A great debate so far, so much better and less of the bawling arguments and shouting of insults than some forums i've been on where this has been debated. However, there is a lot of rather out of date assumptions and Daily Mail viewpoints which I just can't let pass by without comment.
I'm a Campaign Organiser for a political organisation working with the 'Yes' campaign, so i'd like to think i'm suitably qualified on most of the topics enough to write a 'Independence 101' to help 'scotch' the myths, inaccuracies and the unfortunate scaremongering and downright lies flying about....
There are pages and pages, but i'll have a wee bash.
Fingers crossed, here I go...
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Why is there a referendum anyhow?
The Scottish National Party made it a promise, should they gain majority power in Scotland, to hold a referendum on Independence. At the last Scottish elections, this happened, and there is to be a referendum 'in the second half of the parliamentary term', which equates to 2014
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Who gets to vote?
As with all elections, those who are on the electoral roll in Scotland. All usual election options such as postal votes, votes for serving soldiers abroad, etc will be available.
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Why would the Scots want to leave? Doesn't the UK 'subsidise' Scotland.
Unfortunately not. The 'subsidy' myth is a much-abused term without basis. Government and Treasury data shows that since 1980, GDP per head has/was 14% higher than the rest of the UK. Scots also represent 8.4 per cent of the UK's total population, but they generate 9.4 per cent of its annual revenues in tax -- equivalent to £1,000 extra per person. The reverse then is true - Scotland subsidises England, NI and Wales, by a significant value.
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But would Scotland have to join the Euro, as this is a mandatory requirement for new 'joiners'.
No, and nor would England/Wales/NI either. As all of the UK are already part of the EU, Scotland would not be 'joining' as a new nation per se. This advice is been discussed at length this month, and the official EU publication to scotch this myth is due to be published this year.
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But what about the money. Would Scotland be using the Poiund.
Quite probably yes on current viewpoints. Many new nations use existing currency, such as Australia, who used the UK pound until they introduced the Aussie $. As Scotland would bring substantial 'capital' to the table, the Bank Of England (BOE) would be daft not to want Scotland's assets on their books and there is nothing to stop any nation using the pound as their currency. Its a tradable currency!
Technically, based on GDP, Scotland would be richer per head than England/Wales/NI, and politically, with the anti-Euro stance being taken by the Conservatives, having a 'Sterling Zone' to compete with the Euro Zone could help make for an interesting competing financial area to which the UK excels on both sides of the border.
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But what about the bailed out banks in Scotland?>
This is a massive subject, enough for a thread on its own. The cost to the UK of the RBS / HBOS bail out in 2008 was £88 billion. However the actual Scottish share on a per capita basis was £8.8 billion, and on the debt accrued by the Scottish registered banks which would have been an independent Scotland's liability is estimated at £2.4 billion. Roughly speaking 90% of its operations are in England and 10% are in Scotland, the result being, by that convention, therefore, that the rest of the UK would have to carry 90% of the liabilities of the RBS and Scotland 10%.
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Would Scotland stay in or out of NATO, and what about Nukes and Trident?
Big debate area likely to be a free vote by most people. The SNP line is muddled, but appears to be No to NATO, and an absolute No to keeping weapons of mass destruction in Scotland -waters or land. With illegal wars and dodgy invasions, the approach would seem to be akin to the European style defence force, rather than sending our boys and girls in an imperialistic way to fight and die for American-led wars. Draw your own conclusions here. England will beat the crippling billions and billions to rehome the nuclear fleet in English/Welsh/Irish ports. Sorry.
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But I live in England. Why don't I get a say!
Think of it as an amicable divorce. If one party wants to leave, you can't make them stay, and the debate will be who gets the assets/liabilities/dog, etc then begins. Don't forget, 8-10% of all English assets are Scottish too, they were paid for with Scottish taxes, so that'll be up for discussion too. Bear that in mind in 2014+
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Scotland has the oil and gas fields....does England get any?
A few, very, very few that fall in English waters. Sorry. There's in the region of 100 years of discovered fields yet to be tapped, let alone the undiscovered stuff. There's been massive new investment in new fields over the last 5 years, so the oil industry knows best. Plenty more money to put away for rainy day (..rather than on nukes, wars, millennium domes...)
Any others anyone would like a view on?