AS has been announced, the campaign to win the independence referendum is now under way. We have already won the right to hold it by electing in May those MSPs to our parliament with a manifesto to bring the question before the Scottish people in the first half of this parliament. That is unequivocal and only the dimmest of Unionists think that it will not now happen. Most of the those unfortunately inhabit social media and are quite obviously beyond reason and lack all form of credibility.
One former colleague of mine from the military, a frequent apologist for the Westminster elite and their aristocracy, even had a dig at what Kate Forbes may have had to eat whilst the children of Scotland starved. Quite clearly this apologist, dullard as he is, has a blind spot for the banquets held in London whilst veterans’ needs go unanswered, and not just unanswered but with those attending the banquets being responsible for this oversight.
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It is a mental condition that I just cannot get my head around, how can someone be so heavily brainwashed, so obviously blinkered that they cannot bring themselves to criticise the Westminster elite and aristocracy, yet supposedly still be in favour of supporting veterans in need?
Here on our little archipelago it is of course the paradox that the ruling class have relied upon, and one that thankfully the majority of voters in Scotland now see through and are all to keen to be rid of.
So the campaign to win the vote, well I look forward to it as we have people to meet, greet and convince that an independent Scotland is the better alternative to the present set-up.
Also we need I think to engage with the overseas press – let’s get them involved and reporting on what is happening. Remember that with our exit from the EU a vast swathe of hitherto neutral countries are now open to our reasoning.
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As far as our armed forces veterans and serving personnel are concerned, surely now they realise that Westminster is not their friend. The army is losing the senior Infantry Regiment as the name of the Royal Scots through to 1 Scots is changed to 1 Ranger Battalion.
We are of course also losing the Scottish Division, a Division that I was part of that was held in the highest regard throughout the world. Three other battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland are having numbers reduced, and as yet we wait to see the devastation to our reserve units that the Tory party will cause.
There are a lot of very angry military types out there and we need as a movement to get engaged with them and talk independence through with them. Be honest with them if you don’t have all the answers.
We also need to reassure our pensioners that their pensions will continue even on independence. We can all remember the quite disgusting tactic of Labour activists doing the rounds in Aberdeen, scaring pensioners with the lie their pensions would stop.
We are obviously up against a wounded and sick beast in that obscene organisation beside the Thames. No strategy will be beneath them, and no amount of money is too much to be spent on dirty tricks.
However, we know that. We know what’s coming and from what direction it will arrive, which makes our job of parrying their nasty shots all the more easy.
Our future is bright, independence is right.
Cliff Purvis
Veterans for Scottish Independence 2.0
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