BBC Indyref Reminders
– The Currency Con
by GA Ponsonby (2 May 2016)
One of the legacies of the independence referendum was the desire to search for a specific flaw in the Yes campaign. Was there a weakness, without which, Yes may have triumphed?
The issue that has embedded itself in the minds of the commentariat is that of currency.
Of all the issues raised during the referendum campaign, the SNP’s stance on currency is the one most regularly cited by media commentators as the ‘weak link’ in the Yes campaign chain. So regularly is currency cited as a contributory factor in Yes losing the referendum, that some prominent Yes campaigners have accepted it as true.
But is this conclusion prompted by very real concerns raised by ordinary voters during the independence referendum, or is it more a recollection of media coverage of the issue at the time?
Media coverage, especially in Scotland, is steered by the BBC. In this second article in my series of ‘Indyref Reminders’ I’m going to highlight how the BBC promoted the idea that the pound was not a shared asset and that using Sterling could not be guaranteed. I’ll also show how the corporation presented ever ridiculous claims from Unionist politicians, as though credible.
READ FULL ARTICLE WITH MEDIA CLIPS
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