Scottish Independence... What are your thoughts?

[tonyreddevil]

soon the vote will be here

[novanutrition]

Bring back the original constitution that Robert the Bruce helped write and then I'll take a share of bidding on Lockerbie.

[PetBazaar]

I like the last bit. Is there a law stating when another referendum could take place, assuming there is a No vote this time?

Best wishes for many sales to all,

No, nothing at all.

Some are suggesting that another one could be held much sooner if the UK gets a vote on withdrawing from the EU and votes to do so. Particularly if Scotland votes against.

[suesjools]

No, nothing at all.

Some are suggesting that another one could be held much sooner if the UK gets a vote on withdrawing from the EU and votes to do so. Particularly if Scotland votes against.

Interesting, thanks for sharing this. I always learn something from you, you're a natural teacher.

Best wishes for many sales to all,

[tonyreddevil]

the vote is approximately 6 weeks away

[PetBazaar]

The next leaders debate has been announced.

25th August at 8.30pm

It's on BBC1 Scotland, or BBC2 in the rest of the UK. Repeated at midnight on BBC1. Also available on BBC World News for overseas viewers.

For anyone interested (UK only, I think) a recent programme, now on BBC iPlayer, by Andrew Neil on how any Yes vote might affect the rest of the UK.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...ake-for-the-uk

[suesjools]

Thanks muchly for the info., will definitely watch if I can. I do hope both sides will do a better job of answering questions this time around, though I give Mr. Salmond credit for not shouting like a demented looney in the last round, (it really makes a bad impression IMHO, Mr. Darling might want to tone the volume down a bit this time). Not that I'm prejudiced one way or another, I just don't care for shouting.

Do you think Mr. S will answer the currency question this time and Mr. D will answer the devolving powers to Scotland question, (or maybe there aren't any possible answers at this time)? I was disappointed they didn't seem as prepared to answer the difficult questions as one might have hoped, but rather did the American thing of digging up dirt on the other side rather than answering the difficult questions.

Oh and one more potentially stupid question: I was wondering why Mr. Cameron wasn't debating, is he involved in the referendum issue at all or isn't that part of his job as PM? (I told you it was a stupid question).

Best wishes for many sales to all,

[tonyreddevil]

Watched the "yes vote"by Andrew Neil if it Happened!
The Repurcussions On Mainland England Is A Big Minefield.
Not Enough on The Documentary to Tell Us About Education i.e Specialist Universities.
Also Medical(Teaching Hospitals) in Scotland.
Its Quite Surprising that Some English want Scotland Out.
September 18th Cant come Quick Enough.
Personally i hope Scotland Vote No.
Cheers Tony

[PetBazaar]

Thanks muchly for the info., will definitely watch if I can. I do hope both sides will do a better job of answering questions this time around, though I give Mr. Salmond credit for not shouting like a demented looney in the last round, (it really makes a bad impression IMHO, Mr. Darling might want to tone the volume down a bit this time). Not that I'm prejudiced one way or another, I just don't care for shouting.

Do you think Mr. S will answer the currency question this time and Mr. D will answer the devolving powers to Scotland question, (or maybe there aren't any possible answers at this time)? I was disappointed they didn't seem as prepared to answer the difficult questions as one might have hoped, but rather did the American thing of digging up dirt on the other side rather than answering the difficult questions.

Oh and one more potentially stupid question: I was wondering why Mr. Cameron wasn't debating, is he involved in the referendum issue at all or isn't that part of his job as PM? (I told you it was a stupid question).

Best wishes for many sales to all,

Alistair Darling getting a bit shouty was always a risk, he does sometimes lose the plot a wee bit when arguing against the SNP. Salmond, in my opinion, was poor on the night, too much advice taken from marketing types on looking statesman like, rather than getting stuck in.

However, on to the main points.

No. And No.

Salmond won't answer the currency Plan B question. For three reasons:

1) Virtually anyone, who's paying any attention at all, knows what Plan B is - it's an informal use of the pound
2) No one believes the leaders when they say there will be no currency union (a recent poll said 71% didn't believe them).
3) If he does answer the question, all it will do is open up 20 other questions and the debate will just get bogged down in currency again.

The currency is the strong point of the No side. Not necessarily because they're right, but because they can use it to put doubt in the mind of the voters

Darling wont answer the Devolved powers question. For two reasons:

1) It's unlikely that he knows what they are (I doubt that anybody does), as this is something that has been plucked out of the air as a "Vote No" bribe.
2) They're unlikely to ever happen (the broken promises during the 1979 referendum campaign rather set a precedent there), and if they do they'll be so minor or unusable as to be virtually pointless. A bit like the currently "guaranteed" powers in the new Scotland Act (2012)

As for the stupid question. Not stupid at all as it probably needs a wee bit of knowledge of UK vs Scottish politics to answer.

There's the "Official Reason" which is that it's a question for the Scots, and it's not his place to say. He is on record as saying that it's a "matter for "Scots living in Scotland"".

And there's the unofficial reason, which is that in the main Scotland absolutely hates the Conservative party. This has been the case since Thatcher was in power. The "it's all Thatcher's fault" excuse is still used, and abused, by the Labour party to justify their failings up here.

As a result, the Conservative brand is so toxic that any attempt by David Cameron to lecture on why independence is such a dreadful thing is unlikely to do anything other than convince a lot of people to vote Yes.

There's also an in between reason, and that's that any debate would raise the status of Alex Salmond, as he would be seen on TV sticking it to the leader of Scotland's UK oppressors and it could potentially lower Camerons status, particularly if he gets skewered by some second rate uppity leader from the provinces. [Obviously the UK oppressor and uppity provinces descriptions are nonsense, but it doesn't take a big leap to see how the headlines might go in those circumstances].

What's odd about the official reason is that he's the leader of the country that Scotland is debating breaking away from. It's hard to see that anybody should be any more involved than him. Even odder, is that he's agreed to come to Scotland and discuss why we should reject independence in a TV studio in front of floating voters. This, to my mind, makes a mockery of the "nothing to do with me" approach.

[squern]

I listened to a radio programme last night, on Radio 4 with James Naughtie.
No politicians allowed, just actual Scottish people.

The people involved said it was the first time a debate or discussion had happened in which the views of ordinary people could be heard.

It sounded like a "No overall majority" with perhaps the edge to the No campaign, but with a large proportion of "undecided"s, it could go either way.

I don't know if the programme is available online - probably is as a podcast on the BBC Radio site. Well worth a listen.

By the way, Pets, I don't go much on being called an oppressor, though i know you meant it tongue-in-cheek. As far as I recollect, I've never oppressed anybody, though I suppose there's still time. I do recall being in Glasgow in the late 1960s, when the police had to go round in threes for their own protection (from other Glaswegians!). Short of sending in heavily-armed infantry, I wonder how the English could have oppressed the aforesaid Glaswegians, even if they had wanted to.