Monday 21 January 2013

Another Unionist half-truth exposed

The Squadron Volante, which now claims to be in favour of further devolution, despite having opposed that option being put to the people of Scotland, despite its leader Alistair Darling - who had to repay back public money he took but was not entitled to - supporting the NO campaign in the first devolution referendum, despite Johann Lamont, the "leader" of Labour in Scotland being convenor of the Glasgow University NO campaign in that referendum, and despite their funders, the Conservative Party, being on record as recently as last year opposing any further devolution, released the following campaign poster today.


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anti-Independence campaign poster#
It's probably not even worth investigating the truth of those "grants", which will doubtlessly include work in Scotland for London's Olympic Games. 


However, let's take it at face value that Better Together aren't exaggerating the extent of the "grants" to Scotland (although taking Better Together's word on anything economic is probably a risky business, seeing as their leader can't even manage to keep his sticky fingers out of the public purse!). 

Firstly, these aren't "grants" to Scotland by a benevolent British government. This money is paid for by Scottish people, and is being returned to their communities. 

Secondly, Better Together presumably use this Camelotian largesse as a reason why we shouldn't be independent. 

£2.300.000.000 is quite a lot of money. It could buy some of Johann Lamont's nuclear weapons. It could pay for all of the free bus passes that Johann Lamont wants to rip from the gnarled hands of pensioners who have served this country all their days. 

Over the eighteen years of the National Lottery, it adds up to £0,128 billion per year. 

Now, that £0,128bn - Better Together imply - is money that couldn't be raised were Scotland to be an independent nation with its own lottery.

I have a lottery ticket in front of me from Ireland. At €1,50 a line (£1,26 - £0,74 cheaper than Camelot's lottery ticket), it has raised over €4bn since its inception in 1987.

Taking that at its least charitable estimate (€4bn), that is €0,16 bn per year to good causes in the State.

0,16 billion is a greater number than 0,13 billion, I'm sure you will agree. 

At today's £/€ conversion rates (even as the £ collapses against a resurgent €), the money "given" to Scotland for good causes only amounts to €0,15bn per annum against Ireland's €0,16bn per annum. 

It will not have escaped your notice that Ireland is "separate" from the United Kingdom and has been for some time. 

Better Together: even their truths are lies.

2 comments:

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  2. Aside from £2.3 billion being nothing compared to the billions earned in Scotland every year that travel south in one direction only, there's no reason why we couldn't just start up a Scottish lottery, same as Ireland and Europe have already. England certainly doesn't own the monopoly on lotteries, and we could sell the tickets there just as easily as here. The best part is, the profits made would all be invested in Scotland. No more begging for scraps.

    ...Next illogical argument for staying in the Union please?

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