LAUNCH OF ‘PROJECT FACT’ WILL DEMOLISH NATIONALIST FICTION, DECLARES ALEXANDER
DANNY Alexander yesterday labelled the campaign against independence ‘Project Fact’ as the battle to make the economic case for the Union entered its last phase. The UK Government published its final document on the impact of a Yes vote, with a 52-page report that summarises a major programme on which Whitehall civil servants have spent months working.
Dubbed ‘Project Fact’ in an effort to distance the No campaign from its negative monicker ‘Project Fear’, it includes Westminster’s opposition to a currency union, projections of falling oil revenues, warnings of higher energy bills and mortgages, and the possibility of passport checks at the Border.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said the level of detail ‘stands in sharp contrast’ to one page of figures included in Alex Salmond’s White Paper, and a summary will soon be sent to every household in the country.
However, he acknowledged that economics is ‘by no means the only
‘Comfortable about being British’
basis on which people make up their minds’.
With the economic case now made, a battle to win the ‘hearts’ of Scots is set to be launched for the final three months of the campaign.
According to a new poll, nearly a quarter of Scots have been persuaded by the economic arguments for voting No but could still back independence for emotional reasons.
The Ipsos MORI study of 1,000 Scots carried out between May 26 and June 1, published yesterday, found that the ‘head and heart’ says Yes for only 30 per cent of voters.
Thirty-nine per cent of adults said both their head and heart say No, but – crucially – 23 per cent said their ‘heart says Yes, head says No’.
And of that 23 per cent, nearly twothirds are still undecided about how to cast their vote in September.
Last night, Labour MP and former Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy said: ‘Most of us are fiercely patriotic Scots and also comfortable about being British as well.
‘We can be proudly Scottish and keep all the things that make us unique, and at the same time be part of something bigger in the UK that brings us strength, security and stability. We shouldn’t put that at risk.’
Mr Murphy has embarked on a tour of 100 Scots towns and cities in the run-up to the September 18 contest, while other politicians, including Lord John Reid, have entered the debate to talk about the patriotic case for voting No.
Prime Minister David Cameron last year said: ‘I think the battle of the head is going very well but as well as the case on paper, we’ve got to win the arguments in people’s hearts.’
The cross-party Better Together campaign, led by Alistair Darling, has been attacked by opponents after one source found that activi sts had called the campaign ‘Project Fear’. Yesterday, Mr Alexander insisted it should now be called ‘Project Fact’.
The Westminster Government’s new document, called United Kingdom, United Future, summarises around 1,400 pages of expert analysis on the impact of separation on individuals and businesses.
‘People need to be informed about the consequences of the Scottish referendum,’ Mr Alexander said.
‘That’s why we have undertaken the most rigorous and comprehensive analysis of Scotland’s place in the UK ever attempted. You might call it Project Fact: over 1,400 pages of analysis citing hundreds of i ndependent experts and organisations.
‘The conclusion is clear: almost every aspect of life in Scotland is enhanced and improved because we are part of the UK.
‘That’s why we will share these conclusions with people in Scotland through the UK Government’s publi c i nf o r mation campaign, with a booklet going to every home in Scotland over the next few months.’
But a spokesman for Finance Secretary John Swinney said: ‘Scotland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, more prosperous per head than France, Japan and the UK itself, but we need the economic powers that come with independence to make the most of our huge resources.
‘While the Westminster parties have offered no ideas and no vision for Scotland’ s future, the Scottish Government has set out our proposals to grow Scotland’s economy, to create jobs and to reindustrialise Scotland.
‘The No campaign cannot escape from their own description of themselves as “Project Fear”.
‘The Treasury has already been caught red-handed trying to cook the books on an independent Scotland’s finances by grossly misrepresenting academic research, which proves no one can believe a word it says.’