The following people have signed a letter to ask us to stay in the UK.
I've no idea who most of them are, but I am wondering how many of them are personally affected by what happens in this country. I'm wondering, too, how many of them have been hurt by the likes of Iain Duncan Smug, Esther McVile or Lord Fraud. I wonder if any of them are forced to use a Food Bank, or don't have access to private health care if the NHS as we know it disappears completely.
I wonder it, in fact, what they are is worried that the loss of Scottish revenue might mean their taxes will have to go up.
I recognise some of the names... I mean who doesn't know McJagger and Cliff Richard, Melvyn Bragg and David Starkey, Sandie Shaw and Ben Ainsley.
I'm disappointed to see David Attenborough's name there. I'd have thought him above getting involved in this. The rest seem to be the usual suspects. Labour activists and very rich people from England, or further afield. I wonder how many of them really live in Scotland or even the UK. Doesn't McJagger live in America, and Cliff in the Bahamas?
Now they have every right to ask us to stay... as does a wee woman living in Phnom Penh. For that matter I have every right to write to the people of Greenland and tell them never to ditch Denmark.
I just wouldn't do it, because it's not my business and I don't know nearly enough about it.
Still I expect Sandie Shaw does.
I've no idea who most of them are, but I am wondering how many of them are personally affected by what happens in this country. I'm wondering, too, how many of them have been hurt by the likes of Iain Duncan Smug, Esther McVile or Lord Fraud. I wonder if any of them are forced to use a Food Bank, or don't have access to private health care if the NHS as we know it disappears completely.
I wonder it, in fact, what they are is worried that the loss of Scottish revenue might mean their taxes will have to go up.
I recognise some of the names... I mean who doesn't know McJagger and Cliff Richard, Melvyn Bragg and David Starkey, Sandie Shaw and Ben Ainsley.
I'm disappointed to see David Attenborough's name there. I'd have thought him above getting involved in this. The rest seem to be the usual suspects. Labour activists and very rich people from England, or further afield. I wonder how many of them really live in Scotland or even the UK. Doesn't McJagger live in America, and Cliff in the Bahamas?
Now they have every right to ask us to stay... as does a wee woman living in Phnom Penh. For that matter I have every right to write to the people of Greenland and tell them never to ditch Denmark.
I just wouldn't do it, because it's not my business and I don't know nearly enough about it.
Still I expect Sandie Shaw does.
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| Mick Jagger (SIR) |
William Dalrymple
Eddie Izzard
Sir Patrick Stewart
Sir Bruce Forsyth
Sir Mick Jagger
Stephen Hawking
Jenny Agutter
Sir Ben Ainslie
Kriss Akabusi
Roger Allam
Kirstie Allsop
Alexander Armstrong
Sir David Attenborough
Steve Backley
Baroness Joan Bakewell
Frances Barber
Andy Barrow
John Barrowman
Mike Batt
Glen Baxter
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| Cliff Richard (SIR) |
David Aaronovitch
Helena Bonham-Carter
Stanley Baxter
Martin Bayfield
Mary Beard
Sarah Beeny
Anthony Beevor
Angelica Bell
Dickie Bird
Cilla Black
Graeme Black
Roger Black
Malorie Blackman
Ranjit Bolt
Alain de Botton
William Boyd
Tracey Brabin
Lord Melvyn Bragg
Jo Brand
Gyles Brandreth
Rob Brydon
Louisa Buck
Simon Callow
Will Carling
Paul Cartledge
Guy Chambers
Nick Cohen
Michelle Collins
Colonel Tim Collins
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| Bruce Forsyth (SIR) |
Olivia Colman
Charlie Condou
Susannah Constantine
Steve Coogan
Dominic Cooper
Ronnie Corbett
Simon Cowell
Jason Cowley
Sara Cox
Amanda Craig
Steve Cram
Richard Curtis
Tom Daley
Richard Dawkins
Dame Judi Dench
Jeremy Deller
Lord Michael Dobbs
Jimmy Doherty
Michael Douglas
Simon Easterby
Gareth Edwards
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| Sandie Shaw (?) |
Jonathan Edwards
Tracey Emin
Sebastian Faulks
Bryan Ferry
Ranulph Fiennes
Ben Fogle
Amanda Foreman
Neil Fox
Emma Freud
Bernard Gallacher
Kirsty Gallacher
George Galloway
Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Bamber Gascoigne
David Gilmour
Harvey Goldsmith
David Goodhart
Lachlan Goudie
David Gower
AC Grayling
Will Greenwood
Tamsin Greig
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson
Lord Charles Guthrie
Haydn Gwynne
Maggi Hambling
Mehdi Hasan
Sir Max Hastings
Peter Hennessy
James Holland
Tom Holland
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| Andrew Lloyd Webber (SIR and LORD) |
Tom Hollander
Gloria Hunniford
Conn Iggledun
John Illsley
Brendan Ingle
Betty Jackson
Sir Mike Jackson
Howard Jacobson
Baroness PD James
Griff Rhys Jones
Terry Jones
Christopher Kane
Sir Anish Kapoor
Ross Kemp
Paul Kenny
Jemima Khan
India Knight
Martha Lane Fox
Baroness Doreen Lawrence
Tory Lawrence
Kathy Lette
Rod Liddle
Louise Linton
John Lloyd (journalist)
John Lloyd (producer)
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| Vera Lynn (DAME) |
Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber
Gabby Logan
Kenny Logan
Sarah Lucas
Dame Vera Lynn
James May
Margaret MacMillan
Stephen Mangan
Davina McCall
Sir Ian McGeechan
Heather McGregor
Andy McNab
John Michie
David Mitchell
Lord John Monks
Lewis Moody
Michael Morpurgo
Bill Morris
David Morrissey
Philip Mould
Al Murray
Neil Stuke
Sir Paul Nurse
Andy Nyman
Peter Oborne
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| Michael Parkinson (SIR) |
Sir Michael Parkinson
Fiona Phillips
Andy Puddicombe
Lord David Puttnam
Anita Rani
Esther Rantzen
Sir Steve Redgrave
Derek Redmond
Pete Reed
Lord Martin Rees
Peter Reid
Baroness Ruth Rendell
Sir Cliff Richard
Hugo Rifkind
Sir Tony Robinson
David Rowntree
Ian Rush
Greg Rutherford
CJ Sansom
June Sarpong
Simon Schama
John Sessions
Sandie Shaw
Helen Skelton
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| Hercule Poirot |
Sir Tim Smit
Dan Snow
Peter Snow
Phil Spencer
David Starkey
Lord Jock Stirrup
Neil Stuke
Sting
Tallia Storm
David Suchet
Alan Sugar
Graeme Swann
Stella Tennant
Daley Thompson
Alan Titchmarsh
James Timpson
Kevin Toolis
Lynne Truss
Gavin Turk
Roger Uttley
David Walliams
Zoë Wanamaker
Robert Webb
Richard Wentworth
Sir Alan West
Dominic West
Kevin Whately
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| From the Guardian...via Twitter |
Starkey, winstone and Liddell are all Scots haters with at least one Scottish insult each under their belts.
ReplyDeleteAre we supposed to now believe that they have suddenly changed their opinions of us?
If celebs are going to do this kind of thing then they really must make sure that they don't ask racists to join in.
I've just seen the piece on Wings on this...
ReplyDeleteStarkey was particularly scatheing of Scotland.
But as Stu says, now he loves us, so that's OK.
I predict that Scotland's referendum voters will be completely unmoved by this list of British Establishment luvvies trying to ingratiate themselves with us only now because the referendum is imminent, when normally they couldn't give a toss about Scotland and its people let alone find Scotland on a map.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I'm not sure what these people hope to achieve.
DeleteDoes anyone change their mind about their future because Mick Jagger, who lives in new York, I think, tells them that they should.
Seriously, by getting involved they are more likely to alienate fans than to change minds.
tris
ReplyDeleteI can see what you have dun there u have deleted out Petula Clarks name
didnt u..shame on you...snigger !
LOL. Good one mate. I have to say I would have been incredibly disappointed if she had said she was against it. I'm lucky she doesn't seem to get involved in anyway in politics. Must be living in four countries that does it
Deletetris
ReplyDeleteWhat gets me is some of them who signed do not even live in the UK
I mean what kind of people believe they have the right to lecture us
all the while choosing to live in another nation.....I mean WHO WOULD
DO THAT.......Ooops just realised who they are
Well, as you know Niko,I've always said that anyone anywhere is entitled to an opinion, but Ive never been sure why they think, on either side, that it should make any difference to anyone else.
DeleteI mean ...who cares what SIR Connery thinks from the Bahamas... Not me. I don't care what Billy Connolly thinks for LA or Ewan McGregor form France, or Lulu form London...
I wouldn't be influenced even if Pétula from Switzerland had an opinion.
They live pretty special lives these people, and I'm not about to tell them what I think is best for Juan les Pins, and if I did, I wouldn't expect them to pay any attention to it.
Tris
ReplyDeleteI would be more interested in a list of people from Liverpool , well maybe not. I just don't care about what some rich people think. Their priorities are not my priorities, their concerns differ greatly frominea regarding the future of Scotland. We just don't live in the same uk as they so they are not relevant to the debate
Bruce
Exactly. People like Mick Jagger and Cliff Richard don't live in our world. They use jets like we use buses. And if they need medical treatment they go to the best places in the world and have it done regardless of the cost. They send their kids of good schools in whichever country and it wouldn't occur to them that it was bad to have tuition fees.
DeleteAs I said to Niko, that applies to the likes of Connery and just as much as it does to David Bowie.
Hercule Poirot.
ReplyDeleteLOL.
;-)
Hmmm... he's probably got another name as well.
DeleteOT
ReplyDeleteOT I have just finished watching Newsnight, I don,t usually but I did tonight, and I heard one of the most ignorant statements I have ever heard and also one of the best reasons for Scotland never to have a government it didn't vote for again.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, conservative MP for Cornwall (I think) told the lady from Magic Breakfast, the charity that feeds kids breakfast in the morning, that the state provides enough money to parents to feed their children and if the children didn't get breakfast it was because the parents were disorganised.
Jake's just the boy to do it for us. Something more remote from Scottish ordinary life, you just can't imagine.
DeleteI wish all these people who pontificate about how easy it is to live in thin air would come here, live in a multi for a year without access to a halfpenny of their billions, using the facilities that ordinary people use on a rundown estate...
I'm afraid I haven't a clue who Ben Ainsley is. Never heard of him.
ReplyDeleteDidn't he play, of all people Ghandi ?
DeleteLol, no! You're thinking of Ben Kingsley. Ben Ainslie is an Olympic sailing champion.
DeleteThat's if anyone is still reading given there is a new post!
Ha ha... I'm not much into "celebrities" . I rarely recognise any names at all. But thanks for correcting me on that one.
DeleteHow embarrassing... OOOps.
:)
Here's the Scots on the list. Names like Barrowman, Galloway, CJ Sansom, John Sessions and Kevin Toolis are no surprise as they've already come out for the Union.
ReplyDeleteJohn Barrowman Actor Scottish
Stanley Baxter Comedian Scottish
Graeme Black Designer Scottish
Ronnie Corbett Actor Scottish
William Dalrymple Academic Scottish
Bernard Gallacher Sports Scottish
Kirsty Gallacher TV Scottish
George Galloway Politician Scottish
Lachlan Goudie artist Scottish
Christopher Kane Designer Scottish
Louise Linton actor Scottish
John Lloyd Journalist Scottish
Kenny Logan Sports Scottish
Sir Ian McGeechan Sports Scottish
John Michie actor Scottish
Hugo Rifkind Journalist Scottish
CJ Sansom Writer Scottish
John Sessions TV Scottish
Tallia Storm Musician Scottish
Stella Tennant model Scottish
Kevin Toolis Writer Scottish
Don't most of them live in England...or America?
DeleteDoug, how many actually live here, earn their seed corn here, damned few as they say. Barrowman went to the US aged five and has a perfect US accent. He lives I believe in Chicago.
DeleteMany of the others are dependent as they see it on the goodwill of the English to give them jobs, many actors are very good at speaking lines created for them but having a thought pattern is well beyond them. Sean Connery was castigated by the No's of their day when he backed the SNP. Why should anyone care about this load of people who would be hard put to find their own country on a map and for the others who have no idea where Scotland is apart from Edinburgh at festival time when it resembles Little England.
If they feel this way then they can always move up here.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Most of these people earn fantastic amounts. Their great salaries or fees, spent in the Scottish economy, would make a difference.
Delete