The "no" Vote??

[maggiebee]

So granda, remember that referendum back in 2014?
Aye, what aboot it son?
Just curious, what way did you vote granda?
Well, (change in tone) I voted no son.
Really granda, why did you choose to vote no?
Eh, because. .
Because what granda?
Eh. . . Eh. . . because I didn't like that Alex Salmond.
Alex who ?
Alex bloody Salmond, he was the first minister, nobody liked him.
Oh ok, but did he no pass away 10 years ago?
Aye, but still.
But still what granda? surely he wasn't the reason you voted NO, just because you never liked him, there must of been another reason?
Eh......Because your better wi the devil you know son.
But granda, my history teacher says, at the referendum we were £1.6 trillion in debt, there was cutbacks five years in a row and the national debt still went up everyday, the NHS was a shambles and there was food banks all over the country?
Aye that's true but . . . . . . . . . (Stuck for an answer)
So granda, if there was cutbacks for five years in a row, why did the national debt not come down?
Eh, . . . Well Westminster were obviously incompetent and they were building expensive things.
Building things, Like what granda?
Well son, you know that fast train between Birmingham and London you've never been on, they built that, that cost about £17 billion.
But wasn't there a train line there already?
Aye son, but they wanted a faster one.
Doesn't seem right that, especially with all those food banks everywhere, did they build anything else granda?
Well son, you see all those fancy new nuclear weapons near Glasgow?
Aye, what aboot them?
Well, they cost over £30billion to replace, and £3billion a year running costs.
But granda, did Alex Salmond not want to get rid of nuclear weapons?
Aye, he did that.
Did Salmond not promise free child care for mothers wanting to work?
Aye, he did that.
Did he also abolish tuition fees?
Eh.....Aye, he did that.
Was it not him that introduced free subscriptions?
Aye, that was him.
Was it not under his government, we had the council tax freeze?
Aye, that's right.
Ok granda, so what happened to all the food banks?
Well, More and more appeared son.
Gee wizz, did you know all this when you voted NO?
Eh. .....Aye I did son.
So why did you vote NO then?
Well, there was this man on the telly shouting at Salmond saying it was his pound.
But granda, did that man, the prime minister and that chancellor not say only 12 months before the referendum, that it was 'desirable and logical' that we should all use the pound?
Aye son, they did, but they changed their minds nearer the time as they were obviously wanting us to vote NO.
Did they not also say that Scotland was subsidised by the UK, so why were they so desperate for Scotland to stay in the UK?
Well, they never really answered that one son.
But granda, did you know that in many years up to the referendum Scotland was raising more revenue per head of population than the rest of the UK?
Aye, a knew that too.
I still don't understand granda, why would you vote NO?
Well another man on the TV said there would be men with machine guns at the border.
But granda, there are no men with machine guns or any other men at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Aye, I knew that as well.
Granda, I really don't understand why you voted NO?
Well son. . .all the English politicians and media said it was for the best.
But how could it be for the best granda, could you not see through the bluff and scaremongering? Did you not want change?
Aye son, everybody did, but I was scared of change.
So what happened in the years after the NO vote?
(Big sigh). . . . We'll talk aboot that another night son.

[Wharton]

The vast majority of Scots don't vote for the Tories; of the 59 Scots MPs at Westminster only 1 is Tory (that's approximately 98 - 2 in % terms) and quite frankly my dears, we're fed up being subjected to Tory rule. Some analogies for you :-

100 people are asked to name their favourite author, 98 say Sir Walter Scott, 2 say Enid Blyton and so the libraries are stocked with Enid Blyton books.

98 would like fresh salmon for lunch, 2 would like spam and so everybody gets spam.

98 would like to see a ballet performance, 2 would like to watch morris dancing - guess what?

If maggiebee will allow, please add your own analogy.....and a special thanks to DTCwordfan for mentioning me in dispatches :-)

[ladybirder]

Well that's democracy for you wharton:-)

[Slapshot]

@SirOracle.... have you wirnessed any of the "hustings" Democracy means we debate to reach an opinion, in Scotland now it's all about threat and counter threat, politicians, people, action groups. It's dirty nasty politics at best at worst, I can't describe it, I can't find the right word. There is no debate any more so contextually no democracy...... if you don't like my use of the word, well we'll agree to disagree.

[jim360]

That's a rather misleading statistic though because it implies that only 2% of people in Scotland voted for the Conservatives. In fact in 2010 almost 17% of the electorate in Scotland voted for the Conservative Party in a turnout of about 64%. A sensible comparison is to note that at the same vote the SNP had 20% support, which isn't much more actually (the extra 3% vote share translated into 5 extra seats).

What this probably demonstrates most is how awful FPTP voting is. Scottish Conservatives are seriously disenfranchised in Westminster!

[ladybirder]

Quite Jim.
If 100 people from across the whole of the electorate, i.e. England, Wales, Scotland and NI were asked who their favourite author was I don't think the answer would be Sir Walter Scott.
I could say that Scottish voters stop me having my party of choice in power. But as I said, that's democracy.