To think wealthy people will leave Scotland?

[Juniperberries25]

..if the YES side win a referendum? Surely a lot of successful businesses and people who are wealthy/ comfortable/ have paid into a pension will not want to risk all their assets becoming worthless? Or am I missing something? Higher taxes, unknown currency, economic uncertainty, hard border, national security concerns etc

It would cost BILLIONS to set up new Government bodies (eg DVLA, Passport office, MI5, MI6, Amy Navy, RAF to name a few) so surely taxes will be much, much higher than rest of the UK?

Just to clarify I am NOT a fan of Boris but surely he will be long gone by the time Scotland actually became independent after YES vote (probably at least 10 years, just look at the BREXIT timeline).

Please don't flame me, I am just wondering what people think as I genuinely don't get how the benefits outweigh the risks.

Nein9 · Today 10:51

🙋‍♀️ Very high earners with kids, recently had an offer accepted on a house in Scotland (we're in England). Delighted with the prospect of another referendum! Will both be voting yes if it goes ahead (and if we're eligible at the time).
It's not like England is doing so well, or has been for quite some time.

You're living in a dream world if you are comparing the English economy unfavourably with Scotland's.

I'm not in favour of independence. But the antidemocratic set-up that comes with a Westminster government is making the status quo less attractive and the risks of attempting independence look much less. The willful self-harm of the Hard Brexit line the current Government are taking and the Opposition are not objecting to leaves the future prospects of a United Kingdom looking no better than those of an Independent Scotland

This sums up very well how many people I know in Scotland feel.

If independence happens, it's 100% the fault of the Tory party, right from Cameron's lazy attempt to appease the Ultras with a referendum, to Boris's endless fucking lies and callous incompetence.

The post Brexit mess we are currently in makes me wary of the aftermath of Scottish independence, so I'm not sure which way I'd vote this time.

I've lived in Scotland since 1993 and not lost my English accent and the worst I've had in anti English banter was seeing my colleagues supporting whoever is against England in football matches.

I can’t understand why the English and Welsh and Northern Irish don’t get a vote in the referendum.

We get to vote in the referendum about whether we want Scotland back after it has crashed and burned. I'd be voting no.

Most of what you mention is already up and running in Scotland, military aside.

Is this a joke?

Yes, but we are planning to leave anyway. Independence is a bonkers idea, never heard NS state what the cost would be, what the currency would be, would they take the Euro, what about the borders etc... she just wants her name in the history books and bugger the details. It would be fascinating to see it happen (from England) , but I suspect it would be a disaster and cost Scotland dearly. The idiots who fly flags and go on about it are too thick to think of all the above.

You said that all Scotland would need to take over processing is a passport printer, not me. Well, actually, you said a passport printer and billions of £s. Scotland doesn't have the infrastructure of security services that backs up the passport and home office services for a start. It's like saying there's a branch of M&S in Edinburgh so why can't it become an independent shop. It can, but it has to develop all sorts of infrastructures to make it a functioning entity. That doesn't happen overnight and it's expensive, time-consuming and might not even be able to survive.
It isn't that Scotland can't become independent, but more that it's not a simple matter of just spending billions on new buildings and everything will fall into place. Think of how difficult Brexit was/is and the uk already had complete functioning infrastructure in place. Independence will be 1,000 times more difficult and costly for Scotland.

Selfishly, I want Scotland to break off, to fall into the abyss, so Wales think twice about our own referendum! 😂

LesGiselle · Today 10:51

I hope we go crawling, cap in hand, to the EU first.

I've run out of words for how angry Brexit makes me.

Yes, Scotland will have to look for new owners. I'm not sure the EU will want the Scots all that much though. Maybe they'll bend the rules just to piss of the English but it's a risky policy.

Being truly independent will make Scotland a poor, sad little country with a tiny, weak economy. It will be a terrible move and make most Scots poorer.

We'd need a Scottish passport printer...

Couldn't they get them printed in Poland by a French-Dutch company like the post-Brexit UK passports are now? 😅

Do you think that any post-independence planning will begin the morning after? I'm sure that planning is in hand, especially for something like Trident being relocated to the many suitable places in England. After all, why would England be providing defence for an independent country, unless they want to pay for it? The impact on removing Trident would be devastating for the Scottish economy.

It's always a little sad how like a bitter divorce these things can become.

As a principle, I like unions and I tend to think counties are better when there are strong ties between them and where they work for the benefit of all.

However, the thing about Unions is that all sides need to want to be in them. Otherwise, it's less a union and more a captivity.

I hope NS gets her referendum and I dearly hope the answer is another No because I genuinely think we are better together. (I also hope Boris and his cronies are kicked to the curb sometime soon because I think we'll all be better off). But, if it's a Yes, I wish Scotland nothing but success.

I know first hand of several of our clients offices, that had contingency in place to move south of the border last election. Financial markets hate uncertainty, and two companies actually have dual offices now, with the understanding they will move south if a referendum occurs, as most of their clients are in England.

The UK is spending an absolute fortune dealing with Brexit and will continue to do so for years. Better to spend Scotland's share of that money dealing with independence.
The last vote no won because of scaremongering. I voted no and bitterly regret it. I gave in to the scaremongering of the type on this thread. A lot of the scaremongering predictions from independence happened in the UK anyway.
Brexit is a disaster as are the current government's economic policies. Food is predicted to rise by 15% over the summer, bills will rise again in October. The UK government continue to run the country for the benefit of the very rich.

At this point I feel Scotland have nothing to lose. Everything will continue to get worse anyway if we stay in the UK. It is not a case of voting for the status quo versus an unknown future. There is no status quo, the economy is in freefall. So the risk in trying a different way are worth it.

And scaremongering pensioners that they will lose their pensions is reprehensible. That was never going to happen.
With infrastructure like the DVLA, Scotland already has test centres. It is the central administration and standards regulation that needs to be set up. These things are not such a big deal.

i would feel sorry for the Queen if she was forced to give up Balmoral, if independence happened. I bet the last referendum was a worrying time for her.

I imagine the SNP would give massive tax breaks to the rich to attract investment? I would be terrified of the upheaval if I was in Scotland as I am not wealthy and more vulnerable.

Might move to Scotland if it becomes independent and rejoins the EU... would be a big attraction, esp for my kids to benefit from freedom of movement.

@fromdownwest Yes I believe that. The same happened after Brexit when some companies moved their offices out of London. Did the City collapse?

@Overdon I think if you are not well off and vulnerable Scotland is a far better bet than England. Everything is getting worse in England unless you are super rich. Life will be much harder by this time next year.

Sorry for the Queen? Of all the people in all the country who would have to drastically reconfigure their lives, you'd feel sorry for the one with a back-up castle?

Let the Queen use the castle. Then it reverts to the Scottish government. She hasn't got long anyway so not a big deal. Charles has 4 houses and William 3 houses, so I am sure they can manage without Balmoral.

Yup. What on Earth are the priorities here? I'm sure she'd be allowed to visit. FGS of all random thoughts!

Do you think that any post-independence planning will begin the morning after? I'm sure that planning is in hand, especially for something like Trident being relocated to the many suitable places in England. After all, why would England be providing defence for an independent country, unless they want to pay for it? The impact on removing Trident would be devastating for the Scottish economy.

Relocation of Trident has already been studied. The interesting part of a relocation project is persuading another part of RUK to accept the presence of the nuclear deterrent. Yes, it's a lot of employment and investment. But it's also accepting the presence of nuclear warhead storage, the submarine reactors, and the strategic target bullseye that comes with it. I don't see many (if any) other regions queuing up for the privilege(?).

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28775848

I'm not a doom-monger for the Scottish economy if the Yes vote were to pass. I think it's stronger than the detractors would have you believe. But I don't think the SNP has the vision to make it what it could be. They have some high calibre individuals, but collectively they don't come across as too bright.

There are many independent countries of comparable size and with fewer resources, that make a success of it. I think an Independent Scotland would have a degree of international self-awareness and humility currently lacking in the UK that would see it accept a realistic position in the international state of affairs. It wouldn't attempt to punch above it's weight from the arrogance of 'sovereignty' and an excessive pride in history.

Of course. I love Scotland too, lived there for years when I was younger, and would again if I could.

But independence will be economically disastrous. People like you and me will be OK, but poorer areas will be hit hard. The cost will be enormous.