Knighthood stripped
Mugabe is stripped of his knighthood by Prime Minister Brown as a symbolic gesture.
This action has been taken as a mark of revulsion at the abuse of human rights and abject disregard for the democratic process in Zimbabwe over which President Mugabe has presided.
‘Home Rule’
Brown promises ‘a modern form of Home Rule’ in Scotland if voters choose No:
Labour since Keir Hardie has been the Party of Home Rule for Scotland within the United Kingdom so the plan for a stronger Scottish Parliament we seek agreement on is for nothing else than a modern form of Scottish Home Rule within the United Kingdom.
The plan is to devolve powers over borrowing, the work program, housing benefit, land use and income tax. Brown says an accelerated timetable envisages the ‘starting gun’ being fired on the process within a day of a No vote the referendum, a paper published by the coalition government in October, an agreement by November, and a new Scotland Bill in January:
Quite simply, Scottish voters deserve to know to the fullest extent possible about how new powers as ambitious as possible will be delivered as soon as possible within the UK. And so we are demanding a tight-timetable with tough deadlines and streamlined procedures.
YouGov poll: No 52%-48%
A survey by YouGov for The Times and The Sun finds that the Scottish public favor remaining in the UK by 52% compared with 48% who want independence. The numbers exclude undecided voters. YouGov says the reversal in the margin from its previous week’s Times poll – which showed Yes ahead for the first time, at 51%-49% – is due to Brown joining the debate:
Shortly before he stepped down as Prime Minister, Tony Blair warned David Cameron to beware ‘Gordon Brown’s great clunking fist.’ Cameron survived it, but Alex Salmond’s bid for Scottish independence may not. Since Brown entered the debate, the Yes bandwagon, which has been rolling so dramatically, has stalled. His warnings that independence would be bad for jobs and family finances have struck home.
YouGov’s three previous polls each showed Yes climbing in support, although Yes remains at a higher level than at any point up to late August.
Brown: SNP lying about NHS independence
Brown says the SNP are ‘perpetrating a lie’ about protecting the NHS with independence, as Holyrood already has the power to keep the health service public:
‘Scotland Bill promise broken’
Salmond says in his resignation speech that Cameron has broken a campaign promise made by Brown:
I spoke to the Prime Minister today and, although he reiterated his intention to proceed as he has outlined, he would not commit to a second reading vote by March 27 on a Scotland Bill. That was a clear promise laid out by Gordon Brown during the campaign. The Prime Minister says such a vote would be meaningless. I suspect he cannot guarantee the support of his party.
Brown: Irish independence led to 50 years of austerity
In a podcast interview called Finding Common Cause Online, hosted by Our Scottish Future, Brown talks about 50 years of austerity and division after Irish Independence.
He also says that although Ireland was now financially better off, a great deal of its wealth was insecurely based on offering lower rates of taxation than other countries a situation that could change quite easily.