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?

Enjoy having a Tory government FOREVER when we become independent, suckers.

Oh wait, I live in London.

Also, north sea oil, gas.

Oh and also, all you people who bleat on about how the English pay for Scotland. Dream on. Unless you live in London and work in finance, you contribute pretty much nothing.

Maybe the don't. Cameron does seem to be saying shit or get off the pot - have a yes or no question, ask it soon and have none of this fannying around whereby Scotland has all the benefits of independence (full financial control) but none of the risk.

Thanks for answering - I think if the referendum is going to be done then both England and Scotland need to vote on it and then we can all vote based on money - rather than only one country getting to vote and making their choice on money, as this doesn't seem fair on the country that don't get to vote.

Yellowcoat
London is the capital of England if you didn't notice?
Maybe the financial institutions will shift to Edinburgh when independence is achieved.

And Wales and NI to vote on the Scottish issue too

To be fair, I didn't open Lesley's link blush. However, in case you hadn't noticed, most countries in the world are in deficit - i.e., we are all a 'drain' on somewhere.

However, I go back to my main point - why on earth are England holding on to us if there's nothing in it for them?

p.s. I'm not actually in favour of independence - I just get pissed off with all the talk of how much of a burden we are to England.

Its not the oil we are going to make money on, its water! It pisses down so much up here that we are going to build a big pipe to southern England and charge you all a fortune for it so you don't have droughts and hosepipe bans :)

Scotland would be seperating from the uk not England.

No one is going to move their head office to Edinburgh. Fingers crossed RBS don't need another bail out eh?

So what would be the solution if Scotland voted yes but England, Ireland & Wales all said No?

I have no idea what your point is foglike, but I had noticed London was the capital of England, thanks.

There's plenty in it for England if we remain in the UK - political stability for a start.

I get pissed off about being made to feel like a burden too, especially when people just trot out the same tired blah blah all the time. The English are so good at giving themselves a bad reputation sometimes.

Why wouldn't they move offices to Edinburgh Serenity?

Because we are the united kingdom lorLilee. We don't go chucking countries out, anymore than you'd chuck out say, Devon. What a bizarre
idea!

I posted my link because of the posts arguing how Scotland are not getting the benefit of oil revenue which is being robbed by the English.

You are right about the deficit though. The only parts of the UK who bring in more income than is spent there is from memory London and the south east.

Why haven't they already Redlac? Why would an independant Scotland be any more attractive?

Why would they move head offices to Edinburgh? Moving offices a couple of hundred miles away is expensive and causes disruption - what would be the benefit?

If Scotland want independence and it's their right to have that.

I don't see why those people get offended by English people having an opinion and supporting their wish to be independent.

What do they want a referendum begging them to stay?

lesley are you sure that London brings in more income? I read something about this recently and it stated that London actually costs more money than anywhere else in the Uk, including Scotland?

It always puzzles me (on MN) when I read posts by people saying that Scotland are a burden on "England/britain, why our MP's get to vote in Westminster etc etc.
But there never seems to be similar comments directed at Wales and N.I. Why is that? Can anyone shed any light on it?

Duckdodgers I seriously doubt that but if you hve a link?

Edinburgh is Europe's 4th largest financial centre, very big in Insurance (it goes - London, Frankfurt, Paris, Edinburgh) though I doubt many banks/brokers/hedge funds would move their offices there as it's not well connected, air port wise and it's cold.

I think the English go on about the Scots being 'a drain' in the same way that the Scots go on about being dominated/oppressed/ignored by England. Six of one and half a dozen of the other.

The referendum is a good idea - if Scotland go their own way, then they will no longer be able to blame a government which happens to be situated in England (even though it's a British government) for whatever goes wrong. It will sink or swim according to its own management.

Likewise, if Scotland chooses to remain as part of a union, then they've had their choice and will know that they are where they are through their own free will and not because of a domineering England.

It's all good.

Seems to be a bit of a confusion around this:

There IS going to be a referendum, the question is when. DC wants it in the next 18 months with a straight Yes or No choice, AS wants it in the last year of his term as first minister, with Yes, No and a middle ground option (Devo Max). The only people allowed to vote are people living in Scotland, as it would be a bit undemocratic to allow one country to decide another country's future. Scottish people living in other parts of the UK will not be allowed to vote.

No I'm not sure about it - you could be right, it could just be the south east. After all London does have a high number of the poorest electoral wards in the country.

And Edinburgh has an airport. Wtf? It's Scotland, not the moon.