Who won and who lost? That is a question we might all ask of the Independence referendum? By all accounts the ballot result showed that the negative and fear mongering NO campaign had overcome the positivity of the YES for Independence campaign by a margin of 55% to 45% …far clearer than the polls were latterly suggesting.
History will show that on this occasion Fear won over Hope, Negativity won over Positivity.
So NO won then?
By the reactions of the following day and days, that would not seem to be the case. Apart from the relief and the purring of David Cameron and the Queen, anyone would think from the public reaction that has followed, that the opposite result had been the case.
We have No supporters looking like they have been attacked by a case load of wet fish, and the YES support, other than the initial disappointment, still looking and sounding remarkably upbeat.
It all goes contrary to belief and expectation.Why does winning feel so bad, and losing seem like it is but a minor set back, and really YES won?
The fact of the matter is, and the majority of NO supporters well know this, a battle may have been won, but the war is lost.
I predicted beforehand how many who voted NO would feel the day after, if NO had won.
None of us in our hearts can ever deny the rightfulness of Independence, whether that be individually or collectively. Apart from those who were ideologically opposed to Scottish Independence, the vast majority were driven to voting NO because of Fear.
Fear of loss of Business, fear because of unscrupulous threats to pensions and mortgages, Fear through loss of employment made by employers. Fear through direct threats made by Westminster through its calling in of favours from those who stood to lose out on favourable treatment if the result went the wrong way for them, namely Sir Ian Woods and his Fracking contract warning on Oil depletion, which totally reversed his previous report on Oil. The Likes of Asda, who stand to gain from the new attack on the unemployed by recent measures where benefit recipients have to have a card to buy only what Westminster says they can have, and where from!
Shopping prices UP, Banks moving out, Pensions cut, Mortgages UP, Jobs Lost. You name it, they hit us with it all in the last week. It was the Tsunami of Scare!
Is it any wonder why so many wavered? Is it any wonder that so many believed the BBC and the unionist supporting press, where all but the Sunday Herald looked after their own perceived interests rather than that of the people?
All of which brings us to the commendable 45% who stood their ground, despite the Fear.
The 45% who some quickly made into a movement, but in my opinion a movement also which is negative by its name.
There have been understandably reactions made through deep disappointment and despair in the immediate aftermath, who by referring to themselves as the 45, have clung to the expressions of anger and blame and self righteousness… “Now look at what you have done!” ” We told you so” ” We have been diddled because of YOU! ”
That is just such a wrong way to go, and one that I most certainly resist.
Yes I know that too late, some who voted No, immediately as the truth dawned on them, on what would happen next… the VOW back peddled, the Austerity and Penalties, we must now face at the hands of Westminster, the attempted lessening of Scottish representation at Westminster, and the cuts in our budget which will effect all our vital services, all at breakneck speed, whilst Devo Nano goes at snail pace.
Reality does not take long to dawn. How does it feel suckers?
The fact of the matter is though, you cannot proceed with 45%, you are stuck. If you want to turn 45% into a drive which ignores blame, and strives for unity and majority, then one must be inclusive, and seek to encourage the remainder to join in, not make them feel worse!
It is by positivity, and understanding, and by seeking a common goal that we win.
That has to be in Alliance, a YES Alliance.
It is an Alliance which encourages people to move from No to YES, that holds those who are YES to hold together in common purpose. It is an Alliance of YES groups, people and parties.
It is an Alliance which will hold the political parties feet to the fire. Not just those of Westminster, Labour, Tories, UKIP, Lib Dems, but also those who have been pro Indy, the SNP, SSP and Greens.
Promises and Vows are simply not good enough… Party political interest is way short.
So no matter who they are, we the people are the ones who elect them, and we expect them to do our bidding.
YES Alliance as a Campaign, can reach over all that. We can be the ones who tell them what to do. It is up now to us to come together and make sure that they listen!
Whether Nationalist, Socialist, Republican, or Green…..We all need to form an Alliance of the people to challenge the system as it stands, and WE Must be heard, or be Damned!
Who Lost, and who won?
We did!
Why?
Because there is now no longer going back to the way things were.
We are the people, we are Sovereign, and we will have them do OUR will.
YES won…and YES we can be, YES in Alliance.
Yes Alliance FB Group Page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Yes.Alliance/
Auld Acquaintance 
45% aiming for 75% I’m happy at the people are pulling together and I am happy knowing that we still have the MP,s to send to London,and a majority there is possible and the Formal Declaration of intent to dissolve the Treaty of Union can be started.So aye yes can still win the war.
Well said Rod, I agree YES for ALL 😎
Gerry Hassan in the following blog post says this –
“The Common Weal project has invoked a good Scottish phrase and tradition. In our past there are other examples which could be found. For example, after three previous ‘Claims of Right’ (1689, 1842, 1988) which held arbitrary power to account, ‘A Claim of Right for the Common Good’ could allow our self-government tradition to fill in the detail of a vision of society and how to traverse a road map to get there.”
http://www.gerryhassan.com/blog/after-the-spirit-of-2014/
On the face of it we can all get behind A Claim of Right for the Common Good but there will always be a section of society that fall into the “I’m alright Jack” category, more will be afraid of change and what they may lose and some will never be engaged whether the outcome is good or bad because they think that their is nothing that they can do about the outcome anyway.
The fear of loss is an established sales technique used to the cost of the 45% of us who hoped for a better future that we could have some influence over. After some cogitation I have come to the conclusion the main failure that the campaign had was the lack of a fear of failure, people thought they knew what the future held, it was the status quo. The Yes campaign sold the features and benefits of Independence but did not focus on the loss that people would (now will) experience by allowing Westminster to control our future rather than taking ownership of it ourselves.
The pitch of the No campaign was, why change your are safe in the Union, and change is scary. Sadly it worked, it is completely understandable that Westminster will concentrate on the 59 million people over the 5 million in Scotland except that is not what they do, the party in power delivers the wishes of the people in a few marginal constituencies and the wishes of their natural power base. In effect only around 60 constituencies out of 650 will determine the sales pitch (manifesto is too strong a word as it suggests a promise but we know how that ends up). The evidence is that 90% of constituencies will not change hands at elections. The BBC picked 49 of the top 100 most marginal constituencies and 4 of them were in Scotland, so, as we students of political affairs are aware, the rest of the UK will pick our Government and those 45 constituencies are most important to the winning party.
The effect of this concentration on a small number of marginals is amplified by the first Past the Post system that we use to elect governments in the UK. It is mollified somewhat by the proportional electoral system in Scotland but not completely eradicated. To move forward with a majority of people we must first establish the policies that the majority can agree on and the policies that we most fear and find a way to get those policies adopted and implemented (or abandoned and changed). In the current circumstances that means local organisations putting pressure on local, regional and national politicians based on agreed priorities. Lets use the new vital organisations that have grown up around the Yes campaign to gather our collective will and organise a local campaign to influence our politicians based on our national will.