Sometime after the Braveheart movie came out in 1995 I heard a silly Scotsman voxpopped on TV or radio. His reaction to the film was “Now I know why I hate the English”. Apparently he didn’t know why he had hated the English before he saw the movie. His hatred was obviously just some inchoate, congenital thing that had come down through seven centuries with his DNA and nothing to do with the modern state that we both live in. I am sure that the feeling was mutual at the end of the 13th Century. Mel Gibson’s one-sided film failed to mention that William Wallace was reputed to have worn a belt of human skin flayed from the body of the hated English tax collector Hugh de Cressingham. Nice.
I don’t really hate Alex Salmond. But, having seen this letter from Salmond to the disgraced banker Fred Goodwin in the run up to the calamitous takeover of parts of the Dutch bank ABN Amro by Royal Bank of Scotland, I do think that he made a total fool of himself sucking up to Goodwin. (Thanks to Faisal Islam at Channel 4 for finding this particular smoking gun.) This takeover marked the high point of UK banking stupidity in the early years of this century. Signing his letter “Yours for Scotland, Alex” was particularly emetic. With this one letter Salmond has accepted moral liability for the bad debts of Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland on behalf of the people of Scotland. No amount of blaming the banking crisis on English regulators will wash. The largest part of the UK banking crisis was terrible commercial lending decisions made in Edinburgh – almost identical in fact the ludicrous ones made in Dublin. Yours for Scotland.
Salmond is a clever enough bloke, but this letter taken together with his totally debunked Arc of Prosperity schtick (can’t believe the SNP haven’t taken that off their website) proves he does not have as sure a touch as some imagine. On the evidence he is a man given to wishful thinking. I hope that he doesn’t succeed in breaking up my country.
Phil Taylor 
26 replies on “Now I know why I hate Alex Salmond”
Phil
Assuming RBS is a Scots bank then for starters they can pay the English Welsh and Northern Irish tax payers say £40bn to cover what non Scots have put in. The Civil Service functions could be moved back into non Scots territory as southerners need more job opportunities. Hospital buildings and motorways are presumably owned by the UK and should the Scots wish to use those north of the border, then the Scots government should be lessees at 90% of open market rental. As the oil revenues to Scotland continue to decline perhaps the Scots will rue the day when Salmond led them into the unknown.
The real question is, will independence have a significant adverse effect on the rest of the UK‘s economy. I wonder if there is anyone clever enough to help us understand the answer.
Meanwhile we shall be regaled with an unending stream of emotional claptrap (driven partly by ill conealed nationalism) which won’t help one jot.
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Does anyone know if Alex Salmond has come up with a public defence of his action in supporting Fred Goodwin with the RBS takeover of ABN?
He seems to be very quick to try to dump the resulting debt on the rest of the UK without taking on any of the responsibility himself.
And this is the man who wants to have the right for Scotland to continue using sterling post independence, and presumably to have control of the currency, too.
The man is a vile, manipulative, power-hungry charlatan. What a pity so many Scots don’t see through him and see what he really is.
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Alex Salmond is chock full of bigotry and prejudice against England but sadly talented at provoking the same in other Scots. I can barely watch him on TV as he hectors and postures. He is a bully towards interviewers and it makes me cringe; how embarassing to allow this man to speak for Scotland. He shows marked delusions of grandeur, both as an individual and on behalf of other Scots. I cannot see any evidence that Scotland is a great nation or that Scots are capable of taking their place on the world stage. Even Scottish broadsheets are poorly written and provincial.
I have noticed that thick people in Scotland support Salmond and his frankly bizarre views. Have these people ever been to England? England is lovely. There is a reason that England is more densely populated than Scotland, and that’s because it is so nice. Lovely and temperate, and beautiful. And English people are lovely. Especially when they pronounce the words ‘paper’, ‘garden’, ‘flowers’, ‘tulips’; I could go on. Salmond is as thick as they come. He seems not to understand any of the issues, particularly economic ones. He is a purveyor of hatred and bile. If he sells us down the river with an independent Scotland I will never forgive him. I am also very annoyed by BBC Scotland for their biased reporting in favour of the Scottish Nationalist cause. Some balance, please! I am seeing very little intelligent comment to redress the balance. Who can wonder that the English are sick of us?
I am mortified.
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Salmonela is a poisonous destructive bigot and without question the biggest hypocrite to ever walk the earth. He is also racist against our English brothers and sisters. Not all Scots support or even like this despicable, selfish, negative, wee fat bastard. I shall move my business and home from Scotland if he succeeds in destroying Great Britain.
Chris Flockhart
A Proud Scot
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[…] aligns itself with the likes of Phil Taylor, the Tory councillor for Ealing, who quite remarkably asserted last month […]
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Thank God there are some like minded people like myself, I was beginning to think all Scot’s were being taken in by this fat, arrogant, little, self obsessed man!!! He seems to think Scotland can survive on his Tartan & Shortbread ideal, I am ashamed to be Scottish at this present time, thanks to this little biggott of a man. I don’t blame some English people being sick & tired of hearing how much we hate them, & telling us to just bolt from the UK, I would feel the same if I was them. I am proud to be British, & if Salmond gets his way, I’m out of here!! & I am sure more hard working professional people will do the same.
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Like my fellow Scots here, I can’t stand the slimy wee man. But a lot of Scots are ignorant anti-English bigots. Bigotry is in the Scottish DNA. Unfortunately, Labour seem to have imploded in Scotland, and the Tories have just elected a young adult as leader in Scotland. I’m surprised at the numbers of apparently intelligent people supporting SNP. These probably come from posh areas outside the “West” of Scotland, so have no idea what Scotland is really like. There is also a huge public sector in Scotland, so self-interest may be a factor too.
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It is clear that most Scots including myself are not taken in by this egotist and bigot and that in due course we will send him packing.
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I’m English and worked in Edinburgh one very cold winter and only encountered intelligent and friendly Scots. Very different from the bile infected bigots who often comment on the internet.
Whatever one thinks of the union, many Scots seam to base their argument for in or out purely on economic self-interest. If that’s all the union is worth, then it’s not worth a spit in the wind and Scotland should leave. No union needs a member who doesn’t work for the greater good.
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I love Scotland as it beautiful well other than the weather which sucks but Alex Salmond is such a manipulative person as he even got 15-16 year olds to votes as his party has been going to school and promoting that independence is cool. He also wants everything good and nothing bad like the rest of UK will not fight for it. He is a ugly man in and out so i hope he doesn’t get independence. It is only a tiny little island what is the point of braking it up as even UK as it is people think we are tiny.
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your all traitors Saor Alba 2014
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“yer maw”. That’ll be the intellect voting for independence, then.
Amazing how Salmond can rally the idiots; he’s like the Pied Piper. But I like to think we have more smart people than idiots here.
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Brilliant – A fantastic diplomat we find in “yer maw”. Educated up to but not including the difference between “you’re” and “your”.
I don’t blame them though. People are so misguided when it comes to the source of our troubles. Nationalism is a receptacle for the anger people feel for unemployment etc.
It amazes me the tactics that Alex will employ to achieve his targets – firing up a fervorous bunch of 16 year old kids to go vote for him.
Basically preying on those that haven’t had the experience to formulate their own opinions.
Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish – I have relatives in all, we are all brothers and sisters. Beyond that though, the world over, brothers and sisters. We need to stop drawing lines on maps, stop letting corporations rule us for the short term gains of the shareholders and start planning the future. We are all in this together, the sooner we start thinking like it the less time wasted on the worries and pressures of our modern society.
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I just cannot believe some Scottish people are so gullible, talking about Braveheart I think that has a lot to answer for!!! Just hope that sense prevails and this idiot is not voted for again, ever.
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Val Pollock:
I disagree with SNP. But claiming that it is only thick people who vote SNP is purely unfounded since little less than half the population voted SNP in the Scottish elections. The SNP won due to the Lib Dems joining a conservative coalition – bye bye all but two Lib Dem constituencies in Scot Elections.
There are well written newspapers – Press & Journal. Alex Salmond is just very good at bending peoples pride to his own gains. He goes on about how Scotland will be magically fairer without the rest of the union, as if being slightly more North makes us better.
Believe me, those who vote ‘Yes’ are not necessarily thick. I have met smart voters, but their national pride can over-ride common sense.
Ed:
Yes, I’ve seen a few of the people in this group (16-17) go straight for ‘Yes’ due to romantic views of Scotland being best. One of them tries to masquerade himself as Scottish as he can be: Gaelic, Kilt, Bagpipes. But thankfully, some 16-17 year olds carry some sense, and look at the consequences, and I’m seeing decent amounts join the ‘No’ camp.
yer maw:
Carson a’ bheil thu a’ smaointinn gu bheil sinn a’ dol ag eisteachd gu daoine nach eil a’ gabhail puing math dhan sin?
Sorry, some proper Scottish language there – Gaelic. Basically, why should we listen to you, an idiot who doesn’t even afford us a decent argument for his case.
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Bill Henderson – well said. I’m with you.
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im english and proud i say let them the scots go ta taa infact we should have a referendum to kick them out they want independance but still want babysitting quite pathetic lets watch them fail badly enjoy the euro as you will never get our pound greedy bastards
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WOW! So many ignorant bigots in such a confined rotten little space! Anyone in here have any suggestions for dealing with the 900.000 people (mostly working) who live in poverty in Scotland? You should all collectively hang your ignorant heads on shame. Oh
YES and ready for your new lives in an independent Scotland, the west of Scotland poor are awakening meaning, the party is well and truly over for you lot!
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Should the mad masses vote yes to Scottish Independence can I and my family retain our British Passports and claim refugee status in England?
From one who won’t be following the Pied Piper.
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I’m English but have lived in Scotland since 1970. I’ll be voting No in the Referendum but you only have to read some of the comments above to see why many Scots will be voting Yes. It’s strange how just about any other nation in the world can achieve self-determination with full English approval but for some reason it’s all so different when it comes to Scotland. None of the arguments used above against Scottish independence ever get a look-in when it comes to other nations which want their independence. I can’t remember howls of derision from the English when Estonians wanted their own state. Or Latvians or Lithuanians or Moldovans, etc. etc. For most people in England, Scotland is a far away country about which they know nothing and care little. For most of them the Queen is the Queen of England and ‘God save the Queen’ is England’s national anthem. When was the last time you heard someone from England telling a foreigner that they live in Britain rather than saying that they live in England? OK. Is Paisley nearer to Glasgow or Edinburgh? Is East Kilbride bigger or smaller than Falkirk? Which two cities are connected by the A9? Which football team plays at Pittodrie? Give the names (not numbers) of three Scottish Kings. Well, James and …err….err ..err.
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Well after seeing Salmond’s sad performance on the televised debate tonight, my ‘undecided’ has shifted to a solid ‘No’. The man is an idiot with no answers, and survives on bullying tactics which the public is seeing right through. Roll on September so we can get rid of his ridiculous ideas and get on with making Scotland better for the future.
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I.m aScot and love this country but it breaks my heart to see what Alex Salmond and his lot are doing to the people. He is playing to the sadly inadequate with giant chips on their shoulders and not a great deal of intelligence. All for his own silly little ego. These people seem to live in a narrow little word completely unaware of what learned people are telling them. If he wins, and I don,t think now that he will they will run this country into a third world country. There will also erupt hatred. Look at every country in the world that has been divided, chaos and misery.
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I am distinctly (northern) English by upbringing but have some Scots lineage way back, somewhere. I find Salmond to be a bullying, devious casuist of the first rank. Why such a beautiful, dignified, accomplished country should desire to be bossed about by this arrogant, greedy bigot is beyond me. Non-the-less, as an English Tory I would rejoice with the ‘Yes’ brigade if the polls are confounded and they somehow manage to scrape a result, thereby removing the enormous Labour block vote Scotland sends to Westminster at every General election. Scotland for the Scots and England for the Tories. Hoorah.
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I suspect at least some of the above responses are all by Phil Taylor. Funny that letter doesn’t have a date isn’t it? Even if it’s genuine, Alex Salmond, who got a 2:2 Degree in Economics and went on to become Oil Economist and then Bank Economist for RBS, was watching Fred the Shred”s takeover of ABN Amro’s investment banking arm very closely because in May 2007 analysts were already warning that RBS was taking on a massive risk. Goodwin’s lavish lifestyle, his excessive corporate spending, his extra-marital affairs. It was all known, and was surely known to the First Minister. To me that letter is saying I’m watching you, and if you need help here I am. Don’t you know the 2008 Financial Crisis was pre-planned? I could go on, but what’s the point. As for this Referendum, it wasn’t a fair fight. The paedophile Westminster Elite who slapped a D-Notice on Dunblane to protect themselves have won, I’m sure.
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Snp all they create is a divided country and hate for sure they not talk to much about oil at the moment dream world
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If you are so in love with the English then go join them were are the jobs gone , down south , that’s why we have industry ,no ship building , coal mine , steel works it’s either down south or abroad in some 3rd world country were some child makes your designer shoes for 20pence a week get a life you sad people if that what you want your children to think of as normal than God help you all
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