Nicola sturgeon is right we shouldn't leave the EU unless all four countries vote for it

[pettywitchinlondon]

I have a lot of time for ns despite not being Scottish or living in Scotland, she is a breath of fresh air and stands for progressive forward thinking.

She's spot on about this double lock right?

AV is not in any way proportional representation!
www.electoral-reform.org.uk/voting-systems

The voting referendum was set up in an entirely cynical way to fail as it was a one-question option - and they knew that would split the vote of those who wanted voting reform. Those who wanted PR weren't going to vote for AV, by and large. And then the 'no' campaign was run in the most disgraceful, mendacious, insulting way.

The Tories stitched the Lib Dems up very nicely, all said and done.

(I favour a bicameral parliament with AV in the lower house and PR in the upper. But then, I'm Australian.)

Theres certainly an argument in favour of requiring a special majority (75%) in favour to change a country's constitution. That's whats required to change a company's constitution or to pass any important measures. But since we don't have a proper constitution in this country, its impossible to say whats democratically fair and what is not. No-one can actually say with any certainty what the UK constitution does or does not contain.

Mind you, the Scottish system is hardly a model of good democracy. The committee system has been at times a farce and why on earth the SNP in power as government haven't bothered to come up with proposals for a proper bicameral government is as much a mystery as there total disinterest in producing a draft constitution of their own. What with Scotland supposed to be a fairer and more equal society and everything. If the SNP would stop wasting time on pointless media opportunities to whinge and push their anti-English rhetoric and concentrate their efforts on making Scotland a better place, it might be worth supporting them. I'm very cynical about the SNP. I don't trust them at all.

I don't like AV in any shape or form.

HayFeverHell Fri 29-May-15 17:30:50
.... At the moment Scotland is just a region of the UK....

Brilliant

Wasn't trying to stir the pot downtown same applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. From what I can tell the "Nations" are only treated as discrete entities in certain sports, e.g. Football or Rugby.

They are the countries within the union.

Does this mean that NS believes that any vote on Scotland's independence will only be legal if all countries within the UK can vote on it?

No. Neither Wales nor N Ireland are parties to the Act and Treaty of Union, only England and Scotland. Either can seek to end the union. It's like a marriage where the dh or dw can initiate divorce proceedings.