right, or should that be the wrong, nerve.
Anyway, when all said and done we must always remember that we are in this fight for the long haul. The unionists are treating it like a 100M sprint instead of the marathon it actually is. Don’t worry about it though I’m sure we’ve all gone through fits of anger at the lack of movement from the pro Indy side.
With regards to Watson, do you think he is the new Guy Fawkes in disguise?
Do you think he get Arthur Brown’s song played every time he enters the HoL?
Hope everything is fine now re your medical emergencies and hospital visits. totally agree with your vthoughts on the mixed up priorities by the way.
I don’t know about the House of Lords but it’s certainly the first thing I think of!
If we want to talk mixed-up then giving someone like him law-making powers must be near the top of the list. Time for a lie down again… 
Dave
Darkened room is always open Dave
I used to suggest it regularly on NNS before being sent to the naughty step.
I totally agree that we should try to put distance between the SNP and the “Yes” campaign. I am a member of the SNP but have taken my SNP sticker in my car down and left only the “Yes” one. Too many people still think this is for Alex and the SNP – I wholeheartedly support the SNP and Alex but can see some counterproductive aspects for some people!
It’s a difficult one that’s for sure. If there’s a strategy then I haven’t seen it yet.
Dave
I’m with Morag on this.
If the “yes” campaign succeeds, I’ll no longer be a supporter and member of the mainstream party of independence – the objective will have been achieved. I’ll not be wearing my party badge during this long campaign. Party politics mean nothing to me compared to the momentous Referendum.
Hopefully, post a “Yes” victory, ALL parties (and civic movements) will be included in the negotiations until settlement. There’s work ahead: a Constitution, for one. I would trust no one party in these matters.
Regards
“Independence first, sort out the details later” is my motto.
Dave
Yesterday morning I actually did it. I peeled off the SNP sticker that has been on that car and its predecessor since 1998. I stuck it carefully on the card that I had just peeled off the Yes Scotland sticker I was putting in its place. (As I already had a Yes Scotland sticker on the back windscreen, the car now has two.)
Today, as it happens, the car was parked at Kelvingrove all afternoon, outside the Art Galleries. People were walking past all the time. My thought was, if someone sees a Yes sticker on a car with an SNP sticker, the reaction is, well, quelle surprise. But a Yes sticker on its own, I think has a more telling impact.
I didn’t join the SNP because I was interested in politics in the usual way. I joined it because it was Scotland’s independence movement. All these years (20 altogether), the SNP sticker has been my way of saying, “I support independence”. Now, though, the SNP has DONE what it was set up to do. It has delivered the referendum. Although the party still has a huge role to play, it now has to play the part of a political party, because it is actually in government. The independence movement is now Yes Scotland.
I still support most SNP policies, and I have no intention of resigning, or of not being active in my local branch. I have friends in the party going back decades, and I will go to the Burns Supper and campaign for the Euro elections and all that. But now, as my main interest is in independence, I have to try to get used to the fact that Yes Scotland is now our independence movement, and adjust my behaviour accordingly.
…and persuade the other folk you posted about to do the same hopefully.
Dave
My friends never had an SNP sticker, and already put a Yes Scotland one one their car.
The SNP councillors and the branch executive committee have to stay visibly SNP, obviously. The party isn’t going to shrivel up and blow away. I simply think that the more the simple “Yes Scotland” message is seen now without its appearing to come from a particular political party, the better.
SNP sticker coming off the car in ther morning, as will the living room window one. ( stick them on the bedroom and kitchen windows instead.:lol:)
I think Morag makes a very valid point. Yes the SNP have got us to this point but independence is not the SNP. I’m not an SNP member (or any other party!) but will vote yes. At my local Yes meeting, there were a lot of people who knew each other ie party activists. I went with 2 other folk, also not members of a party and we felt bit out of place. We suggested that as well as women for indy, labour for indy there should be a “non-politically aligned” for indy group. Granted it needs a snazzier title
Aye – definitely needs a better title!
I wonder if all these different groups are a help or a hindrance. Should we all be under one banner or is it good for people to see all the different factions in case they see one they could fit into? I’ve never really thought about it until now as there’s more chance of Alex Salmond voting No than me, but the business end of things is rapidly approaching.
Dave
We could try Folk Opting for Independence or “FOI” in honour of Labour MEP Catherine Stihler
Very good! Or “Dudes of Independent Nature” (DOIN) in honour of Ian Davidson.
Dave
Although I read a few blogs every week,and avidly read the comments section in the Scotsman and Herald most days,this is the first time I have been sufficiently moved to make a comment myself.
I have been a member of the SNP for over 40 years and have been very active for most of that time. (This week I will be helping to distribute Christmas cards from my local SNP councillors to every house in my ward.)
A few weeks ago I attended the YES Scotland launch in my local area and I admit that it grated slightly when one of the presenters (a member of the Green Party) appeared to play down the significance of the SNP in the campaign,but I wholeheartedly agree with Morag that now is the time to use the YES logo rather than the SNP symbol.
We know who has worked to get us where we are ,and we also know that these same people will be the backbone of the independence campaign,but we need to attract new people who agree with our aims while having an ingrained dislike of the SNP.
I bought six YES buttons at the SNP conference (one for every jacket) and have substituted them for my SNP badges for the duration of the campaign. I now intend to work with anyone who is willing to campaign for independence (whilst holding my nose if necessary).
“…this is the first time I have been sufficiently moved to make a comment myself.” See what happens when I get someone good to write the articles for a change?
I’d like to see more concrete plans for how the Yes campaign is going to go forward, e.g. how are things like the Big Debates going to be handled? Up until now it’s been politician v politician and this leaves us wide open to divide and conquer tactics. “You want to keep the queen but they don’t” leads to headlines like “wide schisms were appearing in the separatist campaign last night, etc, etc.”
Dave