Ann McKechin: Alex Salmond and the SNP's tax policies will create more inequality in an independent Scotland, Daily Record

Sep 09, 2014 11:238 OPINION BY ANNMCKECHIN

ANN McKECHIN puts forward her view that the economic policies of the SNP will only drive an even greater divide between the have and have-nots should Scotland vote Yes.

SCOTLAND'S future will be decided in just a few days’ time when voters across the country go to the polls.

It’s clear that voters want change – they want to see more jobs paying decent wages and offering security; they want affordable housing; they want a social care system that is fit for purpose; and they want an energy market that works for consumers not the profits of big energy.

The Scottish National Party has been keen to persuade voters that breaking off from the rest of the UK would create a ‘northern light’ for social justice – a Scotland that is more just, more humane and more socially democratic. But their message is deliberately high in emotion but lacking in substance.

However, a Scotland which followed the policies outlined in the SNP’s white paper and ended the system of pooling and sharing resources across the UK would quickly find income and wealth would be more unequally distributed than in the country they wish to break up. SNP tax policies will astonish all those used to hearing the claim that, from the day after independence, it would recreate the social democratic state that London has left behind.

Let’s look at the recent evidence. The SNP has refused to commit an independent Scotland to Labour’s proposal for a 50p top rate of tax. It has also refused to support a new top band of council tax. The First Minister keeps telling top business leaders that he is not planning to change the rates of income tax or business from those that apply currently across the UK.

Independent Scotland won't pay back debt, Alex Salmond says

First Minister reportedly taunted the Westminster government over whether an independent Scotland should take on its share of the national debt, saying: “What are they going to do – invade?”

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Why don't we tell the Scots to shove off! In a personal view (which the Mail disagrees with) SIMON HEFFER says what we fear many English people think, Daily Mail

Alex Salmond's offensive comparison of Scots voting for independence to the ending of apartheid and blacks being given the vote in South Africa took the rank dishonesty of the nationalists’ campaign to a new low yesterday.

Mandela went to prison for his beliefs, something that doesn’t appear to have happened to any Scottish Nationalists.

And, far from being victims of a cruel and unjust system, they have been encouraged to participate in the political process, and to live in a Union replete with opportunities — unlike millions in South Africa who were excluded from politics and advancement simply because they were the wrong race.

It was equally offensive to see Mr Salmond embracing immigrants from Eastern Europe and telling them that their intention to vote ‘Yes’ would be the culmination of their own long walk to freedom.

They chose to come to Scotland not because independence promises an extra layer of liberty, but because of the hard won, wide-ranging freedoms already available throughout the UK, and bestowed upon the Scots as they are bestowed upon every other Briton. 

Enough, frankly, is enough. We have long tolerated Mr Salmond’s mendacity, and his twisted loathing of the English, largely because many felt he would be the loser of this fight and should be indulged.

So when he dropped hints that the NHS would be privatised if there wasn’t a ‘Yes’ vote, or made up the rules about Scotland’s continuing membership of the EU as he went along, or exaggerated the wealth from Scottish oil revenues, we felt slightly patronising towards the old rogue, assuring ourselves of his inevitable humiliation in the September 18 vote.

Now that humiliation appears less certain, and the arrogant dishonesty is so overwhelming, it is time to tell him what some of us really think.

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Don't rip our family apart': At last, the PM gets passionate about the Union and warns there will be NO going back if Yes vote wins. Daily Mail

  EXCLUSIVE: PM issues rallying cry for the 'special alchemy of the UK'

  Together, he says, the nation fills the rest of the world with 'awe and envy'

  Plea came after heated debate as just eight days remain before polls open

  Three banks warned of calamity as Bank of England rejected plan for sterling

  Alex Salmond prompted anger with comparisons to post-Apartheid vote

David Cameron today issues a highly personal plea to the people of Scotland not to ‘rip apart’ the United Kingdom.

Writing in the Daily Mail, the Prime Minister tells Scots that the rest of the UK ‘desperately wants you to stay’.

But he warns there will be no second chances after next week’s referendum: ‘If the UK breaks apart, it breaks apart for ever.’

With opinion polls suggesting the referendum is now too close to call, Mr Salmond dismissed Westminster’s promises about more powers. ‘This is the day the No campaign finally disintegrated and fell apart at the seams,’ the first minister said. ‘Together, David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are the most distrusted Westminster politicians ever – and their collective presence in Scotland will be another massive boost for the Yes campaign.

‘The message of this extraordinary, last-minute reaction is that the Westminster elite are in a state of absolute panic as the ground in Scotland shifts under their feet.’

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What bright spark thought bullying and patronising us Scots was the way to win our votes? Daily Mail

These are dark times to be a Scot, a Unionist and a ‘No’ voter. After the referendum polls finally flipped in favour of a ‘Yes’ vote at the weekend, we should be in no doubt: it’s a real possibility that in just nine days’ time the United Kingdom will be voted out of existence.

As that sad prospect grows more likely, Alex Salmond’s cocky smirk spreads ever wider and there’s an arrogance to the separatists that manifests itself in withering contempt for the views, arguments and emotions of the many people like me who want to stay British. There’s an extra chill in the Scottish air this autumn.

At times, I feel like a stranger in a strange land. In Stirling — my peaceful, semi-rural hometown, which sits halfway between Edinburgh and Glasgow — posters put up by the Better Together campaign have had the word ‘Scum’ scrawled across them, or been ripped down altogether.

Relationships with friends, colleagues, even family members, have become strained in this bruising climate.

It’s one thing to have to tolerate abuse from the other side — the organised mobbing, hectoring and egg-throwing that forced the former Labour Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy to call off his tour making the case for a united Britain was only the most visible example.

Equally, there’s no point denying the SNP-led Yes campaign has done its job well, mixing energy and passion with cynical but effective attacks on all aspects of Britain and, especially, Westminster.

What’s harder to take than any of this is the feeling that the campaign to save the Union — probably the most important political fight of our lifetimes — has been a lame, misjudged and overly negative affair.

Take last week, when Better Together launched a series of posters aimed at persuading the 10 per cent or so of voters who remain undecided to stick with the UK.

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How to Release Creative People for Effective Ministry

How to Release Creative People for Effective Ministry

It's impossible to have a healthy church that experiences multi-dimensional growth without trusting people enough to delegate leadership to them. Having said that, this remains one of the greatest bottlenecks to growth for thousands of churches. And delegation remains one of the hardest challenges for pastors and church staff members.

One of the reasons we fail to delegate leadership is our fear of wildfire. We're afraid things will get out of control—and indeed they will—but limiting control is actually what often fuels growth. We often encumber leaders with too much red tape. Policies and procedures have their place, but we can easily add so much structure that people don't feel free to lead and make decisions.

- See more at: http://ministriestoday.com/index.php/ministry-life/relationships/21187-how-to-release-creative-people-for-effective-ministry-creative#sthash.xBUK4QIx.dpuf

SIMON HEFFER: Ten burning questions if Scotland votes yes. Daily Mail

1)     Would the Queen remain Queen of Scotland?

The Queen will be Queen of Scotland even after independence, just as she is Queen of Australia or Canada, since the Union of the Crowns of 1603 — when James VI of Scotland also became James I of England — precedes even the Union of the nations of 1707. However, the Scots could, as a sovereign nation, choose to become a republic, inside or outside the Commonwealth.

A third alternative, though less likely, is that they could choose to ignore the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688, which saw King James II of England (who was also James VII of Scotland) deposed in favour of William of Orange.

If they did so, they could invite the man regarded by some as James’s legitimate heir, the ‘Stuart Pretender’, to replace the English Queen. That would mean the present Duke of Bavaria becoming King Francis II of Scotland. However, Duke Franz claims to be perfectly content where he is.

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Queen's fear over break up of Britain: Poll puts Scottish separatists in lead as Westminster convulses. Daily Mail

1.      The Queen has held talks with David Cameron after poll put separatists ahead

2.    Said to be 'great concern' at Buckingham Palace over 300-year-old Union

3.     Her Majesty is thought to be strongly in favour of Scotland remaining in UK

4.    Will be in Scotland at Balmoral on day of the vote as a sign of 'continuity'

5.     SNP say Queen will stay as head of state if country votes for independence

6.     But SNP's James Mason is calling for a referendum to replace the monarch

The Queen held talks with David Cameron yesterday amid panic at the prospect of the end of the 300-year-old Union.

With a shock poll putting Scottish separatists ahead for the first time, there was said to be ‘great concern’ at Buckingham Palace.

The Queen, who is thought to strongly favour the Union, will be in Scotland on September 18 – the day it could vote to break away from the rest of the UK.

Pro-Union MPs said her presence at Balmoral would be a sign of continuity.

‘There is a strong anti-monarchy element in the Scottish National Party,’ said former defence secretary Liam Fox.

‘You can bet your bottom dollar as soon as they get independence, their next target is going to be Scotland being a republic.’

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