To want to keep my UK passport if Scotland votes YES in the 2014 referendum?

[SittingBull1]

If the majority of people actually voting votes YES in the 2014 referendum, Scotland will leave the UK. As Scots living in Scotland, will my family and I lose our UK passports? Along with a very large number of NO voters, my family and I will want to retain our UK passports, and I'm sure that a huge percentage of the non-voters will also want to keep theirs. I think that the UK government should offer to allow Scots living in Scotland to retain their UK passports. Is that unreasonable?

prettybird -40%, 50%, 60% 98% ? The last famously being the highest ever rate of income tax. Happy with that?

If basic rates stay as they are but the threshold for starting to pay and the allowances go up that's a helluva bill for 226,000 people to pick up to pay for a population of over 5 million.

The Nordic countries are often referred to. Their basic rates are much higher than ours.

I think the point is that there is a difference between pegging a Scottish pound's currency the same as the UK - and accepting that interest rates, the exchange rates and economic policies are controlled by rUK to suit themselves and may vary in ways which don't suit Scotland and a 'currency union' in which we would expect to have some control over these things.

However I don't know whether rUK's opinion of the former option will have changed since the Irish currency was pegged, because of events in the Eurozone, or whether that would still be fine.

We already have a 'currency union' with the UK and I'm quite happy with it. But then, we already have EU membership etc. I am really concerned with what Mr Salmond and co will be willing to negotiate away in order to get things we already have as part of the UK.

Even the 80s economy was different though, plus Ireland took on the Euro for a reason. Why look backwards?

BBC summary

Hmm, had a look at the bbc summary and it read more like an election manifesto than a blueprint for an independent Scotland. Still no definitive answers on the important stuff like eu, nato, et al membership, currency, passports, to name a few.

It is a manifesto. All the stuff about tax and childcare are manifesto promises. They have nothing to do with what will happen if there is a yes vote.

I'm quite sure the section on tuition fees is against EU law.

If England and Wales remain in the UK Scotland could not apply different rules to students from there and students from other EU countries.

If England and Wales remain in the EU Scotland could not apply different rules to students from there and students from other EU countries.

So i now know that i will still be able to watch eastenders but i don't know if i will be in the eu. Well that's alright then.

I'd hardly call what the SNP published today a blueprint. It leaves so many important questions unanswered. All I hear is 'wait and see'.

They are also making a lot of presumptions that the remaining UK countries would actually permit them e.g. keep the £, piggy back the SBC on the BBC etc.

Sorry - today's blueprint was a bit pathetic and just designed to bribe as many as possible with no thought for the consequences. I am an exiled Scot btw.

*Problem is, although the Scottish government could implement the childcare proposals now, they couldn't afford them. They need access to both sides of the equation to do that

However the funding for that isn't going to come from nowhere. You need more tax than at present to pay for it.*

It does need funding and there are several ways to pay for it, the classic assumption (neo-liberal) is that you either raise tax rates or slash the welfare budget.

An alternative which the SNP prefer is to grow the economy and increase the total tax generated. The white paper highlights this as a potential policy area by proposing increasing existing funding in R&D.

Scotland already has some great R&D from its excellent Universities mainly in areas like life sciences, game development, oil extraction and tidal/wave energy. The Scottish Government are really investing tidal turbine research.

I work on wind farms and every turbine put up tends to be built in Denmark and installed by Danish engineers, this success could be replicated by Scotland with tidal turbines. After all what have Scottish people ever invented...TV, telephones, insulin, penicillin, radar.....

SantanaLopez I'm quite sure the section on tuition fees is against EU law

Yes, its a breach of EU competition law. And probably also racially discrimatory.

That is if Scotland passes legislation putting into effect all current national laws, including employment law.

Ericthehound An alternative which the SNP prefer is to grow the economy and increase the total tax generated. The white paper highlights this as a potential policy area by proposing increasing existing funding in R&D. Scotland already has some great R&D from its excellent Universities mainly in areas like life sciences, game development, oil extraction and tidal/wave energy. The Scottish Government are really investing tidal turbine research

Really? Gosh, how easy it is. Imagine all those silly countries suffering recessions and austerity measures, when all they had to do was to invest in r&d with more borrowed money. Those silly Greeks, they could have another Archimedes or two by now!

Re NATO, Scotland would be a non-nuclear member. However, it would allow other NATO countries to use Scottish facilities without checking the ships. Basically- there will be nuclear weapons in Scotland, most likely at Fastlane.

I'd like to know which lawyer was consulted...

... and I'd like to know, for NATO and every other international organisation and treaty, if Scotland would be able to transfer or would have to reapply.

The assertions here are not (yet?) backed by the organisations themselves - they all seem to be reserving their position.

I think there is an issue that most things need to be discussed with the UK and not Scotland as we are not independent yet. And Westminster is not being exactly helpful.

For most things though it would be in everyone's best interests that Scotland be allowed to continue membership.

itsallgoingtobefine how is it going to be in everyone's best interest as this has not been explained.

(Ignoring the fact that it will be worse for England if Scotland leaves...)

I'll just choose a few examples, ask if you want more....

Currency union: Scotland exports lots to England. England exports lots to Scotland. If Scotland not in sterling will leave a rather large gap in sterling finances (lost oil and gas assets). Simplest way to divvy up Bank of England.

EU: Fisheries, oil, gas. They would rather not lose.

NATO: Scotland controls a chunk of the North Atlantic - would be rather inconvenient for NATO if they had no say in this.

(Far more detail in white paper BTW)

The childcare proposal might prove to be key. I'm all in favour of free or heavily subsidised state childcare, but what I find surprising is that there is so little study into the social implications of this or similar policies.

It will possibly change society (in my opinion for the better) because it will free up women from having to put their careers on the back burners, and also make it more socially acceptable to send your children to nursery etc.. This in turn will quite possibly mean that, as has happened in Scandinavia, less women will be prepared to put up with badly behaving men and will bring up their children themselves in single parent families. I think divorce rates will rocket.

Additionally, men will have to compete with more women for the jobs that are out there. Women will rightly wonder why male bastion type jobs, such as certain fields of engineering, which are well paid, are male dominated and want to make inroads.

Tax will have to go up to pay for it. Those SAHPs who are happy staying at home will possibly feel less comfortable doing so, and less willing to support it.

Interesting, but surprising that there are no social studies into cultural impact of policies.

I have to say, I really don't think there will be a vote in favour of independence, but I might be wrong. That's what referendums are.

I suspect the No voters are the type to stay more quiet in the run up and on social media, because to keep the rough status quo doesn't require so much persuasive effort. I suspect the Yes campaign over-estimate their own popularity.

And I think there are still just enough sensible people in Scotland not to take that sort of risk.

Overall though I think its easy to forget that Scotland is a relatively tiny country population wise. I think that's why I find it culturally a bit odd - far more people are not like the Scots than are. Its a very specific culture, with certain ingrained patterns of thinking. I'm particularly uncomfortable with the "everything is wonderful, Scotland must never be criticised" trend that's becoming common. Its really odd. I cannot think of any other race that behave like this, other than maybe citizens in Communist China, but that's kind of compulsory.

The problem with the childcare thing is that is an election pledge, not something that would be put in place for Independence.

I agree though, it would be a good thing in general. WRT social studies I guess you can look at other countries that have similar policies. Incidentally, I'm sure I read an article ages ago, I think it was about Denmark, about how mothers are very much pressured to go back to work as there is excellent cheap/free childcare, but not the same support for SAHMs.

Cost wise, I'm not convinced that taxes would have to go up. There are lots of places Scotland would make savings over the UK, as well as being inherently better off. And in the medium/long term a policy like this should pay for itself.

Overall though I think its easy to forget that Scotland is a relatively tiny country population wise. I think that's why I find it culturally a bit odd - far more people are not like the Scots than are

Population of Scotland, a bit over 5.3 million

According to Wikipedia (sorry!) There are 242 countries (although that includes things like Pitcairn Islands).
There are 126 smaller population wise than Scotland.