Still Yes? Still No?

[AgentProvocateur]

Almost a year after the referendum, I'm wondering if anyone regrets how they voted.

In the interests of transparency, I was a Yes voter, and would vote Yes again.

No then, but now an absolutely definite loud No. I Absolutely hate the SNP with a vengeance now.

Q for yes voters:

If JC gets the labour leadership would any current snp voters vote labour in the next Westminster election in an attempt to get the cons out? Asking as he seems to share many snp policies: trident, socialism in general.

ah okay Paul

Rogue, yes, I would vote labour in the next WM election if JC was labour leader.

No. and Never.

Because of:
The lack of Economic transparency. Then and now.
The lack of Accountability of the SNP.
The howling mess that is devolved Education, NHS in Scotland, PoliceScotland
The endless bleating about Westminster / an upsurge of anti-English racism.

For what it's worth, I LOATHE ShinyDave and his ilk.
Voting between him and NS is like choosing between the Devil and the deep blue sea.

Oh, and NS farting about the world instead of getting on and solving Scotland's issues since election has not endeared me to her personally either.

I was No, and still No. I know one No voter who says they might vote Yes. I know a couple of Yes voters who have made 'dodged a bullet' comments, but I didn't ask them outright if they had changed their mind. And I know lots of other people who I haven't discussed it with.

I hope this thread can be pleasant ItsAll. I have probably in my time contributed to unpleasantness, although tried not to. It was a very emotional time. I've been thinking a lot recently about this time last year, and how much I actually ended up enjoying the referendum. Initially I hadn't, but getting invovled and feeling I could stand up and say how I felt was very empowering.

Rogue Yes I probably would. Can't see him ever being PM though.

I can't see JC being PM either - think he is probably unelectable but might just manage to put enough confidence back for a bit to help Scottish Labour put up a better fight. Despite NS and crew saying they want to work with them etc. they want to crush them completely. I don't think a one party state is in the best interests of the Scottish People.

While I'd be delighted if JC becomes Labour leader, I won't be voting for them for a very, very long time, if ever. Next GE isn't long enough for him to sort out the rotten core to the party.

(I did vote Labour in the past, but not since Tony Blair became leader - he set my teeth on edge from the very start.)

To be honest, Paul, no. I've always felt that a lot of the economic arguments can be figured either way and that the interim period between Yes vote and full independence would have involved an awful lot of very shrewd economists and policy makers ensuring that the correct decisions were made. I think it's obvious that Scotland has vast valuable resources and in the long term could do very well for itself - though I think that short-term there would be difficult political decisions to make and that people are more than entitled to question information and policy put forward by the SNP without being belittled for it. I've been disappointed with the way that anyone who queries whether Scotland would really be a land of milk and honey post-independence is immediately derided with name-calling and their credentials pulled apart - not just by ordinary Yes campaigners but by politicians as well.

I do also share a lot of concerns about the SNP's record in government (I work in social policy and have worked closely with a number of Scottish Government departments over the years so my concerns are professional as well as personal) and have been disappointed that more recently they seem to have adopted a rhetoric that anything and everything wrong in Scotland is Westminster's fault. It doesn't really inspire confidence in the ability of any of the current crop of politicians to take the reins in a government of any color post-independence.

I was a tentative no, but now I'm a 100% definite no.

I think the unpleasantness in the immediate aftermath helped make my mind up I had done the right thing

No voter and still no. All my friends who voted no ( the vast majority) are still are no. A close relative who's been in the SNP for 30+ years and volunteered in the YES shop is also now No though she's too scared to let on. She's quietly slipping out of responsibilties and going to meetings saying publicly the new blood can take a turn.

No and will always be

Did we ever get a clear answer as what our currency would be, and if we'd still be part of the BBC?

Yes, it would have been the pound sterling, and that was fully supported by Mark Carney, though next time round I think I agree with Jim Sillars that our own currency would be a better option.

As for the BBC, an independent Scottish BC could buy in whatever BBC/ITV/name a TV production company content it wanted, so no, we wouldn't need the BBC.

Re the currency, I guess (if it ever happens) it will depend on whether at that point the UK was in or out of Europe and whether subsequently Scotland was in or out of Europe.....If we were in Europe as an independent country then I don't think we'd have any choice other than to be having the Euro. It would be a condition of membership.

Without wishing to rehash the whole indyref debate we couldn't just join the euro, because without our own currency we couldn't possibly meet the necessary convergence criteria.

The EU referendum is going to be interesting.

Re currency,

The New Economics Foundation and Common Weal have jointly published a new report today, suggesting a ScotPound digital currency to be run in tandem with GBP. It's a pretty interesting read. Link to full report triggers a download so I'll link to a piece about the report which you can access the download from if you wish: commonspace.scot/articles/2383/scotpound-digital-money-for-the-common-good-new-report

As you say, interesting idea.

No then and a no now.

I'm really quite annoyed at the possibility of another referendum in the near future. Scotland voted, Scotland said no. If the answer had been yes, I highly doubt we would have the prospect of another vote 'just to make sure'

I hated the aftermath of the referendum, some seriously vile things were said all round.

No then and most definitely no now. Being "english" (although actually of no fixed abode/ethnicity) I am fed up with the anti-english feeling that abounded then and is still around now, and it makes me quite depressed some days.

That's interesting dithery I guess it must be a regional thing, I have a very obvious English accent and have never noticed any anti-English feeling. Plenty of anti-Westminster though

I think it is regional (and possibly also generational) ItsAll. I grew up somewhere with a lot of anti-English feeling and regular use of the phrase 'White Settlers' with various swear words attached. And I think there are still some areas like that, and some people who back independence purely on the basis of 'Scottishness'. But where I live there are people from all over the UK (and other countries) and I'm more likely to hear anti-Polish comments than anti-English.

Going home to visit my parents does sometimes feel like a trip back in time (and I still hear anti-Englishness when I'm there, although less than when I was growing up).