Scottish Referendum debate: Alistair Darling and Alex Salmond, Wednesday September 10th, 1.45-2.45pm

[JustineMumsnet]

Hi all,

We're delighted to announce that Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling will both be joining us on Mumsnet this Wednesday at 1.45pm, to take part in a live debate in the lead-up to the Scottish Referendum on September 18th.

The decision with which Scottish voters are faced this month constitutes a significant moment in the history - and future - of Scotland and the UK. And with polls currently predicting a result that's too close to call, this final showdown between the two leaders could potentially prove decisive.

The debate will be conducted along typical Mumsnet webchat lines, but with each guest free to question and respond to the answers of the other. We know the referendum has been a topic of serious discussion on the site (we're currently on IndyRef thread number seven - and counting ...) so in order to ensure that the leaders answer your questions, we're restricting the ability to post to Mumsnetters who'd been members of the site for more than 24 hours before the launch of this thread. Otherwise, the usual guidelines apply.

Please join us on Wednesday at 1.45pm - and if you can't make it then, as ever, do post up any comments or questions in advance.

Good question myfavouritebookis I would also like to ask this as well:

If Scotland becomes independent and fails economically, will rUK be expected (forced?) to bail them out?

Mr Darling - to me every day living under the policies of a Westmister government I didn't vote for is like walking in front of a bus.

Your party was in Government for a third of my life and yet we are more unequal now than when I was born.

Mr Salmond: in a paper made public last year it was revealed that Mr Swinney had some concerns about an independent government being able to afford state pensions and unemployment benefits. Can you tell us more and tell us how this position has changed in the last year?

www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/leaked-paper-shows-snp-fears-over-cost-of-benefits.20368617

Hi,

This is a question for Alex. I get really frustrated by you saying that if I vote for independence I get a government I voted for. No offence, Alex, but I didn't vote for you in 2011. But you lead my government.

In an independent Scotland, I'm (sorry) not likely to vote for you in the next general election either. But you may win. And then I won't get the government I voted for, regardless of how independent we are. In 2011, you got a majority government when about three quarters of the population of Scotland didn't vote for you. How are you going to change the electoral system in an independent Scotland to make sure I get the government I vote for?

@AlistairDarling

[quote SkateLife] Hello Alex and Alistair,

Can both of you please answer my question?

As a small business owner, I'd like to hear how independence would change my business. VAT and rates? The recession has almost wiped us out, Westminster plans more cuts and consumer spending is still down. How do you plan to help small businesses cope and move forward in an independent Scotland.

Hello SkateLife. I'm sorry about the struggle you've been facing. A separate Scotland will mean there will be different tax rates and a Scottish equivalent of HMRC. Red tape which never goes away will be different in England and Scotland which would add to costs. While the nationalists propose to cut Corporation Tax for the big companies, they've made no such plans for smaller ones. On top of that, if oil revenued were to drop again, as they did last year, a Scottish government might need to come looking for more taxes to cover the black hole. The reason I believe we're better as a partner in the UK is because being part of something bigger means you can deal with a drop in such as oil revenues and spread the cost and the risks across a population of 63 million, not just 5 million[/quote]

Hello, Skatelife. I think most people would share your concern about the economic policy from Westminster towards small businesses and the complications of the tax system as implemented by HMRC. In Scotland, with the one significant tax power we have over business at the present moment, we implemented a small business bonus which has benefited 80,000 small businesses with either the elimination or a reduction in their business rates. Above all, this was simple to apply for and had a take up almost 100%. We would seek, once we have the powers to move towards further tax simplification to benefit small businesses, which are the source of the greater part of employment creation. Finally, successive Westminster chancellors have promised much in this area and delivered virtually nothing. At least the small business bonus has been delivered and sets a template for further beneficial change to come once we have the powers to do so.

from standard life - "In view of the uncertainty around Scotland's constitutional future, we have put in place precautionary measures which would help enable us to provide customers with continuity. This includes planning for new regulated companies in England to which we could transfer parts of our business if there was a need to do so."

This is corporate speak for - if there's a yes vote we're out of here. They can't come out and say it like that for obvious reasons. But that is what they are saying.

@prettybird

To Alistair Darling : Can you explain why we're "better together"? I haven't been able to find any concrete examples other than "we're bigger and can share the risk" - yet there are plenty of countries of similar (and smaller) population and GDP which are successful. My Danish relatives don't understand what the issue is (and indeed are quite insulted by the implication).

I understand the "feeling British" argument - and indeed, in 1979 I would have voted No for that reason (as it was, my vote counted as a No as I was on the register but too young to vote ) - but not the wording "Better Together".

I've always felt Scottish - but my sense of Britishness has diminished over the years - to the extent of being ashamed of some of the things that the UK state has associated us with.

So, why are we Better Together in simple terms?

Hi prettybird

Three examples

More jobs, energy prices are lower than they would otherwise be, higher public spending on schools and hospitals and other public services and the price of the weekly shop is less here than it is in most smaller countries. It's common sense.

The best interests of Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom are a common sense agreement on a common currency.

Mr Salmond, surely the eurozone crisis has demonstrated pretty conclusively that currency union without fiscal union is a recipe for disaster? On that basis alone rUK would have a duty to its remaining citizens to refuse Scotland its 'common sense agreement' as it's not common sense at all.

@deeedeee

Mr Salmond and Mr Darling - Many Yes voters are not voting for SNP policies, but are voting for the chance for a more representative parliament with more Green MSPs and the emergence of other left leaning organisations like the Common Weal. How do you intend to involve these new voices in plans for constitutional change in the event of a Yes vote or more powers for Scotland in the event of a No vote?

Thanks for the question. The three non-nationlist parties have signed up to a process that will mean consultation with voluntary organisations, churches, community groups and many others. This is too big a decision for politicians alone.

hear hear Tori123

rose I read the biology curriculum when you posted about this before, and could not see where, as you claimed, students could only study Scottish plants and animals. I also think looking for political meaning in the fact the national exams are called "Nationals" is a bit desperate.

Well said OTheHugeManatee

I would like to ask regarding energy plans, primarily to Alex Salmond. How are we going to ensure the lights don't go off when it's not windy? We may have great potential of renewables, but given we have lost Cockenzie, Longannet shuts within 10yrs, and Hunterston and Torness not far behind, how are we going to replace all that in that time frame? Our renewables currently do more to balance the grid. New infrastructure will require expense and I can't see how this will be done anyway other than by increasing energy bills. Companies will need incentivised to build here as well, and the costs just spiral. We get a larger share of subsidies for green energy than would be expected from the percentage of leckie we Scots use as we stand in the Uk.
Thanks in anticipation.

Alex salmond - please clarify why you have used the term "team scotland" to characterise your campaign today? I find this very patronising - you do not speak for me. I am "team scotland" and will be voting no.

@Polonium

Q for AS Are you going to accept a No vote graciously? Are you going to accept you were wrong, retire from politics and allow Scotland's fractured communities to heal themselves and live peacefully within the union?

PS I won't ask you about your currency plans for an independent Scotland as I realise you haven't thought about that properly yet..

Q for AD
Do you think it's fair that Scotland has more self determination, more rights AND enjoys the rights and responsibilities that come from being part of the union? Why can't Scotland just be part of the union on the same terms as the rest if us? It's wealthier than the North East and Cornwall and many other parts of the UK.

PS I'd like to congratulate you for running a civil and informative campaign. Please do keep giving lots of economic information?

Thanks very much polonium. I agree - Scotland gets a very good deal from the union but we also give a lot back. Scottish innovation, our shared history, all the economics that go with being a partner in a bigger UK, the partnership works for both sides.

We should work with our neighbours not throw stones at them.

exactly what I think Tori23

Mr Darling - we have instability and austerity now under this Westminster Government. Labour have not said they will end austerity.

Houses prices in London are up 35% since 2007- how is that not a bubble waiting to burst?

60% of austerity cuts have still to come into effect.

The only end I see to instability and austerity is Scottish Independence.

AS: Last month one of the most respected industrialists in Scotland, Sir Ian Wood accused you of exaggerating the amount of revenue from North Sea oil by up to 60%.

In light of this, do you still stand by your figures or is Sir Ian merely scaremongering like those who claimed Scotland would have to reapply to join the EU and NATO?

frankie80 - agreed. the persistent failure of Salmond to mention the restrictions that iScotland will have in the event of using sterling outwith a currency union is frankly breathtaking, and to me borders on lying by omission. His failure to mention that in the event there is a currency union, then Scotland will still be "controlled" to an extent by Westminster is equally galling. but it's typical Salmond, all rhetoric and no substance!

@NoRoomForALittleOne

No question as such given that I can't actually vote even though this affects me being English and living in England But... DH is Scottish so why can't he vote just because he lives in England? (That's a rhetorical question, BTW). It does change things for us as a family. For instance, do we have to apply for our children to have dual-citizenship and different passports if Scotland becomes independent?

NoRoomForaLittleOne, I would have loved to have had a broader franchise but it was agreed between both governments that we should use the same franchise as in the 1997 referendum and the Scottish elections because it would have been difficult to fairly define any other electorate except on the basis of residence. There are two exceptions to this, that is members of Her Majesty's Forces or people on Crown Service who have to work where they are sent and therefore have the right to vote. It is the thing that caused me most difficulty in trying to get to a position which was fair. The Scottish citizenship offer is set out on page 273 of the White Paper, "Scotland's Future", and you will see from that you'll be able to reassure both your husband and children from these proposals.

The best interests of Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom are a common sense agreement on a common currency.

I agree. I am in a currency union now, I have the pound in Scotland it is used across the nation. Why do you want to weaken my currency union?

Mr Salmond, what will be the SNP position on retaining the Royal Family even after the current Queen? I ask as I was assured by one of your campaigners that Queen Elizabeth would be the last crowned Windsor in Scotland.

Mr Darling - wouldnt refusing a CU be 'throwing stones at our neighbours,?

@Tori23

AS, you are being infinitely frustrating- AD did say you can use the pound but not in a currency union, this is a different issue. Please stop quoting selectively and credit us with more intelligence.

My point is that Better Together's leaflets the opposite claim and I therefore would expect them to be withdrawn given the statement made by Alistair Darling. The argument for a common currency is based on the common sense argument that England is Scotland's biggest export market and Scotland is England's second biggest export market after the USA. It would therefore be in both countries' interests to share financial assets and liabilities in a sensible and cooperative way - a new partnership based on equality.