Myth Busting

Tonight on Islay I spoke at the fourth of five meetings this week on the Independence Referendum.

It was a packed event at the Columba Centre and as usual the discussion covered a huge amount of ground and a vast range of topics .

However a persistent myth is that the Scottish people voted against devolution in 1979 and that therefore there is a precedent for Scotland rejecting constitutional change.

A local farmer brought this old newspaper front page to tonight's event. It is from the Daily Record , two days after the 1979 vote - so almost exactly 35 years ago.

Scotland voted YES even then. It was the rigged legislation and the 40% Rule which flouted the will of the people rather than the people themselves.