To wonder how you're voting in the Scottish Referendum and why?

[deeedeee]

a month away from the vote thought it would be interesting to ask

( no bunfighting , derision or soundbites please. just yes or no and why. feel free to post more than once with different reasons. No links unless independent fact or opinion, nothing from the official campaigns)

I'm a YES

because Westminster's failed to protect the vunerable and the UK's me first politics have taken us down a particularly nasty path. An independent Scotland leans towards to left and can potentially choose a better route. And if a change happens in scotland then I think that that could inspire a change in the direction of politics in the rest of the UK.

I think it would make a bit of a mockery of all the talk about "democracy" if the SNP didn't respect a "no" vote. If the will of the Scottish people is to stay as part of the union, then I think they should let it drop - at least for a generation.

I don't actually agree that it's why people vote for the SNP. It's why some people vote for them, undoubtedly, but I also know quite a few people who have voted SNP at elections as their version of a protest vote - it's a disenchanted "none of the above" option in the same way as many Green and UKIP votes are.

I think immediately starting the next referendum campaign would be poor form. Give the country a chance to regroup, mend relationships which have been damaged by it and talk about something else rather than just carrying on regardless of the fact that (assuming a No vote obviously) more than half of the voters have said they don't want it.

Will be up to people to vote for another party then. SNP is a party which stands for Scottish Independence, this will not change.

Well it will when there's a YES vote in a few weeks of course.

But if the No vote won by a margin (say 51%), I think there would be grounds enough to assume that it isn't the outright will of Scots to remain part of the Union.
It would be good, in that sense, if the winning vote won by a clear majority.

And there was me thinking big bad Westminster was going to punish Scotland and never allow so much as a peep to be heard about independence without that peeper being whipped off to a gulag?

A close vote either way would be dreadful. I really think there should have been a requirement for at least 5/10 points of a majority.

60/40 Yes.

Yeah, it's going to make the 'losing' side feel even worse if there's nothing in it. Plus it could lead to discontent since it would be half and half, more or less. I hope they get the votes counted quickly as well, I don't think any of us want to wait more than a day for the result.

Yes, I agree it would be good to have a clear majority either way.

Out of interest, if the "yes" campaign won with just 51% of the vote, would you assume that it wasn't the outright will of the Scots to be independent? And what would you think if the BT campaigners started campaigning to rejoin the UK?

I don't know, I realise that the SNP exists primarily to campaign for independence, but if you have a proper democratic process and people vote against it, I think you should accept that. Likewise, if the yes campaign wins, I think the BT campaigners need to accept that decision and make their peace with it.

Otherwise it becomes farcical.

I'm a YES for lots of reasons but mainly because I want to give us the chance to retain a National Health Service .

70/30 YES, with an 80% turnout.

The problem is that BT are more restricted than the Edinburgh Agreement than the SNP/ Yes.

Have you seen the counting arrangements, Numanoid? I've got the PDF somewhere if you want it. They seem to be saying around 6 or 7am.

Snapes With such a close vote, in that case, it would be clear that around half the population wasn't in agreement with the outcome, so they would have every right to continue campaigning. Although they're funded by the UK Government, so I don't know if they would still be able to. Maybe they'd have to start a new campaign.

The UKIP MEP for Scotland has said he'll start a campaign to rejoin the UK if a Yes vote wins, I don't know how possible that would be though. Although I think many people would be put off joining his particular one because it's UKIP!

I haven't Santana, I've not seen anything about how it will be counted, etc. I was wondering how they'd do it, it would either need to be people who aren't involved with either side, or an even number of Yes/No supporters, with the votes being counted at least twice. If there's a PDF I'll have a look, don't know much about the actual arrangements yet. :)
6/7am would be good, I wonder how many of us won't sleep that night (me, for one )!

Yes yes yes yes yes yes and proud 'oh did I say yes?

Well, I guess the UKIP MEP would say that, wouldn't he?! Not much place for UKIP in an independent Scotland!

I hadn't thought about the funding. I can't see rUK coughing up any money. Not even sure if iScotland would be able to rejoin the UK in any case! However, I'm sure that, if it is a yes, people will adapt and get used to the new set-up - or leave.

Third yellow box on the left hand side of the homepage here

The Edinburgh Agreement made the outcome binding and legal, the UK cannot fund a second BT campaign and nor can it go back on itself easily.

I'm guessing it would be very hard to rejoin the UK if Scotland became independent and regretted it. I imagine it would be easier to have a second vote towards becoming independent.

I'm English and an ex pat to boot. I really hope Scotland will vote to stay part of the UK but wish you all luck if you decide not to.

True Snapespotions! I don't think there's any place for UKIP at all, I can't stand them. I think their policies would deter many No voters from backing him, in the event of a Yes win, I think a separate No campaign would be started (if people wanted to).
I don't think the UK Government would bother either, I suppose they would have no reason to in that case. I really do hope that if the Yes vote wins, even those who voted No will adapt to it and hopefully maybe be glad about it.

Thanks Santana! :) It has all the info about how the votes will be counted as well, I've downloaded a few of the files! The forensic science part is good, although I can't see the difference between some of the real and forged ones. Probably not my calling in life.

You're welcome :)

Do all you voting Yes understand that Salmond could have raised taxes to help the poor? Yet he hasn't.

You do understand the devolved parliament allows the Scottish government to do this?

So why haven't they?

We are not always governed by who we vote for, that's democracy. Breaking away isn't the solution.

I don't like the psychology nationalism breeds either. Scotland is a country with good and bad like every other country on the planet. All this talk of being great sounds arsey to me. If Salmond wanted to be more left, make Scotland a better place, he could have done so without independence because of devolved powers.

The Yes campaign seems much more vocal and belligerent. As an English person in Scotland I see all the Yes posters in my face yet don't feel I can be as out spoken about my No vote. This makes me very sad as I've lived in Scotland for 18 years and never felt this divide before.

There is a lot of propaganda from the Yes campaign and sneaky politics. Does anyone have a clear idea how an independent Scotland will manage economically? If there was another financial crash?

No, because Salmond can't or won't answer. Arsehole.

So, Numanoid, in the event of a "Yes" we should try to adapt, but, in the event of a "No" we will be put through this again, and again until your lot get what they want.

Sounds like you don't know how to take "No" for an answer. When we say "No" we mean "No" not maybe, or perhaps, or "Soon".

What will the SNP do to Scotland if they keep us fighting each other for years and years until they get their own way. Sadly, given the way Salmond bullies committees in the Parliament and pushes to get his own way, I am not surprised to find this attitude amongst his supporters.

In fact, in the unlikely event of a "Yes" vote, I have my campaign slogan, one already used in the past by Mayans passionate and righteous campaigners.

"No means No"