To think Scotland becoming independent wouldn't have any impact on the rest of the UK?

[lesley33]

Some in Scotland want it to become independent. I don't really understand why the coalition government is fighting against this happening. Will it really matter in the rest of the UK if scotland does become independent?

I wonder why he is making such a fuss too. There is obviously something else going on that us mere mortals aren't privvy too :)

maybe he really wnats scotalnd and out the Uk and is using reverse pyschcology to encourage a yes vote!!!

I am a southern english tory and even though i dont really care if scotland decide to go it alone i would given the vote (which i wont be nor do i expect to get) vote to keep the union together.

Maybe Cameron believes in the union more than individual party politics? Party policy change all the time but once the union is split thats it.

that's the point, though, kelly, what is going on? why haven't they ditched scotland long ago?

i'd be interested to know the details of that case, have had a quick google but couldn't find anything. i do remember there being a good bit in the press about people in the highlands being pissed off at english incomers with london house price money in their pockets a while back, would it have been then?

i don't think cameron is much of a believer in anything much... certainly behaving the way he is at the moment is playing right into the SNP's hands (as demonstrated by this very thread).

Kelly, Redlac, I wonder if its because Cameron doesn't want to piss the Tory core vote off. I've never got the impression he's that bothered about Scottish independence before now- could be wrong though. But he'd care alright if it meant he lost the next general election because half his voters stayed at home. There have traditionally been strong links between the Tories and Unionism: for example the last Tory government sometimes had to rely on Ulster Unionist votes to have a majority. And that fucking idiot Reg Empey, former UUP leader, decided to align his party with the Tories at the last general election, resulting in spectacular failure. I think the technical name for the party is actually the Conservative and Unionist Party. So maybe he's worried it won't go down well in the shires? I don't know, I don't really know a lot of true blue Tories.

I live in a very small village in the Highlands where at least half the people are English.
We all rub along well, in fact it's not an issue at all.
I can't believe a debate about this has turned into an anti Scottish rant, well yes I can as it always happens.
Now wonder so many Scots want out of the Union if that is the attitude.
I'm leaving this thread now.

lol, it does always happen, doesn't it, lbe? every bloody time...

Or to put it another way, Cameron might not want to do something that helps his party in the future, if it disadvantages him in the short term? He's possibly more bothered about being the PM after 2015 than he is about there being one in 2025, 2035 etc. I dunno, just a thought.

Cameron doesn't want to be the PM who oversaw the break-up of the UK, plain and simple, it shows weakness. Anyway, a lot of talk on here about legality of any referendum etc, here is Alan Trench's blog: devolutionmatters.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/scottish-independence-referendum-the-uk-governments-demarche/

He is a research fellow at the Constitution Unit, University of London and he knows his stuff. Anyone interested in this debate should follow him,

From where I am sitting - west Cornwall not far from Lands End - Scotland is a very long way off so I don't see separation affecting us here.

I can however sympathise with their POV because everything always seems to be about London and the south east.

aitch,
No it was in a town or city. It was a woman who was ruled to be being discriminated against because she was English (maybe it was a tribunal) and the judge said this came under racism. But there used to be a huge amount fo anti-english and americanism up in places like Aberdeen. No idea if that continues though.
It really annoys me when people complaining about incomers buying houses in the area - who do they think is selling them?

Cameron doesn't want Scotland to become independent because Scotland is a net contributor to the UK. The UK is up shit-creek financially as it is without a source of income fluttering away.

oh I could really fancy a buttery now, or a macoroni pie.

At the end of the day if the scottish people vote for independence, then they shoudl get it, as the union is already gone in spirit at that point and forcing them to be part of the UK is wrong.

I don't think it's as simple as saying there's anti-English sentiment in Scotland. I grew up in Aberdeenshire in the 80s - there was a huge influx of English people to our area when I was about 6 or 7. We used to get such a ribbing from the English because of our accents and "backward" ways. So, yes, I did feel quite anti-English, but then, they were being quite anti-Scottish to me.

I'm not anti-English now, but I can understand where that feeling comes from.

YY to the macaroni pie and buttery. God I miss a macaroni pie.

dead people's families are selling them, a lot of the time, that's the problem. i have huge sympathy for that, actually. my aunt had lived in the lake district all her life and seen young members of teh community unable to buy a house in their own village because they simply couldn't afford to once the market included holiday ownership. when my aunt died she stipulated in her will that her house had to go to someone local, which was fair enough imo. it meant less money going to her family, but she preferred that one of her community's children benefitted than her relatives. i was all for it.

There are 10 pages of this I am possibly not going to read after getting the jist of the first page.

As we get 1bn less from the UK economy than our reserves put in then who is a drain on who?

You forget there are only a few million of us and tens of millions of English, so obviously the more of a population the thinner the money is spread.

I am so glad that none of my English friends hold the faintly racist views that arise whenever this discussion of Scottish independence is raised. Maybe I'll read on and it'll all be a civilised discussion but as it started with bitching then I doubt it. There are a lot of English people living in this town, so we must be doing something right for some English not to see us in such negative terms!

aberdeen,
Thats just it, scotalnd does not financially contribute to the economy, the rest of the Uk woudl be financially better off if Scotalnd got independence, as woudl individuels who if Scotalnd remained in the UK coudl take advantage of free tution and student loans and grants which they cannot do now.

AND SHE WAS ENGLISH...

I certainly haven't noticed any anti-American sentiment in Aberdeen. Anti-English, yes, but there are so many nationalities involved in the oil industry, particularly at higher levels that there's not much other anti-nationality-ism that I've seen. (I'm aware that I just made that word up).

The only way to answer the independence question is to put it to the Scottish people. Clearly Westminster would have to have a say in what happened after that (if the Scots vote for independence), but as was pointed out earlier 'every nation has a right to self-determination' and this seems to be 'international convention', provided that any referendum question is clear and unambiguous.

(How do you lot have time to post on here so much?! I've so far written about 3 posts and neglected the cleaning I was supposed to be doing. I can't keep up!)

i have a chest infection and am in my wee bed. kids due home from school any minute and have mince and tatties waiting for them. so, ill health and mince... how very scottish.

two by sea
no Scotland does not put an extra billon in.
Scotland does not have the industry or resources to support its state as it is now (or put an extra billon into the economy) so if it gets independance it will ahve to raise taxes, or lower the state costs (i.e no free tution fees), or both, unless it is able to get help from the EU (I believe, but may be incorrect, they have a small countries grant which wales woudl qualify for, but no idea what the size limit is)

Quiet day at work for me!
I want figures from a reliable source about the revenue!!!!!!! One person says Scotland contributes, the next says it doesnt. Where can I find the balance sheet for the UK, broken down by nations within it?