Valid comments Blair. I think you are right about Kate Forbes. Private religious faith should not be a political issue but Kate Forbes has chosen to express political views based on faith and should expect to be judged on that.
I do think however that we need to keep our eye on the main issue, which is the economy. It is only by having a prosperous and fair economy that the lives of most people will be improved. You point out that Forbes is currently advocating austerity and that , if she ever led Scotland out of the UK, we could expect some pretty right wing economic policies. I think the issue is a bit more general than that.
It doesn't matter what would be promised in a referendum campaign - if Scotland left the UK the economic shock would be such that the only way of coping would be austerity practiced by an SNP Tory coalition of some kind. This would include abandoning a lot of "green" policies. Oil companies, in common with other multinationals, would be wooed with tax cuts and other incentives at the expense of Scots.
Up until now I have admired your stand against nationalism and your defence of the Union. However I am appalled at your attack on the religious beliefs of Kate Forbes. By all means attack her for her policies and views on independence, but don’t stoop to maligning her faith. How strange that ‘progressives’ preach tolerance until encountering Christian morality. Count me out - goodbye.
Valid comments Blair. I think you are right about Kate Forbes. Private religious faith should not be a political issue but Kate Forbes has chosen to express political views based on faith and should expect to be judged on that.
I do think however that we need to keep our eye on the main issue, which is the economy. It is only by having a prosperous and fair economy that the lives of most people will be improved. You point out that Forbes is currently advocating austerity and that , if she ever led Scotland out of the UK, we could expect some pretty right wing economic policies. I think the issue is a bit more general than that.
It doesn't matter what would be promised in a referendum campaign - if Scotland left the UK the economic shock would be such that the only way of coping would be austerity practiced by an SNP Tory coalition of some kind. This would include abandoning a lot of "green" policies. Oil companies, in common with other multinationals, would be wooed with tax cuts and other incentives at the expense of Scots.
Up until now I have admired your stand against nationalism and your defence of the Union. However I am appalled at your attack on the religious beliefs of Kate Forbes. By all means attack her for her policies and views on independence, but don’t stoop to maligning her faith. How strange that ‘progressives’ preach tolerance until encountering Christian morality. Count me out - goodbye.