I agree that they should have to vote on that by themselves, but don’t really think it’s going to happen. Anyways, not likely that poll would come out too succesful for porridge independence though. Found some numbers here (statista.com/statistics/2831 … eneration/). Should we be glad about it for the exact reasons josier has so beautifully specified? 
So, the sticky subject of keeping the ENGLISH sterling currency has come to the fore. Almost unprecedented to see cross-party solidarity, and predictably, it centres around money. Im no political animal, but it seems that Mr Salmond is now getting a harsh lesson in the realities concerning his blind ambition. "Bullying", Alex? Sorry, but you cant just cherry-pick the aspects you want to have!
If memory serves, the first vote for independence failed? My dear old instructor who got me through my class 2, himself a Scot, said not too many of his kinfolk were in favour anyway.
Sterling is not English currency, it’s British. The Bank of England was only truly an English bank for about 13 years until the Act of Union in 1707 after which it served the interests of the British, not English, Government. And one of the original founders was a certain William Paterson, a Scot, who along with others loaned the government of the day the grand sum of £1,200,000 to start with.
In the 1979 referendum on devolution a majority of Scots who voted were in favour of devolving power from Westminster but thanks to a clause dreamt up by the traitor George Cunningham the vote was lost. The clause demanded that 40% of the total electorate had to vote in favour for it to succeed rather than the usual first past the post system.
I’ll let you into a wee secret…the only chance the yes vote has of succeeding, in my opinion, is if the Westminster mafia start to poke their hooters in just like they’re doing now! 
Why would an independent Scotland want to retain the Pound anyway? It doesn’t seem to fit in with the SNP’s vision to my mind. They also wish to keep the Queen as head of state.
With independent Scotland’s main economic resource being focused on oil producing/refining using her moderate oil reserves (in comparison to the big players in other parts of the world), wont it leave Scotland very vulnable to fluctuations in the oil market which will surely happen in the future, particularly given the turmoil in the Middle East? I understand fishing is also an important part of the Scotish economy but it is sturdy enough to support Scotland if there are problems in the oil market?
At the moment Scotland is receiving and has received a fair few orders for warships for the Royal Navy, including assembly of the Type 45 destroyers and most likely final assembly of the Type 26 too. UK govt has already said these new destroyers (thirteen of them) wont be built on the Clyde if independence goes ahead. Will Scottish voters be prepared to accept the job cuts that will result? I presume after HMS Prince of Wales is finished that Rosyth will need to shut too■■? Additionally, thousands are employed at Faslane, if the MoD somehow moves the submarines back to England, again this yard will shut with more jobs lost.
What is strange is that an independent Scotland wishes to join NATO, with its nuclear umbrella. Surely this means they accept the overall premise of protection with a nuclear arsenal? This is strange and ambiguous given their position on Faslane.
If Scotland joins the EU outside of the pound (Which as we’ve heard Scotland won’t be getting), they will need to join the Euro, which will be very unpopular.
For all of the above reasons, I just can’t see a sensible Yes vote working.
I’ve long found Alex Salmond’s position a bit strange - he wants Scotland to be independent from Britain, but demands that it also be ruled by the EU instead, doesn’t want to be part of the UK, but wants to use it’s currency, etc. His position seems to be based upon emotion rather than logic.
For my own POV, I think Scotland should go independent, for their own benefit. As long as things are run from London, the other countries of the union are going to be slowly poisoned by the greed and selfishness that characterise England. I used to be anti-EU, but now I find that I’m more and more pro-EU, and anti-England, or to be more precise, anti- what England has become. Society is fracturing along money lines, where the rich are determined to be richer, and the poorer are viewed purely as the means to achieve that end. I think this is summed up by the aggression and selfishness that we all encounter on a daily basis, either with the way people drive, talk, or even exchange views on a forum. If you push more and more rats into a box with less and less food, they’ll turn on each other - seems to be a good analogy of what this country has become. Maybe by going independent, Scotland can provide for a more equitable society, or at least avoid some of the hazards in the current approach.
Slackbladder:
Quite happy to get shot of the porridge [zb], just as long as we don’t have to keep bailing them out with pots of cash every time they need more tennants.
Is this a reference to Highland Clearance or the fine brewers of Tennants super lager
I hold Scotland and the Scots in the highest regard. Good, decent educated people. If they want independence, good luck to them. I hope they will stay in the EU and the Euro might be a good option for them I hope that the rest of the UK and Islands stay in the Eu and join the Eurozone. One big, powerful, rich humanitarian family.
Its a bit ironic that England wants to keep Sterling and prevent Scotland from having it.Sterling was named from Stirling the town with an assay office where people brought their silver to be verified as true silver.There are still some folk panning for gold and other precious metals in the Ochil Hills If any of you are interested the town of Dollar is at the Eastern end of the hill range about 20 miles from Stirling which now has city status.
scaniason:
I’ve long found Alex Salmond’s position a bit strange - he wants Scotland to be independent from Britain, but demands that it also be ruled by the EU instead, doesn’t want to be part of the UK, but wants to use it’s currency, etc. His position seems to be based upon emotion rather than logic.For my own POV, I think Scotland should go independent, for their own benefit. As long as things are run from London, the other countries of the union are going to be slowly poisoned by the greed and selfishness that characterise England. I used to be anti-EU, but now I find that I’m more and more pro-EU, and anti-England, or to be more precise, anti- what England has become. Society is fracturing along money lines, where the rich are determined to be richer, and the poorer are viewed purely as the means to achieve that end. I think this is summed up by the aggression and selfishness that we all encounter on a daily basis, either with the way people drive, talk, or even exchange views on a forum. If you push more and more rats into a box with less and less food, they’ll turn on each other - seems to be a good analogy of what this country has become. Maybe by going independent, Scotland can provide for a more equitable society, or at least avoid some of the hazards in the current approach.
The poor have always been viewed as the means of production, not just here but around the world. From the paddy fields of the Far East to shipyard workers on the Eastern Seaboard of the US, the workers work, overseen by the petite bourgeois, who channel the fruits of production upward. It’s just the way things work.
I’m not sure this has made the UK more fractured than anywhere else; we’re more prosperous than at any time before, more healthier and living longer. Bet yes, that didn’t stop the London Riots or reduce our crime rate. It also didn’t stop the mistakes being made that led to the banking crisis.
But would membership of the EU (without being part of the UK) and being part of the Euro be better for Scotland? IMHO the small players such as Ireland and Scotland, will be at the mercy of the big players such as Germany and France. It will be going from the situation of being part of the UK and being under some direction from London, to being told what to do by Brussels, without any real ability to veto anything not in Scotland’s interest.
These big groupings of countries into strata never work out in the end, I’m sure the EU’s days are numbered really. Maybe it would be better off in the end for Scotland to remain with Big Brother, better the devil you know and all that…
scaniason:
I’ve long found Alex Salmond’s position a bit strange - he wants Scotland to be independent from Britain, but demands that it also be ruled by the EU instead, doesn’t want to be part of the UK, but wants to use it’s currency, etc. His position seems to be based upon emotion rather than logic.
Couldn’t agree more! But first things first, with independence being the No.1 priority. Deal with the EU situation later. For me, it’s all about bringing control and responsibility closer to the people with my ideal outcome being independence from Westminster followed by departure from the EU bureaucracy. A further contradictory act by Eck has been the amalgamation of all the Scottish Police forces into one followed by the inevitable closures of regional and local offices. Local jobs being lost to centralisation in the interests of efficiency, don’t make me laugh!
Euro:
I hold Scotland and the Scots in the highest regard. Good, decent educated people. If they want independence, good luck to them.
Thank you Euro. I would like to say that I have spent more of my life in London than Scotland, in excess of 30 years, and contrary to what some English lads seem to think I hold them in equally high regard. There’s not another bunch of lads I’d want to be in the trenches with. My contempt is reserved for politicians of all nationalities!
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I say they should get indepedence the Scots don’t need England to look after them.good luck to them
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