It’s been an interesting week. We started with George Osborne and his Westminster cronies ganging-up and attempting to Bluster and Bully Scots into abandoning the idea of independence. Then we finished it with Jose Manuel  Barroso, President of the European Commission, joining in by delivering what can only be described as a complete load of EU Bullshit!

So we started with the Bluster.  George, with his new pals Ed and Danny, started off by declaring that if Scotland votes Yes in the independence referendum there is no change of a currency union being created. He argued that “the evidence shows it wouldn't work” because it would be too complex to create and would not provide economic security for Scotland or the rest of the UK. However, within 48 hours the Wall Street Journal weighed into the debate to claim that “If UK chancellor George Osborne wants to come down hard on Scottish hopes of independence, he should at least get things right. The problem is he hasn’t.”  “Osborne is just wrong,” says Steve Hanke, professor of economics at the Johns Hopkins University. “There is a viable option that is easy to implement.” If the Wall Street Journal is to be believed it would not be at all difficult for Scotland to peg a Scottish Pound to Sterling. So much for the Bluster.

This was all done in the hope that Scots could be Bullied into abandoning any idea of independence. Unfortunately for George and Co this ploy appears to have failed dramatically and if anything it has had the reverse effect. Angry Scots who had been considering voting No have now started declaring themselves as Yes supporters. Even the arch-conservative paper the Daily Mail chastised George for this crass attempt at Bullying and stated “George Osborne struck a worryingly arrogant tone by declaring: ‘If Scotland walks away from the UK, it walks away from the UK pound”.  So much for the Bullying.

So the week concluded with the Bullshit. Barroso, whilst being interviewed by Andrew Marr on Sunday, stated “I believe it's going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible” for Scotland to join the EU. He argued that states such as Spain have great difficulty with the idea of accepting countries that have emerged from a current member state. He might have got away with this argument if he had not stupidly compared a Scottish application for EU membership with that of Kosovo. While not wishing to be disrespectful to Kosovo it would only be a complete imbecile who could seriously suggest that there is any similarity between the membership application of Scotland and Kosovo. Scotland is probably in the most advantageous position that any nation could be in when applying for EU membership. Having been an active member for 40 years and already having Scottish Government representation on numerous EU committees as a result of powers being devolved, Scotland is provided with a foundation for membership that no other applying nation has ever had. Additionally, having an established parliament and legal system that are both fully compatible with EU institutions the suggestion that Scottish membership could be “difficult if not impossible” is just nonsensical. So much for the EU Bullshit.

The major lesson learnt from the events of this week is that the depths of negativity that the No campaign is prepared to go down to appear to have no bounds. Not one aspect of the behaviour of the No campaign and its cronies this week has been positive.  Remarkably, this aspect of the No campaign has also been acknowledged by the Daily Mail which observed “what worries this paper is that the negative, threatening approach by the pro-Unionists is proving counter-productive”.

So what should Scots take away from all of this? For those who support independence it is a time to unite and stand firm. The onslaught this week has been severe but the supporters of independence must not lose heart. They must pour scorn on the antics of the No campaigners. For those Scots who are still undecided they must now really consider the motives of the No campaign and whether it really has Scotland’s best interests at heart. The fact that the No campaign can only fight the contest with negativity, bluster, and bullying really does suggest that it has no positive vision to offer Scots whatsoever. As for those considering voting No; do you really want to continue supporting such a negative and destructive campaign that offers no positive vision for Scotland at all? Scotland deserves much better.