This is an excellent decision by Alex Salmond and ought to bring non-political supporters on board.
The leadership combination of Blair Jenkins and Dennis Canavan will produce a solid base for the Yes Scotland campaign.
However, I echo the queries of one of the article's commenters:
Thanks for the information about the Yes financing. Scrutiny always needed.
On the same point how is the No campaign financed? Who are its backers and where are they based? Are they Conservative businessmen?
Who are the people funding the No campaign or as unionists now prefer to call it Better Together?
picture courtesy of the Guardian.
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19 comments:
Whilst reading this post and the link all about who finances who in the ‘Great Yes/No Debate’, the strangest of strange thoughts came over me…
I think everyone would be agreed that the launch of both campaigns, in this so fundamental a question for Scotland, has been less than impressive, in fact both camps have bordered on the mundane and boring.
It is as if both sides are totally lacking in enthusiasm or are driven by extreme apathy, seeming happy to carry on ‘as is’ and maintain the status quo.
And this is where my strange thought kicks in …
Mr Salmond is stepping back from control of the Yes campaign. He has seen both his popularity and his party’s popularity slide since the start of the campaign, and he doesn’t like that.
After the last Scottish elections he was at his political zenith, a giant amongst the opposition minnows, a deity to his supporters. His party had defied all odds to gain an overwhelming majority and were confident in their administration.
A nice, comfortable place to be if you are a political leader. Why change things?
So the strange thought going through my head is – Within his heart of hearts, is Mr Salmond actually quite happy with the status quo?
I actually missed the information on who is funding the 'yes' campaign. We've got other news on our screen here, so who is?
JRB: Mr Salmond is still miles ahead of his opponents in this country, Johann, and Ruth (no one bothered to survey the Liberal bloke, and I can't remember his name) and hundreds of miles in front of any of the London leaders. And he has been in government now for far longer than Cammerclegg has.
But he has a job to do running the Scottish government. Messers Cameron, Clegg and Miliband haven't taken charge of running their campaign.
It is obvious and right that he should pick people with more time to spare to run the campaign.
As he does more often than he does not, our FM has made a good decision, although its reporting is the usual biased style we have come to expect and detest from the English and unionist press and the Biased British Corporation.
Who cares where the funding is coming from.
I'm more interested in the fact the Yes camp has a lot to explain and say, yet is not saying it. While the No camp have plenty to say about nothing and can't explain why they're saying it.
Perhaps JRB is right in his analysis and the confusion created by the financial shamans has got them all in a dither as to the best choice for the road ahead.
Well! For my hapenny worth -if your threatened to be jammed or squashed between a rock and a hard place, get out, get tough and get going.
And to paraphrase an old saying -look after the people and the pounds will look after themselves.
That in a nutshell is the lesson Westminster has forgot.
For Michele's benefit the Yes campaign has been initially funded by a legacy of around £1m and a donation of a similar amount by a lottery winner.
funny I thought I was funding the no campaign? from the begging letter I got from them this week
I have nothing against independence, infact I'm all for it, just against the one boot stamping on my face being replaced by the same boot stamping on my face, which is what it really is
Yes well I for one am glad that Blair Jenkins is going to be directing the Yes campaign, because he does not arrive with any political baggage, & he will be a gift with all his media experience & contacts. I have always thought that the people who will decide the outcome of the referendum will be Labour voters & for them Denis Canavan's qualities will be very convincing. Perhaps he can work on other decent Labour people to cross the floor so to speak.
This decision has clawed the feet away from Darling & co who thought they were going to be facing a campaign revolving around Alex Salmond. Wrong.
Salmond runs the country at the moment, but in voting yes to independence we are not voting for Eck to run Scotland, we are voting for the Scottish Parliament to run Scotland.
I was impressed with Mr Jenkins approach - if each & every one of us who consistently support independence can persuade just one other person to back it then we have doubled our numbers & can win.
We have until 2014.
Subrosa
Akex Salmond (coward)seeing the the anti separation steamroller heading straight for him.quickly hands over the leadership
to Bliar Jenkins and dives for cover realising Alex is toxic to any normal Voters and just having the eye swivelling Nats extremists will not win any referendum
As for'Who Are Funding The No Campaign?'
PATRIOTS A hard concept for snp extremists to understand
So Cameron is a coward for not fronting the 'Yes' campaign and Salmond is a hero for stepping back?
Meanwhile the EU steamroller is heading for ever closer union in its Euro panic (goodbye nation states)and the SNP thinks it will get independence and a seat at the top table. Dream on.
Darling is right, monetary union requires political and fiscal union. The ONLY way Scotland can be independent is if it is out of the EU as well as the UK.
Subrosa:
The initial funding for the Yes campaign has been from the legacy of Edwin Morgan and from the Lottery winners Chris and Colin Weir. The SNP has this information up on their website.
It's no mystery where the "No campaign" has got their money from.
In a TV interview on Channel 4 Garry Gibbon asks Alistair Darling directly, "I hear you've had about half a million already from a Tory Donor, is that right?". Alistair refuses to give a straight answer. What's he got to be so coy about? Why isn't he trumpeting all the donor's who've funded his campaign? It's because it would be very damaging if he did.
On the one hand Cameron is announcing plans for ferocious welfare cuts and on the other the Labour party is taking the Tory donor's shilling to try and save the Union and their career path to the House of Lords.
The "No Campaign" is a Tory funded Labour fronted marriage of convenience.
In simple terms Labour are acting as an acceptable front for Tory money in the "No Campaign".
I forgot to add that the relevant part of that C4 TV interview is at 2:24 in from the start.
Strangely enough JRB some friends of mine raised your main point just last week. The felt Alex Salmond was content in his current role as the 'saviour' of Scotland from the Labour party. (You can tell most were tories who have voted SNP recently).
I didn't have an opinion then and I haven't yet decided. I need more time.
I agree with you Tris, it is a good decision.
I care Crinkly. We ought to know the source of the funding.
Michele, Crinkly has answered your question. A legacy from the late poet Edward Morgan and a donation from a lottery winning couple.
I had one of these too dognamed blue. I have no intention of contributing to the coffers until I see more detail.
My thoughts too Observer and yes, it's dragged the rug from under the jubilant unionists.
Two years with such sound people at the helm will (hopefully) do wonders.
Niko, dinnae be daft. Salmond couldn't run the campaign as well as the country. He fronted the launch then returned to running the country.
Patriots? Name 'em.
Exactly JimS. The EU question has to be addressed in the next couple of years.
I knew where the money for the Yes campaign was coming from Doug, but couldn't find evidence about the No campaign funders.
Thanks for that link, I missed that. Not surprised it's from a tory though, although a lot of tories won't be happy because a good minority of them support independence.
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