I’M tired of hearing so many people, both Unionist politicians and journalists (English and Scottish), claiming that the 2014 referendum was promised to be a once-in-a-lifetime/generation event. It was not. I did hear Alex Salmond say in conversation at that time that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that was obviously not a promise. No government can bind the hands of a future government, so there could be no such promise.
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I am concerned that the lie about “a promise” has been running around for so long now that it may have turned into a truth, but that does not mean we should allow it to be trotted out by our opponents at every opportunity without a blunt denial.
The only promises in 2014 were from Unionists telling us, variously, that staying in the UK would keep us in the EU, and that we were a valued and equal partner in the UK. And then there was The Vow, offering federalism etc. Maybe that doesn’t count as a promise?
Let’s all nail that lie about a generation/lifetime promise!
Bill Craig
Glasgow
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