Voting intentions in the 2015 UK GE

Last year the Sunday Herald told how the email - stating RBS had plans to move to London in the event of independence - had been sent to journalists by the Treasury's 'Head of Scottish Referendum Communications'. It was sent the week before the referendum, triggering headlines which were widely seen as a blow to the yes campaign.

The communication was also issued while the RBS board was meeting to discuss the matter and before the bank had first made a statement to the financial markets, breaching trading rules.

Now the civil servant who issued the communication can be identified as Robert Mackie, the son of Catherine MacLeod, who was a special adviser to Better Together leader Alistair Darling when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. It is understood the link will be highlighted in former first minister Alex Salmond's autobiography, which is being published this Thursday.

Last night the Treasury insisted that Mackie only happened to be on duty at that time, despite his title of head of referendum communications. It also stated the email was a "reactive statement" issued on the instructions of senior HMT officials and Ministers - but refused to provide further details of who exactly approved the email.

SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson said: "These revelations leave the Treasury with serious questions to answer about its conduct during the referendum.

"The people of Scotland deserve the truth on this matter."

Gibson, the convenor of Holyrood's finance committee, is pushing for it to issue an invitation to Sir Nicholas Macpherson, the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, to attend the committee and explain his actions during the referendum campaign.

He said he was concerned that Macpherson abandoned the notion of civil service impartiality during the run up to the referendum.

The finance committee has already called for greater transparency and accountability in discussions between the Scottish and UK Governments on further fiscal devolution.

Gibson said: "There are questions about Sir Nicholas' role as the independence vote approached. As we go forward and look at the possibility of new financial powers being rolled out in Scotland the relationship between Holyrood and the Treasury should be one of transparency and trust."

In the run-up to the referendum vote, Macpherson had been criticised by the SNP after taking the unusual step of releasing his formal advice on the SNP's preferred option of a currency union. In a memo to Chancellor George Osborne he said that currency unions were "fraught with difficulty" and added: "I would advise strongly against a currency union as currently advocated, if Scotland were to vote for independence."

Earlier this year Macpherson, the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, reportedly said that the normal rules of civil service impartiality "do not apply" in such an "extreme case" as the referendum.

Speaking in January at the inaugural event of the Strand Group, a seminar series established by the Policy Institute at King's College London, Macpherson defended the Treasury's role in the referendum, stating: "Her Majesty's Treasury is by its nature a unionist institution. The clue lies is in the name."

Gibson added: "I want the committee to ask Sir Nicholas to come to Holyrood to explain his perspective. The Treasury cannot just change the rules governing the civil service to suit themselves."

The Treasury email on the issue of RBS plans in the event of independence was sent to journalists at 10.16pm on September 10, around 25 minutes before the RBS board meeting on the issue had finished.

It contained a response to a statement issued by Lloyds Banking Group which stated it had contingency plans to establish "new legal entities" in England in the event of a Yes vote, but also added a quote from a "Treasury source" which stated: "As you would expect, RBS have also been in touch with us and have similar plans to base themselves in London."

The following day, RBS issued a statement to the markets which confirmed its intention to "redomicile" in the event of a Yes vote, but added it would intend to retain a "significant level of its operations and employment in Scotland".

RBS chief Ross McEwan also issued a letter to staff in the morning saying the business was based in Scotland because of the "skills and knowledge of our people, and the sound business environment". He added: "I see no reason why this would change should we implement our contingency plans."

The letter also apologised to staff that the plans had first been revealed in the media saying "on this occasion, this was unavoidable."

Sir Jeremy Heywood, head of the civil service, has previously absolved civil servants of wrongdoing and rejected demands by Salmond that the matter be investigated.

A Treasury spokeswoman said: "HM Treasury issued a statement in response to a story in the Sun newspaper about Lloyds's contingency plans to move their registered HQ out of Scotland in the event of a 'Yes' vote, quoting an RBS source saying that RBS would almost certainly follow suit.

"It was clear that this story was likely to generate significant interest in - and uncertainty about - an issue with important implications for financial stability.

"In response, therefore, the Treasury press office confirmed its understanding of RBS' contingency planning. We judged that it was important to set this out - at a time when the UK financial markets were closed - given our overarching responsibility for maintaining financial stability in the UK.

"As this was outside normal office hours, this reactive statement was issued by the Treasury press officer who happened to be on duty at the time, acting on the instructions of senior HMT officials and Ministers."



dirty cheatin bassas !!

 

Can't even get the snp leader correct.

 

In case you are voting in Scotland, the Scottish Green Party is completely independent of the English and Welsh Green Party, so what Natalie Bennett says doesn't apply to them.

 

Spoke to allot of people, that for the first time ever a contemplating voting Conservative. Perceiving them to have a strong record in government. - No, I'm not trolling.

 

There also building a Northern Powerhouse.

 

Interesting results thus far. any of the UKIP supporters brave enough to tell us why they're voting for them?

 

At the moment, I'd have to say that I'm not voting.

I'll never vote for a British party, because British means English and everyone knows it.

The SSP are too idealistic and will never gain any real support; they want things like a £10 minimum wage, but could never find the funding to do it.

The SNP are replacing Labour as the arrogant * who expect everyone in Scotland to support them without question. I liked Salmond, but he's not in charge anymore. I just can't really see myself voting for them.

Basically, there's no political party that represents me, so I'm better off not supporting any of them.

 

A devastating blow I'm sure for the parties concerned :smiley-laughing002:
Also you do have to be over 18 to vote.

 

Lol, who's voting the Red Tories?

 

I am 18.

Maybe I'm in the wrong here, I thought this was the place to discuss the GE and what party you supported, if any.

Thanks for your brilliant contribution to this discussion.

 

The irony.

 

Just as an aside, does anyone think that the SNP could actually come out of this election losing momentum and looking worse?

 

The english media are pulling out all the stops to turn the snp into a monster and the only people the snp are threatening is the tory/labour gravy train.
We have not even had a election yet and yet they are acting like this tells me the polls are to be trusted.

westminster will find a way to block out the snp,some deal will be struck of that im sure.

I think the treatment the snp are receiving from (our family of nations) will make them stronger in Scotland and will gain them votes.
Its not just the snp they are attacking its the wishes of the people pf Scotland.

Its rather funny that the people who made the most noise about keeping the union are the ones who are doing the most damage to this joke of a family.

 

The English wanted the Union to remain intact so long as it was primarily within their control, Wullie.

Now that the SNP and the Scottish people are threatening to set foot in their neck of the woods they don't like it.

 

I made a valid point that there's no political parties I'd be willing to vote for. Plenty of people feel the same way, and it's a real issue.

You made a * joke.

See the difference in our contributions?

 

yep, and guaranteed in some dark dingy rooms in Whitehall as we speak plans are being made by the establishment to make sure everything remains just the way it is .

 

You need to look at the long term when thinking about voting.

There may be very little to pick from just now as labour and tory and one in the same (different ties)and you may not like the snp for what ever reason but doing nothing changes nothing that is for sure.
Out of the three the snp are the only gateway to change for the people of Scotland.

How many hundreds of years have we been voting tory/labour and all we get is more of the same election after election year after year.


The snp might not be everyones cup of tea but with them we can break away from westminster and then we have the chances to make real changes in Scotland with new laws and rules for our mps and who knows even vote in new partys to run our country.

Times are changing in the uk as the union goes through its death rattle and drags its last breaths.
Now more than ever is the time to be voting.

 

I see , so when you said -

"I'll never vote for a British party, because British means English and everyone knows it. " -

That was a valid point , seriously.

You then go on to say, basically that you would vote based on who you 'like', so the policies are secondary to who the leader is. I prefer to vote on policies myself but each to their own.

So yes, I see the difference in our contributions.

 

Yes, that is a valid point. British parties only care about England. This may surprise you, but Scotland is not England. I live in Scotland. Are you following so far?

Now, since I live in Scotland (which we've established is not England), parties who only care about Scotland do not care about me. Therefore, I should not support them.

See, I can be a petty, condescending little * as well.