Dave Cullen Freedom Frenzy. I voted no. My decision was made months before the referendum date arrived and long before the so-called vow. I would vote no again tomorrow. I voted no because I want devolution to Scotland and changes to electoral systems. But I absolutely do not want the uncertainty of separation. Had the separatists focused a little more on possible gains in localised democratic control, rather than tales of milk and honey and the Alex Salmond vanity project, you MIGHT have got somewhere. Rachel McCormack Disclaimer: I live in London and couldn’t vote. I would have voted Yes as I think the Union is finished and I do not think England will get a proper democracy without drastic change that people here don’t seem to be that bothered about. Yet. I think Scotland should have got out of dodge. However: The No voters in my family were very concerned that the numbers didn’t add up and were constantly looking for proper believable numbers from the Yes camp and not finding them. One member (a well off one) said to me at least three times “people are struggling, what if it gets even worse” She did not believe in the vow, or any other promise that was made. She knew she would be fine economically in the Union or out, she was genuinely worried about the figures for others. She still believes no matter how bad austerity gets it would be worse in Indy Scotland. A friend was very worried about Universities, the loss of English fee paying students and the cuts that would come in education. I’ve heard a number of times that lots of Scottish universities have a large number of English students to keep them afloat financially. I have no idea if this is true or not, it is worth investigating by someone to see how much truth is in that rumour as it another thing against a Yes vote. Both things are dismissed by Yes voters as scaremongering without proper figures being give to people and, understandably they voted No. Interestingly I never met a NO voter who voted no as they were ideologically attached to the British state, apart from some people who went to public school in England. The only ideological attachment I saw was (and is) the central London Establishment foaming at the mouth at the idea of the loss of some fantasy Britain of theirs. The vow, the Please Don’t Go campaign from the Duke of Westminster’s son-in-law, etc just made the very undecided in my circle of friends in Scotland vote Yes as they were furious at the stupidity and transparency of it. Ian McLintock I voted No but regretted it almost as soon as I did. The response from ‘fellow’ No voters was a revelation. There was an obvious and palpable sense of shame and regret, contrasting sharply with the Yes movements deep sadness. I felt I’d contributed to a nation’s failure, which I had. This ‘sense’ of having done the wrong thing was confirmed in coming weeks after case after case of the Better Together just unfolded before our very eyes. We were duped. I do believe however that the Scotland should not build its economy – or its case for sovereignty on oil. This is no to do with its ‘volatility’ (hello Opec!) – but to do with it being a fossil fuel. Malcolm Henry In response to your request for post-referendum thoughts from No voters I can confirm that I remain just as frustrated by both the Yes and No movements as I was prior to the 18th of September. I was “lied” to by both sides. The Vow wowed me not. Lord Smith has presided over a predictable tray of fudge. The puerile party posturing and bickering is giving me a headache. The persistent whine of nationalism from both sides of the border continues to divert attention away from what really matters: structural reform of our systems of finance and democracy. Independence, as it’s being presented, continues to be nothing more than geographical relocation of our existing problems. Sadly, I stand by my blog post of the 2nd of September. Maybe it’s too early for the social justice Yessers to turn their attention away from independence and put their efforts into the hard work of how we can make government and finance work better irrespective of where we choose to draw our national borders. I hope it will happen soon. Keep up the good work. Malcolm Sarah Andrews I came late to the party, panicked and voted No. I expect to be slated for admitting that but I think readers of this blog and many others have no understanding of how many people (most?) are disengaged from politics.That’s changed now. Every day I would read 20 reasons for Yes and 20 reasons for No. The difference was that the no people seemed to be people in authority: businessmen, Cabinet ministers, senior politicians and the Yes people seemed to be just a handful of the same faces. Looking back it seems ridiculous. I had a media education but I passed the exams a month too late. Sorry. I feel enlightened in the aftermath. I’d vote yes tomorrow because I now know we were lied to. I don’t think they can hold us back as a country based on a tissue of lies.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:51:24 +0000