Scotland is preparing for an independence referendum on 18 September 2014. The phony war is over, and the campaigning has got serious. But why can’t the No campaign make a positive case for the UK?

“Never interrupt your enemy when he’s making a mistake”, said Napoleon. But I am genuinely bewildered by the No campaign’s tactics.

The strategy of the No campaign is to highlight the uncertainty of independence, and hope that people vote for the status quo. Strategically, this makes sense — but their campaign is so stupid they’re shooting themselves in the foot.

The No campaign is beyond parody. Anyone attempting to parody the doom and gloom coming from Project Fear will soon be outstripped by reality.

I can’t keep up with them — there’s a scare a day, from not being able to watch Dr Who, to divided families, balkanisation, watchtowers on the borders and internment camps for the English.

This is parody — but how long before Better Together adopts it?

What’s next? Scots won’t be allowed to speak English if they choose independence? The claims stretch from the ridiculous to the insulting. I am not sure whether Better Together is very stupid, or if they think we are. Considering the amount of money they have at their disposal, I am amazed they haven’t been able to hire decent political strategists. Their credibility is dying by the day.

I can’t keep up. Today, the campaign targeted both high and low culture, by claiming an independent Scotland would be kicked out of Eurovision and see major art works moved to England.

Yesterday, there would be “chaos on the M6", because an independent Scotland would drive on the right.

Not parody — an actual claim by an MP

I have seen Scotland compared to Kashmir, Kosovo, South Sudan, Bosnia and now Ukraine. And this is not from the tabloids, but from serious newspapers, like the Guardian and Independent.

The No campaign’s greatest strength has always been a supportive, compliant and biased media. But the stories are ridiculous — they have become the papers that cried wolf.

If they ever do develop credible arguments, it will be too late: no one trusts them anymore. This is certainly the case with me. I used to honestly believe that the Guardian was the world’s best news source. But the papers’ coverage of the debate has been extremely biased, and they have also completely misread what is going on. They don’t understand it. This has made me a lot more critical of other things I read in the Guardian — for instance, recent reporting on Venezuela.

On social media, I see only three tactics from the No campaign:

Repetition of the scare stories above, never backed by any evidence other than a statement from a politician Ridicule of Alex Salmond, usually as some kind of fat, white Mugabe Claims that the SNP are Nazis, fascists and brownshirts, motivated by hatred of the English

Standard No campaign twitter fare

Pot, kettle, etc?

I really don’t understand why they have chosen this suicidally stupid strategy. No one living in Scotland thinks the SNP are anti-English, let alone “brownshirts”.

There is a positive case for the union — why is no one making it?

Since the Yes campaign is mostly a leftwing insurgency against the London-centric establishment, the strongest pro-union argument is the workers’ solidarity one: that a bus driver in Glasgow has more in common with a bus driver in Newcastle than a Laird in Scotland.

I don’t buy it — I don’t think we need an imperialist state to practice solidarity — but it is at least a valid argument. And it’s one that would have some resonance, especially in the cities, where the working class is left-leaning and internationalist.

Instead we have Labour lining up with the Tories to put Scotland in its place.

I don’t understand this tactic. It’s been tried for years, and it doesn’t work. Anyone remember the front page of the Scottish Sun from the 2007 Holyrood election?

The Scottish Sun on election day 2007

What happened?

People voted SNP despite the scare tactics. The sky didn’t fall in. The SNP ran a credible and well-respected administration, and were elected by a landslide in 2011.

So why do Better Together think the scare tactics will work this time?

This is why I think Yes will win. The Yes campaign is reasoned, nuanced and well-argued. It’s inclusive. The more people hear the case, the more they are convinced.

The No campaign’s threats just sound hollower by the day.