David Mundell’s Edinburgh indy ref debate

A visit to the ground war between Yes and No taking place in the town halls, community centres and door steps across Scotland.

“I’ve never heard such muddleheaded nonsense in all my life from these people, who do seem very nice by the way”.

If ever there was a putdown suited to the genteel Edinburgh suburb of Morningside it was this mannerly gibe from a retired Lieutenant-Colonel in the audience of a Scotland Office referendum event last week.

David Mundell, Scotland’s only Tory MP, is touring the country with question and answer sessions on September’s vote and it is safe to describe this gig in a plush part of the Capital was the home leg. But what a shocking home support.

Just 40 people were there, scattered among dozens of empty seats in a dimly-lit community centre with a muted atmosphere akin to waiting for a delayed flight. That was until things livened up with the ever-jolly Mundell’s use of the C word.

The Scotland Office minister was reflecting on the dozens of referendum debates he’s taken part in so far and told the audience he keeps coming up against people arguing “not for independence, but for good old-fashioned socialism, verging on communism some of it”.

The mention of communism sparked a sea-change in the mood of the audience, where the grey hairs gave away their Cold War pedigree.

The strident retired Lt-Col Alistair Thom entered the fray; berating Mundell for not demolishing the Yes camp’s position on defence, he concluded: “The poor old Nationalists are totally off their beam, a lovely ideology. I just hope it doesn’t happen.”

“Preaching to the converted, they’re deluded” was the conclusion of Yes campaigner and chief thorn in the side for Mundell for the evening, Derek Howie as he left the meeting.

It is true that Morningside is not exactly a hotbed of nationalism, especially in an audience of retired teachers, GPs and supermarket managers, but Mundell did not have it all his own way.

Asked, “Could you vote Yes, then vote Tory and then have the Government you want in Scotland?”, the Tory MP went into free-fall.

Desperately trying not to acknowledge the Tories’ popularity in Scotland might actually rise in an independent Scotland, Mundell appeared to briefly short-circuit and re-answered the previous question on border controls.

Regaining composure, he conceded the Tories could “continue to punch above its weight” but that they weren’t interested.

In the end, the fine weather and World Cup semi-final won the day and the meeting was brought to a close 30 minutes early with little argument.