UK govt removes Lego from anti-Scottish independence campaign
The British government has taken down Lego images used to depict the potential positive benefits of Scotland rejecting an independence vote. The Danish company complained about the use of the toys in a Buzzfeed listicle deemed offensive.
The UK government wrote a list of things that Scottish people
could do with the $2,300 per annum they would lose if they opted
to vote ‘yes’ in a referendum on Scottish independence scheduled
for September this year.
Among the options were “Scoff 280 hotdogs at the
Edinburgh Festival” and “Watch Aberdeen play all season
with two mates – with a few pies and Bovrils thrown in for good
measure,” illustrated with the miniature toys, leading to
the general public taking to social media to denounce the piece
as offensive.
“We wouldn't give permission for our stock images to be used
... We maintain our position as being a politically neutral
company,” a spokeswoman for Lego told Reuters on Saturday.
#ukdividend Independence or 280 hot dogs at the Edinburgh Festival? Tough call. #indyref
— p c (@hoddles10) June 5, 2014
While social media users took to Twitter to express their
frustration at the sweeping generalizations applied to Scotland
by the Westminster government, officials also spoke out.
“It’s not surprising Lego want nothing to do with this
patronising stunt, and demanded the Treasury remove it from their
website. The No campaign's bogus arguments against a Yes vote are
being dismantled brick by brick,” SNP Treasury Spokesperson
Stewart Hosie said, reported a press release on the Scottish
National Party’s website on Friday.
Seriously? Wow. I'm actually stunned the UK gov would sink as low as this... #UKDividendhttps://t.co/Vfz3HQlMYn
— Steff Potter (@theotherpotter) June 5, 2014
“This is the kind of patronizing attitude to Scotland we have
come to expect from the Tory Treasury - presumably the
establishment elite think we spend all our time eating fish and
chips and pies,” Hosie stated.
The images have since been replaced.
While some 40 percent of Scottish voters seek independence, 47
percent of 500 respondents have stated that they would opt to
stay in the UK, according to a Financial Times survey. Thirteen
percent were undecided.
The paper also found that 50 per cent of Scots thought that
their country would regret an independence vote after 5 years.
