to wonder how Scotland's decision will affect england?

[LEMmingaround]

Just that really? If they do go their ownway how will it affect england?

Also will it open a can of worms with wales and northern Ireland?

The UK didn't bail out Ireland. Ireland was loaned money as part of an EU bail-out and the EU inc UK will profit handsomely from the loans. Irish taxpayers are also paying a huge whack themselves because bond holders did not assume any of the bad bank debt.

If Scotland devolves (and I am guessing it won't) I would expect the move for greater Welsh devolution to be stronger than NI. My heart wants Ireland and NI to unite but my head says Dublin and Belfast might not be a happy marriage. If Scotland devolves I would expect the West Lothian question - finally - to be solved. Oh if we could have been spared Brown.

Boleh, I can't answer your questions about citizenship etc, but re decommissioning costs of aging rigs, the companies who own them will pay. There has been a requirement for many years, if not from the beginning, that funds are set aside by the owners (which transfer with the rigs if/when sold) to cover such costs, so the taxpayer isn't responsible.

Infinity8, I think this thread demonstrates how much anti-Scottish feeling there is in England, much of it caused by the same misconception you yourself carry; that we are "subsidy junkies". In truth we pay in more than we get back, and our free tuition, prescriptions etc are because our gvt have chosen to prioritise those things. We pay for those ourselves. You're right, though, that Scottish MPs can vote on matters which don't affect their constituents - the West Lothian question - and this is unfair. For that reason, SNP MPs abstain from such votes.

Infinity8, victim mentality? Don't make me laugh. Maybe you'd be a bit pissed off if, in general, the votes of your entire country didn't count towards major decisions regarding taxation, spending and other factors in your country.

I am no Nationalist. I hate Nationalism. But I get pretty riled by people assuming the major factors in this decision are emotional, related to 'pride' or long-cherished victimhood.

Oldlady - I suspect this thread isn't a fair representation tbh

I have a question: DP was born in Scotland but not resident there now so will not vote. If Scotland vote yes, and a Scottish passport is introduced, he will presumably have the right to take one. Would DD, as a descendent of a Scot, have a right to one too? Anyone know? Have they covered this one? TIA

Why are people so nasty and bitter about it if they really just want rid of Scotland?

Posts like "I hope it turns into a backwater and they get into real trouble" are petty, huffy and frankly nasty.

There are children living here too.

Stop with the nasty posts.

And I am undecided and definitely not in Yes camp at moment.

And also maybe get some facts straight if bashing ..thefishewife.

And also generalisation "they are banging on about" "they have a victim mentality" is crass and frankly incorrect.

I don't go around saying they "all English people" bash Scotland and trot out incorrect bull they have read in the Daily Mail just because some posters on here do so.

It's all very confusing. I'm pretty dumb when it comes to this subject.
What will happen with pensions?
Art?
What about balmoral?

bogeyface..what is the tax bill DH just paid then?

And the tax I pay and the 200 quid council tax a month we pay. and the massive income from tourism and oil if not Scotland paying for things itself.

Really. Please try harder.

And really.

I am not an SNP or yes voter.

Just sick of people trotting out nonsense abot us being subsidised and the nastiness.

Am not surprised if people want to get away from England if people are saying stuff like that.

Patrick and anyone else who wants to read truly informed (and neutral) opinions on subject to get some answers please do read this.

I am reading it before making my decision

www.royalsoced.org.uk/1061_EnlighteningtheConstitutionalDebate.html

If you want to live in a fairer and more just society, why on earth would you want Scotland to become independent? It has a Parliament that can pass whatever legislation it wants, because instead of a second chamber, it relies on committees which it can fill with yes men. Its capital city's local authority is permanently dogged by allegations of corruption, fraud and scandal, yet the Scottish Parliament shows no interest in tackling it, it passes legislation aimed at controlling the average person's life beyond reason, and it wouldn't even be a signatory to the International Convention on Hunan Rights until it sorted some of this out (the White Paper recognises this and states it will have its own version...)

You think Westminster is bad - its not a patch on the control freak Soviet esque sociopaths that inhabit Scottish politics. They make Gordon Brown look positively competent by comparison, and that's a hard task!

Mind you, many independence campaigners consider No supporters to be stupid, and unable to think properly for themselves, due to "biased" media reporting and mistaking Alex Salmons and the SNP as being equivalent to a vote for independence.

In the unlikely event that there is a Yes vote, there's going to an extremely large number of seriously pissed off people waking up to find themselves living in a country they didn't vote for, at risk of losing their jobs and paying higher taxes to fund an increasingly corrupt regime. Fortunately, opinion polls consistently show around 15% in favour of a No vote, and online forums give a false impression because they are filled with Yes supporting obsessives.

What I want to know is, in tge event of a No vote, are all these Yes supporters, supposedly looking for a fairer and more just society, going to pay back the costs of yet another independence referendum? Obviously, the loss of business confidence and investment we've been forced to endure for the past few years is impossible to quantify, but I'm sure the referendum costs can be. So are they going to pay it back into a voluntary fund, because theyre all such good little socialists?

Mind. Blown.

Re the Irish bail-out, the point is not where the money came from but the fact that it was required. Of course like any debt it has to be repaid with interest. The UK will receive its share of that, mostly after Scotland has left.

Returning to the OP subject, another in the long list of advantages to the rest of us is that we won't have to pay billions for High Speed Rail to be extended to Scotland.

I really am looking forward to Scotland leaving and I wish them the best of luck. It's certainly going to be a good thing for the rest of us.

Thats my point.

Why all the bile and nastiness.

There is a referendum because a large part of the country wanted one.

Its called a democracy.

My post was to chelsy. But I could also extend it to sally.

Plinth

Education in Wales is doing fine, it was largely untouched by Gove's idiocies.

I would suggest that the main obstacle to Scotland being independent is not England or the Union but that Scottish politics, at both national and local level, is dominated by poor quality bully boy who simply do not inspire a groundswell of confidence, and who make it impossible for a more decent type of politician to get a look in.

I would hope that the rest of the UK are not getting a wrong impression of the support level for the SNP in Scotland. Obviously I am only giving my own opinion, but it is really unpopular with a large swathe of the population, and increasingly, as the Referendum grows nearer, the quiet sort of person who doesn't usually get involved in politics is coming out and saying they are really disturbed at the prospect of being governed by a bunch of obsessive control freaks.

Scotland has had its own parliament with extensive powers for a while now. Questions need to be asked as to why it still hasn't sorted out many of these supposed terrible problems, and why on earth it doesn't tackle the idiocy and small time criminals running City if Edinburgh Council.

Its absolutely awful living in a country where you have no idea what aspect of your life will be randomly legislated on next. I am worried that they may interfere with personal property rights still further. I think people are scared to speak out, certainly in Edinburgh, in case they get a random statutory notice slapped on their property for hundreds of thousands of pounds. Or worse...

Sorry Fanjo I don't understand which of your posts you mean.
I'm all in favour of Scotland becoming independent if that's what they choose, and I wish them all the luck in the world.
In answer to the OP it is going to be generally very good for the remaining UK.

You didnt say that you said "I cant wait for Scotland to leave".

Well thanks.

Fanjo I didn't mean that in any pejorative way.
If Scotland wants to leave I don't think we should put any obstructions in the way. That's all.