HERE'S A VIEW OF THE FUTURE...

Alan is bang on about this.

After the vote, whatever it is, life will change.

IT IS NOT, AND NEVER HAS BEEN, A VOTE FOR INDEPENDENCE v THE STATUS QUO.

It's important that everyone understand that.

If we vote yes, we are voting to take control of our own affairs; make laws for ourselves, albeit within the confines of membership of the UN, NATO, EU, Geneva Conventions, and many other international organisations (but not the thousands that Rennie suggested) which will make demands of and place constraints upon us.

We will make up our minds how much we tax, and in what way; whether our taxation will be progressive or regressive. We will decide what we can afford to spend on health and education, just like now, but without the constraints imposed by London. We will decide what we can borrow, unlike now when we quite simply cannot borrow.

We will decide what a minimum wage should be; we will decide what retirement pensions should be and how much we pay people when they cannot find work, or are too ill to work. We will decide our social security policy. Not some crook in London employing a bunch of target driven heartless venture capitalists.

We will decide how much electricity and gas should be allowed to increase; and what is to be done with the bonanza of cash that continues to accrue from the north Sea, and will do so for many decades yet. Will we spend it on war, and enriching the rich, or will we pay for decent retirement pensions, roads fit for the 20th, never mind the 21st century (a single carriage highway between the highland's two largest cities is beyond a joke, not to mention a deathtrap).

We will decide our own foreign policy; not Washington DC. We will decide whether or not to go to war in Muslim countries that have oil, and then, having killed and maimed, leave them in utter turmoil, the necessary contracts signed, the usual suspects many millions of dollars better off and of course the sleazy spiv with his Congressional Medal in pride of place on the mantlepiece. 

But what about the possibility that we will be persuaded by Alistair Carbuncle and Dearest Darling Alistair, not to mention the BBC, that, sole in Europe, we are too wee, too poor and too stupid to be left in charge of our own country; that we need the likes of David Cameron and George Osborne, or Nigel Farage and Iain Duncan Smith or even Ed Miliband and Yvette Cooper to play the grown ups and make sure we don't do silly childish things?

What then?

Well, who knows, because they refuse to say.

The Electoral Commission demanded information be made available by both campaigns and set a deadline of mid winters day.

The Government responded by issuing 600+ pages of its vision for Scotland. Better Together responded by saying, erm, well we will look at some more powers; more responsibility; erm, but we can't say exactly what.

David Cameron asks you to trust him... Yes, the man whose middle names should have been U Turn and Liar, is asking you to trust him. 

Let's be honest, even his best friends wouldn't do that.

Already the English are demanding that the Barnett Formula be scrapped and payments made on the basis of need.

Need? 

Yes, need, as determined by Westminster's largely English MPs, who collectively seem to define "need" as their expenses and pay increase. But who are also in the process of privatising health and education in England, and who have already sold off just about everything England and Britain ever owned, including water.

Can you imagine it? Water, in Scotland, something for private industry to make money out of?

I agree with Alan. We will lose £4-£7 billion a year. 

Our Money! 

Money, you will remember, that we already MORE THAN pay to the UK. And we will be forced to sell off all the services we hold dear.

Your kids will be paying for their education until they are 50; at which point they will have to start saving up for old age care, because that will cost them dear. Hospitals will charge for a variety of operations and treatments. Your prescriptions will have to be paid for... and don't expect to finish work before you are 70... the list is endless and the prospects bleak.

What makes the English jealous of us now will disappear. And mainly because political parties mustn't upset the English voters. They, remember, decide who will govern; who will sit at the feet of the president and who will get congressional medals.

And what does Labour say to all this Tory right wing privatisation of everything that isn't nailed down, and most stuff that is?

Bravo! That's what they say. 

They want to be even harsher with Social Security. Ms Lamont (and presumably Ed) thinks we are a nations of scroungers who want something for nothing, so she won't be fighting our corner when the sick and thrown out on the street because they can't pay their rents. 

Ms Lamont wants rid of the Barnett Formula. She thinks Scotland gets too much money.. indeed, I seem to recall that Labour sent back money to England when they were in power, telling them we didn't need it. Obviously they don't get out much in Scotland.

Once they have, or think they have, put "independence" back in the box... they will do what they did before... collect up the money, put a new brand of nuclear weapon within 40 miles of Glasgow and give us as little as possible. (Addition/Correction: I  am obliged to Scaraben for a more accurate estimate of the distance from Glasgow in his post below. It seems that 40kms or 25 miles is closer to the relatiy.)

But mark my words. No matter what they do to us, we will NOT be allowed another referendum. We had to get permission for this one from our posh English overlord, Eton Boy. And no matter how the situation changes; no matter what they visit on us, we'll not be allowed another one.

So, if you are contemplating a no vote, remember that you are not voting for the status quo; remember all the promises that Alec Douglas Home and Mrs Thatcher made and remember you won't get another chance.

GORDON HAS TO BE REMINDED WHAT HIS JOB IS

Gordon Brown was back after missing last week's drama in Grangemouth (just up the road from his constituency) because he was sunning himself in Mexico but hastened tout de suite to Dubai to take part in a summit on Education.

While taking part in a panel discussion, Mr Brown was asked his views "as a politician", at which point he interjected "ex-politician".

He was reminded by the host, BBC presenter Mishal Husain, that he was still an MP, which he acknowledged.

Brown seems to treat his job as member of parliament for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, and the attendant salary of more than £65,000 a year, as a bit of a sideline while he jets around the world reminding people who he is and pretending to be important.

In fact he was prime minister for a very short period. One which saw Britain fall into depression at the tail end of a Labour government of 13 years. And he was only allowed that because Blair saw what was coming and got the hell out before the s*** hit the fan above his desk.

Now Brown seems to have forgotten that whilst he lost the election, he retained his seat. 

You'd have thought that someone in his household might have noticed the sizable deposit in his bank balance every month.
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At the Prison Officer's Association Scotland conference in Peebles, delegates voted to support an independent Scotland, voicing their "frustration and dismay" at the Westminster government's pension arrangements and refusal to recognise prison officers as a key operational service like the police or fire brigade. 

Welcome aboard, yet another trades union!

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Oh no, it's definitely not a treat....
More like an evil old terrorist witch with kinky shoes
(Thanks to Bugger the Panda)

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Dear Ms Lamont...

It's me again...

Have you read this? Would you like to comment, and possibly apologise for your distasteful behaviour in parliament when you accused Scotland of shortchanging cancer patients?

Oh, and by the way, did you see this article from Wings... ?

You should you know.

Hugs

Tris

x

PS Munguin says can you send Maggie Curren round. The stairs at Munguin Towers are in need of a good sweeping and mopping.

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Workers hit out at Stirling Council's 'bully boy' tactics as they are told work longer for less.. or be sacked

THE Labour-run authority sent letters to their staff requesting they accept a pay cut and an extra hour's work a week or face redundancy in November.

A LABOUR-RUN council have been accused of acting like “bullies” after threatening to sack all staff unless they agree to poorer pay and conditions.

Stirling Council workers staged a one-day strike yesterday after the local authority tried to scare them into taking a pay cut and working a longer week.

The council, run by a Labour–Tory ­coalition, have proposed a 0.5 per cent pay cut across the board and an additional hour of work per week.

But Unison say it’s a 1.5 per cent pay cut compared to council staff in the rest of Scotland, who narrowly accepted a one per cent pay rise.

And they say the extra hours add up to 7.5 days of work a year – meaning workers have to swallow an effective pay cut of 4.5 per cent.

Last week, staff were sent a letter by chief executive Bob Jack demanding they accept the new pay and conditions or find a job elsewhere.

The letter, sent to all 3000 employees, said: “If you do not accept the council’s offer of employment under the enclosed statement of particulars, the council gives you formal notice that your employment will terminate with effect from November 15, 2013.”

The council claim that 40 per cent of staff have signed the forms.

Unison Stirling branch secretary James Douglas said he was consulting lawyers about whether the move was legal.

He added: “In my view, this is bullying and harassment trying to intimidate people to sign up. Some people have accepted the terms and they have told me they did that because they were frightened.

“I have been a Labour member all my life and to see the party involved in this type of practice is ­disappointing to say the least.”

Labour and the Conservatives took control of the council last year, despite the SNP being the largest overall party.

When the Record attempted to contact the Labour leader of the council, Johanna Boyd, Stirling Council’s press office released a statement in the name of chief executive Jack.

He said that because of a cut in funding in real terms from the Scottish Government, along with a council tax freeze, the authority need to find savings of £24 million to balance their budget and the changes would save £2.5million.

Jack demanded proof from the unions that their members had been bullied into signing but had received nothing.

Employees on the two lowest grades, he added, would see an increase in pay following the implementation of the Living Wage at £7.50 an hour.

The SNP’s Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford said: “With only four Tory councillors, it’s clear this coalition is Labour doing their dirty work for them, abandoning all principles the party once had.”

Scots Labour leader Johann Lamont declined to comment. A party spokesman blamed “an underfunded SNP council tax freeze”.

He added: “They took Tory cuts, doubled them and passed them to councils.”

Tris's addition: 

Got any figures to prove that Mr or Ms annon party spokesman? Took the cuts and doubled them? Come on, explain where that calculation comes form?

Maybe if the council had tried cutting out some of the fringes...the celebrations, free bars,  etc. it would have done better.

We take the Tory cuts, you thicko, because there is no choice. They don't negotiate cuts with us; they enforce them upon us. We are trying to keep tax down on people who simply cannot afford to pay it. If councils act responsibly they CAN manage. They simply have to cut out the frills. There are no frills under the Tories. Get rid of the cars, the expenses, the fat salaries at the top, the first class travel...

As for Ms Lamont not being available for comment, isn't it high time she was? Has Ed told her to stay hidden lest she say something vaguely socialist, that might damage his chances with the south east voters?

In my opinion she should encourage the workers to go on strike. It's legitimate, it seems to me.  With inflation for essentials at over 10%, a 4%+ drop in wages is an outrage. To hell with Stirling Council ,guys. Strike. And yes, I'd say that if it were an SNP council too.