Listening Group 22nd March 2014 Glenrothes
What a way to spend a Saturday afternoon! This beats shopping in Tesco any day.
Elaine, Susan, Theresa, Regina and Katie were all at school together - not so long ago. At any rate they haven’t forgotten locking the teacher in the cupboard (and the little one got the blame), the wee lad picking his nose and the teacher sending him to wash his hands, the one who turned up at the Christmas party with schuil claes and boots on – she’d forgotten to tell her ma. The photo said she didn’t care tuppence.
But I was there to hear what they had to say about Scottish independence… they weren’t interested in politics, distrust politicians - came to the meeting for the promised tea and sandwiches. Yet they’d plenty to say.
- don’t get enough information, don’t trust the information they get.
- would vote Yes with their hearts, but their heads put the brakes on
- Scottish Parliament? What’s that done for us? (free personal care for the elderly, free prescriptions, council tax, land reform, support for renewable energy, ring-fencing Healthcare budget, stopping sale of council houses, living wage for public sector workers ….)
– aye, but what about the pound?
- there’s nae much oil left, is there?
- they’ll put up taxes, won’t they?
- the UK Government will refuse tae gie us independence, even if we vote aye.
Austerity! Low wages!
Well, who should take responsibility for the mess the country is in? ?
Oh dear!
‘scroungers and skivers’ – abusing the benefits system
some users of food banks are just ‘feckless’
immigrants.
What about? I asked.
What about bankers betting with our money? Financial regulators not regulating? Bankers’ bonuses? Privatisation of Healthcare in England? A ‘Cabinet of Millionaires’ giving tax breaks to the rich?
What responsibilities would we get with independence? What about building a high value economy that would bring in more taxes because everybody would be earning better wages?
Ok, over a second cup of tea and cake maybe they mellowed. Maybe there’s a lot of scaremongering going on.
Maybe they’ll phone up for their own copy of ‘Scotland’s Future’. Maybe their ‘wishes’ for Scotland will come true: better jobs and wages, a ‘better standard of living’, better public services and better care for the elderly.
Here’s hoping. And in the meantime, what fun politics is!
What a way to spend a Saturday afternoon! This beats shopping in Tesco any day.
Elaine, Susan, Theresa, Regina and Katie were all at school together - not so long ago. At any rate they haven’t forgotten locking the teacher in the cupboard (and the little one got the blame), the wee lad picking his nose and the teacher sending him to wash his hands, the one who turned up at the Christmas party with schuil claes and boots on – she’d forgotten to tell her ma. The photo said she didn’t care tuppence.
But I was there to hear what they had to say about Scottish independence… they weren’t interested in politics, distrust politicians - came to the meeting for the promised tea and sandwiches. Yet they’d plenty to say.
- don’t get enough information, don’t trust the information they get.
- would vote Yes with their hearts, but their heads put the brakes on
- Scottish Parliament? What’s that done for us? (free personal care for the elderly, free prescriptions, council tax, land reform, support for renewable energy, ring-fencing Healthcare budget, stopping sale of council houses, living wage for public sector workers ….)
– aye, but what about the pound?
- there’s nae much oil left, is there?
- they’ll put up taxes, won’t they?
- the UK Government will refuse tae gie us independence, even if we vote aye.
Austerity! Low wages!
Well, who should take responsibility for the mess the country is in? ?
Oh dear!
‘scroungers and skivers’ – abusing the benefits system
some users of food banks are just ‘feckless’
immigrants.
What about? I asked.
What about bankers betting with our money? Financial regulators not regulating? Bankers’ bonuses? Privatisation of Healthcare in England? A ‘Cabinet of Millionaires’ giving tax breaks to the rich?
What responsibilities would we get with independence? What about building a high value economy that would bring in more taxes because everybody would be earning better wages?
Ok, over a second cup of tea and cake maybe they mellowed. Maybe there’s a lot of scaremongering going on.
Maybe they’ll phone up for their own copy of ‘Scotland’s Future’. Maybe their ‘wishes’ for Scotland will come true: better jobs and wages, a ‘better standard of living’, better public services and better care for the elderly.
Here’s hoping. And in the meantime, what fun politics is!