Lies, Damn Lies and Effing Tories

How do you feel about being manipulated? How do you feel about being emotionally blackmailed?

Yesterday we were visited by our Prime Minister, Mr Cameron, who cancelled PMQs to jet up here and make an impassioned plea for us to stay together. He reminded me of the abusive husband, bringing flowers to apologise for the black eye. "If you leave me I'll be heartbroken, I won't be able to go on, it'll be your fault. Please don't destroy our marriage."

But when I speak of manipulation I don't just refer to Mr Cameron's speech but the reporting of it. On the BBC last night it was reported that Mr Cameron was "close to tears" and his voice was "cracking with emotion". It was reported the same way in The Telegraph

Saying something doesn't make it true, however it does make people believe it's true and it's another example of the way in which public opinion has been manipulated by a media that's gotten very good at this. We seem to want to be told how to feel about something, it's in our nature so even though we've just watched the video, if we are told his voice cracked and he was on the verge of tears we'll believe it. Well watch again and ask yourself, does David Cameron seem like the sort to get nostalgic and dewy eyed?

Is he close to tears when he hears of David Clapson's death caused by his party's neglect? Does his voice crack with emotion when he hears of pensioners committing suicide over money fears as a direct result of the bedroom tax? Does he cancel his plans and make an impassioned plea to put a stop of food poverty when he hears of working families so poor that they have to use Food Banks? And where is his passion and nostalgic love of our great nation when his party started privatising The NHS and the Post Office? "You've never had it so good!"

No, I don't believe that David Cameron is the sort of man to get dewy eyed or emotional about anything unless there is something in it for him. Ask yourself this, why is he so eager to keep Scotland in the UK? What really floats his boat? I believe it has something to do with money and the resources that we have and he wants.

Going back to manipulation for a moment though, I've spoken of this previously but it still seems that there is a desire to trust the media even when faced with evidence that you cannot. We want to believe in our authority figures, we want to trust them. And even when I tell you that I have spent my whole life defending the Union and arguing against Independence until recently, when I started to read and seek out information on my own rather than being spoon fed lies by the media and Better Together, there are some who simply don't want to believe they are being lied to. It's natural, it's like when you are a kid and you think you can trust all grown ups to tell you the truth, you never want that innocence to end. But whether you watch the BBC, ITN, Sky or Fox, whichever channel you get your broadcast news from just stop for a moment and actually look at how this news is being delivered. Once you have opened your eyes though, there is no going back. You have been warned!



The image above is from last nights BBC News at 10 and it's an example of what we have come to expect from our news outlets, what we have above is a journalist interviewing another journalist and all news broadcasters do it. It is journalistic opinion presented as expertise, editorial presented as fact. Television news is supposed to be impartial but when you see a BBC journalist interviewing his colleague it's basically the same as saying "in this newspaper's opinion.." They stand in the street outside a closed door and interview a fellow employee, asking them questions they already know the answers to. In this way they can present their opinion as if they are simply reporting what the experts said. Look out for it, journalists interviewing journalists.

You may have seen yesterday that the FT came out in favour of the Union, it was seized upon by the Better Together campaign and widely reported. But did you look at the language used?


It was an editorial, an opinion piece. In an economic newspaper, possibly one of the most highly regarded there wasn't much in it that was backed up by economists, it was simply an opinion. However when this article appeared in February, arguing that Independence would be beneficial to Scotland's economy and more in keeping with the FT's more traditional reporting it was widely overlooked. Similarly when The Adam Smith Institute argued that using the pound without a formal currency union would in fact be better for Scotland this was also ignored.

And Pensions? Its no wonder there is confusion but the fact is your UK state pension will not be affected, which is a shame because it could be a lot better It would be quite nice to retire before I die as well, perhaps whoever we elect here will change that. The fact is a No Vote does not provide pension security, what it provides is the certainly that you will get whatever party England elects next and whatever changes they deem necessary to your pension. Remember when the retirement age was 65?

But what this all adds up to is a very subtle manipulation of the information that is getting to you, a slow trickle of fear and doubt and reinforcement that it would be safer and easier to stick with what you know. And it does work. Fear does work but only if it isn't too blatant. Luckily we have had a few years of this campaign to allow it to bed down. But something has happened lately, I don't know if you have noticed! The tide has begin to turn. As more and more people become wise to the lies they have started to use their internet connection and have found other media outlets and other sources of information unconnected to either campaign and have started to find out what the media and No Campaign have been hiding. And more and more have, like me, started to change their mind. You'll notice the links throughout this blog, click them. See for yourself, it really isn't too late!

Oh, one last thing! Additional powers. These were promised in the weeks before the 1979 referendum as well and nothing ever came of them. Indeed William Hague has gone to great lengths this week to point out that these are not promises of policy change but "campaign statements" for reasons that escape me! But let's have a look at what's on offer. This is Johann Lamont, leader of The Scottish Labour Party talking about how she would use the additional powers on offer. Remember, this isn't a UK politician tell us what we are being offered but the leader of the Labour Party in Scotland detailing her ideal scenario on how these powers would be used. Something to look forward to!

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