Today's that date....18th September....

18^th September …yes, today’s that date……

And I thought we’d be into some serious stuff, you know, meaningful politics.

I thought the silly season was officially over. Wrong! 

We have the Lib Dem Conference gracing us here in Scotland http://www.politics.co.uk/    

Was that a deliberate tactic on their part to detract from ‘the -one -year -to -go -before -the -referendum –debate- and –try- and -grab –some- headlines?’

Or was it a deliberate tactic to be in Scotland and in the limelight generated today, 18^th September: the limelight that might just have otherwise over - looked them?

Who knows with the flip-flopping Lib Dems. 

But here I was, thinking a party conference would be previewing headliner policies. 

But no.  I heard about plastic bags and the cost of skool uniforms, before they got to …what else?

Mixed messages from Cable & Alexander?

Or that  it would have been worse if they hadn’t been holding the Tories back and in check!   

Surely that isn’t going to be their main manifesto message over the next two years.  Might not be the message, but it will be the mantra!

But, back to Glasgow.

Now we all know that Glasgow’s a great place: yes, I’m from Edinburgh and you can quote me on that. I’ll be there this week and next week. Apart from all the really good things in Glasgow, they’ve got great UK transport links. Why else do you think it was chosen by the Lib Dems? Excluding some additional pr due this being THAT DATE!

Was it to rally their troops? What troops? 

Have you seen the tv coverage with empty seats, rather like the ghost of Olympics just passed?

Was it to tell us we’re better together? Well, in their estimation we are, shackled to the Tory’s ideological policies that are being pushed through with Lib Dem support.

No one would deny that welfare reform is required since every system, every process requires to be monitored and changed positively when change is positively required, but delivered as a political party piece is another matter altogether.

But within this particular party conference and yes, their bed fellow’s future event, where will we hear direct reference to, and acknowledgement of the rise and rise in people across the UK accessing food banks?

Quote…. The Trussell Trust, which runs the UK’s biggest network of food banks, however, told TFN it has seen a sharp increase in people coming to food banks since April this year, including a large number referred by the Scottish Welfare Fundhttp://www.thirdforcenews.org.uk

The same article did include a message from the Scottish Government…quote…. 

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said “Local authorities may award food vouchers or food if that is the right option for the applicant. The cost of in kind support in the form of food or food vouchers should be deducted from the Scottish Welfare Fund budget in order not to place pressure on third sector food banks.”

No one would be foolish enough to claim that food banks are new, springing up just yesterday. http://www.trusselltrust.org/ . 

But their expansion, use and need for has to be a cause for concern. 

In turn, that depends on your party’s ethical and moral stance. 

Remember Gove? OK, it’s true, I’d prefer to forget him, but since I can’t, let me share the agony of remembering….

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ 10^th September 2013

Quote: Criticism: Education Secretary Michael Gove said some families make the wrong decisions and get into financial trouble

Families become so poor they are forced to turn to food banks because of their own ‘decisions’, Michael Gove has claimed.

Now it has to be bad when the Daily Mail is on your case!

But is this UK and Scotland we want or deserve? 

Harsher penalties/jail sentences announced this week for welfare cheats along side tax breaks for some: the big some, the multi nationals, with bug sums to save, or hide, or remove from the UK altogether.

And what about those of us actually living here in Scotland, working here, paying our taxes here? Are we playing our part or letting it wash all over us? let's hope not!

Which means then today’s date is really significant…18^th September 2013…with one year to go for our referendum.

Will we have heard enough to make up our minds? Something tells me that we might even have overload before the year is up!

How big a role will social media play this time round? Let’s find out by being engaged.

What of the role of the younger voters this time for the first time? Talk to them, not at them, and listen to them!

And will the run up to the 2015 elections mean we hear from the 3 main parties about how they plan to devolve more powers to Scotland if we stay within the Union?  If they want us to vote for them, let’s hear from them!

And if the Yes Campaign truly believe in what they say they believe in, it’s up to them to convince us!

So whatever our views and thoughts, surely it’s our future here in Scotland to be decided by us as we vote in Scotland.

We really have to be involved between now and then…..a year from today…

THAT DATE!!