To think Scotland has a better future than England

[hadenough]

The state of the UK today makes me utterly depressed. A Brexit voted for on the basis of lies, an anti-immigrant rhetoric, and a general attitude of unwelcome.

But yet, in Scotland, the message is very different - a focus on welcoming people to the country, an opposition to Brexit, and a real debate about the future.

It genuinely saddens me to be part of a wider country that appears intent on going back, but never forward.

SoddingUnicorns can i ask what part of Scotland you live in?

The impact of free higher education for Scottish students (as long as they study in Scotland) has resulted in it being much harder for Scottish students to get a place in a Scottish University than an English student - yet this is never discussed. Edinburgh University publishes offer rates for Scottish vs. English students and the differences are stark. When clearing rolls round Scottish students will find there are no places for them but plenty for English and International students.

It also means that Scottish students are narrowing their choices and not exploring as many options outside Scotland which is a shame.

But hey education is free so that’s all that matters!

@Hereshopingforimprovement North Lanarkshire. I have 3 kids all with ASN and the improvement in services since my eldest was going through the process has been significant. All 3 have been supported wonderfully by their nursery/schools.

That’s not to say I think it’s Scotland wide, or that there isn’t always room for improvement. NL has its own issues, mostly caused by a Lab/Tory coalition which is dogged by infighting and point scoring.

It’s also introduced a meals 365 programme, so children in need can be provided with a hot meal per day every day, even in holidays. Sadly they haven’t done their sums, so it relies heavily on volunteers and donations, but the concept (ironically taken from the SNP candidate manifesto) is a good one.

Totally agree with Celtiethree. Education as a whole is a mess. My Grandson is in a class of 33 despite SNP pledges to reduce class sizes. 2 teachers in family despair about lack of direction from the top etc . Scotland is a fabulous country but when you have a “leader” whose whole raison d’etre is Independence, the day job is overlooked. The new Social Security Dept is a disaster in the making and will vastly exceed start up budget . And if the SG want to increase our population why are they not encouraging people from other parts of the UK to move here ? But hey , we have baby boxes so all is well....

All 3 have been supported wonderfully by their nursery/schools.

Not strictly true according to another thread though, is it?

Not strictly true according to another thread though, is it?

Which one? The one where DS1 was seriously injured because of 2 members of staff failing to do their jobs? You missed the bit where I praised the rest of the school for their response then. On purpose I suspect.

Oh and his shit hot class teacher.

"Whenever people talk about this, they always forget Wales exists and just talk about either England or Scotland. Poor Wales."

@tillytown Can you just imagine how NI feels when even those lamenting how some parts of the UK get left out forget we exist??

Re free uni fees. The scottish system is kinder to scottish students who study in Scotland , but the difference between scottish and english student loans is less than many people realise. Scottish students begin paying back once their salary is £18 compared with £24k in England and English student loans are wiped after 30 years whereas scottish loans are payable for 35 years.

Re A levels. AH music is very easy for people who are proficient in two instruments. A level music isn't, as the written paper and harmony exercises are much more involved. Scottish pupils are advised by the teachers in scotland who teach both that the A level is much more difficult.

Modern language highers are a joke involving a lot of memorising pre-prepared chunks of writing and speech. As for higher English.....

Health and social care provision - for a while Orcadians who required nursing homes were housed in Wick; a 3+ hour journey from the mainland of Orkney by boat and road or rail.In the winter it's not possible to make the return journey in a day.

OP, in what quantifiable ways is the Scottish message more focused on welcoming people to the country, an opposition to Brexit, and a real debate about the future?

Still no real answers, speakout? You've produced no facts; no stats; nothing to show why Scotland would be better. Nothing to say how you'd encourage investment. In short, nothing convincing at all. maybe you could start by showing people the magic money trees where all the things you (embarrassingly) seem to think are "free" grow?!

One thing about Scotland that I find fascinating is the divide in opinion that it seems to provoke from those who live there. People either seem to think it's marvellous and the SDP are doing a great job - or that it's not so great and the SDP are a one trick pony that is ruining healthcare and education. The views seem somehow stronger and rather further apart than on other places.

SNP!

Scratch beneath the surface OP and you might see differently.

Thousands of people marched in Glasgow recently under a banner from a proto fascist anti English organisation Siol nan Gaidheal saying Tory and red Tory (labour) scum out. Very inclusive and welcoming .

Those of you saying you’d vote for independence to be back in the EU, I take it you haven’t read the growth report? 10 years of turbo austerity before we can even think of rejoining the EU. 25 years of austerity before we’d be back to where we are just now. And this is their optimistic case?!?!

immigration vs hostile environment touted by the Tories

opposition to hard Brexit since we can’t actually stop Brexit itself

plans and discussions for the future

Thousands of people marched in Glasgow recently under a banner from a proto fascist anti English organisation Siol nan Gaidheal saying Tory and red Tory (labour) scum out. Very inclusive and welcoming hmm.

Not welcoming at all. These fuckers are vile and not accepted within the nationalist community. They don’t speak for me.

Interestingly 10,000 people (including English Scots for Yes) marched in Dumfries last month, but that wasn’t widely reported. Why is that do you think?

Interesting that your impression that it wasn’t reported unicorns. A quick google shows that the bbc, daily record, itv, Scotsman, herald etc etc carried stories on it. Why do you think it wasn’t widely reported?

And if the banners hadn’t has Siol nan Gaidheal logos on them, would you still have been happy calling the majority of Scots voters scum?

@trixymalixy my impression was because the only comments re Indy marches were negative ones. Also, the BBC and the MSM have form for not reporting Indy marches.

@trixymalixy are you suggesting the majority of Scots voters would support an extremist nationalist mob? I do hope not, because it isn’t true.

People who hold extremist views, no matter what they are, are not the kind of people I want to be allied with. Because I don’t agree with extremist and exclusionary views.

No, I condemned that group because of the things they say, which are xenophobic, bigoted and hateful. Nothing to do with the logo. Hate is hate no matter the label you stick on it.

Ah MSM bias, how trumpian. What you said was it wasn’t widely reported, which was easily demonstrated to be untrue, not that the only coverage was negative.

I do t agree with extremist or exclusionary views either, not sure how on earth you get that impression from my post.

*don’t

Yet so many happily matched under a banner of hate...

Oh don’t be so patronising. People gave examples implying that the marches were hateful and exclusionary. I pointed out that that is the usual angle, because it suits their agenda, and pointed out that the positives weren’t widely reported.

You implied I did, I was refuting that. I said nothing about your views beyond the fact your tone is patronising. Disagree with me all you like, but don’t deny facts.

That group are not part of the nationalist movement, like the EDL they’ve latched into politics because it suits their ridiculous and divisive agenda.

Why are they the only marchers you mentioned? Why not the tens of thousands (including English Scots for Yes) who matched peacefully and in a non offensive way? Because it didn’t suit YOUR agenda.

Rudeness and patronising comments seems to be a default position. Because you have nothing else.