Let me get today’s moan out of the road first. Two nuclear subs nearing the end of their lives are to be moved to the Clyde. One of the main reasons the UK government wanted to secure a no vote. They say that it will bring hundreds of jobs. How? The crew and their families are coming with the subs so no new jobs there. Any children in these families will perhaps help keep schools under threat open, but will this mean new jobs? Ditto with any shops, social amenities etc. If any of these businesses expand there may be new jobs, but there has just been an influx of partners and family of the submariners. As in other areas who house the armed forces, will there be a percentage of jobs expected to go to these families before being offered to the existing locals? Sometime soon you will be able to comment to this sort of thing. Meantime if you want to inform me of how the UK government may be correct in their assertions, email me at margaret@si1926.org
Meanwhile, what a week or so we have had! We were a bit disheartened that SNP conference had been cut from 3 days to effectively 1 ½ days for the Scots Independent stall. (Marquee gets shut off as soon as delegates go in after lunch on last day). Pleased to say the business manager left Perth in a fairly happy mood. Faithful contributors, and new, flocked to the stall. Many issues of the paper sold to people who had never seen us before. Hopefully some of these will turn into subscribers. The launch of Gordon Wilson’s new book also went well and the 2 for £20 offer was popular. You can still get this online herehttp://www.scotsindependent.org/shopping_mall.htm We even have an e-book version at £12. Beware; the Scots Independent is moving into new territory.
In the week since conference we had nothing but positive messages coming from the new First Minister. Her new cabinet seems to have been accepted, or at least given time to prove what they can do. It’s a welcome relief from the endless negative sniping just for the sake of it.
We were among the lucky 12,000 to attend the Hydro on Saturday. It seemed like a takeover of Glasgow with the Radical Independence A.G.M. going on next door at the Armadillo.
To be fair, this crowd needed no stirring up. Spirits have remained high since the referendum. Handing out Saltires and sponge hands for waving around made the crowd feel wanted. The entertainment and level of sound may not have been to everyone’s liking but it did the trick. Alex Salmond got a standing ovation before he even opened his mouth. Stewart Hosie was well received. There was a roving host with microphone and camera doing live interviews with the audience. The crowd just went wild when Nicola came on. All this was being broadcast live around the world by SNP tv (who needs BBC) and the hosts encouraged tweeting and facebook comments with the #SNPtour tag which got us trending second in the world! Who wouldn’t leave on a massive high, even if your ears were hurting a bit. This is a far cry from the party I joined in the 70’s. Confident and grown up.
Lastly, we welcome the new daily newspaper that is trialling this week. We hope you have all bought a copy to see what it is like. It fills a different niche from the Scots Independent. If successful it will provide a daily dose of news from around the world with the Scottish items reported in a less unionist manner. We are a monthly issue with all articles informative in how the issues will affect Scotland, with the exception of one or two aimed at lighter relief. We wish The National every success and are actively purchasing it ourselves.