The Selective Reading of Jose Manuel Barroso by the Media and the No Camp

Like a lot of people, I didn’t see Jose Manuel Barroso live on the Andrew Marr Show on 16th February, so I initially had to go on media reports of what he had said. It therefore came as something of a surprise to me that most of what he had to say wasn’t about Scottish independence at all. It was quite a long way from just being an “intervention on the independence referendum”. He had a lot to say about the current UK government’s plans, too.

It's interesting, therefore, that the only part of what Barroso had to say that was picked up by the media was on an independent Scotland. If his opinion carries such weight, why are we not hearing about all the things that would be “difficult” or “impossible” for Cameron, too?

For example, he said it would be “difficult” and “not possible” for Cameron to renegotiate free movement of peoples, or change rules on welfare spending on migrants.

He said that "deeper fiscal union" of Bank of England with the euro was “unavoidable”.

He said Cameron’s EU referendum is “extremely difficult” and requires the unanimity of 27 countries.

He said Cameron seeking to put a cap on the number of EU citizens who can come into Britain is "complete contradiction" of the single market.

These matters that Barosso has pronounced upon have implications for Cameron now, as well as for all Unionists if there is a No vote. Why is the media not pursuing the No side on what Barroso has to say about the future of the UK?

In short, if Barroso's word is to be taken so seriously on independence, why is it not taken seriously on all these things (and more), too? And, what's more, where is all the media coverage telling us the Tories' plans on all these things are in tatters? To use BBC Radio Scotland Morning Call’s phrase, is it not a “game changer” for those matters, too?

There has been a very selective reading of Barroso, by both the media and the No camp. If he is to be taken seriously on one thing, then why not on the rest?

Here's the transcript of the full interview on the Andrew Marr Show. See for yourself: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/1602141.pdf