Better Together-Really?
My column published in Scottish Sun on Sunday 31st August 2014
Better Together- Why would anyone trust Brown & Darling again?
Gordon Brown and Alastair Darling managed not to bury the hatchet in each other’s heads, as they sat on a stage this week and smiled lovingly into each other’s eyes for the benefit of the Union.
I find it amazing that these two has-beens are allowed to rewrite history, but their record speaks for itself.
As Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007-2010,Darling bailed out thieving bankers to the tune of £1.5 trillion and made us pay for it with tax increases and cuts in public spending. He claimed expenses for a flat which he let to tenants whilst at the same time claiming expenses for his flat in Downing Street.
Living rent-free in Downing Street, Darling was claiming thousands in second-home payments on his Edinburgh home whilst “also renting out a London flat – designated as his main home.”
Gordon Brown wanted rid of him and said “I did not come into politics to allow a situation to develop where MPs ran away with money that they didn’t deserve.”
Nick Clegg in 2009 said of Darling-
“As Chancellor, Alistair Darling occupies a very special position in Government, He needs to enjoy the public’s trust when it comes to issues of financial probity, of money, of managing our nation’s finances and given that very unique responsibility that he has, it’s simply impossible for him to continue in that role when such very major question marks are being raised about his financial affairs.”
Ironically this man was introducing policies which targeted the poor and the vulnerable, presided over record debt, collapsed banks and a wrecked economy. So why would anyone trust this man’s advice on anything let alone the nation’s finances?
Meanwhile Gordon Brown argued this week that pensioners receive on average £200 a year more than their British counterparts, “thanks to the union’s ability to distribute wealth”.
The cheek of this man telling pensioners they should be grateful for having an extra £3.84 a week when he was responsible for them having the worst pension in Europe.
Better Together?
Voting no will mean one thing only, a mandate for more of the same.
As Elaine C. Smith said- ‘I cannot ignore the fact that along the road from me , life expectancy for men in Shettleston is 58, if this is better together, if this is the best of both worlds, forget it.’
Gordon Brown and Darling failed to deliver in 13 years of office and have nothing new to bring to the table, their perspective is old and rotten. Never mind Plan B or C, they don’t even have a plan A for Scotland in the event of a No vote.
They want us to believe in Labour again, but they sold out a movement founded by a people who fought for welfare, education and a free health service.
Better Together- what happens next General Election?
All week they have been desperately denying that their rich friends are lining up the health service for privatisation, but when Ed Milliband says in England- ‘You can’t trust the Tories with the NHS’ – why then are the No Campaign asking us to trust them in Scotland?
They cannot guarantee that that the next Westminster Government will be sympathetic to the needs of the people of Scotland. Especially when the latest polling figures show that 48% of English voters back the Tories or UKIP, yet we are expected to believe that Ed will save us.
It’s time for the People of Scotland to vote yes, take control of their own destiny and in the words of Nelson Mandela on the 18th September-
‘May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.’
