Daily catch-up: works of public art, and how to persuade Scotland to stay

A giant clothes peg, a seven-point plan and a One Direction exclusive: what else do you need today?

1. I asked for nominations for the Top 10 Works of Public Art yesterday, and Simon Potter said his favourite is this, in a park outside Liege. Neil Jefferies identified it as by Mehmet Ali Uysal, and said that there are a few of them dotted around the world.

2. On Scotland, there will be a Survation poll published at 10.30 tonight, although the results seem to be in already and the company has teased us by saying that they are “very interesting”.

3. “It’s simple, but it’s not easy”: John McTernan wrote about how to fight back against Alex Salmond yesterday, while Carl Gardner offered his seven-point plan:

• Undecided women are key. All messages should be aimed at them. The thinking behind “The woman who made up her mind” [broadcast] was right.

• Stress the burden of proof. Invite Scotland to think twice. It’s irreversible. You must be sure, or vote No. It’s “Not Proven”.

• Make it about trust in Salmond. If you’re not sure his future works, you must vote No. He dodges all the questions.

• Make people wonder whether the “street buzz” and polls are getting at the truth. Others have private doubts too and will vote No.

• Any emotional appeal about “ending Britain” should be understated, and about small things people won’t have thought of.

• If you must wheel on English personalities, make sure they’re genuinely popular in Scotland. Welsh ones would be better.

• Right to the end, some Don’t Knows will cry out for “more information”. Give it, on the web. Make No the unbiased side.

As an example of what we are up against, this from Mandy Jane (although her Twitter name, ‏@awryly, is rather good) takes the oatcake:

“If the Scots don’t get out, one day the English will inflict another Blair on them.”

This from a nation that voted for Tony Blair, and in greater proportions than England. Three times.

A graph, from Flip Chart Rick, that ought to be persuasive, although I am pessimistic. It shows how much worse public finances in Scotland are than in the rest of the UK.

_________

4. Book Review of the Day: Christopher Snowdon gently dissects Owen Jones’s inconsistencies.

5. I did it wrongly yesterday. I forgot to tell you that, because a young person had left the radio on Radio 1, I was, against the run of play, one of the first to hear One Direction’s new single. It was at this point that I finally understood Ed Miliband’s claim that young people’s lives would be worse than their parents’.

I mentioned this later and another young person disagreed:

“At least there won’t be any more Twilight books.”

6. Finally, thanks to Sam for this:

“I'll tell you what makes me cross.

“Lollipop ladies.”