Referendum

[tut]

Fortunately with the vote at present going 2 to 1 for a no vote, it will not happen.

I am in a different situation to the rest of you, so am not prepared to take a risk with my State Pension, Bristow Pension, and War Pension. Even without those considerations I would still vote no, there is just too much chance of it not working out and being a backward step.

I have tried to read through the plans for both pros and cons with a neutral mindset, but the cons are coming out on top.

tut

[BiggestNizzy]

As I read it economically we can afford it, it's just how poor/wealthy we will be. Norway would have been a better example back when oil was found. They have stored the money and have more now than they know what to do with. Thatcher spent ours breaking the unions.

I think it will be a laugh, no point moaning about other people when you don't have the proverbial balls to do it yourself.

[jason]

It saddens me that the entire debate appears to revolve purely around finances.

[j2 lot]

It saddens me that the entire debate appears to revolve purely around finances.

It has too because that would be the single key to whether it would be a success or not, and I have yet to see the SNP come up with a budget plan of any substance. I think their argument Is based on ' wouldn't it be good if' without any meaningful thought as to how to make it work.
..... And I mean their two biggest projects in Scotland have been planned and budgeted well haven't they, the Scottish Parliament and the Edinburgh trams have been brought in on time and in budget right

[BiggestNizzy]

It saddens me that the entire debate appears to revolve purely around finances.

..... And I mean their two biggest projects in Scotland have been planned and budgeted well haven't they, the Scottish Parliament and the Edinburgh trams have been brought in on time and in budget right

Governments of all persuasions are Terrible at this £10 says HS2 comes,in massively over budget.
The olympics only came in on budget because they moved the goalposts.

[tut]

The olympics only came in on budget because they moved the goalposts.

That must have been why England lost........

tut

[robin]

BTW, HS2 will take forever not because of the engineering, but because of the rate at which they can afford to finance it ... right now they're having to sell off the banks, Royal Mail (having raided the pension pot first!) and whatever else just to try to hit their borrowing targets (no chance).

Cheers,
Robin

[Corranga]

It saddens me that the entire debate appears to revolve purely around finances.

What should it be about?

Personally, I think if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Scotland isn't exactly a bad place to live, we have a LOT more to loose than we can possibly gain imo.

Chris

[tut]

BTW, HS2 will take forever not because of the engineering, but because of the rate at which they can afford to finance it ... right now they're having to sell off the banks, Royal Mail (having raided the pension pot first!) and whatever else just to try to hit their borrowing targets (no chance).

Cheers,
Robin

I do not travel by train, sod spending that amount of money, use it for something else.

Too many people living in London, fcuk off and buy a house in Leeds, Durham, or Blackburn.

tut

[robin]

I am not opposed to the train per se though I have my doubts about the business case being put forward for HS2.

I use the East Coast line regularly and think we're really lucky to have it, soooo .... if I lived in Birmingham I might think the same about the HS2 line.

Cheers,
Robin

[j2 lot]

I can't get my head around why SNP cancelled the Glasgow Airport rail link (although Glasgow is Labour territory ) but also heard this week that it is screwed for any future plans to resurrect it as land bought for it has now been sold off for £50k, despite it being bought for £800k+

[Rusty]

I will vote yes,

the way I look at it is, What's the worst that will happen.
We have been in the sh*t for a couple of years now, whilst being part of the amazing united kingdom.

The other way to look at it is, If we are such failures and can't survive on our own and need support, financially draining the UK, then why do they want to keep hold of us?

If I had someone leaching out my pocket for years and finally the chance to get rid, I would boot them out in a heartbeat, not try and hold onto them.

Other point that was raised at the end of the independence debate was, ask all the other countries who have gained independence, "would you like to be part of the uk again?" and i'm sure the answer would sound like laughter

[robin]

I cannot remember the last country that left the UK ... if you're referring to the Empire then it's pretty clear that those countries were oppressed and exploited, so you wouldn't expect them to regret independence (unless you were one of the unlucky ones to die in the post-Empire massacres, of course).

People in power always protect their empire ... so you would never expect any politician to be in favour of splitting up the country, regardless of what the financial position is. Also, I cannot remember any in power politician referring to Scotland as a bunch of leachers ... sure some English Defence/UKIP style nutters might have that opinion, but they're not in power are they?

As to what's the worst that can happen ... if you don't think the worst that can happen is all that bad, you lack imagination! I am not saying it wouldn't happen anyway, but new brooms have a habit of sweeping clean and, to mix my metaphors, chucking out the babies with the bathwater.

Since the poll tax, has Scotland been treated unfairly by Westminster? I don't particularly think so ... in fact devolution has allowed Scotland to enjoy policies not available to the "English" (free education/wider health care/etc.).

Whatever sh*t we're in, we're as much to blame for as the rest of the UK - Scotland doesn't have some magic record on living within its means, and the two biggest problem banks were (in name at least) Scottish.

So to me your argument appears to be "change because I cannot see why we shouldn't".

Cheers,
Robin

[robin]

I can't get my head around why SNP cancelled the Glasgow Airport rail link (although Glasgow is Labour territory ) but also heard this week that it is screwed for any future plans to resurrect it as land bought for it has now been sold off for £50k, despite it being bought for £800k+

Just sounds like normal to me. At best incompetent. At worst the other 750K found its way into just the right pockets ...

[sendmyusername]

It saddens me that the entire debate appears to revolve purely around finances.

.
..... And I mean their two biggest projects in Scotland have been planned and budgeted well haven't they, the Scottish Parliament and the Edinburgh trams have been brought in on time and in budget right

Both these projects were inherited, and there was nothing the current government could do about it.
Scrapping the glasgow and the edinburgh rail links stopped two overpriced, underestimated projects that would have emptied the coffers.

I think the biggest problem is people are assuming a vote for independance is a vote for salmond and the snp. It's not, it's a vote for scotland. If scotland wasn't profitable, the tories would have sold us off ages ago.
As far as treating scotland fairly, just wait to see the ammount of fracking that happens in scotland if we vote no.
Re: the asking independant countries, it wasn't just ex empire that was asked, they had a poll of every country in the last fifty years that got independance if they wished they could reverse it, apparently not one said yes.

I think we have the resources and the ambition to do better out rather than in.
Another thing that annoys me is the No campain - not once have they said anything about why it's better to stay in, it's all about why it's terrible to leave. Most of it's been utter bull and headline grabbing lies too.
I'd rather be ruled by somewhere an hour away than seven hours away.