Scottish independence: Yes camp hails 'momentum'

[ScotSurvey]

Perhaps the NO voters know where they are safe and don't want to risk what the Union has achieved against Salmonds 50 years of "possible" oil revenue............... Noooooooooooooo, they ain't daft........

So you ask me to answer then tell me what a Scottish no voter thinks in the next breath?

You may well be right if that's the kind of bs you lot have been feeding them.

Wither Together....remember that folks.

Are you telling me half of the Scots nation are numnuts and cannot think for themselves after sifting through the information put forward.....?

Salmond has NOT given any answers to anything..........YES or NO..........?

Dribble - he has given answers to everything - including outlining three alternative plans on the currency.

There seems to be a meme abroad with No voters that even when Alex Salmond stands on national TV and answers questions directly - he doesn't answer??????

It's laughable.

In fact - once outlined three Plan B's - he asked Darling what his Plan B was - and answer there came none much to Darling's embarrassment.

[David48]

Much is being made of the ability of the revenues from the North Sea Oil fields to contribute substantially to a new Independent Scotland.

But does the hype match the rhetoric?

The North Sea produces almost half of the energy Britain needs. Scottish nationalists hope the taxes it generates, which amounted to £6.5 billion ($10.1 billion) last year, will make an independent state rich. But the oil and gas is running out. Production fell by 6% a year on average between 1999 and 2010; since then it has dived by nearly 40% (see first chart). Meanwhile costs are spurting upwards: it is nearly five times more expensive to extract a barrel of North Sea oil than it was in 2002. Investment in exploration, which once rose and fell with the oil price, is at rock bottom (see second chart) even though nine billion barrels may remain unfound. On February 25th Malcolm Webb of Oil & Gas UK, an industry body, said exploration is facing its biggest challenge in 50 years.

An independent Scotland would start life with a large budget deficit. That would probably make it impossible to start an oil fund for some years, at least without big cuts to public expenditure. And nationalists may well be overestimating how much of the gloopy stuff they can squeeze out. Holyrood’s prediction for oil revenues in 2018 is twice Westminster’s estimates. The difference is important. With a big haul, Scotland’s politicians could perhaps afford to cosset oil firms. Without one, the young nation might have to milk them harder than ever.

The Economist

[ScotSurvey]

Perhaps the NO voters know where they are safe and don't want to risk what the Union has achieved against Salmonds 50 years of "possible" oil revenue............... Noooooooooooooo, they ain't daft........

So you ask me to answer then tell me what a Scottish no voter thinks in the next breath?

You may well be right if that's the kind of bs you lot have been feeding them.

Wither Together....remember that folks.

I don't think that guy has the first clue what's going on.

[Naam]

What would new currency be called?

Personally I think it would be a bad move for Scotland, but if they want to go for it all the best. At least the Bank of England could make some money on loans to the new government when it realises it can't make ends meet.

the new Scottish currency will be called "Haggis Dollar"... i think

[smokie36]

Funny thing is transam most of the no voters I have come across shy away from any kind of debate and seem to believe the vote is about "president" Salmond or a right wing SNP.......they haven't even looked at the true issues in this vote.

When they do they change their vote to YES.

More and more are doing so every day....you want facts look at the polls.

:-)

[NoshowJones]

^^ Idiotic posts - that's how we Scots know we are dealing with politically illiterate scum, when they reduce the "debate" to that.

I would agree with you about the UK Government being scum, and thieves as well, but I would hope you do not refer to the English people as scum, the vast majority of English people I have found to be very decent.

I was referring to a guy who posted mock ups of Alex Salmond dressed as Hitler - not to the entire English people.

I have used up my "likes" but you get one anyway.

[Naam]

I don't see how it could be bad for Scotland if they get to take the North Sea oil with them. They could be the next Norway. However, Scottish independence would consign the UK to the clutches of the Tories forever. Hard luck for the Brits in that case.

North Sea oil has a limited life and is already passed its peak. What is left after the oil runs out? If the Scots are that short sighted then good luck to them or should I say good riddance.

single malt

[ScotSurvey]

English history in six easy steps -

1. Got done in by the Romans.

2. Got done in by the Saxons.

3. Got done in by the French.

4. Got done in by the Scots.

5. Got done in by the plague.

6. Got done in by the Scots again when we joined them and sucked them dry for 307 years. Now they're £1.4 trillion in debt, we'll just leave them to it.

What a useless nation.

Can't be that bad. Even Salmond wants to keep the Pound and the Queen.

Please stop with the hate speech.

It's not hate speech - its observation - a big difference.

I will ask any Englishman on this thread an honest, and genuine question -------------

When you think of the last 300 years - the growth of Empire, the Industrial Age, the Victorian era, WW1, WW2 - the Cold War - the establishment of the welfare state, the NHS etc - do you look at them as English achievements? or British achievements?

I know plenty of Englishmen that would say English - and look at you like a quizzical Labrador when you start laughing. The rise of English nationalism and fascism has driven a wedge between our nations. It's no mistake that it's not only Scotland that is reacting, but Wales too, where Tories are a dying breed.

35 years of marching to the RIGHT - and we Celts are wondering what's wrong with you.

I would say British. My first wife who was from Lancashire genuinely used the word English to mean British, Scottish or English. Strange use of language. Many non UK people use English in the same way she does. Odd, but there you are. Like calling all US citizens Yankees.

Interesting that you refer to English nationalism as fascism - what's the SNP then, freedom fighting republican democrats?

Double standard and bias, surely not. SNP - nationalists, must be fascists like Franco's nationalists, and Madame Le Penn.

Eh - we are fighting to increase immigration, increase social justice, and to increase spending on health and education.

If this referendum was about nationalism, it would fail. I am not a Scottish nationalist, never have been and never will be - if I thought that the UK could return to the centre, turn it's back on Islamaphoba and accept being part of Europe - while being socially just too - I'd vote No.

The reality is - we Celts are wondering what's going in in the English heartlands - UKIP is driving an agenda that could see the UK OUT of Europe and that will be a national tragedy.

[Neeranam]

Sorry chum, thought it England, Wales and Scotland had that debt, or have I missed something.

If you want to quote Germany as the reason for a Scot failure, perhaps you can tell us when Scotland won something important regarding football or even Rugby a few times...?

Remember the Five Nations at Murray field in 1990?

....I do!

I was there and the rendition of our national anthem still brings a tear to my eye. There was another great song - something about 3 lions and sticking the, somewhere!

O flower of Scotland

When will we see your like again

That fought and died for

Your wee bit hill and glen

And stood against him

Proud Edward's army

And sent him homeward

Tae think again

The hills are bare now

And autumn leaves lie thick and still

O'er land that is lost now

Which those so dearly held

And stood against him

Proud Edward's army

And sent him homeward

Tae think again

Those days are passed now

And in the past they must remain

But we can still rise now

And be the nation again

That stood against him

Proud Edward's army

And sent him homeward

Tae think again

Edited September 8, 2014 by Neeranam

[transam]

Funny thing is transam most of the no voters I have come across shy away from any kind of debate and seem to believe the vote is about "president" Salmond or a right wing SNP.......they haven't even looked at the true issues in this vote.

When they do they change their vote to YES.

More and more are doing so every day....you want facts look at the polls.

:-)

Great stuff, thats for the Scots. Here we talk and debate our views. We here have nooooooooooo influence on anything, just debate............ Noooooo animosity from me, after all, the YES and NO Scots are talking against each other, have their own views on stuff.

[Naam]

English history in six easy steps -

1. Got done in by the Romans.

2. Got done in by the Saxons.

3. Got done in by the French.

4. Got done in by the Scots.

5. Got done in by the plague.

6. Got done in by the Scots again when we joined them and sucked them dry for 307 years. Now they're £1.4 trillion in debt, we'll just leave them to it.

What a useless nation.

Lmao....so true....and now we are going to kick em when they are down.....

[PLW]

Wasn't it English money responsible for buildings Scotland's oil fields? What are their debts? Perhaps if they can do what Norway has done; they can prosper well within 10 years. I personally wish they would stay in the UK.

[smokie36]

Wasn't it English money responsible for buildings Scotland's oil fields? What are their debts? Perhaps if they can do what Norway has done; they can prosper well within 10 years. I personally wish they would stay in the UK.

A majority of Scots would appear to disagree with you....but we won't count our chickens yet....in politics anything can happen.

[ScotSurvey]

Much is being made of the ability of the revenues from the North Sea Oil fields to contribute substantially to a new Independent Scotland.

But does the hype match the rhetoric?

The North Sea produces almost half of the energy Britain needs. Scottish nationalists hope the taxes it generates, which amounted to £6.5 billion ($10.1 billion) last year, will make an independent state rich. But the oil and gas is running out. Production fell by 6% a year on average between 1999 and 2010; since then it has dived by nearly 40% (see first chart). Meanwhile costs are spurting upwards: it is nearly five times more expensive to extract a barrel of North Sea oil than it was in 2002. Investment in exploration, which once rose and fell with the oil price, is at rock bottom (see second chart) even though nine billion barrels may remain unfound. On February 25th Malcolm Webb of Oil & Gas UK, an industry body, said exploration is facing its biggest challenge in 50 years.

An independent Scotland would start life with a large budget deficit. That would probably make it impossible to start an oil fund for some years, at least without big cuts to public expenditure. And nationalists may well be overestimating how much of the gloopy stuff they can squeeze out. Holyrood’s prediction for oil revenues in 2018 is twice Westminster’s estimates. The difference is important. With a big haul, Scotland’s politicians could perhaps afford to cosset oil firms. Without one, the young nation might have to milk them harder than ever.

The Economist

The Economist declared itself as being anti-independence months ago. You are disbursing propaganda.

[David48]

I finally found the reasons for the YES Vote ...

• Decisions about Scotland will be taken by the people who care most about Scotland – those who live and work here
• An independent Parliament elected entirely by people in Scotland will replace the current Westminster system. Under that system, elected representatives from Scotland make up just 9 per cent of the 650 members of the House of Commons; the House of Lords is wholly unelected
• Governments will always be formed by parties that win elections in Scotland. It will no longer be possible for key decisions to be made by governments that do not command the support of the Scottish electorate
• A guarantee that tax and social security rates will be set in line with the wishes of the people of Scotland. That will mean an end to the imposition on Scotland of policies like the “bedroom tax”
• Public services can be kept in public hands. The Scottish Parliament has the power to keep the NHS in public hands but it could not stop other services such as the Royal Mail being privatised by Westminster
• An economic policy aimed at economic stability and job security in Scotland will replace an economic policy which disproportionately benefits London and the South East of England
• Access to our own resources – for every one of the last 32 years estimates show Scotland has generated more tax per head than the UK as a whole. With independence, decisions about the level and allocation of public spending will be taken here in Scotland
• An economic policy that can be tailored to take advantage of Scotland’s world-class universities and key growth industries like food and drink, life sciences, and tourism
• An independent Scotland can invest our oil wealth for future generations.
• By value there is estimated to be as much North Sea oil still to come as has already been extracted. Norway has a savings fund worth more than £470 billion
• Our taxes will not be used to pay for nuclear weapons and we can remove Trident from Scotland for good
• A transformational extension of childcare, giving our children the best start in life, making it easier for parents – especially mothers – to return to work and delivering new job opportunities
• Abolition of the “bedroom tax” which will save 82,500 households in Scotland – including 63,500 households with a disabled adult and 15,500 households with children – an average of £50 per month
• A halt to the rollout of Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments in Scotland allowing future Scottish governments to develop reforms to our welfare system that meet our needs
• The first steps towards a fairer tax system by ensuring that basic rate tax allowances and tax credits rise at least in line with inflation, and ending of the married couples tax allowance and abolishing the Shares for Rights scheme
• Pensioners’ incomes protected with the triple lock so that pensions increase by either inflation, earnings, or 2.5 per cent, whichever is highest
• Simplification of the tax system to reduce compliance costs, streamline reliefs and help to reduce tax avoidance, with a target revenue gain of £250 million a year by the end of the first term
• Return of the Royal Mail to public ownership in Scotland, guaranteeing the quality of service that all parts of our country currently enjoy
• A Fair Work Commission and a guarantee that the minimum wage will rise at least in line with inflation. Over the last five years, this would have improved the earnings of the lowest paid Scots by the equivalent of £675. Continued support for the living wage for central government staff and promotion of it for other sectors of the Scottish economy
• A timetable for reducing the rate of corporation tax by up to three percentage points to counter the gravitational business pull of London
• Examination of further help for small businesses, for example with national insurance costs to encourage them to create more jobs
• Reduction in Air Passenger Duty by 50 per cent, with a view to abolishing it when public finances allow
• Support for energy efficiency and the roll out of green technology from central government budgets to reduce energy bills by around 5 per cent

Here

[ScotSurvey]

Wasn't it English money responsible for buildings Scotland's oil fields? What are their debts? Perhaps if they can do what Norway has done; they can prosper well within 10 years. I personally wish they would stay in the UK.

There is no English money - there's only UK government money.

England does not exist as anything more than an administrative region of the United Kingdom -

[Johnniey]

We can still rise now and be a nation again !

[MJP]

Scotsurvey.England can t be that bad when half the world seems to want to live here.England is rich and powerful with London being the financial centre of the world. Better than a group of old fashioned hotheads in Glasgow.Scotland always turns on its own when things don t work out.You ll see ,if things go badly they will turn on Alex Salmon.All of them.Viciously.

By the way ,did you see the football last night? Germany 2 Scotland 1. Scotland were outplayed and toyed with by a German reserve team. Lionhearts? They were more like kittenhearts.

The problem is that the financial centre of London has overtaken the economy. We used to manufacture - and financial services were a lovely bonus - now the UK is in thrall to the City of London - and all the so-called profits from the tax take over the last 30 years were wiped out and plenty more by having to bail the banks out.

Forget about the independence debate - do any of we Brits actually believe that the government has learnt is lesson?

Of course they haven't - they are still in thrall to the City of London.

Spot on.

[David48]

Much is being made of the ability of the revenues from the North Sea Oil fields to contribute substantially to a new Independent Scotland.

But does the hype match the rhetoric?

The Economist

The Economist declared itself as being anti-independence months ago. You are disbursing propaganda.

Are you saying that the Economist is misrepresenting or distorting the Facts?

Or reporting them with a Political bias?

Which, with any media is easy enough to do.

Asking, not telling ... I'm just trying to get my head around the Facts.

[smokie36]

Much is being made of the ability of the revenues from the North Sea Oil fields to contribute substantially to a new Independent Scotland.

But does the hype match the rhetoric?

The Economist

The Economist declared itself as being anti-independence months ago. You are disbursing propaganda.

Are you saying that the Economist is misrepresenting or distorting the Facts?

Or reporting them with a Political bias?

Which, with any media is easy enough to do.

Asking, not telling ... I'm just trying to get my head around the Facts.

Its certainly not an independent expert giving his opinion.

[Naam]

Much is being made of the ability of the revenues from the North Sea Oil fields to contribute substantially to a new Independent Scotland.

But does the hype match the rhetoric?

The Economist

The Economist declared itself as being anti-independence months ago. You are disbursing propaganda.

Are you saying that the Economist is misrepresenting or distorting the Facts?

Or reporting them with a Political bias?

Which, with any media is easy enough to do.

Asking, not telling ... I'm just trying to get my head around the Facts.

in the 80s i used to tell my wife (who holds among others a British Passport)

"the Brits have four extraordinary things... the Pound Sterling, BBC World Service, The Economist and Bitter Orange Marmalade.

what is left now is the Bitter Orange Marmalade."

p.s. since years i consider "The Economist" a journalistic abomination and that applies to a dozen British newspapers too. to be fair, it also applies to a number of German magazines and newspapers!

[Chicog]

A post a while back raises an interesting point or two in the event of a yes vote.

Firstly, there will be no upper house to stop President Salmond running amok.

And secondly, there will be no use for Scottish peers in the House of Lords.

[transam]

A post a while back raises an interesting point or two in the event of a yes vote.

Firstly, there will be no upper house to stop President Salmond running amok.

And secondly, there will be no use for Scottish peers in the House of Lords.

[transam]

Perhaps the NO voters know where they are safe and don't want to risk what the Union has achieved against Salmonds 50 years of "possible" oil revenue............... Noooooooooooooo, they ain't daft........

So you ask me to answer then tell me what a Scottish no voter thinks in the next breath?

You may well be right if that's the kind of bs you lot have been feeding them.

Wither Together....remember that folks.

Are you telling me half of the Scots nation are numnuts and cannot think for themselves after sifting through the information put forward.....?

Salmond has NOT given any answers to anything..........YES or NO..........?

Can someone respond to my question......... Please......

[super22k]

Possum1931. England won the football world cup in 1966 fairly and squarely.I also think the last world cup performance in Brazil by England was quite good.In case you didnt know,only one team can win the cup.Also you say Englands population

of 60m against Scotlans 5m gives them more chance to produce a better team. So if your theory is put into effect China will win the world cup every time.

[baboon]

If the vote is YES and Salmond did manage to deliver Heaven on Earth, would Scotland not then be inundated with economic migrants from all over the planet, driving down wages, etc?

Even with oil, every country has finite resources, surely?

[MAJIC]

Any chance of some Levity could be introduced into the Debate?

.

Well ... since no-one actually voted NO ...

.

I love the "Bro"...I think daddy will knock that out of them quick hahaha!

However....like all kids they are our future.....and in Scotland we want the best opportunities for ours....so we are voting to give them the opportunity to rule their own country.

Its quite simple when you think about it.

No doubt you will support the Shetland Islanders too, if they vote to be independent of the UK and Scotland. All that lovely oil and their Scandinavian heritage. Still, Scotland has the whisky, tourism and tartan.

Not all the whiskey!

http://www.heraldscotland.com/who-owns-our-whisky-1.826391

[ScotSurvey]

Awww man - that link is ancient.

They have since opened a brand new state of the art bottling centre and announced plans to open new distilleries.

Let's not live in the past, please. Even whisky has to keep up with modernization.

[nontabury]

Sterling plunges nearly 1% on currency markets overnight I do hope those pushing for a YES vote will not complain when we get a lot less than before.

A very good point, if the £ does get into trouble it will affect everyone in the UK, pensions,savings,mortgages etc, no area will be excluded, as the markets do not like uncertainty, this of course applies to the immediate future. in the longer term according to a French economist that I read the other day, the £ will rebound, while he refused to speculate on the Scottish currency, for the simply reason, he like the rest of us does not know if Scotland will have a currency of it's own or will follow the £, Euro or the Baht.

[jpinx]

Reading today's story about the better togethers "initiative" to devolve more powers in case of a NO vote -- it turns out that there's no new powers on offer, just a timetable for the same ones that are already agreed. Trouble is that apparently HMRC has already vetoed anything actually happening before 2016.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-29105565