Scottish Independence

[tonytigerbkk]

Hi all,

There is a thread running in the General forum which started out about posting etiquette and has now changed to a discussion about Scottish Independence.

I for one believe that the Scottish Independence issue deserves a thread of its own.

My personal view is that I would like to see our Caledonian brothers remaining with Great Britain.

I am English by birth but my Grandfather was Scottish and served in KOSB before, during and after the war (WW2).

Despite the earlier wars between our great nations, we have stood back to back to protect our island and we did this without a thought of whether we were English or Scottish, we did this because we were British.

Also I enjoy the quirky but quaint relationship that we share, in that we both love to hate each other but at the same time we would back each other up if the chips were down

However, I do also understand and respect the Scottish Nationalists who want their independence.

If I were a Scot, I would probably feel the same.

We all know that there is a rivalry between the English and the Scots but let us keep this thread civilized.

That means that friendly banter is expected but no racism from either side please.

OK, fire away.

[Baerboxer]

Scotland has a small population that is not growing rapidly. However, over the years Scots have traveled widely and occupied many senior positions in the government, civil service, judiciary, military and business. They have done this since the Act of Union.

The benefits of Union far outweigh the negatives IMO opinion for all members of the United Kingdom. It's become fashionable for people in Europe to want "independence" like the Catalans, Basques (very different situation) and others, even some in Bavaria. It's hard to avoid fashionable things especially when skilled orators like Alex Salmon jump on the bandwagon as he fancies being the first president and securing a place in history far beyond his actual capability; or Sean Connery who as an actor is good, but is know academic or political scientist.

An independent Scotland would not give Scots massive improvement; nor would the English and Welsh continue to benefit from Scottish involvement as they do now. The UK is far stronger as a Union and will have much more economic and political clout - which benefits all members. Why give this up purely for some romanticized idea based on often embellished history; or to further the careers of ambitious politicians or actors seeking the limelight.

I also believe the current referendum is unconstitutional. One group are voting as to the potential break up of the union, whilst the other members are not being allowed an opinion. I always thought contracts and agreements required all parties to agree to termination or amendments. Clearly, not in the UK run by Cameron, whose next foolish idea is the in/out EU referendum. That could potentially leave Scotland, an independent EU country and the rest of the former UK a country outside the EU.

Well done Mr. Cameron - the Eton and Oxford educated elitist who traces lineage back to Edward IV (the same as the current Queen's family) and who could go down in history as presiding over the screw up of the British Isles.