The Westminster Leaders Don't Want to Save The Union – They Want To Save Their Jobs

I, like many Scots while watching the coverage of the independence referendum have been nauseated by the sight of the three identical Westminster party leaders traipsing up north to come and convince us rebellious Jocks that they are really in love with the United Kingdom and they would love nothing more for us all to live in harmony as one big UK family. However, one only has to analyse the situations of these men to realise that they are only interested in saving the union because that's the only way to save their jobs...and their parties. They are not in Scotland campaigning out of love but out of fear. Let's start with the Ed Miliband and the Labour party.

No-one really knows what the Labour party are for anymore. Many on the left see them (and quite rightly so) as the once-socialist party who have spent the last few decades betraying the working class. After the Thatcher-era the Tories became irrelevant in Scotland and Labour cleaned up so to speak. But something quite strange happened in the 2011 Scottish parliamentary elections. The parliament was set up in such a way that it seemed impossible to achieve a majority but somehow the SNP did just that. For me that was the point that Scots simply became sick of the Labour party. At that time the SNP presented a positive vision for Scotland that the Labour party could not match and people left them in their droves to find something different. While this was a major setback the Labour elite in London still knew that the Scots would vote for them in general elections out of fear that the Tories would get into power.
 

But now the game has changed dramatically. Scottish Labour's first catastrophic error was letting their hatred of the SNP and the influence of their Westminster bosses cloud their judgement in terms of coming out against Scottish independence. Rather than being seen as brave defenders of the union they are now viewed by many to be simply poodles for their Westminster handlers. So now we have the spectacle of Ed Miliband and all his Labour pals vigorously defending the union – they are in so deep now that they simply have to. Imagine that Scotland votes yes on the 18^th and (as many are predicting) it's a narrow victory, well then a huge portion of the population are not going to vote for the Labour party because they will hold them responsible for selling the Scots out. If the Scottish Labour party had come out as being pro-independence from the start then I believe we would be now looking at a landslide victory for the yes campaign and as such they would be in a position to wrestle power from the SNP in an election. But this is not the case.
 

So why should Ed care? Well, without the votes from Scotland the Labour party will struggle to win any UK-wide general election and as such it looks like they would be out of power for some time (if not indefinitely) if Scotland secedes from the UK. But don't think that means that life is rosy for David Cameron, far from it.
 

I have met practically no-one who believes one word that comes out of David Cameron's mouth much less his 'heartfelt' pleas to save the union. To understand why Cameron cares so much about a country who cares so little about his party we must turn to UKIP and more specifically Nigel Farage.
 

Nigel Farage is not a stupid man, far from it. Despite UKIP not being part of the “Better Together” campaign he has been in Scotland sticking his oar in. Now, he knows that he is not well liked (and in many cases detested) in Scotland, however he carries on. You may think “why bother?” but it's perfectly simple. I believe that he knows that his presence will help the yes campaign because many undecided Scots who dislike him will look at him campaigning and will be immediately drawn to voting yes. And this is what will benefit Farage. Here's why – if Scotland goes independent then it is no great loss to UKIP (they only have one European Member of Parliament (MEP) in Scotland and that is it) because without the fear of the Labour party getting into power in England (backed by Scottish votes) then actual conservatives in England will feel less obliged to vote for the Tories to keep Labour out. So with the fear taken away where might they go....hmmm...it's a tough one right enough...to...UKIP? Maybe? Of course they will. They will not pass go and not collect £200 and I think Farage is savvy enough to know this and David Cameron is terrified. Not only will he be the prime minister that lost the union but he could also be in charge when the Tories finally capitulate to the growing power of UKIP – a disaster.
 

As for Nick Clegg, well he's just following his pal Cameron around at this point, he is a man who has so compromised any principles he may once have had for a small slice of power and as such he is not worth even caring about. Sorry Nick but it is all your own fault after all.

So what have we learned? Well, the “Better Together” campaign is fear all over. They scaremonger because they have no positive vision and their leaders are only up here 'fighting' for the union because they are also scared that their parties will crumble to the new political powers that are emerging. People all over the UK are sick of the pass-the-parcel nonsense between these two parties who only have minute differences in policy. They are dinosaurs and they are dying out and guess what? Most people are happy about that.
 

I am a libertarian and as such I do not want to be part of the EU or the Bank of England and I am no fan of the SNP's socialist policies. However, I feel that the quicker Scotland divorces itself from these Westminster elites the better. They do no care about us, they are simply covering their own arses and more and more of the Scottish people can see through their lies. So I will vote yes on the 18^th but not out of fear but out of hope for a truly free Scotland – one day.