I have more meetings today than yesterday, so not much time to dip in and out of the thread. A few quick points:
I'm voting No and I work in financial services. I'm not a banker. I'm not in a particularly high-flying fantastically well paid job. I do earn quite a bit more than my husband, who is in a low-paid part-time job. We don't live in a comfortable house, we live in a tenement flat. We get by.
My job is at serious risk of moving, that's true, but that isn't my only reason for voting No. Obviously, I talk a lot about the economic side of the argument, because that's the kind of environment I work in. But I also don't think the social benefits will be realisable - it isn't just that the numbers don't add up, but that we are being sold a list of promises that nobody would believe in a general election manifesto, but we are all supposed to accept now.
I don't believe that people in Scotland are a single left-leaning voting bloc. Nearly 17% voted Tory in 2010. Enough people voted UKIP to give us an MEP. Our votes don't massively influence the Westminster government, but pick any area with approx 5 million population and show me the impact of their votes. We do have our own Parliament, which legistlates on a significant proportion of the issues that affect daily lives. My sister lives in the North of England - she could similarly claim that her vote makes no difference, but she has no such representation.
We will still be electing politicians. Just because they are in Edinburgh rather than in London, is that going to make a difference? I hear a lot of people say 'I can get a bus to the Parliament'. For those of us who live near it, that's true. I wonder how many peoople do? I have been to protests there, and I've been to protests at the local Council. I've been on delegations to the Council. These are all local to me. I've put a lot of time and effort into local campaigns I've been involved in (and before any jumps up and says 'I knew it' I can assure you that I am not a member of any political party, although through the school parent council I have worked with politicians from 5 different political parties, trying to get their support on various issues). Sadly, the most these have been able to achieve is a slight lessening of the impact of whatever is proposed. Obviously, people still have to get involved in issues that matter to them, but I don't believe having politicians nearby necessarily makes effecting change any easier. I would also say that whilst I can get to Holyrood quickly, someone from the Islands doesn't have that option. Even my parents, who live about an hour's drive away, would struggle to get to Holyrood by public transport quicker than I could get to London by train. To be fair, they are are rural and the public transport is abysmal.
I agree with those who say they feel more solidarity with those in other areas of the UK. I have said before that I feel both Scottish and British (actually up until this year I'd not given a lot of thought to national identity). I don't feel that Scotland should go their own way because they don't like the government we have - we should be working with the rest of the UK. We should be pushing for a UK wide constitutional conversation, ideally (for me, I know I don't speak for everyone) with some form of regional devolution in England. We should be sharing resources across the UK, but improving the allocation of those resources to the areas that need them, and ensuring local voices are heard. We should be looking at different electoral systems - AV was rejected but there are other (and I believe vastly preferable) PR systems we should be looking at.
Sorry - this has turned into an essay and I have to post and run. And I know I'm feeling more and more emotional about this as the date approaches but I suppose I just want to say - let's not tear up what we have, let's work to make it better. I think the whole UK has realised the depth of feeling there is. The genie is out of the bottle and the issues that have been raised cannot be ignored. If they were ignored then I would be up there on the barricades with anyone from the Yes side who was willing to have me. But I genuinely think we can vote No and then work across the UK for a better system.
And did anyone click on my link from yesterday about the Bedroom Tax? There's a Lib Dem private member's bill being voted on tomorrow that would go a long way to mitigate the effects. It isn't a removal but that won't happen under the current government. I've emailed my MP and he is voting in support of it - please, whatever side of the referendum debate you're on, if this is an important issue to you email your MP and ask him to vote in favour of the bill.