Would an independent Scotland go same way as Ireland and Iceland?

i do find the 'sentimental tory' line highly dubious, tbh. they don't give a shitty shite about the scots, other than as beaters for their grouse shooting.

there was a study last year at harvard that demonstrated that if you take into account vat, road tax etc as well as oil, we put slightly more into the crown than we take out.

i tell you what would be great for salmond, though, is if more english mners make their voices heard on this issue. because you are turning me from a 'don't know' into a 'let's do it' every time i see your posts. or are you actually snp trolls?

Beta - thanks for the detail.

Do you mean the Parliament at Westminster?

As far as I know, the constitution is a reserved matter. The people of Scotland could say yes to independence but I think it would be for Westminster to agree?

I've actually google the "procedure" but not that hard didn't find much.

We could be in for an interesting time -- still think they'll be afeard.

can it happen without the agreement of parliament?

Probably not but if the vote was in favour it would be hard to say no to the Jocks.

Czechoslovakia did it without much difficulty

smallwhitecat

I think they'll take fright and vote no

Anyone well-informed here? if the Scottish people vote for independence, can it happen without the agreement of parliament?

Union to me conjurs up images of being "one" and of being treated equally...Poll Tax??

I think Cameron supports maintaining the Union he's the leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party so the Union is at the heart of the ideology the tories hold dear.

Sorry the stolen should have been "stolen"

Scotlands oil isn't worth anywhere near enough to justify the extra expenditure.

Not now maybe but what about all the oil money stolen from Scotland in the past and for that matter what percentage of it was spent on Scotland.

Hudspur I agree with you. I think England should be independent....especially since England are governed by the Conservatives!

Scotlands oil isn't worth anywhere near enough to justify the extra expenditure and the lower amounts of tax that they pay in. Scotlands economic competitiveness appears to be in terminal decline so I don't see what we get out of being in a Union.

Ther must be some benefit otherwise why would David Cameron fight to keep Scotland as part of the Union? The SNP have time on their hands now to build a consensus and put their case forward for independence. Tbh I think with a Tory government at Westminster, it only helps the indepence movment....

hud, if Tory governments destroy the Scottish (and Northern England) industrial base it's not a suprise that costs to the government increase in those areas.

London and the South East have never had the economic shit that the rest of the country have had to endure.

BTW have you taken the value of Scottish oil into account

Spending per capita is more £1000 higher in Scotland than it is in England and has been for more than 30 years and frankly they gives very little in return. England has been the nation that has driven growth in the last 20-30 years unfortunately and I see no benefit to England of being in Union with Scotland (or Wales or N Ireland for that matter)

In the way that we can bring the subsidisation of Scotland by the English taxpayer.

Taking into account that Scottish oil money ended up in England and they got mass unemployment and the poll tax in return they dont seem to have got that great a deal.

In the way that we can bring the subsidisation of Scotland by the English taxpayer.

Hudd in what way?, so we can have a permanent Tory hegemony and end up living in a quasi fascist state with the class system intact and the well off making all the laws in favour of the well off and inflicting ever more draconian anti union laws.

I don't know how an independent Scotland would fare although I agree with Swc I think Scottish Independence would be in Englands interests.

Maybe an independent Scotland wont want to play at being Americas poodle wasting money on defence, most countries dont see themselves as the UK's deputy sheriff and need to be a "me too" in foreign wars.

Norway is not altogether a good example as they are oil rich although they are investing the money in infrastructure and not on tax cuts for the well off and keeping unemployment high as Thatcher did

it won't happen now, re iceland and ireland. that boat has sailed. and iceland v different from ireland, afaia. their government is sticking two fingers up to their debt and concentrating on looking after their people.

From wikipedia:The most recent government figures (for 2006/7) suggest that Scotland would be in budget surplus to the tune of more than £800m if it received its geographical share of North Sea revenues.[147] The net fiscal balance, which is the budget balance plus capital investment, reported a deficit of £2.7 billion (2.1% of GDP) including Scotland's full geographical share of North Sea revenue, or a £10.2bn deficit if the North Sea share is excluded.[148]

Norway has the highest standard of living in the world, FYI. They do quite well.

Newgoldendream

Take no notice she is a Tory you cannot expect any better.

smallwhitecat " who knows
who cares
their problem
have they fucked off yet? "

And people wonder why some Scottish people want independance when people can have such vilke attiudes like yours - was there really any need for such a nasty rude reply like that? When you say "they" - do you mean ordinary working class Scottish Mums like me? Ive not "fcked off" anywhere.