From ‘Strong and Stable’ to a ‘Failing State’-Theresa May’s UK legacy

The imminent deployment of 3,500 troops on British soil has been announced as part of a no-deal Brexit ‘contingency plan’. 

Should we be worried?

We wonder what the government will ask these troops to do and under what circumstances?

When you consider that the UK has just 1,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan it hard not be a bit concerned by the parallels.

Afghanistan has suffered from decades of war and has been a focus for international military intervention. UK on the other hand has put itself through a long drawn out process of extracting itself from an economic partnership with its closest neighbours by a largely ideologically driven ‘Leave’ campaign. The consequences of this are only now becoming real with stockpiling of foodstuff , medical supplies and industrial parts already a reality.

While the UK does not yet meet the full characteristics of a ‘failing state’ it is showing signs of slipping according to the Fund for Peace’s Fragile states index 2018. It is certainly worsening in the opposite direction from ‘strong and stable’

‘A failed stateis a political body that has disintegrated to a point where basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government no longer function properly’

What is clear is that  there has been a failure of political institutions, and an erosion of legitimate authority to make collective decisions.

Whatever the outcome of the Brexit process the result overall in the UK will be less faith in democratic processes not an empowered population as we witnessed in Scotland in 2014.

Instead of engagement and empowerment we have the opposite dominating society. That is something to be very worried about and something we in Scotland can and must try to prevent dominating our society. Independence is our escape route to a more sustainable and equitable way of life.

Team YSF

On the Buses

If there is a single lesson to be learned from the unmitigated shambles of Brexit it is perhaps this…

Dont place blind trust in politicians or political parties. Learn to question and to challenge. Think for yourself and don’t be a sheep. Ask yourself if what you are hearing/reading is a fact or merely a sound bite or indeed simply some writing on a bus!

Dissolve The Union

I agree with Tim Montgomerie on this point- there is no way back from the devastation caused to the UK by Brexit. The UK is now a global laughing stock and will NEVER recover its status, nor should it. The only prudent course of action is for the union to be dissolved and for its component countries to start afresh.

If the UK was a much loved pet then surely, no matter how much you loved it, you would be merciful and put an end to it’s tortured existence as painlessly as possible. Let’s all agree that Westminster has failed and now move forward with hope and determination.

YSF – From Virtual to Actual

Thanks to your support our first batch of printed material is underway (£264 incl. delivery) Hopefully we will have received it in time to distribute some in Dundee at the AUOB march.

If you wish to help by contributing toward further YSF projects you can do so via PayPal or GoFundMe at these links.

https://www.paypal.me/YesScotlandsFuture

https://www.gofundme.com/yes-scotlands-futurecrowdfund2018

Scotland Together

In the past three plus years the U.K. have wholly failed to follow through on the promises and declarations made during their Better Together campaign.  There should be little doubt now that Scotland can, and will, be a successful and forward looking independent nation. It is time to remove the shackles of Westminster and realise our true potential.

Let’s secure an #altogetherbetter Scotland for all our children. I can’t say it will be easy but it will be worth it!

Selling Change

***Editorial***

Question! How scared are you of change? How easily will you embrace it or what is likely to trigger your acceptance of change?

It is often the hidden factor in any campaign and one that is easily overlooked. As an analogy take any product which you regularly purchase and have for several year, you have therefore placed your faith and trust in that product. Now say that an alternative product comes along, what would it take to convince you to try that instead? What sales pitch would work on you as an individual? And how would a change of recipe/formula/quality of your trusted product factor into your decision?

Now apply those thoughts to someone other than yourself to whom you are trying to sell the merits of an iScotland over remaining under UK governance. One thing is for sure an aggressive/derogatory approach isn’t going to succeed.

Always remember that you are a salesperson for Yes and an ambassador for the future iScotland. Together we are team Scotland.

#Yes #AChangefortheBetter

– Martin

Yes- Change for the Better

Yes Scotland

Yes Scotland is an instantly recognisable, highly successful and enduring brand I can see no reason to rebrand for #scotref . It could be argued that we lost in 2014 but in fact the gains which Yes made from its initial campaign starting point were huge and somewhat unexpected.

Think of it in marketing terms, if you owned Pepsi Cola would you risk rebranding in an attempt to outsell Coke? The simple answer is No and the long answer is Noooooooooooo!!

We were Yes
We are Yes
We will be Yes