Sunday the 10th and we’re off to Dumbarton to do a mass canvass. The weather is foul but we’re dressed for the occasion and up for the task.
I’m assigned Perrays Crescent and Perrays Way in Lennox Gardens, Dumbarton. 2 hours soaking then back to HQ to reflect on the outcome. The team had a wide range of responses but clearly I had drawn the duck.
Most people were out so you can’t do anything about that unless they are skulking behind their curtains. I had quite a few Undecided so I gave them what info they could consume on the doorstep and point them in the direction of the main blogs, of course including my own. Their questions were generally very pertinent.
In a small area I had quite a few YESs. That always counteracts the weather and makes the day feel worthwhile, although I really do it for the Undecided.
I did have more NOs than I expected. This was a nice tidy little estate but it was not your traditional ‘I’m alright Jack’ territory.
Two things stuck out a mile and compelled me to blog the minute I got in.
First, every single person who announced themselves as a NO was English. After a while, when I heard NO I immediately said, ‘ I take it you’re English?’ ‘Yes’ was the reply without exception.
Now, if I was being offered an argument like ‘my job depends on the base’ or whatever, I could not argue or criticise their decision. But that was not the response. It was clearly I am voting NO because I am English and nothing will change my mind.
During my canvassing I have met immigrants, like myself, from China, India, Pakistan, Eastern Europe and many other places. These people have come into our community, enjoyed being fully accepted, they have integrated and form part of our community. Given the option to go on this journey with us to build a better, fairer, more equal and prosperous society they are completely on board and prepared to vote YES.
Why is it then, that so many English come in to our community, are extended the same courtesy and hospitality we afford everyone; yet when we ask their support for Scots to realise their democratic right to self-determination we discover they are English and that is the way they want to stay. They don’t give a stuff about Scots when push comes to shove, they just want to get the best of Scotland and remain English. Frankly I am appalled. But I am not surprised. Having lived and worked in the City of London for more than 20 years and knowing England and the English pretty well I have seen a lot of evidence of a lack of social cohesion. I have no problem with that whatsoever and accept that in their country. However, so many English have brought that behaviour north of the border.
Now here is my main bone of contention. A few people cited the lack as a Currency Union as their excuse for voting NO.
I asked them to explain why and discovered they did not have a clue about currency. They were just repeating this ‘Osborne’ term because they felt it justified their bias without the need for explanation.
I have also read some of the tripe spouted on Social Media about Currency Union and how they think they’ve found the chink in Alex Salmond’s armour. Think again.
First of all, Alex Salmond gave a good account of himself today in the Sunday Herald. I just wish he would have shoved this in Darling’s smug face because it would have shown him up for the clown he is. Alex said, ‘plan B is 2nd best. I don’t want second best for Scotland. Scotland deserves the best and that is why we will continue to use our pound’.
I have a somewhat different approach to this whole Currency Union question.
Osborne introduced the term Currency Union because the term contained the word ‘Union’ and he wanted to say to the Scots, ‘if you break the UK Union you will also break the Currency Union. He then went on to imply that we would not be able to use the Pound Sterling.
HE DELIBERATELY MADE THIS ALL UP, GUYS
There is only one thing wrong with that construction, it’s a pack of lies designed to strike fear into those Scots gullible enough to believe him.
He has, nevertheless got us all using the term ‘Currency Union’ as if we all know what that is – well we don’t.
As an aside, have you noticed how someone uses a term that no-one has ever heard of. The following day it is on everyone lips in a rather pathetic attempt to make them sound in the ‘know’. I think it just makes them sound ridiculous. A recent example was ‘quantitative easing’ – what the f*ck? Brown used this term to impress the gullible into thinking he was doing something other than electronically printing money. Of course he WAS electronically printing money. The following day we were ‘quantitative easing’ our way through a Costa coffee – how embarrassing?
So, back to the Currency Union. Basically it means two areas using the same money either 1) informally or 2) formally. Then there is 3) using the same currency formally with a common monetary policy. If two wee boys are kicking a ball about – trust me, they are not in a ‘Football Union’.
The UK has been using option 2, formally using the same currency.
1. It certainly is NOT option 3 because although there is a Monetary Policy Committee MPC at the Bank of England it is NOT a Common Monetary Policy – Scotland has NO SAY, the committee of 9 includes an Indian, several Londoners, an American and a couple of Canadians – NO SCOTS. Since neither of the committee share a common currency they are not in any kind of Currency Union.
SCOTLAND IS NOT IN A CURRENCY UNION AND HAS NO SAY IN SETTING INTEREST RATES – FULL STOP
2. The Bank of England MPC basically sets interests rates once a month. This is to maintain inflation at 2% which is the Government barometer of the economy. If inflation in the UK varies down to 1% or up to 3% the Governor of the B of E, Mark Carney must write to the Chancellor to explain what has happened and what the B of E are doing about it.
3. Because of the disparate GDPs of England and Scotland, the inflation in Scotland would need to soar to around 20% before it moved the UK inflation by about 1%. At that point, the Governor, Mark Carney would write to Osborne to say that UK inflation was 3% because Scotland is in deep ‘doo doo’ and we don’t intend to do anything about it! He’s not about to vary UK interest rates when Scotland is mathematically insignificant.
SCOTLAND DOES NOT INFLUENCE UK INFLATION THAT TRIGGERS INTEREST RATE CHANGES
4. The Bank of England is the Lender of Last Resort. With one exception, IT’S IS NOT!
When Barclay, RBS and BoS got into trouble IN 2008 the US Federal Reserve stepped in with a £1.3Tn bail out. Because the contagion would have triggered a debt crisis in the US and brought down their economy. The B of E weighed in to RBS with £45Bn because 80% of their debt was in London, caused by London and this could otherwise have brought down the UK economy.
THE BANK OF ENGLAND IS NOT THE LENDER OF LAST RESORT –
THAT IS A NAIVE STATEMENT
Footnote: Just as Clinton’s crime was not dropping his pants, but lying about it. Just so, Osborne’s crime was not about threatening to stop Scotland from continuing to use the pound –
IT WAS LYING ABOUT IT
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