I have went through several stages in the lead up to the referendum, firstly I went with "fuck it, who cares" as was my default position in any vote and indeed my sister still has this attitude mere weeks away from the referendum but her opinion is more a defensive point of view and she has remarked "I'm no voting, so I can't be blamed if things go tits up if it's yes or no".
I then moved to a viewpoint of voting no, let's keep the status quo, my life's comfortable and there's no need for things to change and this was my stance for quite a considerable length of time before I started looking into what was actually going on and how it affected my family and I as well as the country at large. My opinion then changed again and for an even longer period of time I was undecided. I saw the propaganda that both sides were launching at each other and tried not to let that influence my decision. The dirty tricks campaigns from both sides as well as the violence and vandalism has been nothing short of unacceptable however the media coverage has been unfairly balanced in favour of the no side as the United Kingdom breaking up disadvantages many media outlets such as the BBC who will need to negotiate with a Scottish broadcaster a deal should be on similar terms as one they have Ireland, I'll admit that I'm not sure what will happen with TV licences but I'm guessing that if the BBC is no longer a main broadcaster in Scotland then that will be a loss of a fair bit of money for the BBC so that obviously affects their impartiality.
There are a few things that made me swing my decision in favour of voting yes, two of the most vulnerable groups in the country for one, carers and disabled people. My mother is a carer for my grandmother and receives an absolute pittance in Carer's Allowance. Westminster think that people receiving little or no pay for caring for vulnerable people is acceptable. The Scottish government have made a pledge that Carer's Allowance will be brought up to the same level as Jobseeker's Allowance, it's not much of an increase granted but it is an encouraging sign.
Alistair Darling was elected claiming that the Tories would slash funding for the NHS yet as part of his Better Together manifesto he has revised this opinion to claim that spending on the NHS in a UK that remains united would be unaffected. Currently Scottish residents receive prescriptions free of charge but with the NHS on the verge of being privatised down south by the Westminster government it will only be a matter of time NHS is privatised in the whole of the UK were the countries to remain together and that it will cost people money who fall ill.
Anyone who stays in and around Dunfermline is likely to know Alistair Carstairs, a wheelchair user whose love of The Pars is well known. However, this is no pro-Pars comment on Ally's behalf, this is pro-independence comment on Ally's behalf. Like many disabled people he has fallen victim to the beliefs of the government sanctioned ATOS who look into benefit claims. ATOS have claimed in the past that Ally would be fine to be employed in a desk job. I don't know of a lot of offices (there will be some, I'm not disputing that) that have lifts and many of them are in old shared buildings that only have stairs, particularly in cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow. In Ally's own words he is voting yes "because a yes vote is the only way vulnerable people and people who have debilitating illnesses will be treated fairly". He believes that Scotland can thrive as an independent nation and actually get the government that we vote for, that stockpiling trident and nuclear weapons in the country is completely unnecessary. He finished by stating that he is not only voting for himself but his extended family and friends. Ally has been put into a support network but feels that that things may change as the vulnerable will be penalised even further if the UK sticks with the status quo. Disabled People for Yes have called for a debate with Better Together so I will watch that one with interest.
I am old enough to remember (just) to remember the Thatcher led government that nearly tore this country apart, from family members losing their jobs at the Dockyard or Ravenscraig to Scotland being used as the testing ground for the poll tax and the country was a mess. David Cameron is doing his best to emulate Thatcher penalising people who have the cheek to have a spare bedroom in their property (yes, I know that's the whole country) and someone who could be potentially the next Prime Minister everyone's favourite buffoon Boris Johnson tearing down Better Together's promises all by himself asking "Why should Scotland get extra powers for a no vote?" and a classic foot in mouth statement stating that "£1 spent in Croydon is of greater value than spent in Strathclyde". Why? Why are people in Croydon more valuable than people in Dumbarton? We're supposed to be in this together, remember?
That leads me onto the currency issue. The pound and the currency union, a lot of people are worried over the threat from Better Together that an independent Scotland wouldn't be able to use the pound. A independent Scotland can use whatever currency it likes but would obviously prefer a currency union with the rest of the UK and has offered to take on it's fair share of the UK should this happen. If this isn't to be the case then Scotland can default on all liabilities and that would leave the rest of the UK in one hell of a mess. Now, there are many people who claim that having to change money to go to England will cause more hassle, but if you've used a Scottish note successfully down south then you're luckier than I am.
I'm just going to leave the Better Together video trying to appeal to women voters here. I'm not going to say anything about it but I trust any females who read this to be smart enough to make their own decisions.
Finally, my major reasons for voting yes. Better together haven't given any tangible reasons why it would be better to stay in the union, instead they cling onto their perceptions that things would be worse for everyone if Scotland broke away. Of all the countries that have previously gained independence not one has asked to go back to the country they broke away from. Yes, it is a huge leap of faith for Scotland to become an independent country and yes things will be difficult but since when anything worth having easy to achieve? I have faith in the Scottish people and I have faith in Scotland. I sincerely hope that the majority of people who vote in the referendum feel the same way I do.
I mentioned previously that vandalism, violence etc. from elements in both sides is unacceptable and I stand by that. I know people who I would call friends and they are voting no. I don't agree with them but I respect their opinion and I hope that no matter what way you are voting that you respect the choice of others to vote differently from yourself.
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