To ask if you are voting SNP?

[SpiceAddict]

How do you think they are going to 'end austerity'? How will this be financed? You can't just suddenly invest more in infrastructure etc to create more jobs if there is no.money.

If it is going to be financed by stopping trident, then we will lose US support - not really a good idea....

Labour are going to increase tax for higher payers, mansion tax etc in order to fund their investments.

I live in Yorkshire and we really don't get the support for SNP. They don't make sense to me, but as they seem to be so popular, please can someone actually why?

Who are Scots. Nats. ?

I'm not Tobagostreet

I'm saying, that a majority of people in the UK - according to various polls over the last few years - wish to leave the EU and join EFTA.

It is therefore an ideal solution, if the Nats. win big in Scotland, for a referendum to leave but allow Scotland to break away from the UK, as the Nats. (and most Scots. it seems) wish to stay in the EU.

The English population of the UK, will not wish to prop up the failed Scottish banking system (NatWest is the largest part of RBoS) thus all the English banks, who are currently headquartered in Scotland, will move their HQs back to England; the leaders of these banks have all said so already, as these banks still need the Bank of England (and the English taxpayer) to prop them up.

The Scots. Nats. have said they don't want nuclear weapons on Scottish soil. Thus, Trident will have to move from Faslane to Plymouth, Barrow and Portsmouth.

BAE will be forced by the government in Westminster (owing to public opinion) to build and maintain ships for the Royal Navy at English yards (closure of Rosyth to follow)

www.heraldscotland.com/politics/defence.12345

As the Scots. Nats. do not want nuclear weapons, then Scotland will not be allowed to join NATO. All RAF bases in Scotland will have to move to England (apart from those based in the outlying islands such as the Shetland Isles, if the Shetlands decide to stay in the UK, or become a part of Norway)

All of this is good for English jobs and the English economy.

However, most importantly, if the Scots. Nats. get the landslide result everybody expects, then ConLabLib are not viable as being representative of Scottish voters. It's difficult to see how this can lead to anything but another referendum on Scottish independance; only thing being this time around, expect to see a referendum for the English to leave the UK too.

No I won't

I am against free prescriptions.
I am against council tax freeze
I am against free bus passes. Many people in Scotland can afford the above and a free for all only helps the wealthy.

I am disgusted that free education is for anyone unless you are English.

I am against the named guardian.
I am against the land reform.
I am against Independence.

Therefore I can not vote for them.

I'm scottish and will not be voting SNP. In fact I am a life long Tory voter but I am considering actually voting labour, purely as an attempt to keep the SNP out.
If people think they can deliver everything, or anywhere near what they're promising, then they're living in la la land.

I will not be voting SNP as I am not convinced Labour will be the largest party and would hate to think I may unwittingly contribute to a conservative UKIP coalition. In the past I have voted SNP and Labour in Scottish Parliament elections.

The EU question isn't that straightforward, Norland. I know it was a big part of the independence debate, but time and again social attitude surveys show Scottish public opinion to be broadly the same on the EU as the rest of the UK. Opinion polls vary - presumably due to smaller sample sizes - but the ones I've seen mainly tend to put EU support in Scotland only slightly higher than the UK as a whole.

Did anyone else spot the irony in Nicola Sturgeon talking about staying in a union and not threatening to leave?

Norland just a small point, the banks HQs would indeed move south in the case of independence. But not because of 'propping up'. Current law says their HQ has to be located in the country they have the most customers based in.

Also you do realise that 'moving their HQs' can be as little as moving the brass plate? Lloyds only moved it's HQ to Scotland about 5 years ago. Very few jobs moved.

Finally although from the outside it's easy to separate say RBS and Natwest in reality although from the public perception they are different banks internally they are fully integrated. All the back office, IT, communications, training etc functions are single divisions or department. Separating them would cost millions and millions. And for what purpose?

Move the brass plaques yes, no need to move the jobs.

I appreciate OOAOML that the EU question - and indeed every policy point - isn't that straightforward, however, ScotsNats are pro:

Leaving the UK
Staying in the EU
Having a Scottish pound
Having the Bank of England as a lender of last resort

survation.com/the-great-scottish-currency-debate-an-important-note-on-methodology/

Those four policies are incompatible. Leave the UK, then Scotland has to leave the EU as well.
Apply to join the EU as an independant Scotland and the Euro has to be adopted.

survation.com/a-tale-of-two-referendums-fear-of-leaving-eu-has-little-effect-on-pro-independence-scots-2/

'...European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso this week said that membership of the European Union for an independent Scotland would be “extremely difficult, if not impossible”, because Scotland’s new membership would have to be approved by all other EU countries....'

I'm not voting SNP. Not in a million years!

Eigg I have a great deal of knowledge and experience about the IT sytems in these banks; RBoS and NatWest are not fully integrated at all. They have extremely ancient infrastructure in some cases

One of the reasons for some of the problems in this story www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-2517589/Claim-compensation-RBS-IT-meltdown-ditch-bank.html is that they do piecemeal upgrades of their IT systems and these systems are often incompatible.

Eig, I was speaking to a friend who is on the board of a large insurer in Scotland. They were told in no uncertain terms by the regulator that in the event of Scottish independence that the top 100 executives would have to be located in England. Then imagine all the support staff etc that would have to move or lose their jobs. It most certainly would not be a brass name plate exercise as so many keep stating.

Your Lloyds example is totally different as it was just a move within the UK and still under the same regulatory regime.

I don't think the real problem would be overnight moving of jobs, more the slowing of growth (as in Montreal/Quebec) as the uncertainty over Scotland's long term participation in the UK continues.

I'll be voting SNP in May.
Their policies on education, Trident removal and NHS make it the easiest decision I've ever made.

I agree with Scotland being independent but feel that the need for independence would diminish if the Westminster government was run in an above board, straightforward manner, working for ALL the people of the country and not holding them in contempt.

^ This from DowntownFunk mirrors my sentiments exactly.

no I am not voting for SNP. why?

they cut the amount of money that went into the Scottish NHS last year - they aren't protecting it at all.

they didn't get rid of parking charges in NHS hospitals as sturgeon claimed last night. SN didn't think it was worth buying the contracts out and they have something like 30 yrs left to run.

I don't agree with free prescriptions - if you can buy something over the counter then you should. the only people who should get prescriptions free is the elderly and the young.

I don't agree with free education - charge a nominal fee for everyone.

I don't agree with having a legal guardian for every child - the govt. should never have legal powers in that sense over your child

superID database - I don't agree with them wanting to share everyones data with 124 different agencies.

single police force - costs have went up since this was introduced and they are now being forced to make cuts to the service in order to maintain what we had.

trident - we need a deterrent given al the Russian planes and ships found just outside of scotland water and air space. if we get attacked by someone like putin we would have no chance.

the land reforms they passed are wrong - they just have a hatred of rich people.

Norland read carefully, I didn't say the infrastructure was common. I said the functions were common. There isn't a NW IT dept and an RBS IT. The staff are common.

On a cold day in hell.

See fibromum for specifics.

I will be voting SNP. I'm not precious about an Independent Scotland. I am precious about no longer wanting to be part of the insult that is westminster politics. Offer me a fairer alternative to what we currently have to choose from in the UK and i'd happily vote for them. As it stands, SNP is the only realistic alternative.

Peggy, do you genuinely not believe in free education for everyone? I've honestly never heard anyone say that before. How much do you think we should pay?

Peggy, why should a rich elderly person with a minor ailment get a free prescription, and a poor young person with a chronic health condition have to pay?

Free prescriptions for all means people are more likely to take all the medication they need, and stay in better health, costing the NHS less. Most prescriptions in England and Wales are given for free anyway.

I need 10-12 prescriptions per month. If I had to pay for them all I might be tempted not to take everything- and I am working in a well paid job. Seems inevitable that someone poor might skip medication and risk more serious illness.

Fuck, I didn't even get as far as the no free education thing. That is the most pathetic, short-sighted idea I have ever come across.

In an ideal world, I think education should be free.

We don't live in an ideal world and imo, the SNP's policy of free tuition is having an adverse effect.

Instead of truly addressing social problems in education at their roots, they are creating a two tier system of tertiary education, not to mention the sheer hypocrisy of English, Welsh and NI students having to pay fees because they have the cheek to be English, Welsh or Irish.

Nursery places and additional support needs schools are being cut, but if you are the child of a millionaire your fees will be paid.

www.predictableparadox.co.uk/2012/12/scotlands-free-tuition-scam.html

Free university education can be looked at as a "tax" on the non graduate working population. You can argue a moral case both ways imo.

Many of the non graduate working population are also parents of students.

More of them are not.