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Fuxake!!

 

Scottish elections: SNP voters think deficit figures are made up by UK

Mike Wade

Monday May 03 2021, 12.01am, The Times

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/scottish-elections-snp-voters-think-deficit-figures-are-made-up-by-uk-hpg0d58l2

 

 

The overwhelming majority of independence supporters believe annual economic figures that reveal the country’s deficit are fabricated by Westminster to discredit the nationalist cause, according to a new study.

 

The survey, conducted by Survation, found a number of myths were widely believed by “Yes” supporters as well as revealing a high degree of public confusion over the SNP’s independence plans in relation to currency.

Most voters favoured keeping the pound in the event of independence, a view apparently at odds with the party’s position.

 

The study — commissioned by the pro-union think tank These Islands — are “truly disturbing”, according to its chairman Kevin Hague, because they suggest an “epidemic of economic fact denial” has swept through the electorate .

 

Respondents were asked to consider Scotland’s economic position, as revealed by the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures published by the Scottish Government.

The survey found 57 per cent of independence supporters agreed with the statement: “The figures used to calculate Scotland’s deficit (the GERS figures) are made up by Westminster to hide Scotland’s true wealth.”

This false statement was “important” or “very important” to their opinion on Scottish independence, according to 90 per cent of the sample.

The Gers figures are compiled by the Scottish Government’s own statisticians and economists and demonstrably were not “made up by Westminster” Hague said.

 

This myth, like others highlighted in the survey, had spread over social media but could easily be dispelled with a simple statement from the First Minister, he added.

 

The survey found that a number of other false statements were backed by independence supporters:

54 per cent agreed that “Scottish tax revenues are understated because of Scottish exports leaving via English ports”.

The false statement “Scottish tax revenues are understated because taxes generated by the whisky industry are not properly allocated to Scotland” was supported by 66 per cent;

while 55 per cent of independence supporters agreed “Scotland is only seen to be running a deficit because some costs outside of Scotland, like HS2 and infrastructure spending in the South East, are charged to Scotland”.

 

The vast majority of the sample — 80 percent — were unaware that public spending in Scotland is more than the amount raised in taxes in the country, while more than a third — 38 per cent — wrongly believe it is less.

 

Hague said: “We have been tracking the spread of economic disinformation in the Scottish independence debate for some time now, but we are still shocked by these findings.

 

“The debate about Scotland’s future in the UK is obviously about a lot more than economics, but it is clear from this survey that many supporters of independence deny (or have been persuaded to deny) simple economic facts — that cannot be healthy for democracy.”

 

The SNP’s position on a currency appeared to baffle most of the respondents. Only 17 per cent were aware that keeping the pound until a new Scottish currency is adopted is party policy, according to These Islands.

Conversely the only option that finds favour with the electorate is “keep the pound indefinitely”, an option that is only possible if Scotland does not become independent.

The think tank added: “Assuming the SNP accepts that joining the EU means committing to joining the Euro, the end game of their policy is the option least favoured by voters, with only 25 per cent in favour.”

Hague said: “The confusion over currency plans and evidence of widespread fact denial revealed by this survey show that support for independence is built on misunderstanding and misinformation.”

Sampling of 1,047 Scottish voters was carried out ten days ago.

 

I know; it's a small sample, but fuxake!!!

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Power firm’s failure costs taxpayers £10 million

 

Will the last person out, please switch off the.....em......lights........

...Oh, right...

 

 

Power firm’s failure costs taxpayers £10 million

Kieran Andrews

Monday May 03 2021, 12.01am, The Times

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/scottish-elections-power-firms-failure-costs-taxpayers-10-million-07zc2vspt

 

The taxpayer has lost almost all of the £10 million invested in a not-for-profit energy company, which was backed by the SNP government.

Our Power collapsed in January 2019 even though three loans, totalling £9.8 million of public money, were approved by ministers. Only £600,000 has been recouped from the administrators.

 

In 2017 Nicola Sturgeon pledged to establish a new not-for-profit energy company by 2021, which she has not done. The SNP’s election manifesto restated the pledge, saying that “whilst work on a planned publicly owned energy company was halted during the pandemic, we will now refocus our efforts on a new dedicated national public energy agency”.

 

Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, accused ministers of being “oblivious” to the problems that led to the government losing 94 per cent of its investment. “Two years later they still haven’t even conducted a review of the investment to find out why they lost millions — despite Nicola Sturgeon announcing plans to mirror and scale up the not-for-profit energy company model,” he said.

“It’s negligent beyond belief. The SNP have racked up high-profile high-value losses at BiFab, Prestwick, Fergusons, Lochaber and now Our Power.”

 

A £7 million loan was made to Liberty Steel as it saved mills in central Scotland, and a power purchase guarantee for the aluminium smelter in Lochaber could leave the government on the hook for hundreds of millions of pounds. Secret loans of £45 million were also made to Ferguson Shipbuilders while Jim McColl was in charge, prompting Audit Scotland, the public spending watchdog, to raise concerns.

BiFab, the Methil fabrication yard in which Holyrood was a minority shareholder after pumping in £51 million, fell into administration after failing to win manufacturing contracts.

Prestwick airport has had more than £40 million of government loans since it was bought in 2013. Efforts to sell it have proved fruitless.

 

Our Power, which was based in Edinburgh, had 38,000 customers when it went out of business. By buying energy at wholesale rates for housing association tenants it was expected to save them money and reduce fuel poverty.

A company whistleblower has previously claimed that a failure to develop a working billing system led to more than half of customers not being sent a bill.

The former worker, who raised his concerns with Rennie, said that a green energy tariff which was projected to attract 10,000 customers signed up fewer than 50. They added that price comparison websites caused Our Power to gain customers at a rate at which staff could not process registrations or answer customer queries. This left customers having received free energy and no bill.

 

“The Scottish government could and should have spotted the signs earlier and saved the taxpayer a lot of money,” the whistleblower said.

 

The Scottish government said: “The administration of Our Power has not yet concluded, this is not unusual for a complex insolvency.

“When the full facts are available, the Scottish government will complete a review and publish a summary of the lessons learned from the closure of Our Power.”

 

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1 hour ago, Uilleam said:

Fuxake!!

 

Scottish elections: SNP voters think deficit figures are made up by UK

Mike Wade

Monday May 03 2021, 12.01am, The Times

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/scottish-elections-snp-voters-think-deficit-figures-are-made-up-by-uk-hpg0d58l2

 

 

The overwhelming majority of independence supporters believe annual economic figures that reveal the country’s deficit are fabricated by Westminster to discredit the nationalist cause, according to a new study.

 

The survey, conducted by Survation, found a number of myths were widely believed by “Yes” supporters as well as revealing a high degree of public confusion over the SNP’s independence plans in relation to currency.

Most voters favoured keeping the pound in the event of independence, a view apparently at odds with the party’s position.

 

The study — commissioned by the pro-union think tank These Islands — are “truly disturbing”, according to its chairman Kevin Hague, because they suggest an “epidemic of economic fact denial” has swept through the electorate .

 

Respondents were asked to consider Scotland’s economic position, as revealed by the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures published by the Scottish Government.

The survey found 57 per cent of independence supporters agreed with the statement: “The figures used to calculate Scotland’s deficit (the GERS figures) are made up by Westminster to hide Scotland’s true wealth.”

This false statement was “important” or “very important” to their opinion on Scottish independence, according to 90 per cent of the sample.

The Gers figures are compiled by the Scottish Government’s own statisticians and economists and demonstrably were not “made up by Westminster” Hague said.

 

This myth, like others highlighted in the survey, had spread over social media but could easily be dispelled with a simple statement from the First Minister, he added.

 

The survey found that a number of other false statements were backed by independence supporters:

54 per cent agreed that “Scottish tax revenues are understated because of Scottish exports leaving via English ports”.

The false statement “Scottish tax revenues are understated because taxes generated by the whisky industry are not properly allocated to Scotland” was supported by 66 per cent;

while 55 per cent of independence supporters agreed “Scotland is only seen to be running a deficit because some costs outside of Scotland, like HS2 and infrastructure spending in the South East, are charged to Scotland”.

 

The vast majority of the sample — 80 percent — were unaware that public spending in Scotland is more than the amount raised in taxes in the country, while more than a third — 38 per cent — wrongly believe it is less.

 

Hague said: “We have been tracking the spread of economic disinformation in the Scottish independence debate for some time now, but we are still shocked by these findings.

 

“The debate about Scotland’s future in the UK is obviously about a lot more than economics, but it is clear from this survey that many supporters of independence deny (or have been persuaded to deny) simple economic facts — that cannot be healthy for democracy.”

 

The SNP’s position on a currency appeared to baffle most of the respondents. Only 17 per cent were aware that keeping the pound until a new Scottish currency is adopted is party policy, according to These Islands.

Conversely the only option that finds favour with the electorate is “keep the pound indefinitely”, an option that is only possible if Scotland does not become independent.

The think tank added: “Assuming the SNP accepts that joining the EU means committing to joining the Euro, the end game of their policy is the option least favoured by voters, with only 25 per cent in favour.”

Hague said: “The confusion over currency plans and evidence of widespread fact denial revealed by this survey show that support for independence is built on misunderstanding and misinformation.”

Sampling of 1,047 Scottish voters was carried out ten days ago.

 

I know; it's a small sample, but fuxake!!!

Basically because people are only interested in what they believe to be freebies baby boxes free prescriptions bus travel etc you cant teach the village idiots

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A checkout lady at Tesco confidently told Mrs7 on Friday that Scotland was nine weeks ahead of England in the vaccination programme.

 

My advice to Mrs7 - do as I do and use the self service at Asda.

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20 minutes ago, compo said:

Basically because people are only interested in what they believe to be freebies baby boxes free prescriptions bus travel etc you cant teach the village idiots

I am not given to conspiracy theorising, but the poll from The Times casts the failure of the  SNP's education policies in a whole new light.

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"Iran is peddling disinformation in an attempt to swing the Scottish parliamentary elections in favour of pro-independence parties to destabilise the UK, a report has warned."

 

The mullahs will have to go some to outdo the Mullah of the Nation hersel', in the disinformation stakes. 

 

Personally, I have always worried more about the SNP putting the Kool-Aid in Irn Bru bottles.

It looks like this has actually happened: 

 

A think tank has said that Iran is engaging in “Russian-style disinformation campaigns” to destabilise the UK

A think tank has said that Iran is engaging in “Russian-style disinformation campaigns” to destabilise the UK

 

 

Iran ‘peddling disinformation’ to influence Scottish election

Matt Dathan, Home Affairs Editor

Monday May 03 2021, 12.01am, The Times

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/iran-peddling-disinformation-to-influence-scottish-election-dlfk27npc

 

Iran is peddling disinformation in an attempt to swing the Scottish parliamentary elections in favour of pro-independence parties to destabilise the UK, a report has warned.

Cyber specialists acting on behalf of the Iranian regime are targeting voters on Facebook and Twitter by creating fake accounts, groups and pages, according to a study by the Henry Jackson Society think tank.

They pose as locals sympathetic to Scottish independence, and encourage real users to share pro-separatist material, graphics, memes and cartoons with their contacts online.

Fake websites with domain names chosen to influence campaigns have also been set up to trick internet users. This is part of a wider Iranian disinformation campaign, similar to efforts by Russia, and designed to sow chaos and division to weaken their adversaries, the society said.

 

Its report concluded that the growing presence of activity encouraging Scottish separatism was an attempt by the Iranian regime to “attack the constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom”. The report concludes: “Iran has shown itself to be a country which engages in Russian-style disinformation campaigns, repeatedly establishing fake websites and internet accounts in an effort to disrupt the political systems of liberal democracies. Judged within this context, Iran is almost certainly looking to disrupt our current elections, most likely those under way for the Scottish assembly.”

 

Facebook and Twitter are taking an increasingly proactive role in identifying and banning “co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour” by various regimes. Most of the Iran-related activity is targeted at Iraq, Israel and Afghanistan. However, the report said Iranian activity had been increasingly detected in Scotland over the past year.

The findings were part of a wider investigation into Iran’s increasing attempts to interfere in foreign elections.

 

The study says the campaigns are being generated by agents acting on behalf of the Iranian regime so its leaders can deny responsibility and avoid repercussions. The aim is to “cause harm to adversaries with clear military superiority, and at the same time, maintain a margin of denial that will prevent international censure or even sanctions and a counterattack”, it said.

Dr Paul Stott, the report’s author, said Iran could no longer be considered a “third tier” country in terms of cyber capabilities. The study said: “Iran has become increasingly sophisticated in both the scope and choice of its target.”

In March Facebook removed hundreds of fake accounts and pages connected to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting corporation, the state-controlled media group.

Fake accounts shared and promoted the pages, groups and memes to try to generate content to go viral. In one example an image was reproduced of a post from a fake Iranian online persona mocking the Scottish Conservatives. It was one of 446 accounts closed by Facebook for violating its policies against foreign interference.

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1 hour ago, Uilleam said:

I am not given to conspiracy theorising, but the poll from The Times casts the failure of the  SNP's education policies in a whole new light.

Maybe that's the reason the education report wont be published until after the election 

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1 hour ago, Scott7 said:

A checkout lady at Tesco confidently told Mrs7 on Friday that Scotland was nine weeks ahead of England in the vaccination programme.

 

My advice to Mrs7 - do as I do and use the self service at Asda.

No doubt the Tesco checkout lady was a fully paid lying NAT

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I believe the nationalist philosophy is that any lie that promotes nationalism isn't a lie at all. Any fiction that promotes nationalism must in fact be reality.

 

You might equate this with the Roman Catholic principle of absolution, where any sin is forgivable as long as you maintain your loyalty to the cause. Just as the Catholic can sin and be forgiven, so the nationalist can lie and have all guilt absolved. It's a convenient escape from truth and accountability. It's also complete bollocks.

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17 minutes ago, Bill said:

I believe the nationalist philosophy is that any lie that promotes nationalism isn't a lie at all. Any fiction that promotes nationalism must in fact be reality.

 

You might equate this with the Roman Catholic principle of absolution, where any sin is forgivable as long as you maintain your loyalty to the cause. Just as the Catholic can sin and be forgiven, so the nationalist can lie and have all guilt absolved. It's a convenient escape from truth and accountability. It's also complete bollocks.

It is also the thin edge of a very dangerous wedge. 

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