Carpe Diem
Here are two contrasting article from The Observer newspaper.
The first is from Andrew Rawnsley who argues that Labour needs to put rocket boosters on its case for Remain; the second from Kevin McKenna who has little of substance to say while encouraging the SNP to paddle its own canoe and use the EU campaign as a platform to argue for 'indyref2'.
No wonder the Labour message gets confused with 'friends' like Kevin McKenna sniping from the sidelines of political debate, while promoting a half-baked case for Leave based on his peculiar analysis of Scotland's role in Europe over the past 800 years or so.
The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is appearing in another TV debate this evening, so let's see if he can follow Andrew Rawnsley's advice by 'seizing the day'.
I certainly hope so.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/12/eu-referendum-labour-must-make-case-for-remain
Labour needs to seize the day and make a powerful case for Remain
By Andrew Rawnsley - The Observer
Opposition voices against Brexit have been drowned out by the Tory-on-Tory slugfest. It’s time to speak up
Opposition voices against Brexit have been drowned out by the Tory-on-Tory slugfest. It’s time to speak up
Supporters of the Remain campaign. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA
I am tired of the sound of David Cameron. Says who? Says David Cameron himself. In the interview with him we publish today, the prime minister expresses regret that the referendum campaign has been so dominated by “blue-on-blue stuff” and laments the media obsession with what he calls the “Dave and Boris show”.
I agree. This decision is far too serious to be treated as another act in a Tory psychodrama and much more attention ought to be paid to non-Conservative voices in the days remaining before the vote. From the very beginning, I have argued that the choice facing us is far too important to be left to a slugfest between rival factions of the Tory party. Darkly entertaining as their mud-wrestling might be, the whole country, not just the minority of it that occupies the blue segment of the political spectrum, ought to be engaged with this momentous question. I have also argued for months – the unkind might even say I have rather banged on about it – that the behaviour of Labour voters will be critical to the outcome. It is highly probable that the referendum will be decided by them. How many of them will turn up? How will those who do turn up divide between In and Out?
We have a good idea about what to expect from the metropolitan, university-educated Labour supporter who is relatively well- off or with good prospects of becoming so. They are heavily for In and they are very likely to turn up to vote. But what about the rest of the Labour base, especially the party’s traditional, white, working-class support? The Outers have always entertained hopes that their anti-immigration messages would suck many of those voters their way. It is not a coincidence that a lot of the Leave campaign’s material is coloured red.
At last – better late than never, I suppose – everyone is finally waking up to the threat that the referendum could be lost among these voters. It is a source of rising anxiety in Downing Street, among Remain strategists and within Labour itself. A lot of the party’s MPs were shocked by the poll suggesting that only half of voters identifying with Labour knew which side the party was on and an alarmingly high proportion thought Labour backed Out. Labour MPs are overwhelmingly for In, as are the party’s members, but this has simply not communicated itself to their voters.
I am tired of the sound of David Cameron. Says who? Says David Cameron himself. In the interview with him we publish today, the prime minister expresses regret that the referendum campaign has been so dominated by “blue-on-blue stuff” and laments the media obsession with what he calls the “Dave and Boris show”.
I agree. This decision is far too serious to be treated as another act in a Tory psychodrama and much more attention ought to be paid to non-Conservative voices in the days remaining before the vote. From the very beginning, I have argued that the choice facing us is far too important to be left to a slugfest between rival factions of the Tory party. Darkly entertaining as their mud-wrestling might be, the whole country, not just the minority of it that occupies the blue segment of the political spectrum, ought to be engaged with this momentous question. I have also argued for months – the unkind might even say I have rather banged on about it – that the behaviour of Labour voters will be critical to the outcome. It is highly probable that the referendum will be decided by them. How many of them will turn up? How will those who do turn up divide between In and Out?
We have a good idea about what to expect from the metropolitan, university-educated Labour supporter who is relatively well- off or with good prospects of becoming so. They are heavily for In and they are very likely to turn up to vote. But what about the rest of the Labour base, especially the party’s traditional, white, working-class support? The Outers have always entertained hopes that their anti-immigration messages would suck many of those voters their way. It is not a coincidence that a lot of the Leave campaign’s material is coloured red.
At last – better late than never, I suppose – everyone is finally waking up to the threat that the referendum could be lost among these voters. It is a source of rising anxiety in Downing Street, among Remain strategists and within Labour itself. A lot of the party’s MPs were shocked by the poll suggesting that only half of voters identifying with Labour knew which side the party was on and an alarmingly high proportion thought Labour backed Out. Labour MPs are overwhelmingly for In, as are the party’s members, but this has simply not communicated itself to their voters.
The first minister’s backing for Remain may misfire
Nicola Sturgeon with Angela Eagle (Labour) and Amber Rudd (Conservatives) during the referendum debate. Photograph: Matt Frost/Getty
By Kevin McKenna -The Observer
There’s only one big European Union that most Scots truly want to be part of and it’s not the one that we’re being asked to vote for on 23 June. On Friday afternoon, the 15th European football championships commenced and Scotland, alone among teams representing the nations of the British Isles, failed to make it – something at which we’ve been consistent and steadfast. How we would love to have been a part of it all, even though it would probably end in last-minute heartache, as it has always previously done.
You never really gain an impression that England enjoy these occasions. The players assume the look of men who have just been asked to swim the length of a pool occupied by sharks. The football writers spend weeks sharpening clever phrases with which to beat the players and the manager if they don’t actually win the trophy. The supporters, happily, have largely overcome their desire to wreck the joint when they are abroad but you still get the feeling that they want to remind Europe that they are the masters.
The Scots, though, were so grateful to be there that we spent the week or so that we were granted among Germany, France, Spain and Italy simply celebrating the fact. We liked to show that we were good Europeans and sophisticated global citizens, or at least as sophisticated as you can be while wearing a kilt, a see-you-Jimmy hat, a 1970s Scotland top and desert boots.
By Kevin McKenna -The Observer
There’s only one big European Union that most Scots truly want to be part of and it’s not the one that we’re being asked to vote for on 23 June. On Friday afternoon, the 15th European football championships commenced and Scotland, alone among teams representing the nations of the British Isles, failed to make it – something at which we’ve been consistent and steadfast. How we would love to have been a part of it all, even though it would probably end in last-minute heartache, as it has always previously done.
You never really gain an impression that England enjoy these occasions. The players assume the look of men who have just been asked to swim the length of a pool occupied by sharks. The football writers spend weeks sharpening clever phrases with which to beat the players and the manager if they don’t actually win the trophy. The supporters, happily, have largely overcome their desire to wreck the joint when they are abroad but you still get the feeling that they want to remind Europe that they are the masters.
The Scots, though, were so grateful to be there that we spent the week or so that we were granted among Germany, France, Spain and Italy simply celebrating the fact. We liked to show that we were good Europeans and sophisticated global citizens, or at least as sophisticated as you can be while wearing a kilt, a see-you-Jimmy hat, a 1970s Scotland top and desert boots.
