Man the torpedoes!

Calton totally agrees with Margaret Curran because it certainly wasn't the independence debate that was keeping him burning the midnight oil last night - it was the thought of the 5 more qualifying years of NI contributions now needed for his pension! He can't actually see Bute House from his eyrie but he is willing to bet that, if Alex Salmond was awake in the wee small hours, it was not due to worrying about his MSP's pension. By the time the referendum on independence happens, goodness knows how much money will have been spent on it, money that could arguably have been better spent in this trying time, and so we must have an answer that is clear and decisive. It is therefore worrying that the sounds coming from the SNP camp are still ambiguous as to whether they will abide by the Electoral Commission's scrutiny of the referendum question. Michael Moore has fired a warning shot across the bows of the good ship SNP over their dodging of the issue. Calton would have aimed below the waterline.

Wanted - a longer spoon

It's no surprise to Calton that the SNP are prepared to ignore the advice of the Electoral Commission, given that they don't listen to anyone else. And for Nicola Sturgeon to say that Scotland won't be "bought and sold for anyone's gold" is a nonsense when the SNP are bribing voters with free personal care, frozen council taxes, free prescriptions and free bus travel for the elderly and the average man or woman in the street would vote yes or no to independence depending on whether or not it made them £500 richer. How can the SNP Government possibly make an impartial decision on spending limits for the referendum campaign? That's the role of the Electoral Commission. Unfortunately Michael Moore seems to have been duped by the Deputy First Minister into thinking that the SNP would abide by the Commission's advice. More fool him. You need a longer spoon than he has got to sup with the SNP.

Mushroom politics

Scottish Secretary Michael Moore looks like he has been attending the Alex Salmond School of Question Evasion, judging by his performance at Scottish Questions earlier today. So now, not only do we not know what independence will mean for vital areas like defence and pensions, we also do not know what we might be offered in terms of devo-max if we vote 'no' to independence. Wonderful. Being kept in the dark and fed a load of manure might be good for mushrooms but it is not the way to treat the electorate. One bombastic, blustering minister is bad enough. Two, on opposing sides, is a nightmare. Come back Jim Murphy - all is forgiven!

A paucity of progress

The words 'modest' and 'Alex Salmond' do not normally occur in the same sentence, which is why it caught Calton's eye, however it turns out that, in this case, the adjective was referring to the progress made at the Salmond-Moore talks today and not to the First Minister. Given that the two of them have had weeks to prepare for these talks, so little advancement was disappointing. Michael Moore at least has the excuse of having had chickenpox. One wonders what Alex Salmond's excuse was. Calton has to agree with Johann Lamont, who is reported as saying that "it doesn't bode well for Scotland's referendum that the First Minister and the Scottish Secretary can't even agree what they agreed at their meeting." (She was referring to the fact that the FM thought that the referendum date was agreed whereas the SS still wants it earlier than October 2014.) So that means that the only thing which has been agreed is the role of the Electoral Commission. It's not looking good.

The stushie continues

Calton took his head out from under his wing just long enough to listen to Michael Moore's statement to the House of Commons this afternoon. Since that didn't seem to add anything new to the debate, he has nothing more to say at the moment, however there are a couple of worthwhile articles on the referendum by fellow-bloggers the wee red squirrel and barbarian politics which those who are interested might like to look at. In the meantime, Calton has stuck his head back under his wing to avoid having to hear any more interviews with Alex Salmond, who, of course, is in his element at the moment.