Wednesday, 18 June 2014


The British Government has produced a booklet about how Scotland benefits from being in the UK. This has been done at Taxpayers' expense.

Of course, that's not unreasonable.

Indeed, I believe the Electoral Commission instructed both the Scottish and British sides to make information on their campaigns readily available to the public. Scotland did with the government's White Paper, and now Britain has with this booklet.

The difference between the two efforts is that every household in Scotland will be sent a British book, whether they want it or not (a bit like the Sun's free copy to every English household, which caused so many problems for Ed Miliband). 

The Scottish paper was and is available to those who wanted it, free of charge, either in a download, ebook or in a paper version. You had to request a copy if you wanted one.

Clearly this cut the cost of distribution, because those who simply weren't interested and wouldn't attempt to read it, didn't order it.

Stuart Campbell has started taking the UK information to pieces and analysing the content in his usual style. Clearly he does it so much better than I do, so I won't even attempt it here. 

I would however like to point out that as I don't want to booklet, I will not accept it.

It will be sent back to Better Together so that they can send it to someone who wants to read it, or recycled to save a tree.

The address to send it to is:

Better Together
5 Blythswood Square
G2 4AD

You may prefer to hand it in at (or send it to):

Scotland Office: Edinburgh
1 Melville Crescent

There may be other addresses to which you could return unwanted copies rather than cluttering up your rubbish bins with them.

I'm sure that the government, or Better Together will be happy to pay the postage on what would be considered junk mail by many.

Of course if you want to read it, write a funny crit of it  and send it (by email) to Munguin as a guest post, I'm sure he would be delighted to publish it, for the usual fee.


  1. My suggestion is to return it freepost with either one's own critique or borrow Stu's scribbled in the margins. Of course if that's too much trouble you/one can just write "mince" beside each assertion.

    Then we can run a lottery about how long it will take for them to cancel the freepost address.

    1. LOL Good idea. If they cancel the Freepost, just send it to the Scotland Office in Edinburgh, but don't put a stamp on.

  2. Mine is going To Tory Headquarters:
    Conservative Campaign Headquarters
    4 Matthew Parker Street
    SW1H 9HQ
    They have enough money to cover the postage which will have another pound added to it for insufficient postage. The reason I know this. The post office let me know that there was a letter in their office for my address with insufficient postage on it, but as it was not ours I sent it back but they did say they would be adding a pound as well to cover handling charge.

    1. LOL That's the spirit.

      The new private post office means that we aren't costing ourselves anything.

      Although it won't be long before stamps are £2,50 each!

  3. Mine is heading straight for the bin, sending it back, only gives the liars a second chance to dupe someone else, with their booklet full of debunked lies.

    1. Anon. They won't reuse any, especially if they have stuff scribbled in the margins (like "mince" as PP suggested), and they can use some of their funds to pay their friends at the Royal Mail for the return postage.

      This is particularly appropriate for the Tories/Liberals, who have plenty of money from people who want a seat in the House of Eternal Privilege.

  4. I was going to put my *ahem* personal copy through the shredder before binning it, didn't want the neighbours to know the sort of *cough* porn that is read in my house. However, having read Panda Paws suggestion above I think I might just give that some serious consideration! :-)

    1. Along with a message protesting at being sent filth by the government.?

      it makes sense.

  5. Mine will go back the sooner they realise that we don't like their mince bulked out with fabricated bullshit.

    Best of pals!

    1. OOOOOps.... Cameron doesn't come out in a good light either.

      When it comes to getting electoral advantage there's nothing more sure than NOTHING and NO ONE counts.

      Unprincipled bunch of amateurs

  6. All Nats

    well you are all being very very silly if you dont want to read just
    put it with the rest of the junk mail and bin it .
    All this histrionics just make you lot look well very silly

    1. Well, that's certainly one attitude, Niko.

      What do you think about Ed Milly's plan to only pay JSA to people under 22 if they have an A level?

      A bit mean, don't you think, for people who through no fault of their own, struggle to read or understand basic arithmetic?

    2. Is that our elected representatives that, struggle to read or understand basic arithmetic?

    3. I don't think it's a requirement of the job for them JnA.

      Well apart from filling in their expenses...

    4. Nico, I assume you include Britnats; such as yourself, in that statement. Very silly indeed. :-)

    5. trus

      seeing as graduates are doing jobs which school leavers used to do
      what does the A level get you. although do agree giving meaningful
      pn the job training as in old school apprenticeships..


      silly is just sillly by whomsoever all this averting eyes whilst being
      sick and then washing yer hands wid carbolic soap just for touching
      a BT flyer is a tad overdone...dont you think

    6. I take that point Niko. The trouble is that although Cameron promised to revive industrial production, he hasn't done so. Through Tahtcher, Major, Blair, Brown and Cameron the number of manufacturing jobs has decreased.

      I wish I had a pound for every lad who has said to me "please can you help me find a man's job. I don't want to work in Tesco or Asda, I wanna do hard manual labour, so I go home tired". Of course it's politically incorrect to call hard manual labour "man's work". I'm sure there are women who would like to do that too and are capable of it, but 16 17 year oold lads aren't into political correctness.

      Absolutely agree that we should encourage apprenticeships, but we need to have the factories for them to work in. We need to be making our own steel again so that Mrs Lamont would have a reason to ask why the Forth Crossing was built with foreign steel.

      We need factories making things adn we can't compete with China or india on price we have to compete with Germany on quality. They can do it; why can't we?

      But to stop the dole for anyone who can';t get an A level (how many highers is that?) is just wrong. I see they added ...unless they have young children. Brilliant. if you aren't able to get a qualification, have a kid.

      Sorry, Niko. No wonder they think he's useless.

    7. What did you think of Peter Mandelson's comments on Ed?

  7. As a bricklayer; I will return my copy, fixed to a concrete block, free post don't you know.

    1. I'd mark it urgent and priority mail...

      Talking of which I sent a tiny packet to a mate in London today. You used to be able to send first or second class, but now you can send priority too.

      Second class promised to be there within 5 days ....!

      First class by Monday

      If I wanted it to go there in the old first class way (next day delivery) it was going to cost a tenner for priority.

      Privatised mail, huh?

  8. Anyone interested in special needs?

    MPs aren't troughers no thanks.

    Jim bricks are handy things collect all your junk mail (to the occupier) and/or any defunct items which you would throw out anyway.

    1. Does it involve us getting a better salary, or pensions, or more expenses?

      No? You say NO?

      Well, what would I be doing in that place on a stuffy hot afternoon, when it's not going to profit me?

    2. Incidentally, it looks like that same bloke on the top benches there...

      This is an English education debate so I'm not sure what party he would be from...

  9. Tris

    If I get one it's going back with a load of YES literature. I just hope the tax payer is not paying for Better Together rubbish , won't send to the tories, they don't care but the ignorant of BT might learn something.


    1. The taxpayer has funded this. It comes from the UK government.

      But that's fair enough. The White paper came from the Scottish government.

      The electoral commission made it clear it wanted both sides set out clearly. Of course the electoral council cannot legislate for politicians lies.

      But it is fair that both sides should spend money to ensure that the "facts" are least from the point of view of the two governments which will be in place at the referendum, and the aftermath.

      My problem with this one, is that we are all getting it whether we want it or not.

      Having read Wings, I can see that it is a work of fiction, so I don;t want it. It's as much use to me as Ryanair telling me I can have a flight to Dublin for £40 (with add ons taking it to double that).

      I'm sending it back to them because it will cost them money.

      :) nasty old Tris!