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.

Rose, I certainly saw a photo of Salmond with some mums and babies, so I think biscuits was the truth

Found out on another thread, that there is a secret place where you can get both gin and cake, and take babies, and hang out with politicians. Am planning a move there, once I sort my mortgage out.

Good point I so agree, especially when they have cut nursery places, deaf education spending and college places and apprenticeships. Hardly a fair and equal society, but they don't grab headlines

I think this has probably been the best information I've come across. The questions from both sides have been searching if only we had had these at the beginning. I don't think Alex Salmond answered all the questions, he took parts of them and then seemed to follow his own agenda. There is still so much uncertainty as to what will happen in the future , because no one actually knows. Alex Salmond can ask for the pound and may think it is common sense, but if he is told no by Westminster and the rest of the UK public, which they will do then the answer is NO! Just as a toddler will argue until they are blue in the face, no is still no. Without the pound our mortgage rates will increase, cost of living may well rise and we will end up with the Euro. No Thanks.

I saw Alex Salmond's reference to business for Scotland. People should know it is a completed sham a friend went to one of their meetings the other day , there were no business owners there and instead she just got 40 minutes of Tommy Sheridan on anti capitalism. She was shocked that she was the only business owner present .

I am English living and working in Scotland. Have been here the majority of my life. Pay my taxes, contribute to the economy and my community. Just saw a Facebook rant about the "fucking English" who get to vote on "our" future along with the suggestion to "fuck off back to where I came from".
I am genuinely scared to be here at the moment.Scotland 2014.

AS is doing very well and the No campaign is on the run and patronising the Scots. What fun. It could go either way.

I have spent a good bit of time in Panama (my island was there). They use the US dollar so are obviously subject to the vagaries policies in the US over which they have no control. Scotland could do the same with the dollar or sterling or whatever it chooses. It could even choose a new currency - let us call it "The Scot" if it prefers that to the Euro. It could accept the pound controlled by the UK without a currency union for a while until it got its own currency going.

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AS will get to use the pound regardless of what Mark Carney or anyone elae says because AS will hold the one big trump card - the UKs nuclear submarine base. without that the rUK has no nuclear deterrent so In order to retain the defence capability it will have to let AS share the pound.

Lloyds and SIL are just about guaranteeing they will lose Scottish customers with their announcements that they would be relocating to England if there were to be a Yes vote.

The thing I find utterly ridiculous is the fact that such a monumental change may go ahead with a very, very, marginal % of votes!

How on earth can that be right? How can it be allowed to happen by a margin of 1%???????? It is turning millions and millions of lives upside down (many of whom don't even get a vote!!).

So if it's a 57/43 vote on an 80% turn out, would you be happy? Or 60/40?

Is there a particular level you would be happy to accept?

No proposals have been put forward in the White Paper for a system of checks and balances in the creation of legislation, the SNP tried to do away with the corroboration rule, police force being centralised and armed, state trying to say how children are raised. It's starting to sound like a George Orwell novel. Do you really think this is the way for Scotland to be?

Good point Prettybird. If a company was going to make major changes,you would usually need at least 75% agreement.

Actually, I think there will be a big majority that will surprise the pollsters.

It was up to Cameron to include a threshold requirement in the Edinburgh Agreement . It was his hubris in assuming there would be a No vote that has led them to the panic stations that the Better Together campaign finds itself in today.

Lloyds and SIL are just about guaranteeing they will lose Scottish customers with their announcements that they would be relocating to England if there were to be a Yes vote.

I don't know what the figures are for Lloyds, but I remember coverage from a previous SL statement saying only 10% of their customers are in Scotland, so I suppose they've weighed that up.

Do any of you really think that these politicians are going to 'answer' the questions on Mumsnet or on any other forum? This whole set up is perfect facilitation for evasiveness and script preparation.

A waste of time.

I agree. Far too many people will be affected who do not want the result whichever way it goes
Standard Life is very clear -they will do whatever it takes to protect their assets. That to me means moving out straight away after a yes vote as they have to protect their gbp investments.
Alex -can say what he likes, we will not straight away have a CU with England, potentially though that may materialise through negotiation after, but it is not a certainty.
If I lived in Scotland I would not know which way to vote. I am scottish, but live in England.
My own personal belief is that Alex never really wanted independence but devomax and Cameron wouldn't allow it, so my gut feeling is that both will have to think seriously about their futures after the vote -unless it is no in which case Cameron had a lucky escape.

Lloyds and SIL are just about guaranteeing they will lose Scottish customers with their announcements that they would be relocating to England if there were to be a Yes vote.

Not really. At OOAOML has already said, only 10% of the customer base is in Scotland. On top of that not all customers will close their accounts. I reckon worst case scenario that only a minority would.

Why? Because don't forget that other banks like RBS and Clydesdale are also planning to move too. It's not like they want to. But without a lender of last resort their borrowing costs would go up and they'd have to hold a shit load more capital.

So basically who are you going to bank with if all the major banks have all relocated to England.

Can I please implore anyone who's undecided (and I doubt a rammy like this "debate" has helped in the slightest) to check out the Wee Blue Book? Free and available in print, e-book or audio formats, short enough to skim through quickly but with a good level of detail beyond that which any politician will give you. And with references.

www.theweebluebook.com/index.php

If anyone particularly wants a hard copy pm me and I'll send one (unless I get hundreds of requests!) :)

If you read the wee blue book, read stuff like this as well

chokkablog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/the-wee-blue-book-of-lies.html?m=1

prettybird - I'm not sure why you are getting narky with me?! Also, I never said which side I was on or anything about who should have sorted out the %ages.

I don't think it matters which side you are on - IF something only gets a 1% margin on something SO big, then nothing should be done. Nothing. It is far too big a deal to change on such a small %age.

More discussion, more debate and an entirely different 'set up' need to be sorted for this to go fwd imho.

How can people vote, with confidence, either way when there is still so much up in the air?

People are voting on a concept, not a reality.

Also this re wee blue book

www.dropbox.com/s/0e29wjlh2dgyrmf/WBB%20Corrections.pdf?dl=0