H_B Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I believe next month could very well be a defining moment in the referendum campaign. How many times have we heard this? I thought it was the White Paper launch that was going to be the "game changer"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colkitto Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 How many times have we heard this? I thought it was the White Paper launch that was going to be the "game changer"? Well it was to certain extent with the polls narrowing. But you know as well as I do there are still a lot of "don't knows" out there. They perhaps want more powers but are uncertain of independence. If no new powers are forth-coming then they either accept what we have now or vote Yes. I would say that's pretty defining! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 But you know as well as I do there are still a lot of "don't knows" out there. They perhaps want more powers but are uncertain of independence. Well, they want more powers if they are asked about it. But I'm not sure how much of an issue it actually is to folk. It's a bit like Europe. If someone asks people outright they might express a view on it, but when asked to list it against a ton of other issues, it rolls in about 10th. I expect this would be the same. Don't think it's something people are overly interested in. We will see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banterman86 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 If no new powers are forth-coming then they either accept what we have now or vote Yes. I would say that's pretty defining! if no new pwoers are forthcoming then they'll probably focus on issues that actually matter to them, like the economy, rather than the chattering class obsession with further devo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renton Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 if no new pwoers are forthcoming then they'll probably focus on issues that actually matter to them, like the economy, rather than the chattering class obsession with further devo. Which is pretty much the last thing Westminster would ever countenance devolving in any serious way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Which is pretty much the last thing Westminster would ever countenance devolving in any serious way. And rightly so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banterman86 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Which is pretty much the last thing Westminster would ever countenance devolving in any serious way. My point wasn't about further devo - devolution of further powers is interesting to the chattering classes - the media, policy wonks and the likes. It's interesting to the likes of us posting in a poltics thread on a football forum. I don;t belive it's of any great interest to the average voter, and I certainly don;t think it;s swing a large number of don't know s "More powers" is popular. "Devo max" is popular. "Devo plus" is popular. "Devo Whatever" is popular because devoltuion is, on the whole, popular. That's all great. But the many Scots don't know off the top of their heads what is devolved just now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colkitto Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 My point wasn't about further devo - devolution of further powers is interesting to the chattering classes - the media, policy wonks and the likes. It's interesting to the likes of us posting in a poltics thread on a football forum. I don;t belive it's of any great interest to the average voter, and I certainly don;t think it;s swing a large number of don't know s "More powers" is popular. "Devo max" is popular. "Devo plus" is popular. "Devo Whatever" is popular because devoltuion is, on the whole, popular. That's all great. But the many Scots don't know off the top of their heads what is devolved just now. That's nonsense, just about every poll conducted showed voters want more powers. If that was just an obsession with the political chattering classes the polling wouldn't be so high. The Scottish parliament is becoming more and more relevant to the people of Scotland and in my view Westminster is becoming more detached. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renton Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 My point wasn't about further devo - devolution of further powers is interesting to the chattering classes - the media, policy wonks and the likes. It's interesting to the likes of us posting in a poltics thread on a football forum. I don;t belive it's of any great interest to the average voter, and I certainly don;t think it;s swing a large number of don't know s "More powers" is popular. "Devo max" is popular. "Devo plus" is popular. "Devo Whatever" is popular because devoltuion is, on the whole, popular. That's all great. But the many Scots don't know off the top of their heads what is devolved just now. And why is devolution popular 'on the whole' you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banterman86 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 That's nonsense, just about every poll conducted showed voters want more powers. I didn't say it wasn;t popular, nor that the sentiment was. i was saying i don;t expect it to swing votes. And when voters say they want more powers, they may very well be talking about health or education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banterman86 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 And why is devolution popular 'on the whole' you think? I don't think there's a singular answer to that question, do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renton Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I don't think there's a singular answer to that question, do you? It deosn't necessarily have to be a singular answer, no rhetorical trap - I'm interested in your own theories as to why devolution in general is a popular policy, what is it, if not the specific policies it enables, that makes it popular with folk generally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banterman86 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 It deosn't necessarily have to be a singular answer, no rhetorical trap - I'm interested in your own theories as to why devolution in general is a popular policy, what is it, if not the specific policies it enables, that makes it popular with folk generally. Again, it's hard to answer without being too general. I think many people like it for the specific policy choices made, but Yes/Yes didn't campaign on that in '97, they campaigned on the principle of a Scottish Parlaiemnt within the UK, which of course won by an absolute landslide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 It deosn't necessarily have to be a singular answer, no rhetorical trap - I'm interested in your own theories as to why devolution in general is a popular policy, what is it, if not the specific policies it enables, that makes it popular with folk generally. I think people like the idea of localised decision making. An extension of the council principle. I think Scottish people are pretty happy with the status quo. A Scottish budget, with the majority of social policy and issues tackled by a Scottish government. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renton Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I think people like the idea of localised decision making. An extension of the council principle. I think Scottish people are pretty happy with the status quo. A Scottish budget, with the majority of social policy and issues tackled by a Scottish government. But only to a limited extent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 But only to a limited extent? Well, we're clearly not interested in independence. But I think any polls on the issue have seen Scots happy to say "yeah, devolve more stuff" which is a bit of a contradiction really. I can't really speak for these types as I'm not interested in devolution (and wasn't in 1997 either) but I expect they like the security of the UK size and wealth with the flexibility to decide on a more local legislature that affects day to day lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baxter Parp Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I think Scottish people are pretty happy with the status quo. Source? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Source? The polls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baxter Parp Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 The polls. Which polls show people are happy with the way things are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banterman86 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Which polls show people are happy with the way things are? Really depends on how you define Staus quo Technically, the status quo will not remain even if the Unionist parties offer nowt, as the full powers of the Scotland Act don;t kick in until 2016. If you're taking a broader, more gernic defintion of status quo as "devoltuion (however defined) within the UK" then yeah, technically the status que is the most popular option Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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