Can someone please explain why UK is trying to keep Scotland?

@onlychildhamster Heheheh! Ahhh the English! Always quick to 'lay down the law' lol! 😊

Well you just keep believing that if it makes you happy @onlchildhamster, but everyone in your country are going to miss the Scottish when they leave; the will take all their resources with them, despite concentrated attempts to 'steal' oil fields from them by England:
Without consultation of course 😉

www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/1126/contents/made

@RobG the Scots weren't slaves were they. They were equal partners. Ireland was a colony and they decolonized. Now that there is brexit and problems posed to the good Friday agreement, I can see a rationale to them leaving. Of course they are much poorer than the south and would be a burden economically but if the south is fine with that, I can see rejoining to be a good solution for the brexit problems. Even though I don't support brexit, what is done is done, but I don't see a good solution for Northern Ireland if they remain part of the UK.

However Scotland is a different story. If you thought brexit was bad, untangling an economic union is nothing compared to Scottish independence which involves breaking apart 2 countries! It would be worth it if Scotland was a lot richer than London, and Scotland was truly being dragged down by the poorest country in western Europe (UK), but it isn't .

@RobG London GDP per capita is practically double that of Scotland - £56k Vs £30k GDP per capita(Edinburgh GDP per capita is 37k USD) When Edinburgh's GDP per capita is similar to that of London, then I agree you should leave. If you look at Singapore Vs Malaysia (a successful secession as Singapore is now one of the richest countries in the world despite having the same population and Scotland in 2021 and only having a million plus people in 1965), Singapore's GDP per capita was double that of Malaysia in 1965 when it separated (565 USD Vs 300 USD). Not just more but double.

If you want a successful independent Scotland, Edinburgh needs to be the richest place in the UK. Londoners need to be going to Edinburgh in search of jobs, not just for cheaper housing and a higher quality of life. That is not the case now. London and SE account for 36% of UK tax revenue now. Until Scotland becomes richer, there isn't a case of independence. Catalonia has a bigger case- it is richer than most regions of Spain and perfectly capable of supporting itself. Scotland is just not there yet; it may be in good time. I do support an independent Scotland even as a Londoner but it's not the right time.

@onlychildhamster "Northern Ireland could decide to have a referendum to rejoin the south and tbh that makes a lot more sense than Scottish independence given that the union itself is hundreds of years old. "

Hmmmm dont see where you get THAT idea from, - SLAVERY was hundreds of years old. 😉

The Union has been a calamity for Scottish people and continues to be, BREXIT being the latest slap to the face of the people of Scotland, and their Democracy.

Loss of international standing- we wouldn't be the United Kingdom anymore. It could potentially have a domino effect, Northern Ireland could decide to have a referendum to rejoin the south and tbh that makes a lot more sense than Scottish independence given that the union itself is hundreds of years old.

United Kingdom of England and Wales sounds pathetic tbh.

@RobG Your rose tinted glasses approach is deeply concerning. It’s the usual head in the sand everything will be ok, but the mess that’s been made of education, the named persons fiasco, the dire NHS, the ferry disaster, the failure to get the A9 dualled in a timely manner, the nightmare of the trains, failure to properly tender out large government projects, our crappy vacc passport app which can’t even support boosters ( oh yes a Danish company did that one- are there no app developers in Scotland?) and the ongoing erasure of women/Stonewall/Mermaids/ gender malarkey mean I will never vote for independence.
We’re not going to get back into the EU because we don’t meet the criteria. We will have no credible currency, no central bank, no military. We had to refuse taking on more of our benefits administration because we lacked the capacity to cope with it. Everyone’s pension investment, both public and private sector, is tied up in uk investment funds. How are you going to separate that out?
Oh and oil? Now you’re in bed with the the greens you can forget all of that. The list goes on and on .

RobG if all this is true and the pound crashes I can’t see how this would benefit Scotland because it shares the same currency. Economic problems in England would be disastrous for an independent Scotland.

And according to Ian Wood, former head of the Wood Group, the Uk (England, Wales, N.Ireland) will struggle to make its balance of payments without the N. Sea oil. Not to mention all the other benefits that Scotland subsidises the 'Untied' Kingdom with.

@Knownbyanothername Things are better in Scotland than in England thanks in no small part to Scotlands Government. I think the Scottish people are tired of the mess that those London Governments keep making of things.

One thing is for sure, Scotland will be HUGELY better off financially once they get rid of the unelected Governments England keeps voting in.

Its awful the way the people in Scotland have been treated, and now hostile Governments in England fight to restrain Scotland and stop her from leaving. Why? Because when Scotland has left Sterling will fall below a dollar and the rest of the Uk will need to pay for the energy etc that it currently just takes from Scotland for free.

It was a very successful conspiracy, running for over 40 years:

www.theguardian.com/politics/scottish-independence-blog/2013/may/29/scottish-independence-oil-healey

@Knownbyanothername I get what you’re saying, I think.

If there aren’t enough places to meet demand from Scottish students, then that’s not good. However could there be some indirect benefits e.g. driving up standards through increased competition, and universities with a much more international outlook and connections? Maybe what’s missing is a focus on vocational / technical qualifications.

If we were to rejoin the EU, Scots would have the opportunity to study in EU member state universities, many of which have courses in English, and some of which at affordable prices (I think).

Universities seem to be facing multiple problems these days, and I’m sure thing could be better.

@Knownbyanothername Really? All the young people arent concerned at all, (none that I know) and in Scotland at least they dont need to pay tuition fees. Education is Free 👍😊

You’re missing the point totally @RobG. I am deeply concerned that our young people are missing out on further education! Does that not concern you at all?
If I was a conspiracy theorist I would say it fits with the narrative of dumbing down the populace so they can’t argue with the state, but thankfully I’m not. It’s just another unintended consequence of a poorly thought out policy.

Obviously anything that doesn't fit the narrative can be dismissed out of hand. Edinburgh, St Andrews, Glasgow may be doing OK but other Scottish universities are chasing students from China, Nigeria, India because they pay £15k in fees, not the paltry amount paid for local students. Meaning there aren't the places for Scottish students.

@Knownbyanothername No it doesnt, -not really. As I said previously, there are only two Universities I could comment on with any authority, and both of them are making a lot of money. Besides, its not always what money is allocated, its where the money is spent, or not spent. AFAIK the Scottish Universities are doing fine. I worked for one myself briefly and in my experience they are always pleading poverty, regardless of increases in profits. 😊

www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/uploads/docs/report/2019/nr_190919_finances_universities.pdf

@RobG I’m really not interesting what your mate does. Scottish Government funding to universities has dropped by 7% in real terms since 2014/15 . In order to make up the shortfall universities have had to look to overseas students. Places to Scottish students are being capped. Does this not bother you?

@Libelula21 -Agreed, the Uk is over.

@Knownbyanothername Yes I do. The Universities in Scotland that I know of are doing very well financially. A friend of mine lectures in two of them.

Do you feel that £1800 is enough money to pay universities per annum for a Scottish student? Do you not see that it has totally limited the number of place available to Scottish students because the universities can’t afford this? Are you not concerned?

@UpAwfYerSeatWeeNippy 🤣🤣🤣 lol!

@Knownbyanothername Hi 😊 no, not ignoring anything. What's your question?

@RobG perhaps you’d care to comment on my earlier post about higher education? Or are you just conveniently ignoring it?

@Viviennemary No.... its the notion of 'Britishness' that does indeed appear to be 'pie in the sky' as you say. 😁

@Gohugatree 😜 lol! Nooooo just out to answer some questions with facts. They've already got the yes vote in Scotland, and the Uk will effectively be over. But.... by all means dont respond to my facts, and that way you can try to be rude and talk about me like I'm not there haha! lol! Isnt it interesting that you can post as often as you like in a public forum? 😜 You're funny!

They won't leave. It's all pie in the sky. They had their chance to leave and they voted to stay.

@depremesnil excellent point! lol 😜